What is a thriller? Something that thrills. Okay, for a more useful definition, it is a book, movie, or play that has suspense, tension, excitement, and high levels of anticipation.
The plot is often about crime, mystery, or espionage, and the protagonist’s life is generally in danger throughout the book.
Even with this more specific idea of what a thriller is, we can see overlap with a few other genres, like mystery and horror
One of the general differences that helps determine the genre is that mystery and horror often have a slower build, while thrillers start strong with the high tension and conflict, and just keep going until the climax of the story
Best Thriller Novels of Each Decade
Determining the best thriller novel of the decades can be tricky. And for more than one reason. The first issue is determining when the genre was created.
There is some discussion about novels that would be considered thrillers in the 1800s, such as The Spy and The Count of Monte Cristo. (I did include a few 1800s thrillers in the other sections.)
To avoid this issue, let’s just take a look at the more modern versions, starting in 1900. Not that it will help much. You may consider some of these titles mystery or horror. There is a lot of overlap.
One thing you might also notice, is that thrillers, at least popular ones, tend to fall more into series than you might think. To create a larger pool, once a series is on the list, I won’t put it into a following decade. Just know, they continued to be popular.
[1902] The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle
Sherlock’s many adventures are crime thrillers, where the detective needs to solve the case before more people die or something terrible happens.
[1913] The Mystery of Dr. Fu-Manchu by Sax Rohmer
Less well-known is the Dr. Fu Manchu series. They made some black and white short movies based on the characters that were quite fun for the time period.
[1925] The House Without a Key by Earl Derr Biggers
This is the first of the Charlie Chan series, which was also turned into an entertaining black and white series. Books have been adapted to the screen since the early 20th century.
[1937] Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie
I know you’ve heard of the queen of mystery. She liked to take the expectations of the genre and change one thing. True to form, each of the characters acts suspiciously and has their own agenda. It was recently made into a movie in 2022.
[1946] Dark Passage by David Goodis
This story highlights one of the first non-detective crime thrillers. Vince was convicted of the murder of his wife and escaped prison to find the real killer. Much of the novel takes place in Vince’s head in deep point of view.
[1951] Strangers on a Train by Patricia Highsmith
Most murders, to this day, are crimes of passion or about money and power committed by a person close to the victim. Motive is one of those things that the police look for. In this story, both the characters try to avoid that link by having a very incriminating conversation with a stranger on a train.
[1964] You Only Live Twice by Ian Fleming
This is the twelfth James Bond book and the first spy thriller entry on the list. Needless to say, all of the James Bond books are worth a read and were genre changing. It was difficult to only slip one in with so many other great thrillers.
[1974] Jaws by Peter Benchley
You might claim that this one leans more towards horror due to the movie released based on the novel. However, consider that the main character is the chief of police and they are trying to stop the killer before there are more deaths. Police Chief Brody’s life is on the line for most of the story as he personally hunts down the shark.
Also, you can’t get much more successful than remaining on the bestseller list for 44 weeks in a row.
[1980] The Bourne Identity by Robert Ludlum
Another great spy thriller but with the twist of the spy not knowing what he should know. It is the first in a series, and it was made into the popular 2000s movie franchise.
[1990] Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton
I was so sad that this was the first spot I could fit in a Michael Crichton book! He is under the great thriller author heading later down, so suffice to say his books are great. Everyone has heard of Jurassic Park thanks to the movies, but most of his books are stand alone and not part of a series. So, you get a new thrilling world every time.
[2003] The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown
Angels and Demons was actually the first book in the Robert Langdon series, but most people, including myself, were introduced with this fast-paced novel about secrets. I love how history and the present collide in this explosive story.
[2012] Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
A more recent entry into the world of thrillers, is Gillian Flynn. This and Sharp Edges are in my TBR pile.
The main character is an unreliable narrator, and the story makes a twist the reader never expects before reaching a surprise conclusion. Her books are at the top of all the ‘best of’ lists.
[2022] The Housemaid by Freida McFaddon
Another new entry that’s in my TBR list. A book full of secrets that people are willing to kill to keep. A family that seems perfect, but isn’t.
