7 Compulsively Readable Novels of Obsession

Updated on April 17, 2016 at 1:30 PM

Proceed with caution! Once you pick up these books, you won't be able to put them down. Here's a list of seven obsessive reads, from our friends at Off the Shelf, a daily blog that connects great books with great readers.

It's hard to look away from stories that teeter on the edge and then finally devolve into complete obsession. As readers we must learn to never underestimate the power of a character determined beyond reason. Cut-throat and wildly unpredictable, these literary stars are sure to hook readers deep into their throes of their delusional escapades.

The Woman Upstairs by Claire Messud

In The Woman Upstairs, Nora Eldridge is a reliable, but unremarkable, friend and neighbor, always on the fringe of other people's achievements. But the arrival of the Shahid family draws her into a complex and exciting new world until a shattering betrayal occurs.

The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

An emotionally immersive, Hitchcockian mystery, The Girl on the Train will forever change the way you look at other people's lives. Every day on her commuter train, Rachel watches the same couple breakfasting on their deck. When she sees something shocking and tells the police, she becomes inextricably entwined in the lives of everyone involved.

Misery by Stephen King

In this early Stephen King novel, bestselling novelist Paul Sheldon has finally met his biggest fan. But now she is also his captor, keeping him prisoner in her isolated house. Annie wants Paul to write his greatest work — just for her. She has a lot of ways to spur him on. One is a needle. Another is an ax. And if they don't work, she can get really nasty.

Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov

Awe and exhilaration — along with heartbreak and mordant wit — abound in Lolita, Nabokov's most famous and controversial novel. This is the story of the aging Humbert's fixated, devouring, and doomed passion for the teenaged Dolores Haze.

Fates and Furies by Lauren Groff

Every story has two sides. Every relationship has two perspectives. And sometimes, it turns out, the key to a great marriage is not its truths but its secrets. At the core of this rich, expansive, layered novel, Lauren Groff's Fates and Furies presents the story of one such marriage over the course of 24 years.

Perfume by Patrick Suskind

An acclaimed bestseller and international sensation, Patrick Suskind's classic novel Perfume provokes a terrifying examination of what happens when one man's indulgence in his greatest passion — his sense of smell — leads to murder.

What Was She Thinking?: Notes on a Scandal by Zoë Heller

In What Was She Thinking?, schoolteacher Barbara Covett has led a solitary life until Sheba Hart, the new art teacher at St. George's, befriends her. But even as their relationship develops, so too does another: Sheba has begun an illicit affair with an underage male student.

Here are more great book recommendations from our friends at Off the Shelf: