Gillian Flynn is the author of dark and winding tales, starting with the blockbuster 2012 novel "Gone Girl," which pioneered a new era in psychological thrillers (and unreliable narrators). All three of her novels — "Gone Girl," "Sharp Objets," and "Dark Places" — were adapted for the screen.
On Oct. 3, Flynn stopped by the 3rd hour of TODAY to share some of the books that she's reading now. Among them are some 2022 new releases, including the latest work of historical fiction by Kate Atkinson ("Life After Life") and the debut novel "Jackal" by Erin E. Adams.
Flynn said one pick exemplifies the best of what the mystery genre is capable of; another, she said, is written by "simply one of the best writers working today, anywhere in the world."
Excited to find your next read? Check out her picks below.
Best thriller
'Small Deaths' by Rijula Das
Flynn said this novel, which is set in the red light district of Calcutta, is an expose, a crime novel and literary fiction all at once.
"The novel explores the lives of sex workers, in an unflinching yet humanistic way. The story centers on Lalee, a sex worker struggling to survive, and her client Tilu, a broken man who scrapes out a living writing erotic fiction. Das writes of a dark world where abuse and death sit side by side with love and loyalty and grace. The story is heartbreaking and awful and wonderful, all within the structure of crime fiction," she said.
Best creepy read for Halloween
'Leech' by Hiron Ennes
The narrator of "Leech" is truly unique — and maybe too relevant, given the global pandemic society recently experienced. "Leech" is told from the point of view of a virus that has taken over the body of a doctor in a small kingdom, and Flynn said it's "so much more than the horror story it may sound like."
"Ennes has created a world that's fully realized and disturbingly believable, a place both futuristic in its environmental disasters but Victorian in its manners and ways. This is 'The Thing' meets 'The Alienist,' and to call it merely horror is a disservice, as it's beautifully written and so strangely humane one feels empathy for a virus struggling, like all the humans about it, to survive. So unique and utterly assured, I will follow this writer anywhere going forward," she said.
Best debut novel
'Jackal' by Erin E. Adams
Flynn called Erin E Adams "a thriller writer to watch," saying that "Jackal" does what the mystery genre does best: "Tackles a serious societal topic in the form of a complete page-turner."
"Adams, a first-generation Haitian American tackles Missing White Girl syndrome as her narrator, a Black woman in a largely white town, reluctantly returns home for her best friend's wedding, only to have her goddaughter go missing. As she tries to find the girl, she begins to unravel the town's history of missing or murdered Black girls over decades. It's not just a haunting and involving thriller, it makes a statement about how racism filters down to even the people we focus on saving," she said.
Best historical fiction
'Hester' by Laurie Lico Albanese
The name Hester might seem familiar. Yep, the novel reimagines the life of Hester Prynne, protagonist of Nathaniel Hawthorne's "Scarlet Letter," forced to wear a scarlet "A" after committing adultery in her puritanical society.
"Like the greatest historical fiction, it manages to make you believe utterly in its narrator, feel entirely that this story is real, and ground you in the day to day of a bustling 19th century world that promises the freedom of America while exacting its horrific steep price on the Native Americans it destroys, the slaves it brings in chains, and the women it crushes. It's a story about America itself, and the fury, righteousness and mercy in which it was formed," Flynn said.
What Gillian is reading
'Shrines of Gaiety' by Kate Atkinson
Flynn considers Kate Atkinson "simply one of the best writers working today, anywhere in the world."
"She wrote beautiful, painful and often funny historical fiction set during WWII in 'Life after Life' and 'A God in Ruins.' This one is set during Jazz Age London, in all its fizzy madness and desperation for the new, the better, the hustle. Atkinson simply has a magician's ability to switch a readers's moods within a few paragraphs, and as dark as her stories can get, within them always shines a beacon of humanity," she said.