Making this list was so hard. I had to leave out personal favorites and make decisions based on awards, how well known a book is, and what it has done for the writing world. There is a nice mix of thrillers that lean towards crime, mystery, and horror.
Honestly, I have not personally read some of the books on this list, but a few of them are on my desk shelf to be read eventually—when I have time.
Best Psychological Thriller Books
This section is much easier because I don’t have to pick only one!
A psychological thriller is when the story plumbs the depths of the dark side of the human mind. Much of the tension is internal and comes from knowing the thoughts and motivations of the characters.
They are often told by an unreliable narrator, leaving the reader to question what is true and what is real. Both protagonists and antagonists are driven by obsession, paranoia, madness, and more. This leads to very dark tones, often with non-linear storytelling and plot twists.
Psychological thrillers tend to make the reader question their own sanity and morality.
[2019] The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides
It starts off like any criminal thriller with a woman who kills her husband. The twist that makes it psychological is that she won’t talk—about anything—and now a criminal psychotherapist is determined to get her to talk. But why is it so important to him that he be the one to get her to talk, and what will she say?
[2021] The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins
An alcoholic unreliable narrator observes people on the train and becomes involved in a missing person’s case. But what does she really know, and why does she get involved in the first place?
[1959] The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson
The Haunting of Hill House is a personal favorite and the Vincent Price movie version is superb. This psychological thriller leans toward the horror as Elanor can’t decide if the house is haunted or not. Things can be explained away, or can they?
[2020] Home Before Dark by Riley Sager
Home Before Dark is a more modern haunted house story. Maggie’s father wrote a book based on their family’s experiences of living in a haunted house. Maggie was too young to remember, and after her father dies and leaves her that same house in his will, she decides to renovate it and figure out if the stories of death and hauntings were true or something her father made up to sell a book.
[1988] Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris
Another of my favorite books, Silence of the Lambs is both a psychological and detective thriller with hints of horror. The reader gets to see inside the minds of two different serial killers. And a strong FBI agent is allowed to show her vulnerability while still overcoming evil and saving lives.
[2003] Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane
A beautifully done psychological thriller where a US Marshal and his assistant are investigating the disappearance of a patient from a hospital for the criminally insane.
This 1950s period piece also includes a terrible hurricane that complicates matters, as do the rumors that there is illegal experimentation occurring on the island.
[1962] We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson
This psychological thriller revolves around keeping family secrets. The remaining family members isolate themselves from society after a tragedy that killed the rest of their family. A cousin comes to visit with secrets of his own and an agenda. With the addition of a bit of magic, this is an interesting foray into the unknown.
[1898] The Turn of the Screw by Henry James
The Turn of the Screw is about a haunted house with a governess trying to protect her two charges, but things aren’t what they seem.
Best Mystery Thriller Books
Mystery and crime thrillers focus on solving a missing person’s case, mysterious disappearances, or unsolved deaths. The protagonist is often someone with a police or law background, but not always, and their life is always in danger.
The constant peril is what keeps these thrillers from being put down. The reader wonders if the protagonist will solve the crime and bring justice to the perpetrators before their time runs out.
[1860] Woman in White by Wilkie Collins
A mysterious woman in white is whisked away in the night and the characters must discover what is going on inside the manor. Walter, an art teacher in Victorian London, discovers that the woman he helped had escaped from an asylum. And what does it have to do with his new position in the Limmerage household?
[2020] The Guest List by Lucy Foley
A destination wedding to a small Irish island sounds like the start of a great isolated thriller. And sure enough, a storm hits, causing a blackout.When the lights come back on, a dead body is discovered. It turns out all the guests have motives, and everyone is hiding something.
[1974] Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy by John le Carré
A spy novel about double agents. It is set during the Cold War Era in England, and George needs to uncover a Soviet mole before the destruction of England’s spy network, the Circus.
[2005] The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
Blomvkist is in trouble legally and financially and is offered a job that will give him everything he needs to solve his problems. As long as he can discover what happened to a girl who disappeared 40 years ago.
