17 must-read crime books like The Cheerleaders by Kara Thomas

Cover of The Cheerleaders by Kara Thomas

The Cheerleaders

By: Kara Thomas

3.75

Format: 384 pages, Hardcover

There are no more cheerleaders in the town of Sunnybrook. First there was the car accident—two g…

"At some time you have to choose to live in the light."

-Kara Thomas, The Cheerleaders

"A migraine coming on. She got them when she was stressed."

-Kara Thomas, The Cheerleaders

"It shouldn't be this easy. Grief isn't supposed to be easy."

-Kara Thomas, The Cheerleaders

"My bike in one of those old-fashioned cruisers, with a mint-green body."

-Kara Thomas, The Cheerleaders

If you liked the crime plot in The Cheerleaders by Kara Thomas , here is a list of 17 books like this:

Cover of People Like Us by Dana  Mele

1. People Like Us

By: Dana Mele

3.52

Format: 378 pages, Hardcover

Kay Donovan may have skeletons in her closet, but the past is past, and she's reinvented herself en… read more

Similar categories in Dana Mele's People Like Us book and Kara Thomas's The Cheerleaders

  • mystery thriller
  • young adult
  • fiction
  • contemporary
  • mystery
  • thriller
  • audiobook
"I don't want to fall back into that wild spinning nothingness again. Because once you're in it, there are no footholds. It takes something extraordinary, a cosmic alignment of divine proportions, to …"

-Dana Mele, People Like Us

2. The Naturals (The Naturals, #1)

By: Jennifer Lynn Barnes

4.00

Format: None pages, Hardcover

Seventeen-year-old Cassie is a natural at reading people. Piecing together the tiniest details, she… read more

Similar categories in Jennifer Lynn Barnes's The Naturals (The Naturals, #1) book and Kara Thomas's The Cheerleaders

Cover of Nothing More to Tell by Karen M. McManus

3. Nothing More to Tell

By: Karen M. McManus

3.90

Format: 358 pages, Hardcover

Four years ago, Brynn left Saint Ambrose School following the shocking murder of her favorite teach… read more

Similar categories in Karen M. McManus's Nothing More to Tell book and Kara Thomas's The Cheerleaders

  • mystery thriller
  • murder mystery
  • young adult
  • fiction
  • contemporary
  • mystery
  • thriller
  • crime
  • audiobook
"Because you can make a real difference with every story, and give a voice to people who don’t have one."

-Karen M. McManus, Nothing More to Tell

Cover of One of Us Is Next (One of Us Is Lying, #2) by Karen M. McManus

4. One of Us Is Next (One of Us Is Lying, #2)

By: Karen M. McManus

3.91

Format: 377 pages, Hardcover

Come on, Bayview, you know you've missed this. A ton of copycat gossip apps have popped up since… read more

Similar categories in Karen M. McManus's One of Us Is Next (One of Us Is Lying, #2) book and Kara Thomas's The Cheerleaders

  • mystery thriller
  • murder mystery
  • young adult
  • fiction
  • contemporary
  • mystery
  • thriller
  • crime
  • audiobook
"And the way he made me laugh when i thought I‘d forgotten how."

-Karen M. McManus, One of Us Is Next (One of Us Is Lying, #2)

"But can‘t change the past, you know? All you can do is try harder next time."

-Karen M. McManus, One of Us Is Next (One of Us Is Lying, #2)

"I think the two of them are the real deal. She‘s still the one he wants. She‘ll probably always be the one he wants"

-Karen M. McManus, One of Us Is Next (One of Us Is Lying, #2)

"People like to think they're open-minded, but if you toss a tired gender stereotype on their path they'll run with it every time."

-Karen M. McManus, One of Us Is Next (One of Us Is Lying, #2)

Cover of You'll Be the Death of Me by Karen M. McManus

5. You'll Be the Death of Me

By: Karen M. McManus

3.74

Format: 336 pages, Hardcover

Ivy, Mateo, and Cal used to be close. Now all they have in common is Carlton High and the beginning… read more

Similar categories in Karen M. McManus's You'll Be the Death of Me book and Kara Thomas's The Cheerleaders

  • mystery thriller
  • suspense
  • young adult
  • fiction
  • murder mystery
  • contemporary
  • thriller
  • crime
  • mystery
  • audiobook
"Silence falls as we get lost in our own regrets."

-Karen M. McManus, You'll Be the Death of Me

Cover of The Cheerleaders by Kara Thomas

6. The Cheerleaders

By: Kara Thomas

3.75

Format: 384 pages, Hardcover

There are no more cheerleaders in the town of Sunnybrook. First there was the car accident—two g… read more

Similar categories in Kara Thomas's The Cheerleaders book and Kara Thomas's The Cheerleaders

  • mystery thriller
  • suspense
  • young adult
  • fiction
  • murder mystery
  • contemporary
  • thriller
  • crime
  • mystery
  • audiobook
"At some time you have to choose to live in the light."

