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The Best Thriller Books for Chill-Chasing Readers

Thriller books are characterized by the suspense, excitement, and anxiety they elicit in their readers. Good thrillers books are action packed and full of twists and turns to keep readers on the edge of their seats. The stakes are always high and the characters are usually determined to complete a mission or goal before time runs out, whether due to an actual countdown ending or just increasing danger. 

There are many subgenres under the thriller umbrella, including domestic thrillersscience fiction thrillers, and legal thrillers. Sometimes thrillers also contain mysterious elements to form the subgenre of mystery thriller books. Across the genre, the best thriller books feature a palpable sense of urgency, as characters race against the clock.

From tales of political spies trying to shut down conspiracies, to books about husbands attempting to outwit murderous wives, the thriller genre covers a range of topics so you can pick one up, no matter your interests. 

These are our best thriller book recommendations to get your heart racing.

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All the Beautiful Sinners
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A Season in Hell
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by Hannah Kent
Black Water
Black Water
by Louise Doughty
And After the Fire
And After the Fire
by Lauren Belfer
The Hangman's Song
The Hangman's Song
by James Oswald
Almost
Almost
by Elizabeth Benedict
Mr. Timothy
Mr. Timothy
by Louis Bayard
Deadly Embrace
Deadly Embrace
by Jackie Collins
The Mistake I Made
The Mistake I Made
by Paula Daly
The Wrong Kind of Money
The Wrong Kind of Money
by Stephen Birmingham
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The Ghosts of the Eighth Attack
The Ghosts of the Eighth Attack
by David Beaty
Consumed
Consumed
by David Cronenberg
The Innocent Wife
The Innocent Wife
by Amy Lloyd
Disturbed
Disturbed
by Kevin O'Brien
The Castle of Otranto
The Castle of Otranto
by Horace Walpole
The Good Doctor
The Good Doctor
by Damon Galgut
The Familiars
The Familiars
by Stacey Halls
Here Lies Alice
Here Lies Alice
by J.A. Baker
Keep Your Friends Close
Keep Your Friends Close
by Paula Daly
Skeleton Dance
Skeleton Dance
by Aaron Elkins
The Diehard
The Diehard
by Jon A. Jackson
Dead Embers
Dead Embers
by Matt Brolly
Tailspin
Tailspin
by Elizabeth Goddard
Eleven
Eleven
by Patricia Highsmith, Graham Greene
Asking for the Moon
Asking for the Moon
by Reginald Hill
Blue Fire
Blue Fire
by Phyllis A. Whitney
The Fallen
The Fallen
by Jassy Mackenzie
The Sequel
The Sequel
by R. L. Stine
The Optician's Wife
The Optician's Wife
by Betsy Reavley
Caper
Caper
by Lawrence Sanders
John Woman
John Woman
by Walter Mosley
Cardiff, by the Sea
Cardiff, by the Sea
by Joyce Carol Oates
A Perfect Wife and Mother
A Perfect Wife and Mother
by Peter Israel
We'll Never Be Apart
We'll Never Be Apart
by Emiko Jean
The House of Stairs
The House of Stairs
by Ruth Rendell
Hard Target
Hard Target
by Alan Jacobson
The Hanging Judge
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by Michael Ponsor
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A thriller book is a book that keeps readers on the edge of their seats with action, excitement, and urgency, with a high stakes premise and a protagonist on a mission.

A book is usually classified as a thriller when it has an action packed plot that follows a hero in a race against time and evokes feelings of anxiety and excitement as it builds towards a climax.

While books can fall under both horror and thriller categories, the two genres differ in that horror books are meant to be scary and, well, horrifying, whereas thriller books are not necessarily fearsome but more exciting and suspenseful.