[1994] The Alienist by Caleb Carr
Future president Theodore Roosevelt is the police commissioner of New York City in the late 19th century. He and his team use new scientific methods, such as fingerprinting and psychology, to solve horrific murders.
[2020] Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
The story is about an amateur sleuth trying to solve a family mystery in an unfamiliar country, and it has haunted house vibes. Noemi’s newly married cousin thinks her husband is trying to kill her, and she and asks for help. As Noemi uncovers more about the family, she wonders if the new husband is the only danger to her cousin.
[1938] Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
What happened to the previous Lady de Winter? And why does she still seem to have a hold on the manor and all the people who live there? The new Lady de Winter needs to discover the answers to these questions before she joins Rebecca in the cemetery.
[2021] The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave
Her husband disappears, leaving behind a sixteen-year-old stepdaughter and instructions to protect her. Which seems strange until the FBI shows up asking questions.
[2021] A Slow Fire Burning by Paula Hawkins
The police are trying to solve the murder of a man on a houseboat and the three suspects are the women who were all closest to him. Everyone is dealing with their own traumas, but what secrets are they hiding?
[1929] The Patient in Room 18 by Mignon G. Eberhart
A nurse turned amateur sleuth tries to discover who is stealing the radium and why patients in room 18 of the picturesque small hospital where she works keep dying.
[1988] The Long Goodbye by Raymond Chandler
A hard-boiled detective tries to discover the truth from the lies as bodies pile up in this mystery. Trauma from the past, friendships, and family are all up for grabs as the investigation deepens.
[1991] Faceless Killers by Henning Mankell
The first book in the Kurt Wallander series was originally written in Swedish and was later translated to English. An elderly farmer and his wife are killed, leaving only a foreign word as a clue that might provoke anti-immigration sentiments.
[2019] My Sister the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite
The main character helps her sister dispose of men she had to kill in self-defense. But as boyfriend after boyfriend join the pile, the reader begins to wonder why she is still helping her serial killer sister.
Best Suspense Books
The genre of suspense is often defined by knowledge gaps. What this means is that the reader knows more than the characters in the book. The author often does this with either multiple points of view or an omniscient narrator.
Other aspects that set apart suspense novels are time jumps or starting in the middle of the action, then going back to explain how everything started. There are often unexpected twists and turns that surprise the characters and sometimes the reader, too.
[2018] Baby Teeth: A Novel by Zoje Stage
This novel explores what might happen if a little girl had a strong enough Electra complex that she wants to kill her mother. Reader reviews are strongly in the love it or hate it camp.
[2014] Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty
This wildly popular books is about three different women at different places in their lives and the little lies they tell that turn lethal.
[2014] Bird Box by Josh Malerman
A little horror, a little dystopian, all suspense. Something is out there, and if you see it, you go insane. Few survivors are left in this world. After years of hiding in the dark, a woman takes her children on a river journey to escape, but they must stay blindfolded to survive.
[2013] The Dinner by Herman Koch
This book was translated from its original Dutch. Over dinner at a fashionable restaurant, two brothers and their families must discuss what horrible thing their sons have done and what they are willing to do to protect them.
[2017] A Simple Favor: A Novel by Darcey Bell
A mom blogger investigates the disappearance of her best friend. But is she a reliable narrator, and does she have secrets too?
[2007] In the Woods by Tana French
The first book in a series about two Dublin police detectives. In this book, they are investigating the murder of a twelve-year-old girl that has similarities to an unsolved mystery in one of the detective’s past.
[2018] The Wife Between Us by Greer Hendricks
A dangerous love triangle and the promise of assumptions and twists. This is another book that falls into the love it or hate it category.
[2018] The Woman in the Window by A. J Finn
Anna is a compulsive neighbor watcher and sees something she shouldn’t one night. She gets caught up in secrets, lies, and the dangerous truth. This is a modern retelling of Rear Window but with its own twists.
[2014] You by Caroline Kepnes
A story about stalking and manipulation with a twist. Things aren’t always what they seem, and when we get to know someone over dates and later as a significant other, we can’t ever really know if they are telling us the truth.