-Kara Thomas, The Cheerleaders

"A migraine coming on. She got them when she was stressed."

-Kara Thomas, The Cheerleaders

"It shouldn't be this easy. Grief isn't supposed to be easy."

-Kara Thomas, The Cheerleaders

"My bike in one of those old-fashioned cruisers, with a mint-green body."

-Kara Thomas, The Cheerleaders

Cover of The Reappearance of Rachel Price by Holly  Jackson

7. The Reappearance of Rachel Price

By: Holly Jackson

4.13

Format: 448 pages, Hardcover

A new true-crime fueled mystery thriller about a girl determined to uncover the shocking truth abou… read more

Similar categories in Holly Jackson's The Reappearance of Rachel Price book and Kara Thomas's The Cheerleaders

  • mystery thriller
  • suspense
  • young adult
  • fiction
  • murder mystery
  • contemporary
  • thriller
  • crime
  • mystery
  • audiobook
"Family first", Bel said. Not a threat, but a promise."

-Holly Jackson, The Reappearance of Rachel Price

"The people who loved you, the ones who really cared, they would always come back. Sometimes, they even came back from the dead."

-Holly Jackson, The Reappearance of Rachel Price

"They hadn't had time to say one word to each other, which was fine, because it was hard to be rude to someone with just one word."

-Holly Jackson, The Reappearance of Rachel Price

"A little insensitive", she whispered, loud enough that Bel and Carter could hear. "Giving the man with dementia a book called The Memory Thief."

-Holly Jackson, The Reappearance of Rachel Price

Cover of One of Us Is Back (One of Us Is Lying, #3) by Karen M. McManus

8. One of Us Is Back (One of Us Is Lying, #3)

By: Karen M. McManus

3.96

Format: 368 pages, Kindle Edition

The explosive third and final thrilling instalment in the acclaimed One of Us... series. Ever since… read more

Similar categories in Karen M. McManus's One of Us Is Back (One of Us Is Lying, #3) book and Kara Thomas's The Cheerleaders

  • mystery thriller
  • murder mystery
  • young adult
  • fiction
  • contemporary
  • mystery
  • thriller
  • crime
  • audiobook
"What is Bayview best known for? Revenge."

-Karen M. McManus, One of Us Is Back (One of Us Is Lying, #3)

"There has to be a whole other level of pain when your soul gets ripped in half."

-Karen M. McManus, One of Us Is Back (One of Us Is Lying, #3)

"It's unreal how fast the inner voice you thought was gone can jump back into your head to tell you how much you suck."

-Karen M. McManus, One of Us Is Back (One of Us Is Lying, #3)

Cover of Two Can Keep a Secret by Karen M. McManus

9. Two Can Keep a Secret

By: Karen M. McManus

3.93

Format: 329 pages, Hardcover

Echo Ridge is small-town America. Ellery's never been there, but she's heard all about it. Her aunt… read more

Similar categories in Karen M. McManus's Two Can Keep a Secret book and Kara Thomas's The Cheerleaders

  • mystery thriller
  • murder mystery
  • young adult
  • fiction
  • contemporary
  • mystery
  • thriller
  • crime
  • audiobook
"Welcome to life in a small town. You’re only as good as the best thing your family’s done. Or the worst."

-Karen M. McManus, Two Can Keep a Secret

Cover of Kill Joy (A Good Girl's Guide to Murder, #0.5) by Holly  Jackson

10. Kill Joy (A Good Girl's Guide to Murder, #0.5)

By: Holly Jackson

3.78

Format: 130 pages, Kindle Edition

Find out where it all started for Pip in this prequel novella to the A Good Girl's Guide to Murder.… read more

Similar categories in Holly Jackson's Kill Joy (A Good Girl's Guide to Murder, #0.5) book and Kara Thomas's The Cheerleaders

  • mystery thriller
  • murder mystery
  • young adult
  • fiction
  • contemporary
  • mystery
  • thriller
  • crime
  • audiobook
"Smallpox,' ' Zach read aloud when the page was passed to him. 'It was eradicated by the nineteen eighties,' Pip said. 'Oi, no time travel.' Jamie whacked her on the head with his master booklet."

