Wattpad Novels That Have Mystery, Murder and Suspense
Most people associate Wattpad with fanfiction, but the online reading platform holds a lot more than just that, in fact there are a lot of Wattpad stories that have been published.
Over the years, I’ve read a few novels on Wattpad that fall in the genre of mystery, thriller, suspense, murder mystery, or just contain supernatural elements. What I liked about each of these novels is that the authors so clearly put all of their time and effort in making sure they had their facts right. Research went into these novels, even for the smallest detail, and that’s why I enjoyed reading them.
“The Cellar” by Natasha Preston
A well known novel that started on Wattpad, “The Cellar” is a bone-chilling novel that’s about a man named Clover who kidnaps four women and keeps them locked in a cellar. While these women did have names, Clover renames them, giving them each flower names after they’ve been kidnapped because he believes flowers are pure and beautiful and he wants to have a family that is the same. Summer, the main character, is the newest addition to the pure family he’s trying to create, and when she gets there, she refuses to go along with any of it, but the women that Clover kidnapped before her have been trapped down there for years and urge her to accept it, some of them even forgetting what their original name and identity was.
The novel, while bone-chilling, was very good. It wasn’t just a story that the author wrote about what they thought a situation like this would be like; they went into it knowing that a lot of research would have to go into it. They gave all the characters–Clover included–a backstory. I enjoyed that because while I didn’t agree with what Clover did, I understood why he did it and why he was trying to create a pure, perfect family that consisted of only women. The author did a great job on his backstory and capturing the trauma that came with it.
“Calista” by Sandra M. Grayson
Synopsis: Two women. One name. Too many secrets to count. Married to her high school sweetheart, Calista Hargrove thought she had the perfect life. She never imagined she'd be the victim of an attempted murder. When she wakes up in a hospital bed mistaken as the wealthy Calista Dover, she quickly realizes her old life wasn't everything it seemed to be. Is someone trying to murder her? Was her husband really having an affair? And more importantly, where is the real Calista Dover?
This story was really good. It was more on the mystery and suspense side and dabbled a little bit in romance. I do remember being confused when I first read this, but I think that’s the point of the story. The reader is supposed to be confused because the characters are confused. Calista wakes up from a coma and she doesn’t remember anything that happened previously, all she knows is what she’s being told: her name is Calista Dover and her brother is taking her home.
The book is full of mystery and suspense and cliffhangers. The question of what happened to the real Calista Dover stands throughout the entirety of the book, and the relationship that forms between Calista Hargrove and her “brother” leaves the reader questioning what the relationship between the real Calista Dover and her brother was like.
“The Kids Aren’t Alright” by B.A. McDermott
Synopsis: The year is 1988, and Finn, Ronan, Becca and Jasper are spending the summer at a reformatory camp located deep in the Yukon. The camp, named Lightlake, is the last chance the teens have to get their lives back on track, but changing for the better isn't easy - and especially not at a place like Lightlake, where secrets outnumber the campers and myths have a way of coming to life.
This book has elements of suspense and mystery, as well as some supernatural aspects. This book wasn’t like anything I’ve ever read before. I went in with completely different expectations, but I wasn’t disappointed in what I ended up getting.
The mystery of this book is the lake and the myths that revolve around this lake. These kids have been told to steer away but they’ve never been told why and this group of four is determined to find out the mystery of Lightlake and why everyone is afraid of it.
This book kind of reminds me of “Stranger Things” because of the friendship aspects and how they do everything together and leave no one behind. Both the book and “Stranger Things” take place in the eighties and deal with supernatural elements. There’s also a little bit of romance involved as well.
“Confessions About Colton” by Olivia Harvard
Synopsis: Seven letters, seven confessions, seven clues. Elliot Parker has what he needs to find out who killed his best friend... But is he hunting down the killer? Or is the killer hunting him?
When Colton Crest returns, unharmed, to his small town after mysteriously disappearing for two months, his best friend Elliot Parker breathes a sigh of relief. But days later, on the night before graduation, Elliot finds Colton in the lake. Dead. And on the day of his funeral, Elliot finds a letter in his jacket pocket with four words that send him spiraling: I killed Colton Crest. There are six more letters to find, six more confessions about Colton, six more clues to uncover why he was murdered. Elliot has no choice but to play this sick scavenger hunt, and with each new revelation, he begins to question whether he really knew Colton - or anyone else in that little town of dark secrets.
When I tell you this book was not what I was expecting, I mean it. The book was the definition of a plot twist that couldn’t have been predicted. I was on the edge of my seat the whole time I was reading it because it wasn’t like any other murder mystery book that I’ve read. This book made me feel like I was in the world of the characters, trying to solve the mystery of who murdered Colton. I liked the aspect of the letters because it made me feel like a detective, and I think that’s what the author was going for.
Everyone was a suspect, and yet, even with all the clues, I never would’ve expected the murderer to be the murderer. I think that’s one of the reasons why the story was so well written–it made everyone a suspect, a person of interest because everyone that was suspected had a close relationship with Colton and knew something about Colton that no one, not even Elliot–his best friend–knew.
This book kind of gives off “Pretty Little Liars” vibes with the clues and messages and realizing that the person everyone thought they knew had secrets that made them a person that no one really ever knew. I highly recommend reading it.
These books are all definitely worth a read. The psychology of these characters and their backstories help tell the story and understand not only the character, but the world of the story more clearly. If there’s one thing these books all have in common, it’s the suspense of what’s going to happen next.
