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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 Quiet Child
The Quiet Child
by John Burley
April Fools
April Fools
by Richie Tankersley Cusick
White City
White City
by Kevin Power
Toots in Solitude
Toots in Solitude
by John Yount
Myth and Magic
Myth and Magic
by Mae Clair
Led Astray
Led Astray
by Karlianna Voncil
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Cannibals and Missionaries
Cannibals and Missionaries
by Mary McCarthy
La Donna Detroit
La Donna Detroit
by Jon A. Jackson
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8 Books About the Mafia
Another Part of the Wood
Another Part of the Wood
by Beryl Bainbridge
Checkpoint
Checkpoint
by Jean-Christophe Rufin
The Yearbook
The Yearbook
by Peter Lerangis
I Hadn't Understood
I Hadn't Understood
by Diego De Silva, Antony Shugaar
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Now It's Time to Say Goodbye
Now It's Time to Say Goodbye
by Dale Peck
Afterlands
Afterlands
by Steven Heighton
No Immunity
No Immunity
by Susan Dunlap
Moist
Moist
by Mark Haskell Smith
Getting Away with Murder
Getting Away with Murder
by Howard Engel
Before the Devil Fell
Before the Devil Fell
by Neil Olson
Hawk
Hawk
by George Green
Heat
Heat
by Francine Pascal
Stay with Me
Stay with Me
by Sandra Rodriguez Barron
Bloody Women
Bloody Women
by Helen Fitzgerald
Whirlwind
Whirlwind
by Hilary Norman
The Island of Last Truth
The Island of Last Truth
by Flavia Company, Laura McGloughlin
Prism
Prism
by George C. Chesbro
Palace of Spies
Palace of Spies
by Sarah Zettel
The Deadly Sister
The Deadly Sister
by Eliot Schrefer
Reap What You Sow
Reap What You Sow
by Shirley Day
A Dangerous Glamour
A Dangerous Glamour
by Marc Olden
Assassins and Victims
Assassins and Victims
by Campbell Armstrong
The Girl on the Beach
The Girl on the Beach
by Morton S. Gray
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The Gabinian Affair
The Gabinian Affair
by Ray Gleason
A Justifiable Madness
A Justifiable Madness
by AB Morgan
Deep Creek
Deep Creek
by Dana Hand
An Act of Worship
An Act of Worship
by Kate Thompson
The Widow's Web
The Widow's Web
by Susan Moore
The Sleep of Reason
The Sleep of Reason
by C.P. Snow
The Lifeguard
The Lifeguard
by Richie Tankersley Cusick
2 A.M. in Little America
2 A.M. in Little America
by Ken Kalfus
Church of Marvels
Church of Marvels
by Leslie Parry
Consumed
Consumed
by David Cronenberg
The Castle of Otranto
The Castle of Otranto
by Horace Walpole
The Good Doctor
The Good Doctor
by Damon Galgut
AmeriKKKan JustUS
AmeriKKKan JustUS
by DeLena Slayton
Trauma
Trauma
by CJ Lyons
Your Republic Is Calling You
Your Republic Is Calling You
by Young-ha Kim
Trouble at the Brownstone
Trouble at the Brownstone
by Robert Goldsborough
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The Hole
The Hole
by Hye-young Pyun, Sora Kim-Russell
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The Killing Hills
The Killing Hills
by Chris Offutt
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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.