We Value Your Privacy

This site uses cookies to improve user experience. By continuing to browse, you accept the use of cookies and other technologies.

I UNDERSTAND
LEARN MORE
Subscribe
AboutAbout
DealsDeals
ArticlesArticles
GenresGenres

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.

Current Book Deal

Loading...
Girl A
Girl A
by Dan Scottow
BUY
SEE MORE RECOMMENDATIONS
8 Books Like The Silent Patient
The Terrorist
The Terrorist
by Caroline B. Cooney
Another Part of the Wood
Another Part of the Wood
by Beryl Bainbridge
Checkpoint
Checkpoint
by Jean-Christophe Rufin
Heresy
Heresy
by Melissa Lenhardt
She Be Damned
She Be Damned
by M. J. Tjia
The White City
The White City
by Karolina Ramqvist, Saskia Vogel
All the Bells on Earth
All the Bells on Earth
by James P. Blaylock
The Cage
The Cage
by Audrey Schulman
A Justifiable Madness
A Justifiable Madness
by AB Morgan
Harry Gold
Harry Gold
by Millicent Dillon
Now It's Time to Say Goodbye
Now It's Time to Say Goodbye
by Dale Peck
Afterlands
Afterlands
by Steven Heighton
A Different Light
A Different Light
by Elizabeth A. Lynn
No Immunity
No Immunity
by Susan Dunlap
Wrapped Up in Crosswords
Wrapped Up in Crosswords
by Nero Blanc
The Unprotected
The Unprotected
by Kelly Sokol
There Was an Old Woman
There Was an Old Woman
by Howard Engel
Getting Away with Murder
Getting Away with Murder
by Howard Engel
Luminarium
Luminarium
by Alex Shakar
The Last Conquistador
The Last Conquistador
by Michael Elias
BUY
SEE MORE RECOMMENDATIONS
15 Authors Like Dan Brown
Forsaking All Others
Forsaking All Others
by Jimmy Breslin
BUY
SEE MORE RECOMMENDATIONS
10 Powerful Jimmy Breslin Books
Murder in the English Department
Murder in the English Department
by Valerie Miner
White Eagles Over Serbia
White Eagles Over Serbia
by Lawrence Durrell
Captured
Captured
by Neil Cross
Tangle of Lies
Tangle of Lies
by Patricia Potter
The Luke Garrison Series
The Luke Garrison Series
by J. F. Freedman
The Quiet Child
The Quiet Child
by John Burley
As Far as You Can Go
As Far as You Can Go
by Lesley Glaister
Five O'Clock Lightning
Five O'Clock Lightning
by William L. DeAndrea
BUY
SEE MORE RECOMMENDATIONS
5 Mystery Novels About Baseball
The Headsman
The Headsman
by James Neal Harvey
Toots in Solitude
Toots in Solitude
by John Yount
BUY
SEE MORE RECOMMENDATIONS
10 Books That Push Boundaries
Mischief
Mischief
by Charlotte Armstrong
The Old Religion
The Old Religion
by Martyn Waites
All the Beautiful Sinners
All the Beautiful Sinners
by Stephen Graham Jones
Before the Devil Fell
Before the Devil Fell
by Neil Olson
Inherit the Bones
Inherit the Bones
by Emily Littlejohn
BUY
SEE MORE RECOMMENDATIONS
8 Books Like The God of the Woods
Spartacus, the Gladiator
Spartacus, the Gladiator
by Ben Kane
A Spot of Folly
A Spot of Folly
by Ruth Rendell
The Tremor of Forgery
The Tremor of Forgery
by Patricia Highsmith, Francine Prose
Black Out
Black Out
by John Lawton
The Blinds
The Blinds
by Adam Sternbergh
The Manchurian Candidate
The Manchurian Candidate
by Richard Condon
The Canterbury Papers
The Canterbury Papers
by Judith Koll Healey
The Good German
The Good German
by Joseph Kanon
2 A.M. in Little America
2 A.M. in Little America
by Ken Kalfus
Because You're Mine
Because You're Mine
by Rea Frey
BUY
SEE MORE RECOMMENDATIONS
15 Books for Fans of Jodi Picoult
Don't Point That Thing at Me
Don't Point That Thing at Me
by Kyril Bonfiglioli
The Silence
The Silence
by Mary McGarry Morris
Showing 151-200 of 308 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.