If there is a genre that humans love, it's mystery thrillers. There is a well-spring of those newly published every year, each tapping into the shadow parts of the human soul in a profoundly raw, frequently visceral manner. Looking into the dark corners of one's soul typically reveals at least some of the seven deadly sins. It's an ever-inspiring topic for writers and movie directors. It is also the center of some unforgettable crime/mystery thrillers.
A good seven deadly sins mystery book, audio, or movie will leave you with that uneasy, lingering feeling pondering in your remote brain tissue. Moreover, it will make you think long and hard - consciously or unconsciously. Are you ready for that challenging psychonaut journey?
If you are and simply love to "devour" thrillers and mystery, we at thrillerfix.com made you our top list of books, movies, and audio that dive into the seven deadly sins.
There is just a pinch of classics on this list since we're positive that you already know about the golden works. With this in mind, we at thrillerfix.com prepared a comprehensive list of seven deadly sins thrillers you might not know about yet.
Since we're massive lovers of the good old written word, our list will start with books. Below are seven deadly sins novels; you will find seven deadly sins audio and seven deadly sins movies' top list.
If You Want to READ About the Seven Deadly Sins
Frank Tower Mystery Series deals with seven deadly sins incredibly well throughout the four books: Investigation Con, Investigation Wrath, Investigation Greed, and Investigation Envy. All these novels are action-packed thrillers with a surprising twist and a solidly fast tempo, making the series a page-turning
mystery masterpiece regarding seven deadly sins. While only 4 books have been released as of date, we look forward to finishing the rest of the series as they are released!
The series deals with lust, power, and deceit. The story circles around two traumatized women that decide to flirt, drug, and steal from men after meeting in a domestic violence victim therapy group. They were unstoppable until they stole a valuable item from the wrong man. The mystery briefcase hides some very dark secrets, which will make you devour this seven deadly sins series. Read here.
We feel it's best to start with a well-known classic decomposing the cardinal sins - The Hannibal Lecter Series, a psychological horror novel by Thomas Harris. The story's central characters, the bloodcurdling Hannibal Lecter and intelligent and collected Clarice Sterling, represent pride and gluttony. However, the other
characters of the grueling series also depict some of the cardinal sins. For example, Jane Gumb is a portrayal of envy, Francis Dolarhyde represents lust, while Mason Verger portrays envy. Greed is shown by the detective Pazzi. Dr. Frederick Chilton represents Sloth, the perfect example of a lazy man willing to use others to further his career and success.
Hannibal Lecter is a true monster and the star of one of the most intense psychological thrillers dealing with the seven deadly sins. The terror of sin and mystery is combined in these novels, thanks to the character of Lecter illuminating human corruptibility. Read here.
Combining thriller with the sin of greed, the novel coming from the feather of an award-winning author of Station Eleven offers an exciting deep dive into the mystery of a woman disappearing, parallel unfolding the disintegration of an enormous Ponzi scheme. Yet, these events only seem separate. The novel
portrays a bartender Vincent at the luxurious Hotel Caiette on Vancouver Island. She noticed a hooded person writing a message on the glass wall of the hotel lobby. The incident happened the same night she met Jonathan Alkaitis, the leader of a massive international Ponzi scheme stealing clients' money. The message said: "Why don't you swallow broken glass."
Once the Ponzi scheme collapses, many lives are destroyed, and Vincent, acting as Alkaitis' wife, disappears. Several years later, an investigator was hired to investigate the vanishing of a woman that disappeared from the deck of the port of container ships.
We're positive any mystery thriller fan will love Emily St. John Mandel's story unfolding in music clubs, fancy hotels, prisons, and international ports. The novel depicts love, greed, mind illusions, guilt, and devastating consequences. Read here.
