If You Loved Watching This Show, Read This Thriller!

# Overview Gigi Waldorf presents six thriller recommendations, each paired with a recent TV show or film to guide readers who want a book that scratches the same itch. These pairings are about mood and structure—settings that trap characters together, high-stakes social worlds, or satirical takes on food and fame—rather than direct adaptations.

# How the pairings work Waldorf treats comparisons as shorthand for vibe. Instead of promising identical plots, she highlights the elements that matter: confined locations that raise tension, ensembles with secrets, corrosive privilege, dark comedy, or the aftershocks of real-life crime. She also references her own novel, Murder on the Upper East Side, which she positions alongside Gossip Girl and Only Murders in the Building to show how a book can capture the same glitter-and-malice energy as a show.

# The six pairings and what to expect

• If you loved The Perfect Couple, read The Family Game by Catherine Steadman. This delivers wealthy, insulated family drama and a newcomer drawn into a dangerous, power-driven family dynamic. Fast-paced, with secrets that complicate loyalties.

• If you loved Nine Perfect Strangers, read You May Now Kill the Bride by Kate Weston. The book leans into wellness-retreat vibes and tightly held guest secrets, but with a more playful, mystery-romp approach: a bachelorette-party poisoning prompts investigation and dark comedy.

• If you loved My Father, the BTK Killer, read The Serial Killer Guide to San Francisco by Michelle Chouinard. This fictional thriller centers on a descendant of a notorious killer who runs true-crime tours and then wrestles with copycat violence and a police probe. It explores the legacy of real-world crime through a fictionalized investigative arc.

• If you loved The Menu, read A Certain Hunger by Chelsea G. Summers. This is satirical and violent, using culinary obsession and food-writing parody to deliver black-humor horror. Expect whip-smart prose and an appetite for extreme outcomes.

• If you loved Gossip Girl and Only Murders in the Building, consider Waldorf's Murder on the Upper East Side. Her book uses an exclusive Manhattan supper club and privileged socialites to generate scandal and a headline-making murder, aiming for the same blend of glamour and intrigue.

# Practical reading notes Pick the recommendation that best matches the element of the show you enjoyed most. If it was the setting (island, retreat, restaurant), choose the book with the same confined location. If you liked the social dynamics (wealth and entitlement, family secrets, TV casting drama), choose the book that recreates those relational pressures. If you were drawn to dark comedy or satire, prioritize Chelsea G. Summers or Kate Weston.

# Final thought