Women’s History Month is a time to celebrate the resilience, complexity, and power of women, but let’s not forget the ones who refuse to play nice. Literature has long been fascinated with the so-called unhinged woman: the ones who are messy, obsessive, rage-filled, or downright dangerous. These characters challenge societal expectations, reject politeness, and embrace their darkest impulses, sometimes with terrifying consequences.
Whether they’re driven by revenge, desire, madness, or simply the refusal to conform, these women make for some of the most unforgettable protagonists in fiction. So, if you’re in the mood for stories that dive deep into female fury, obsession, and chaos, here are some must-reads featuring women who gloriously unravel, burn it all down, and demand to be remembered.
When We Lost Our Heads by Heather O’Neill
In 19th-century Montreal, Marie Antoine, the charismatic daughter of the city’s wealthiest man, appears to have everything except a true friend. That changes when the sharp and cunning Sadie Arnett moves into the neighborhood. Drawn together by their intense personalities, the two form a magnetic yet volatile bond, indulging in games that blur the line between thrill and danger. When the adults in their lives forcibly separate them, their connection persists through years of alternating innocence and transgression. But when fate reunites them, the consequences shake the very foundation of the city.
Spanning from the rigid halls of a finishing school to the provocative world of a brothel, and from the harsh realities of factory labor to the extravagant lives of Montreal’s elite, When We Lost Our Heads is a mesmerizing exploration of gender, desire, class, and the destructive power of obsession.
A Certain Hunger by Chelsea G. Summers
Dorothy Daniels is a food critic who knows exactly what she wants. Sharp, meticulous, and undeniably brilliant, she has an unparalleled mastery of the culinary world—so much so that, on any given night, she could likely outcook the chefs she critiques. Her passion for food is matched only by her appetite for pleasure, and while long-term romance has eluded her, she fully indulges in the luxuries of her single life, traveling between Manhattan and Italy to satisfy both cravings.
But Dorothy isn’t like everyone else. There’s something inside her: something dark, something she’s long kept hidden. Now, she’s ready to embrace it. From an idyllic farm-to-table childhood to the pinnacle of her career, Dorothy’s story builds to a chilling climax—one that begins with an ice pick and a man’s neck on Fire Island. A Certain Hunger is a fearless, intoxicating portrait of a woman who stops at nothing to claim her power.
The Pisces by Melissa Broder
Lucy has spent nine years struggling to finish her dissertation on Sappho when her relationship implodes in spectacular fashion. After hitting rock bottom in Phoenix, she retreats to Los Angeles, where her sister insists she spend the summer dog-sitting in a sleek, glass-walled home on Venice Beach. But even in this idyllic setting, Lucy finds little escape from her spiraling anxiety not in the camaraderie of her love addiction therapy group, not in a string of Tinder flings, and not even in the unwavering affection of Dominic, the foxhound.
Everything shifts one night when Lucy encounters a mesmerizing swimmer while sitting alone on the beach. She is immediately drawn to him, their connection intoxicating and surreal. But as she learns the truth about who, or what, he really is, her understanding of love, desire, and reality itself takes an astonishing turn. The Pisces is a bold, darkly funny, and deeply erotic exploration of obsession, fantasy, and the search for meaning in a world that never quite satisfies.
Hysteria by Jessica Gross
In the midst of yet another alcohol-fueled, self-destructive night at her local bar, a young woman encounters a new bartender one who, unlike the others, actually knows how to make a proper drink. There’s something oddly familiar about him, and as she drowns in the shame of her latest reckless encounters including a tryst with her parents’ colleague and another with her roommate’s brother she becomes convinced that this Brooklyn bartender is none other than Sigmund Freud himself.
As their relationship unfolds, she is drawn into a series of raw, revealing, and often shocking encounters that force her to confront her past. With “Freud” as her unsettling guide, she begins to unravel the tangled roots of her desires, childhood, and deep-seated psychological patterns. Jessica Gross’s debut is a fearless, darkly funny, and incisive exploration of sex, shame, and self-discovery, unafraid to probe the deepest anxieties of modern life.
Big Swiss by Jen Beagin
Greta lives with her friend Sabine in a crumbling, bee-infested Dutch farmhouse in Hudson, New York. She spends her days transcribing therapy sessions for a self-styled sex coach named Om, but it’s his newest client a reserved, married woman Greta nicknames Big Swiss who truly captivates her.
When Greta unexpectedly recognizes Big Swiss’s voice in town, the two quickly become entangled in a passionate, intoxicating relationship. But while Big Swiss remains unaware that Greta has been privy to her most intimate confessions, Greta has never felt more alive or seen. As her obsession deepens, her guilt takes a backseat to desire, and she becomes willing to do whatever it takes to keep the illusion, and the romance, alive.
Acts of Desperation by Megan Nolan
In the gripping opening of this provocative novel, an unnamed narrator meets the charismatic writer Ciaran and despite her better judgment, she falls completely under his spell. Their brief, all-consuming romance ends abruptly when he rejects her, plunging her into a spiral of obsession, jealousy, and longing. If he ever returns, she vows to keep him no matter the cost, even if it means her own destruction.
Part raw confession, part sharp critique, Acts of Desperation captures a mind caught between rebellion and submission, between resisting degradation and romanticizing it, between the need to love and the desire to be loved. With unsettling precision and electric prose, Megan Nolan unflinchingly examines one of life’s deepest mysteries: Why do we want what we want and what happens when that desire consumes us?
Ripe by Sarah Rose Etter
A year into what was supposed to be her dream job at a ruthless Silicon Valley startup, Cassie finds herself trapped in a corporate nightmare. The grueling hours, toxic leadership, and unethical projects weigh on her, all while she struggles to reconcile the city’s stark contradictions where obscene wealth flourishes alongside staggering poverty. Ivy League elites debate snack options in sleek conference rooms overlooking unhoused people in the streets, while burnout and despair lead some to tragic ends.
But Cassie is never truly alone. Since childhood, a miniature black hole has followed her, feeding on her anxiety and depression, expanding and contracting with her distress. It watches, it waits, and as her world unravels, its pull grows stronger. When an unexpected pregnancy collides with her CEO’s increasingly illegal demands, Cassie must decide whether Silicon Valley’s seductive promises are worth the cost—or if it’s time to finally break free.
Kill for Love by Laura Picklesimer
Kill for Love is a razor-sharp satirical thriller that follows Tiffany, a privileged Los Angeles sorority girl with a dark secret she’s barely keeping her sadistic impulses and fiery nightmares under control. But when a frat party hookup turns deadly, something within her snaps. Suddenly, she’s consumed by an insatiable urge to kill attractive young men.
As her body count rises, Tiffany must navigate mounting legal suspicion, the chaos of social media-fueled copycat murders, and her growing relationship with Weston a guy who just might be too perfect. A female-driven, modern-day American Psycho, Kill for Love blends biting dark comedy with a relentlessly propulsive plot, exposing the toxic, plastic facade of contemporary culture.