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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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The Dying Hours
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by Mary McCarthy
Eleven
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Asking for the Moon
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by Reginald Hill
I Have the Right to Destroy Myself
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Carolina Skeletons
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by David Stout
The Far Arena
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by Richard Ben Sapir
A Noble Radiance
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The Lathe of Heaven
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by Ursula K. Le Guin
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The Yearbook
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by Peter Lerangis
The Gabinian Affair
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by Ray Gleason
All the Bells on Earth
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by James P. Blaylock
The Fallen
The Fallen
by Jassy Mackenzie
I, Anna
I, Anna
by Elsa Lewin
The Chosen
The Chosen
by Sharon Sala
Last Rites
Last Rites
by John Harvey
The Optician's Wife
The Optician's Wife
by Betsy Reavley
Lovesick
Lovesick
by James Driggers
The Wheelman
The Wheelman
by Duane Swierczynski
John Woman
John Woman
by Walter Mosley
Weekend Warriors
Weekend Warriors
by Fern Michaels
No Immunity
No Immunity
by Susan Dunlap
Wrapped Up in Crosswords
Wrapped Up in Crosswords
by Nero Blanc
The Man Within
The Man Within
by Graham Greene
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Moist
Moist
by Mark Haskell Smith
Come Closer
Come Closer
by Sara Gran
Mr. Moto Is So Sorry
Mr. Moto Is So Sorry
by John P. Marquand
A Circle of Wives
A Circle of Wives
by Alice LaPlante
The Two Faces of January
The Two Faces of January
by Patricia Highsmith
Loser Takes All
Loser Takes All
by Graham Greene
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The Wanting
The Wanting
by Campbell Armstrong
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House Justice
House Justice
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Foretold by Thunder
Foretold by Thunder
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Forsaking All Others
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by Jimmy Breslin
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The Friend
The Friend
by Joakim Zander
The Crossword Murder
The Crossword Murder
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A Stranger in the Kingdom
A Stranger in the Kingdom
by Howard Frank Mosher
As Long as We Both Shall Live
As Long as We Both Shall Live
by JoAnn Chaney
White Eagles Over Serbia
White Eagles Over Serbia
by Lawrence Durrell
The Tree of Hands
The Tree of Hands
by Ruth Rendell
A Case of Need
A Case of Need
by Michael Crichton
The OPSIG Team Black Series Books 1–3
The OPSIG Team Black Series Books 1–3
by Alan Jacobson
The Suspicion Series Volume One
The Suspicion Series Volume One
by Barbara Parker
Quest
Quest
by Richard Ben Sapir
Dragon's Teeth
Dragon's Teeth
by Upton Sinclair
Oil and Marble
Oil and Marble
by Stephanie Storey
Stinger
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by Robert McCammon
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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.