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Riot Recommendation

Riot Recommendation: 10 of Your Favorite Thrillers Set in the Outdoors

Here are 10 of your favorite thrillers set in the outdoors that add a special kind of intensity to survival.

Erica Ezeifedi

Associate Editor

Erica Ezeifedi, Associate Editor, is a transplant from Nashville, TN that has settled in the North East. In addition to being a writer, she has worked as a victim advocate and in public libraries, where she has focused on creating safe spaces for queer teens, mentorship, and providing test prep instruction free to students. Outside of work, much of her free time is spent looking for her next great read and planning her next snack. Find her on Twitter at @Erica_Eze_.

View All posts by Erica Ezeifedi
Scribner

The Last to Vanish opens with the disappearance of a journalist who is investigating a string of vanishings in the resort town of Cutter’s Pass—will its dark secrets finally be revealed?

What readers find especially scary and thrilling will depend on the person, of course, but there is something singular about the experience of reading a thriller set outdoors. Many people say that being out in nature for extended periods of time — especially while under duress — reveals a person’s true character. The character that would exist if all of our manmade comforts were stripped away and we were thrust into a realm of uncertain survival. Luckily for many of us, we can imagine what we might do from the comfort of our couches as unfortunate protagonists battle the elements…and whatever else is out to get them.

We asked you to share your favorite thrillers set outdoors, and here are your recommendations:

A Step Too Far by Lisa Gardner

These Silent Woods by Kimi Cunningham Grant

The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon by Stephen King

The Sanatorium by Sarah Pearse

Sorrowland by  Rivers Solomon

Force of Nature by Jane Harper

They All Fall Down by Rachel Howzell Hall

Heaven, My Home by Attica Locke

Celine by Peter Heller

The Marsh King’s Daughter by Karen Dionne