Wrath is undoubtedly an inspiring sin to portray in books, and we at thrillerfix.com have found for you one novel dealing with that dark deadly sin very interestingly. A London historian Carolin Parcewell is spending her tenth wedding anniversary entirely solo, having discovered her husband's ultimate
betrayal - infidelity. Near the river Thames, she stumbles upon a vintage apothecary vial that sparks her historian's gut feelings. Carolin starts investigating, finding the link to the never solved "apothecary murders" that plagued London more than two hundred years ago.
The search takes her to the apothecary hidden in a dark alley somewhere in London on a cold evening in February 1791. Nella, who was once a well-respected healer, is now using her capabilities for a dark purpose - revenge. Long story short, she sells poison to scorned women ready to kill the man they wish to rid their lives of.
However, Nella's newest customer is a twelve-year-old girl with capabilities developing faster and more incredible than usual. Eliza Fanning becomes her friend, which starts a set of events that could crumble and expose many women whose names are written in Nella's registry. The Lost Apothecary has it all - mystery, infidelity, betrayal, murder, trust issues, and wrath combined into a fascinating story about the light turning dark. Read here.
Bukowski dealt with gluttony genius in this semi-autobiographic novel about the alcohol-infused sexcapades used to push down feelings of torment and solitude portrayed in the 50-year-old Henry Chinaski character. Gluttony typically represents an excessive food intake. However, one of the seven deadly sins
also refers to any type of extreme behavior or substance abuse. Since Bukowski started his booze path in his teenage years and never really stopped drinking, his depiction of gluttony through his alter ego Chinaski is fantastic.
The novel includes fun and ramped-up sex affairs combined with Bukowski's shadow work and solitude. It's not exactly a mysterious thriller, but it made our list for Henry's incredible pitch-black honesty and gritty humor he uses while living on the edge. Read here.
Most thriller fans also love a good old cliffhanger, and The Perfect Family will undoubtedly reach their expectations. The novel depicts the epitome of a perfect family - an eye-pleasing, boasting with success couple, blessed with kids one could only wish for, and a well-furnished, fancy home. The living is easy until
one day, the family finds their porch destroyed with eggs, which at first look like an ordinary prank. Only it's not.
Following the eggs came a smoke bomb to their lawn, punctured car tires, and overall terror. The surveillance video showed nothing more than some hooded figures, so the police dismissed those incidents as some bored kids' pranks.
However, the terror continued, becoming more and more violent and scary. As it turns out, every member of the "perfect family" carries a nasty secret - kleptomania, infidelity, blackmail... Each member is a puzzle creating a mosaic of toxic façade infused with bullying, manipulation, anxiety, and gore, graduating towards an explosive finale. Read here.
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If You Want to WATCH About the Seven Deadly Sins
We know it's a classic probably every mystery thriller fan out there saw multiple times. But still, we just couldn't leave this nightmarish seven deadly sins masterpiece. After all, the movie dealt with each and every one of the cardinal sins through the cruelty of sick and twisted John Doe's "moral" executions,
portrayed by Kevin Spacey. Morgan Freeman, Brad Pitt, and Gwyneth Paltrow also did a fantastic job serving as examples of various sin archetypes alongside other victims. The movie is truly iconic for the scenes engraving on most peoples' brains. However, this film's quality is also on par, laden with symbolism underlying each character that embodies the seven deadly sins. Watch here.
This dark crime movie reminds us at thrillerfix.com of Se7en so much that we had to put it on our seven deadly sins mysteries to watch. This story shows human civilization's dark, low-frequency, very worst side. The crime portrayed is so gruesome that the detective investigating it eventually broke down after
witnessing the massive amount of bloodshed while searching for the missing four-year-old girl. Essentially, they discover the horror-like toxicity the girl was growing up around, finally realizing the horrifying level of crumbling of morals in the modern world. Sounds familiar; however, the ending will knock you off your socks, reminding you a lot of that gut-wrenching feeling fueled by Se7en's finale. Watch here.