[2024] Somebody Knows by Pamela Ungashick
Another story about a mother and daughter, but this time it is the mother who harbors deadly thoughts. When parents become psychologically reliant on their children, no one wins.
Best Thriller Authors
Perhaps you have noticed some top names missing from the other sections. In order to give some space to some newer writers and great books that may stand alone, I kept the names of the writers who have multiple amazing titles to their name here for you to discover all of their delicious works.
The Queen of Mystery and thrillers, Agatha Christie. She and I share a birthday, just a few years apart. She wrote over 66 novels with And Then There Were None as the highest selling book of all time. Her two best-known detective series are Poirot and Miss Marple.
Lee Child is also known as the author of the Jack Reacher series, which is 29 books long now. He named his character after helping a little old lady reach something on a high shelf in the grocery store.
Dean Koontz has written around 100 books with a few different series sprinkled in among the standalones. He is considered one of the best thriller writers of all time.
Mary Stone has written 53 books. All of them are part of one of her ten series. Her focus is on strong heroines.
Michael Crichton has a M.D. from Harvard medical school, but he chose to use his knowledge for writing stories about biotechnology rather than practice as a doctor. He wrote 26 novels plus some screenplays for film and tv.
Mary Higgins Clark wrote more than 51 novels, some of them in series. A life filled with both love and loss, along with the practice of writing for radio shows and short stories, helped her on the path to become a successful thriller writer.
John Grisham was a lawyer who channeled his knowledge into writing thrillers, including a series of legal thrillers for children. Most of his stories are standalones though several take place in the same fictional town.
Janet Evanovich has written in a few genres. Out of her thriller series, Stephanie Plum is the most famous. She also likes sliced green olives on her peanut butter sandwiches.
James Patterson has also branched out into multiple genres. Most of his thrillers are standalones, though his character Alex Cross now has 30 books. That number seems high until you realize he has more than 350 published works. You’re welcome.
David Baldacci is another lawyer turned legal thriller author. He’s written over 40 novels, many of them in short series.
Rachel Caine has managed to write in almost every genre. But for a thrill, check out her Stillhouse Lake series.
Stephen King is obviously known for his horror, but some of his novels lean more into the suspense and thriller aspects. Try out his Bill Hodges series, 11/22/63, Billy Summers, or Joyland.
Allison Brennan believes in good and evil with a lot of blending. With over 40 works in several series, there is a lot to sample. But her Lucy Kinkaid books are the most popular.
Angela Marsons writes the DI Kim Stone crime series.
Blake Pierce is a name shrouded in mystery itself. No one is sure if it is a single author, a team, or a bunch of ghostwriters. However, they write several popular series, Riley Page, Mackenzie White, Avery Black, Keri Locke, and more.
Gillian Flynn only has a few books under her belt, but they are all winners. She even has an endorsement from Stephen King. I’m looking forward to adding her books to my collection.
Tom Clancy, known for his Jack Ryan novels, delved into the world of military thriller. Most of them take place during the Cold War and show an interesting insight into values and beliefs of the time.
Patricia Daniels Cornwell was the child of a lawyer. She worked as an investigative journalist and in a medical examiner’s office, giving her plenty of material for her Kay Scarpetta novels. As a lover of forensic science, I found these novels many years ago and devoured them. It is said they had a hand in the development of certain popular forensic shows.
Thriller Authors and Fictionary
Here are three of the many authors who have presented to our wonderful Fictionary community.
Peter James is the author of the Detective Superintendent Roy Grace series. He’s written over 44 novels after years of successful film production.
Graham Bartlett, a retired police chief superintendent, turned his hand to writing after helping author Peter James with the police realism. He has just released the third book in his solo journey to writing.
AR Torre is romance author, Alessandra Torre’s alter ego, who writes dark thrillers. She has nine of them, with three in the Deanna Madden series.
Again, I haven’t read all of these, and I’m sure you have your own favorites. I’m adding some I discovered during my research to my TBR list and I would love it if you would share your own favorites in the comments. The more, the better. I hope your next read gives you a thrill!
