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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 thrillers, science 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 Good Doctor
The Good Doctor
by Damon Galgut
Moving Mars
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by Greg Bear
Your Republic Is Calling You
Your Republic Is Calling You
by Young-ha Kim
Not the End of the World
Not the End of the World
by Christopher Brookmyre
Behind the Lines
Behind the Lines
by W. F. Morris
Red Harvest
Red Harvest
by Patrick C. Greene
The Paper Wasp
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by Lauren Acampora
Spirit House
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by Christopher G. Moore
La Donna Detroit
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by Jon A. Jackson
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The Measure of a Man
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A Dram of Poison
by Charlotte Armstrong
A Girl Named Anna
A Girl Named Anna
by Lizzy Barber
The Diehard
The Diehard
by Jon A. Jackson
The Trap
The Trap
by Melanie Raabe, Imogen Taylor
Keep Your Friends Close
Keep Your Friends Close
by Paula Daly
Carriage Trade
Carriage Trade
by Stephen Birmingham
Deep Creek
Deep Creek
by Dana Hand
Slipping into Darkness
Slipping into Darkness
by Peter Blauner
Mr. Moto Is So Sorry
Mr. Moto Is So Sorry
by John P. Marquand
After She's Gone
After She's Gone
by Sheryl Browne
A Circle of Wives
A Circle of Wives
by Alice LaPlante
The Little Men
The Little Men
by Megan Abbott
The Mandelbaum Gate
The Mandelbaum Gate
by Muriel Spark
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War of the Raven
War of the Raven
by Andrew Kaplan
April Fools
April Fools
by Richie Tankersley Cusick
A Dark Devotion
A Dark Devotion
by Clare Francis
Killer Body
Killer Body
by Bonnie Hearn Hill
The Dead Don't Dance
The Dead Don't Dance
by John Enright
Snow
Snow
by Caroline B. Cooney
Dial M for Merde
Dial M for Merde
by Stephen Clarke
The Sleep of Reason
The Sleep of Reason
by C.P. Snow
Bretherton
Bretherton
by W. F. Morris
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Green Girl
Green Girl
by Kate Zambreno
Birdcage Walk
Birdcage Walk
by Helen Dunmore
Heat
Heat
by Francine Pascal
Stay with Me
Stay with Me
by Sandra Rodriguez Barron
The Hunt
The Hunt
by Mike McMullen, Jack Cashill
The Castle of Otranto
The Castle of Otranto
by Horace Walpole
A Dancer in the Dust
A Dancer in the Dust
by Thomas H. Cook
Palace of Spies
Palace of Spies
by Sarah Zettel
The Deadly Sister
The Deadly Sister
by Eliot Schrefer
Myth and Magic
Myth and Magic
by Mae Clair
Damselfly
Damselfly
by Chandra Prasad
Led Astray
Led Astray
by Karlianna Voncil
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Cannibals and Missionaries
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by Mary McCarthy
The Girl on the Beach
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by Morton S. Gray
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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.