Most of you have heard about the Oscar-winning Korean thriller Parasite. However, many don't know about the excellent crime movie about the first Korean serial killer, which dealt with the chaos and corruption plaguing the police investigation. The story is quite disturbing and sometimes downright sadist,
which is too much even for the experienced detectives to witness. Memories of Murder is a grim story about the disturbed man and his brutal murders, intertwined with pitch-black humor and satire.
Bong Joon-Ho did a fantastic job with the movie's visuals; they truly bring the dark atmosphere to the masterpiece. The evil these detectives face is far worse than they could imagine, and living as a witness to it leaves a heavy stain on their conscience. Watch here.
The start of this crime thriller seems like many other thrillers out there. It's Thanksgiving, and two little girls went missing. Loki (Jake Gyllenhaal) is a detective looking for them. But another investigator is the girls' father, Keller (Hugh Jackman). The man is full of wrath, and decides to take on his own
gruesome search. As the movie unfolds, the story is packed with mythology, symbolism, philosophy, and horrible torture. In fact, the storyline includes vengeance, labyrinths, and snakes, all serving one goal - retaliation. The movie is triggering, saying the least, but the content, tone, and visuals make Prisoner one of the grittiest but visually exhilarating masterpieces. Watch here.
Greedy for being in the spotlight all the time, the sociopath played by Jake Gyllenhal uses bloodshed, shock, and paranoia to reach success. The man will do anything for a good shot; if no horrific news is available, he will create them.
Lou Bloom is genuinely a repulsive character to look at, but his cunning and
greedy nature will still leave a mark on your brain. This movie will satisfy your sin-packed thriller needs for those into cynicism and gore. Watch here.
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If You Want to LISTEN to the Seven Deadly Sins
Paranoia, brutal violence, ego-delusions, and greed are markers for a psychological suspense masterpiece in The First Deadly Sin. Ed Delaney is working to solve a horrific murder of Victor Mailand that shook the New York art scene, instigating paralyzing fear in the art world. The victim was well-known
and respected. However, Victor leads his life, destroying even his closest people. He suffered a horrific consequence for his greed - a grueling but artistic death. Listen here.
We at thrillerfix.com are optimistic you will listen to this exhilarating thriller deep into the night. Clockwork Sherlock combines death, mystery, ambition, and modern-day tech power structures. The story unfolds as the famous detective follows the ex-soldier, Captain Jo Barnes, in investigating the death of tech giant
Robert Fairfield. Although it looks like an overdose, the fact that two women have much to gain from his death sparks their detective interests. The best thing about this audio seven deadly sins mystery is the page-turning action and Sherlock's and Barnes' unique partnership. Listen here.
This is one of the tensest audio thrillers you will ever come across. A creepy burglar comes into people's homes and steels only one item; a photo of their kid. Pretty disturbing, right? Well, after a woman dies after catching an unknown person in her home, two detectives go on a hunt to find the sinister night thief.
The best feature of this audio is the two storylines intertwining, with twists and turns to keep you at the edge of your seat until the very finale. Listen here.
Macbeth: A novel is an interestingly written historical thriller based on the famous tale by William Shakespeare. The story brings a surprising revision of the infamous couple - Macbeth and his wife, Skena. The couple lives in medieval Scotland, plagued by political drama and military. The kingdom is at stake, with
many threats coming from both within and the outside. This version of Macbeth is quite different, dealing with witchcraft, manipulation, and the everlasting human struggle to do what is right. Even though they don't always know what that is exactly. Listen here.
Spy thrillers fans, this one is definitely for you. Sometimes life pushes us to go through the dangerous and shocking discovery of our identity and character.
It's what happened to the CIA agent Kent Steele (38) on the run. He's trying to escape the bloodthirsty terrorists, the CIA, and his own mind, including the
women he keeps seeing there. There is a dangerous conspiracy unfolding, and with Kent as smart as he is, you won't know if he's "the wrong man" until the end. Listen here.
