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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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How the Dead Speak
How the Dead Speak
by Val McDermid
An Awfully Big Adventure
An Awfully Big Adventure
by Beryl Bainbridge
Bad Moon Rising
Bad Moon Rising
by Jonathan Maberry
Mine
Mine
by Robert McCammon
Exo
Exo
by Fonda Lee
The Killing Hills
The Killing Hills
by Chris Offutt
Body Parts
Body Parts
by Jessica Kapp
Black Amber
Black Amber
by Phyllis A. Whitney
The Eight
The Eight
by Katherine Neville
All the Names
All the Names
by Jose Saramago, Margaret Jull Costa
Followers
Followers
by Megan Angelo
The Tenth Commandment
The Tenth Commandment
by Lawrence Sanders
The Burglar
The Burglar
by Thomas Perry
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
by Patricia Wentworth
Country of the Blind
Country of the Blind
by Christopher Brookmyre
The Mandelbaum Gate
The Mandelbaum Gate
by Muriel Spark
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A Gathering of Spies
A Gathering of Spies
by John Altman
Hunter's Green
Hunter's Green
by Phyllis A. Whitney
Nightwork
Nightwork
by Irwin Shaw
Falling Angel
Falling Angel
by William Hjortsberg
Driver's Dead
Driver's Dead
by Peter Lerangis
The Tamarind Seed
The Tamarind Seed
by Evelyn Anthony
Heresy
Heresy
by Melissa Lenhardt
Make Room! Make Room!
Make Room! Make Room!
by Harry Harrison
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
Deep Creek
Deep Creek
by Dana Hand
The Corn Maiden
The Corn Maiden
by Joyce Carol Oates
Death Wish
Death Wish
by Brian Garfield
Asta's Book
Asta's Book
by Ruth Rendell
Nemesis
Nemesis
by Joyce Carol Oates
April Fools
April Fools
by Richie Tankersley Cusick
The Man in Lower Ten
The Man in Lower Ten
by Mary Roberts Rinehart, Otto Penzler
The Crocodile Bird
The Crocodile Bird
by Ruth Rendell
Michael's Wife
Michael's Wife
by Marlys Millhiser
Mayhem
Mayhem
by J. Robert Janes
Dial M for Merde
Dial M for Merde
by Stephen Clarke
Green Girl
Green Girl
by Kate Zambreno
Consumed
Consumed
by David Cronenberg
Fever
Fever
by Deon Meyer
Capo
Capo
by Peter Watson
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Kowloon Tong
Kowloon Tong
by Paul Theroux
The Scroll
The Scroll
by Anne Perry
Afterlands
Afterlands
by Steven Heighton
The Antiquarian
The Antiquarian
by Julian Sanchez
Design for Dying
Design for Dying
by Renee Patrick
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Indian Killer
Indian Killer
by Sherman Alexie
Showing 151-200 of 268 results

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.