Trust Issues Validated: 5 Thrillers That Prove It
Yes, fiction is full of people who missed the memo on basic self-preservation. These five thrillers follow characters who spot the red flags, catalog every warning sign, and then march straight into the nightmare anyway. Sometimes your anxiety is trying to save your life—and these books prove it.
The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware She sees what she sees, tells everyone what happened, and gets the classic "you're being dramatic" treatment. Spoiler alert: she's not. Ware masterfully captures that maddening moment when you know something's wrong but everyone thinks you're losing it. Your paranoia has never felt more reasonable.
Breaking Bianca by Sara Ennis (aka me) Thirty-seven minutes late. That's all it took to destroy everything. Sometimes the worst thing you can do is ignore that nagging voice telling you to hurry, to call, to check one more time. It's a story about guilt, instinct, and the moment when being right becomes the worst possible outcome.
Hidden Pictures by Jason Rekulak A babysitter, a kid who draws things that haven't happened yet, and adults who think children's imagination is always harmless. The drawings get darker, the details get specific, and suddenly everyone's paying attention. Too bad it's too late. Your inner voice saying "something's off about this kid" was absolutely correct.
Someone in the Attic by Andrea Mara Those footsteps aren't the house settling. That shadow isn't a trick of light. She knows someone's up there, and everyone else knows she's been under stress lately. Mara turns everyday paranoia into justified terror, and you'll never ignore strange house noises again.
The Nowhere Child by Christian White When a stranger shows you a photo and claims you're not who you think you are, the smart move is to walk away. The really smart move is to run. But curiosity wins, secrets unravel, and suddenly that ridiculous claim doesn't seem so ridiculous. Trust your instincts about people bearing impossible truths—they're usually possible after all.
These characters see the warning signs, feel the dread, notice the details that don't add up—and then they keep going anyway. Call it plot necessity or human nature, but their bad decisions make for excellent reading. Sometimes your gut feeling isn't anxiety; it's survival.