What to read, watch, and listen to if you lovedThe Sinner
Derek Simonds · Series · 2017
If you loved The Sinner, start with Sinister (Scott Derrickson, 2012) — a film on the same thread. Below: 4 books, 4 films and 2 podcasts, each matched to The Sinner across media.
What hooked you in The Sinner was the way individual trauma unravels into a haunting, small-town mystery where the motives are as fractured as the suspects.
Books on the same thread
All the Beautiful Sinners
Stephen Graham Jones · Book · 2025
Explores: Biblical symbolism, Small-town secrets, Predator-prey psychology.
Like The Sinner, this novel masterfully explores the psychology of both the hunter and the hunted, grounding its dark serial killer narrative in the suffocating weight of small-town secrets.
Sharp Objects
Gillian Flynn · Book · 2018
Shares 3 threads with The Sinner: Small Town Secrets, Trauma, Psychological Thriller.
If the cycle of buried trauma and dysfunctional family dynamics in The Sinner kept you watching, this intense exploration of a reporter returning to her haunting hometown will resonate.
The Searcher
Tana French · Book · 2021
Explores: isolation, small-town insularity, redemption.
This story mirrors the isolated, outsider perspective of The Sinner, focusing on how a quiet, insular community hides deep-seated moral ambiguity behind a facade of rural simplicity.
Pieces of Her
Karin Slaughter · Book
Shares 2 threads with The Sinner: identity crisis, psychological thriller.
Much like the identity crises found in The Sinner, this narrative centers on the sudden realization that a loved one’s past is a mystery waiting to be violently unearthed.
Films on the same thread
Se7en
David Fincher · Film · 1995
Shares a thread with The Sinner: Psychological Thriller.
The Sinner shares this film’s focus on the obsessive, psychological toll that pursuing a dark, enigmatic killer takes on a detective struggling with his own moral decay.
Sinister
Scott Derrickson · Film · 2012
Explores: True Crime Obsession, Family Annihilation, Supernatural Evil.
This film captures the same sense of desperate, true-crime obsession that defines the investigations in The Sinner, where the pursuit of truth threatens to destroy the investigator’s life.
Zodiac
David Fincher · Film · 2007
Explores: Obsession, True Crime, Unsolved Mysteries.
If you appreciated how The Sinner portrayed the slow, grinding psychological weight of a cold case, you will find this methodical study of obsession and paranoia equally compelling.
Affliction
Film · 1998
Shares a thread with The Sinner: Psychological Thriller.
This character study mirrors the mental disintegration of the protagonists in The Sinner, showcasing how small-town corruption and generational trauma can lead to an inevitable, tragic unraveling.
Podcasts on the same thread
Criminal
Vox Media Podcast Network · Podcast · 2026
Shares a thread with The Sinner: moral ambiguity.
This podcast digs into the same moral gray areas as The Sinner, focusing on the complex human behavior of people caught between being wrong and being wronged.
Serial
Serial Productions & The New York Times · Podcast · 2026
Explores: Justice system flaws, Legal ambiguity, Deep-dive reporting.
This investigative approach echoes the legal and moral ambiguity found in The Sinner, proving that the most gripping stories lie in the fallibility of our justice system.
Keep exploring
Common questions
Is The Sinner a single story or an anthology series?
The Sinner is an anthology series created by Derek Simonds that premiered in 2017. Each season follows the same detective as he investigates a new, perplexing crime in a different small town while continuing to grapple with his own personal demons.
What is the premise of The Sinner?
The Sinner follows a haunted detective working in a small New York town. He is tasked with hunting for answers regarding perplexing crimes while simultaneously wrestling with his own internal demons throughout the course of his investigations.
Who created The Sinner?
The Sinner was created by Derek Simonds. The television series debuted in 2017 and features a detective who investigates complex crimes in a small New York town while facing his own personal struggles.
How does the detective in The Sinner approach his cases?
In The Sinner, the detective approaches his cases by hunting for answers behind perplexing crimes. He performs this work in a small New York town setting while he is also occupied with wrestling against his own demons.