Lifetime's adaptation of Caroline Kepnes' YOU just hit Netflix in December, and fans are already clamoring for more. On the list below, I've got 13 books to read if you love YOU and can't wait for season two, so keep scrolling to find out what you can read to pass the time.
Caroline Kepnes' 2014 novel, YOU centers on Joe Goldberg, played by Penn Badgley, a bookstore employee who becomes obsessed with one of the shop's patrons: an aspiring writer named Guinevere Beck. Stalking Guinevere online is easy — she's the only person by that name in NYC — but manipulating her life in ways that lead her into a romantic relationship with him takes planning. Keeping Guinevere attached to him, however, might require Joe to kill, but it's not like that's anything new for him.
Obviously, if you love the YOU TV show and haven't read both YOU and its sequel Hidden Bodies, about Joe Goldberg's adventures in Los Angeles, I highly recommend you start there. If you're already caught up on Joe's crimes, however, here are 13 books you should read while you wait for season two of YOU. Hopefully they don't scare you out of visiting your local independent bookstore.
'Cold Cold Heart' by Tami Hoag
One year after she narrowly escaped becoming a serial killer's next victim, reporter Dana returns to her hometown for respite. As her community buzzes about what has happened to her, they dredge up a tragedy from the past — the vanishing of Dana's childhood best friend — which turns into the journalist's new obsession.
'It Ends with Her' by Brianna Labuskes
Clarke Sinclair has spent years playing cat-and-mouse with serial killer Simon Cross, who waits for her to find his latest victim before claiming another. With an intimate knowledge of how Cross works, F.B.I. agent Sinclair is ready to put herself in the line of fire, posing as his next, most perfect target.
'Lost Girls: An Unsolved American Mystery' by Robert Kolker
This chilling true-crime book documents the unsolved disappearances and murders of young sex workers on Long Island in the late Aughts and early 2010s.
'All the Truth That's in Me' by Julie Berry
Julie Berry's YA thriller, All the Truth That's in Me, centers on teenage protagonist Judith, who returns home mute and mutilated after two years in captivity. Judith knows what happened to another missing girl, Lottie, but no one wants to be close enough to her to listen.
'Creep' by Jennifer Hillier
When psychology professor Sheila Tao begins a whirlwind affair with her attractive and charismatic TA, Ethan, she knows it can only end badly. What she doesn't know is that Ethan won't allow it to end any other way.
'Luckiest Girl Alive' by Jessica Knoll
Ani has it all: a gorgeous and wealthy fiancé, a great job, and a closet full of high-end fashion. She has learned how to navigate the world of NYC socialites with relative ease. But Ani has kept a secret for her entire adult life — one that she believes could ruin everything if the truth came out.
'And Never Let Her Go: Thomas Capano: The Deadly Seducer' by Ann Rule
In 1996, a government employee in Delaware went missing for 48 hours before anyone knew she was gone. The culprit was her lover of two years, a married man, whom she no longer wished to be involved with romantically.
'The Loneliest Girl in the Universe' by Lauren James
Following the deaths of her parents, Romy is left alone aboard the Infinity: a space craft on course for a distant planet. Her isolation in the vacuum of space is overwhelming, but news of another ship heading her way gives her something to look forward to. Unbeknownst to Romy, the traveller on board the Eternity isn't visiting her out of kindness or compassion — He's out for revenge.
'Providence' by Caroline Kepnes
From YOU author Caroline Kepnes comes this thriller about a missing teenager who returns home with no memory of the four years he was away — four years which seem to have granted him special powers.
'Perfect Victim: The True Story of 'The Girl in the Box'' by Christine McGuire and Carla Norton
Written by the district attorney who tried the case, Perfect Victim tells the story of Colleen Stan, who was kidnapped at the age of 20 and spent the next seven years imprisoned in a box underneath her captor's bed.
'Bitter Orange' by Claire Fuller
After a recluse living in an English manor house becomes obsessed with spying on her new downstairs neighbors, she is surprised to find that they want to socialize with her. All is not as it seems between the young couple, however, as their solitary neighbor will soon learn.
'Sweet Lamb of Heaven' by Lydia Millet
In this tense novel, a woman flees with her young daughter from a controlling, manipulative, and politically powerful husband, who will stop at nothing to get them back.
'The Red Parts: Autobiography Of A Trial' by Maggie Nelson
While awaiting the publication of a book — Jane: A Murder — about the life of her aunt who was murdered in 1969, author Maggie Nelson learned that the unsolved case had been reopened. Part memoir, part examination of violence in the U.S., The Red Parts is a must-read book for any fan of true crime and thrillers.
