Red Flag Reads: Books with a “Patient Zero” Vibe
Taylor Swift’s chilling new release, “Patient Zero,” was reportedly inspired by a conversation with friends. A friend who was contacted by her ex-boyfriend’s new girlfriend debated on whether to share details of her previous relationship. This exchange became the engine for a song with about one woman’s haunting warning to her successor. But bookish people will likely recognize Swift’s other source of inspiration: Rebecca, by Daphne Du Maurier.
Swift has often mentioned how much she adores Du Maurier’s gothic thriller, and the “Patient Zero” video offers a luxurious (yet claustrophobic) atmosphere with Rebecca undertones. If Swift was trying to conjure a modern spin on Rebecca’s spiraling toxicity, she nailed it.
But Rebecca doesn’t stand entirely alone on the bookshelf.
For Swifties who are intrigued enough by the song’s obsessive relationship dynamic to read Rebecca, I’d encourage you to do so. Immediately, if possible. However, a few other books crackle with a similar blend of infatuation, control, power, and darkness. Read on to discover your next favorite Red Flag Reads: books filled with dark relational details best left to fiction.
(As an aside, each of these books loves a plot twist, and I’m not one for spoiler alerts! I’ll keep these introductions short and sweet, as they’re designed to whet your appetite rather than to tell another author’s story. I hope you’ll check them out for yourself soon.)
Rebecca begins with longing, as an anonymous narrator misses her husband’s estate, Manderley. She ultimately becomes the second Mrs. de Winter and, after a brief courtship, settles with him in his estate in Cornwall. The narrator worries that he regrets marrying her, as she believes he might still be in love with his late wife, Rebecca. Mrs. Danvers, the housekeeper, is like a dog with a bone, piling onto her sense of insecurity.
As the presence of Rebecca lingers in the estate and the mysterious circumstances surrounding her death begin to unravel, Rebecca’s characters come undone in the echoes of her story. Rebecca might be dead, but they keep her vividly alive until the novel’s end.
But what about a book that preceded Rebecca?
Maybe that’s the ultimate “Patient Zero.”
While Du Maurier claimed she wasn’t directly inspired Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre, she was a Brontë fan for life. And as a gothic novel with a similarly haunting first love, Jane Eyre also portrays a problematic male character attempting a second act.
Like Rebecca, Jane Eyre takes place on a country estate, Thornfield Hall. Jane Eyre also involves an older man starting over with a younger woman, even though his mysterious wife’s presence remains in his home.
Because Jane meets Rochester in her capacity as governess, Jane Eyre presents with a power imbalance. Rochester’s wealth, age, and role as her employer give him the upper hand. But his wife’s story becomes his greatest vulnerability.
Come for the high emotion permeating this isolated estate on the windswept moor; stay for the messy, ethical quandaries saddling every relationship in this sweeping story.
If you prefer to read a modern psychological thriller, Freida McFadden’s The Housemaid delivers! When Millie becomes a live-in maid for a wealthy family, she hopes to leave her difficult past behind.
Millie is immediately targeted by Nina Winchester, the extremely critical wife and mother. Over time, she learns of Nina’s mental health challenges and frequent stays at psychiatric hospitals. Despite warnings from the gardener, she develops a relationship with the husband, Andrew.
However, all is not as it seems to be. New details force Millie to assess Nina with fresh eyes, and she comes to see Andrew’s depiction of Nina through a clear lens of abuse and control. Though The Housemaid begins with a familiar power imbalance, Millie comes to realize her own power as the truth of the Winchester family comes to light.
The Housemaid was recently released as a film in 2025, but I strongly urge you (per usual) to give the book a whirl first.
While Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia is historical fiction, Moreno-Garcia’s take on the gothic novel feels decidedly modern.
Against the backdrop of Mexico City in the 1950s, socialite Noemí Taboada is shaken from her glamourous lifestyle by a letter from her cousin. Her cousin, Catalina, asks for her help and alleges her husband, Virgil Doyle, plans to poison her. Noemí ‘s father sends her to Doyle’s isolated mountain estate, High Place, to help her cousin.
Immediately, High Place works a kind of spell on Noemí. As with many gothic novels, High Place becomes its own character. While she is kept apart from her cousin, Noemí hears strange noises in the home, sleepwalks, and struggles to hold on to reality.
Noemí also learns of the Doyle family’s toxic history., with trauma tethering generations. More insight into the family reveals the true lifeblood of High Place and its secretive inhabitants. Mexican Gothic’s story is both a suspenseful, psychologically charged story and an indictment of colonialism, as the Doyle family has triumphed over time due to its brazen exploitation of the land and locals.
Will Noemí help Catalina escape the looming threat of High Place? You’ll have to read Mexican Gothic to find out.
I hope you’ve enjoyed my suggestions! If you’ve heard the new “Patient Zero” song and immediately thought of a book I haven’t listed, I hope you’ll reach out and share its title.
