Ten books about revenge

Revenge is a dish best served cold... or cold-blooded. Melanie Raabe, author of The Trap, selects her ten favourite revenge books.

Revenge is a dish best served cold... or cold-blooded. Melanie Raabe, author of The Trap, selects her ten favourite revenge books.

Woman of the Dead

by Bernhard Aichner

Book cover for Woman of the Dead

The heroine of this gorgeous book is a beautiful undertaker named Blum. When Blum's husband is killed, she seeks murderous revenge. Woman of the Dead by Austrian author Bernhard Aichner is a rollercoaster ride, incredibly fast and thrilling - and absolutely irrestistible.

The Count of Monte Cristo

by Alexandre Dumas

Book cover for The Count of Monte Cristo

I loved to read Alexandre Dumas when I was a child. I wanted to be a Musketeer so badly! Dumas' The Count of Monte Cristo might just be the father of all revenge stories. Adventure, suspense, noble characters and despicable villains – I love this book.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

by Stieg Larsson

Book cover for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Everybody loves Stieg Larsson's protagonist Lisbeth Salander. And so do I! The whole trilogy is simply amazing, but in my opinion, the first of the three books is still the best. It is a very rich novel with a lot of different aspects to it, revenge being just one of them.

Carrie

by Stephen King

Book cover for Carrie

A bullied teenager seeks vengeance. I love Stephen King, and I adore this classic book from 1974.

Gone Girl

by Gillian Flynn

Book cover for Gone Girl

Flynn's smash hit Gone Girl is so many things: an amazing thriller, a story about the American midwest, a tale about lost love – and it is a chilling, unique story about revenge.

The Shadow of the Wind

by Carlos Ruiz Zafón

Book cover for The Shadow of the Wind

A magical story about love, loss, books and revenge, set in the unique atmosphere of Barcelona.

Rebecca

by Daphne du Maurier

Book cover for Rebecca

A manipulative woman seeks revenge in the most clever and subtle way. Haunting.

The Ghost Riders of Ordebec

by Fred Vargas

Book cover for The Ghost Riders of Ordebec

French novelist Fred Vargas is one of my favourite crime writers. I love her strange, vivid characters and her clever plots. This one is an especially cunning tale.

The Revenant

by Michael Punke

Book cover for The Revenant

A man is betrayed and left for dead in the wilderness. He survives against all odds. And he is not the forgiving type.

Murder on the Orient Express

by Agatha Christie

Book cover for Murder on the Orient Express

I can not put together a list of revenge stories and leave out this clever classic!