-Holly Jackson, Kill Joy (A Good Girl's Guide to Murder, #0.5)

Cover of Five Survive by Holly  Jackson

11. Five Survive

By: Holly Jackson

4.08

Format: 391 pages, Hardcover

Eight hours. Six friends. One sniper . . . Eighteen year old Red and her friends are on a r… read more

Similar categories in Holly Jackson's Five Survive book and Kara Thomas's The Cheerleaders

  • mystery thriller
  • murder mystery
  • young adult
  • fiction
  • contemporary
  • mystery
  • thriller
  • crime
  • audiobook
"That's what she said -Simon"

-Holly Jackson, Five Survive

"She wasn’t fine but she was alive and, really, how was that much different from the rest of her life?"

-Holly Jackson, Five Survive

"His whole life has been a war, that does something to your head, I think. It's done something to my head."

-Holly Jackson, Five Survive

"Trapped. Shut in. Only thirty-one feet to share between them, that extra foot important enough not to round down."

-Holly Jackson, Five Survive

Cover of The Counselors by Jessica  Goodman

12. The Counselors

By: Jessica Goodman

3.54

Format: 343 pages, Hardcover

Camp Alpine Lake is the only place where Goldie Easton feels safe. She's always had a special co… read more

Similar categories in Jessica Goodman's The Counselors book and Kara Thomas's The Cheerleaders

  • mystery thriller
  • young adult
  • suspense
  • fiction
  • contemporary
  • mystery
  • thriller
  • crime
  • audiobook
Cover of They'll Never Catch Us by Jessica  Goodman

13. They'll Never Catch Us

By: Jessica Goodman

3.72

Format: 284 pages, Hardcover

A thriller about two sisters vying for the top spot on their cross-country team--the only way out o… read more

Similar categories in Jessica Goodman's They'll Never Catch Us book and Kara Thomas's The Cheerleaders

  • mystery thriller
  • murder mystery
  • young adult
  • fiction
  • contemporary
  • mystery
  • thriller
  • audiobook
"Raven has always been nice in the same way vanilla is nice but you’d rather have cookie dough."

-Jessica Goodman, They'll Never Catch Us

"Raven has always been nice, in the same way vanilla ice cream is nice but you’d rather have cookie dough."

-Jessica Goodman, They'll Never Catch Us

"The spiral continues until I remember something Mom once said: Everyone hates themselves a little. If you get over that, you survive. Sure, she said it when she was drunk and I was five. But I think …"

-Jessica Goodman, They'll Never Catch Us

Cover of How to Survive Your Murder by Danielle Valentine

14. How to Survive Your Murder

By: Danielle Valentine

3.67

Format: 299 pages, Hardcover

Alice Lawrence is the sole witness in her sister’s murder trial. And in the year since Claire’s … read more

Similar categories in Danielle Valentine's How to Survive Your Murder book and Kara Thomas's The Cheerleaders

  • mystery thriller
  • murder mystery
  • young adult
  • fiction
  • contemporary
  • mystery
  • thriller
  • crime
  • audiobook
Cover of The Ivies by Alexa Donne

15. The Ivies

By: Alexa Donne

3.69

Format: 312 pages, Hardcover

Enroll in this boarding school thriller about a group of prep school elites who would kill to get i… read more

Similar categories in Alexa Donne's The Ivies book and Kara Thomas's The Cheerleaders

  • mystery thriller
  • murder mystery
  • young adult
  • fiction
  • contemporary
  • mystery
  • thriller
  • crime
  • audiobook
Cover of As Good As Dead (A Good Girl's Guide to Murder, #3) by Holly  Jackson

16. As Good As Dead (A Good Girl's Guide to Murder, #3)

By: Holly Jackson

4.21

Format: 500 pages, Hardcover

The finale to A Good Girl's Guide to Murder series. By the end of this mystery series, you'll never… read more

Similar categories in Holly Jackson's As Good As Dead (A Good Girl's Guide to Murder, #3) book and Kara Thomas's The Cheerleaders

  • mystery thriller
  • murder mystery
  • young adult
  • fiction
  • contemporary
  • mystery
  • thriller
  • crime
  • audiobook
"Not then and there. Here and now."

-Holly Jackson, As Good As Dead (A Good Girl's Guide to Murder, #3)

"Machines didn’t lie, only people did."

-Holly Jackson, As Good As Dead (A Good Girl's Guide to Murder, #3)

"Well,’ Pip smiled, ‘I’m still me.’ She hoped that was true."

-Holly Jackson, As Good As Dead (A Good Girl's Guide to Murder, #3)

"The game had changed.Her against them.Save herself to save herself."

