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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 Doll-Master
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by Joyce Carol Oates
House Arrest
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by Mike Lawson
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Live Flesh
Live Flesh
by Ruth Rendell
The Deeds of the Disturber
The Deeds of the Disturber
by Elizabeth Peters
Death in the Castle
Death in the Castle
by Pearl S. Buck
April Fools
April Fools
by Richie Tankersley Cusick
The 7th Victim
The 7th Victim
by Alan Jacobson
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Falling Angel
Falling Angel
by William Hjortsberg
The Eagle Has Landed
The Eagle Has Landed
by Jack Higgins
The Favorite Daughter
The Favorite Daughter
by Kaira Rouda
Pago Pago Tango
Pago Pago Tango
by John Enright
The Genesis Code
The Genesis Code
by Christopher Forrest
The Shepherd's Hut
The Shepherd's Hut
by Tim Winton
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Where the Dark Streets Go
Where the Dark Streets Go
by Dorothy Salisbury Davis
The Tremor of Forgery
The Tremor of Forgery
by Patricia Highsmith, Francine Prose
The Blinds
The Blinds
by Adam Sternbergh
Time and Time Again
Time and Time Again
by Ben Elton
Wolf in Man's Clothing
Wolf in Man's Clothing
by Mignon G. Eberhart
Now We Shall Be Entirely Free
Now We Shall Be Entirely Free
by Andrew Miller
The Taxidermist's Daughter
The Taxidermist's Daughter
by Kate Mosse
Death in the Andes
Death in the Andes
by Mario Vargas Llosa, Edith Grossman
Mr. Timothy
Mr. Timothy
by Louis Bayard
The Girlfriend
The Girlfriend
by Michelle Frances
No Simple Death
No Simple Death
by Valerie Keogh
Barbara Greer
Barbara Greer
by Stephen Birmingham
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The Sea Shall Not Have Them
The Sea Shall Not Have Them
by Max Hennessy
The Fall of the House of Usher
The Fall of the House of Usher
by Edgar Allan Poe
Going Wrong
Going Wrong
by Ruth Rendell
Trauma
Trauma
by CJ Lyons
The Wolf's Hour
The Wolf's Hour
by Robert McCammon
Bad Moon Rising
Bad Moon Rising
by Jonathan Maberry
The Case of the Lonely Heiress
The Case of the Lonely Heiress
by Erle Stanley Gardner
Mine
Mine
by Robert McCammon
An Awfully Big Adventure
An Awfully Big Adventure
by Beryl Bainbridge
Body Parts
Body Parts
by Jessica Kapp
Kowloon Tong
Kowloon Tong
by Paul Theroux
All the Bells on Earth
All the Bells on Earth
by James P. Blaylock
Thirteen Hours
Thirteen Hours
by K.L. Seegers, Deon Meyer
Lovesick
Lovesick
by James Driggers
The Pot Thief Who Studied Edward Abbey
The Pot Thief Who Studied Edward Abbey
by J. Michael Orenduff
All the Names
All the Names
by Jose Saramago, Margaret Jull Costa
Daddy Love
Daddy Love
by Joyce Carol Oates
And When She Was Good
And When She Was Good
by Laura Lippman
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The Gun Seller
The Gun Seller
by Hugh Laurie
Hold Tight
Hold Tight
by Christopher Bram
We'll Never Be Apart
We'll Never Be Apart
by Emiko Jean
The Ministry of Fear
The Ministry of Fear
by Graham Greene
Airport
Airport
by Arthur Hailey
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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.