Particularly one that includes one or more psychopaths, please I'm writing a thriller/horror, whatever it winds up being classified as, and I really want to figure out how to do tension well, especially when the bad guy is a psychopath that the MC finds themselves alone with.
Intensity by Dean Kootz. He's good with suspense. He can build and build the scene and leave you ( as the mc ) trapped under a bed as a serial killer stalks the house and then digress and really draw it out. He guilds the lily occasionally but I found Intensity to be his best work. For horror - Richard Laymon. He does suspense well but he can be kinda gory so he's not for everyone. Joy Fielding. She has good suspense in her novels one I think, I can't remember the title, was about a young woman dragged along on a road trip with a psychopath.