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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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One Clear Call
One Clear Call
by Upton Sinclair
Archie Meets Nero Wolfe
Archie Meets Nero Wolfe
by Robert Goldsborough
Odds On
Odds On
by Michael Crichton, John Lange
Now We Shall Be Entirely Free
Now We Shall Be Entirely Free
by Andrew Miller
Black Out
Black Out
by John Lawton
Twenty Blue Devils
Twenty Blue Devils
by Aaron Elkins
Fellowship of Fear
Fellowship of Fear
by Aaron Elkins
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A Noble Radiance
A Noble Radiance
by Donna Leon
Exo
Exo
by Fonda Lee
Black Amber
Black Amber
by Phyllis A. Whitney
Make Room! Make Room!
Make Room! Make Room!
by Harry Harrison
The Lords of Discipline
The Lords of Discipline
by Pat Conroy
Brighton Rock
Brighton Rock
by Graham Greene
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The Veiled One
The Veiled One
by Ruth Rendell
What the Dead Know
What the Dead Know
by Laura Lippman
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The Outside Man
The Outside Man
by Richard North Patterson
Happy Mutant Baby Pills
Happy Mutant Baby Pills
by Jerry Stahl
The Neighborhood
The Neighborhood
by Mario Vargas Llosa, Edith Grossman
A Cry from the Dust
A Cry from the Dust
by Carrie Stuart Parks
One Step Too Far
One Step Too Far
by Tina Seskis
The Tremor of Forgery
The Tremor of Forgery
by Patricia Highsmith, Francine Prose
South California Purples
South California Purples
by Baron Birtcher
The Good German
The Good German
by Joseph Kanon
A Sense of Guilt
A Sense of Guilt
by Andrea Newman
The Taxidermist's Daughter
The Taxidermist's Daughter
by Kate Mosse
Mr. Timothy
Mr. Timothy
by Louis Bayard
Vendetta
Vendetta
by Jackie Collins
The Girlfriend
The Girlfriend
by Michelle Frances
Because You're Mine
Because You're Mine
by Rea Frey
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The Glass Flame
The Glass Flame
by Phyllis A. Whitney
How the Dead Speak
How the Dead Speak
by Val McDermid
The Wolf's Hour
The Wolf's Hour
by Robert McCammon
Bad Moon Rising
Bad Moon Rising
by Jonathan Maberry
Murder in the White House
Murder in the White House
by Margaret Truman
World's End
World's End
by Upton Sinclair
One for Our Baby
One for Our Baby
by John Sandrolini
Three Novels
Three Novels
by Katherine Neville
The Pot Thief Who Studied Edward Abbey
The Pot Thief Who Studied Edward Abbey
by J. Michael Orenduff
The Disappearance
The Disappearance
by J. F. Freedman
The Corn Maiden
The Corn Maiden
by Joyce Carol Oates
Hard Target
Hard Target
by Alan Jacobson
The Lost Codex
The Lost Codex
by Alan Jacobson
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The Crossword Murder
The Crossword Murder
by Nero Blanc
A Stranger in the Kingdom
A Stranger in the Kingdom
by Howard Frank Mosher
The Twisted Window
The Twisted Window
by Lois Duncan
Acts of Nature
Acts of Nature
by Jonathon King
Death Sentence
Death Sentence
by Brian Garfield
Snake Skin
Snake Skin
by CJ Lyons
Murder in E Minor
Murder in E Minor
by Robert Goldsborough
The Tenth Commandment
The Tenth Commandment
by Lawrence Sanders
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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.