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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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Phases of Gravity
Phases of Gravity
by Dan Simmons
Elizabeth Is Missing
Elizabeth Is Missing
by Emma Healey
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The Fuhrer's Orphans
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by David Laws
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The Widow's Web
The Widow's Web
by Susan Moore
Almost
Almost
by Elizabeth Benedict
The Fall of the House of Usher
The Fall of the House of Usher
by Edgar Allan Poe
Trauma
Trauma
by CJ Lyons
Murder Knocks Twice
Murder Knocks Twice
by Susanna Calkins
Slipping into Darkness
Slipping into Darkness
by Peter Blauner
Daddy Love
Daddy Love
by Joyce Carol Oates
Disclaimer
Disclaimer
by Renee Knight
The Silence
The Silence
by Mary McGarry Morris
Murder in the English Department
Murder in the English Department
by Valerie Miner
Wild Life
Wild Life
by Liam Brown
Palace of Spies
Palace of Spies
by Sarah Zettel
Led Astray
Led Astray
by Karlianna Voncil
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La Donna Detroit
La Donna Detroit
by Jon A. Jackson
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Another Part of the Wood
Another Part of the Wood
by Beryl Bainbridge
She Be Damned
She Be Damned
by M. J. Tjia
The Measure of a Man
The Measure of a Man
by Marco Malvaldi, Howard Curtis, Katherine Gregor
The Cage
The Cage
by Audrey Schulman
A Different Light
A Different Light
by Elizabeth A. Lynn
Harry Gold
Harry Gold
by Millicent Dillon
Refuge
Refuge
by Gillian White
There Was an Old Woman
There Was an Old Woman
by Howard Engel
Hold Tight
Hold Tight
by Christopher Bram
The Takeover
The Takeover
by Muriel Spark
The Evil Shepherd
The Evil Shepherd
by E. Phillips Oppenheim
An Act of Worship
An Act of Worship
by Kate Thompson
Crane Pond
Crane Pond
by Richard Francis
Hawk
Hawk
by George Green
A Sense of Guilt
A Sense of Guilt
by Andrea Newman
Heat
Heat
by Francine Pascal
Stay with Me
Stay with Me
by Sandra Rodriguez Barron
Bloody Women
Bloody Women
by Helen Fitzgerald
Prism
Prism
by George C. Chesbro
AmeriKKKan JustUS
AmeriKKKan JustUS
by DeLena Slayton
Crescent in the Sky
Crescent in the Sky
by Donald Moffitt
The Deadly Sister
The Deadly Sister
by Eliot Schrefer
Reap What You Sow
Reap What You Sow
by Shirley Day
Foul Deeds
Foul Deeds
by Linda Moore
A Dangerous Glamour
A Dangerous Glamour
by Marc Olden
The Girl on the Beach
The Girl on the Beach
by Morton S. Gray
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Checkpoint
Checkpoint
by Jean-Christophe Rufin
Red Tea
Red Tea
by Meg Mezeske
The White City
The White City
by Karolina Ramqvist, Saskia Vogel
A Door in the River
A Door in the River
by Inger Ash Wolfe
Edge
Edge
by Michael Cadnum
Showing 201-250 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.