-Holly Jackson, As Good As Dead (A Good Girl's Guide to Murder, #3)

Cover of Pretty Dead Queens by Alexa Donne

17. Pretty Dead Queens

By: Alexa Donne

3.70

Format: 336 pages, Hardcover

Seaview High's homecoming queen is dead . . . and she's not the first. A thriller about a decades-o… read more

Similar categories in Alexa Donne's Pretty Dead Queens book and Kara Thomas's The Cheerleaders

  • mystery thriller
  • murder mystery
  • young adult
  • fiction
  • contemporary
  • mystery
  • thriller
  • audiobook
Cover of The Cousins by Karen M. McManus

18. The Cousins

By: Karen M. McManus

3.77

Format: 337 pages, Library Binding

Milly, Aubrey, and Jonah Story are cousins, but they barely know each other, and they've never even… read more

Similar categories in Karen M. McManus's The Cousins book and Kara Thomas's The Cheerleaders

  • mystery thriller
  • suspense
  • young adult
  • fiction
  • murder mystery
  • contemporary
  • thriller
  • crime
  • mystery
  • audiobook
"It feels erratic ... But Alison knew what the problem was with her mother's heart: it was broken."

-Karen M. McManus, The Cousins

"this dress is the most perfect article of clothing I've ever worn - not only because it's beautiful and fits me like a dream, but also because it has deep pockets that hold a phone and some lipstick …"

-Karen M. McManus, The Cousins

"You have a very interesting look. Where are you from?' Ugh. That's marginally better than the What are you? question I get sometimes, but still gross. 'New York,' I say pointedly. 'You?' 'I mean orig…"

-Karen M. McManus, The Cousins

"It's been creeping up on me ever since I got to the island what my relationship with Thomas really is: something that should've ended a few months after it began in eighth grade, when he started trea…"

-Karen M. McManus, The Cousins

Cover of All Your Twisted Secrets by Diana Urban

19. All Your Twisted Secrets

By: Diana Urban

3.51

Format: 396 pages, Paperback

A thrilling debut, reminiscent of new fan favorites like One of Us Is Lying and the beloved classic… read more

Similar categories in Diana Urban's All Your Twisted Secrets book and Kara Thomas's The Cheerleaders

  • mystery thriller
  • young adult
  • suspense
  • fiction
  • contemporary
  • mystery
  • thriller
  • crime
  • audiobook
Cover of They Wish They Were Us by Jessica  Goodman

20. They Wish They Were Us

By: Jessica Goodman

3.49

Format: 336 pages, Hardcover

A murder mystery set against the backdrop of an exclusive prep school on Long Island. In Gold Co… read more

Similar categories in Jessica Goodman's They Wish They Were Us book and Kara Thomas's The Cheerleaders

  • mystery thriller
  • suspense
  • young adult
  • fiction
  • murder mystery
  • contemporary
  • thriller
  • crime
  • mystery
  • audiobook
"What do we do now?" I asked, trying to silence the screams in my head. "We go on" Adam said. "We keep going". I nodded but I did not ask my next question. How?"

-Jessica Goodman, They Wish They Were Us

"Sometimes it's hard to know which qualities really define you, and which ones have been affixed to you by others so many times that you actually begin to believe them and claim them as your own."

-Jessica Goodman, They Wish They Were Us

"You're just like me", she said softly in a maternal voice. "Scared. Young". My stomach sank. Those didn't sound like good things. "You'll survive, though", she continued. "We're the strong ones"."

-Jessica Goodman, They Wish They Were Us

Cover of Such Charming Liars by Karen M. McManus

21. Such Charming Liars

By: Karen M. McManus

3.83

Format: 320 pages, Hardcover

The newest mystery from the author One of Us Is Lying, the Queen of thrillers, Karen M. McManus! Wh… read more

Similar categories in Karen M. McManus's Such Charming Liars book and Kara Thomas's The Cheerleaders

  • mystery thriller
  • murder mystery
  • young adult
  • fiction
  • contemporary
  • mystery
  • thriller
  • crime
  • audiobook

20 must-read fiction books like The Cheerleaders by Kara Thomas

Transform Your Habits

People Like Us

Dana Mele

3.52

Transform Your Habits

Nothing More to Tell

Karen M. McManus

3.90

Transform Your Habits

One of Us Is Next (One of Us Is Lying, #2)

Karen M. McManus

3.91

Transform Your Habits

You'll Be the Death of Me

Karen M. McManus

3.74

View all the books

17 best-selling fiction books like You'll Be the Death of Me by Karen M. McManus

Transform Your Habits

The Final Gambit (The Inheritance Games, #3)

Jennifer Lynn Barnes

4.12

Transform Your Habits

The Brothers Hawthorne (The Inheritance Games, #4)

Jennifer Lynn Barnes

3.94

Transform Your Habits

You'll Be the Death of Me

Karen M. McManus

3.74

Transform Your Habits

The Cheerleaders

Kara Thomas

3.75

View all the books

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