Books Like Verity: Why The Alpha Flame Belongs on Your Dark, Twisty TBR (Plus More You’ll Devour)
Looking for dark psychological thrillers that won't let you go? Start with The Alpha Flame: Discovery, and don't stop there.
Books Like Verity: Why The Alpha Flame Belongs on Your Dark, Twisty TBR (Plus More You’ll Devour)
If you’re here, there’s a good chance you finished Verity with your heart pounding and your brain buzzing with questions. You’re looking for that same rush, that sense that the author isn’t going to hold your hand, that the story might hurt you, and you’re weirdly grateful for it.
That’s exactly the space I wrote The Alpha Flame: Discovery to occupy. This isn’t a polite thriller. It doesn’t fade to black when things get ugly. It refuses to lie to you about the cost of violence, the weight of trauma, and the moral lines people cross to survive. If you want dark, human, uncomfortably real fiction, that’s what I’m offering you.
The Alpha Flame is set in 1980s Birmingham, where Maggie Grant is a karate instructor with scars inside and out. When she meets Beth, a vulnerable, cunning teenage sex worker on the run from men who own her, both of them are forced into choices they can’t undo. It’s violent, it’s tense, it’s messy. And it’s about loyalty, survival, and the grim kind of hope that says: even if no one saves you, you can try to save someone else.
Readers tell me it left them unsettled but unable to look away. They felt angry, protective, horrified, and grateful that I didn’t flinch from the truth. If that’s what you loved about Verity, then The Alpha Flame is your next read.
But I’m not going to pretend mine is the only book that can scratch that itch. Below, I want to share other books that deliver that same delicious unease. These are the stories that stick in your teeth and demand you think about them long after you’re done. If you’re ready to dive deeper into the dark, here’s my personal list of recommendations.
Other Dark, Twisty Reads for Verity Fans
Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn
A journalist returns to her hometown to cover child murders, and confront her own mother. This is everything you want in a psychological thriller: layered secrets, messy family dynamics, and a suffocating, small-town darkness you can practically taste. No one here is safe, least of all the narrator.
The Push by Ashley Audrain
A mother grapples with the fear that her daughter is truly dangerous. It's domestic suspense with a razor edge, unflinching about trauma, family expectations, and generational damage. If you want to feel deeply uncomfortable in the best way, this is it.
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
Yes, it’s the obvious pick, but for good reason. Toxic marriage, unreliable narrators, sociopathic charm. The structure alone is a masterclass in misdirection. If you want to doubt every word you’re reading, this is essential.
We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver
A mother's letters dissect the aftermath of a school massacre committed by her son. It's not a thriller in the traditional sense, but the psychological horror is relentless. Moral ambiguity, guilt, and the fear of inheriting or creating evil, it’s unforgettable.
Long Bright River by Liz Moore
A police procedural on the surface, but at its core, it's about sisters divided by addiction and secrets. It's gritty, compassionate, and refuses to simplify its characters. Perfect if you want realism without losing emotional punch.
The Alpha Flame: Discovery by Catherine Lynwood
Yes, I’m putting my own book on this list. Because if you want that same dark honesty, the slow reveal of damage and survival, the moral lines crossed in the name of care, it’s what I wrote it to deliver. No easy heroes. No easy answers. Just two women trying to stay alive in a world happy to bury them.
If you’re ready to add these to your TBR, start with The Alpha Flame: Discovery and see if you’re brave enough to follow Maggie and Beth into the dark.