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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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Green Girl
Green Girl
by Kate Zambreno
A Sense of Guilt
A Sense of Guilt
by Andrea Newman
2 A.M. in Little America
2 A.M. in Little America
by Ken Kalfus
The Silence
The Silence
by Mary McGarry Morris
Red Harvest
Red Harvest
by Patrick C. Greene
Asking for the Moon
Asking for the Moon
by Reginald Hill
Checkpoint
Checkpoint
by Jean-Christophe Rufin
Murder Knocks Twice
Murder Knocks Twice
by Susanna Calkins
The Campus Murders
The Campus Murders
by Ellery Queen
The Sequel
The Sequel
by R. L. Stine
Keep Your Friends Close
Keep Your Friends Close
by Paula Daly
The Corn Maiden
The Corn Maiden
by Joyce Carol Oates
Design for Dying
Design for Dying
by Renee Patrick
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8 Novels Set in Old Hollywood
The Mandelbaum Gate
The Mandelbaum Gate
by Muriel Spark
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Come Winter
Come Winter
by Evan Hunter
The Statement
The Statement
by Brian Moore
Crane Pond
Crane Pond
by Richard Francis
The Canterbury Papers
The Canterbury Papers
by Judith Koll Healey
A Dancer in the Dust
A Dancer in the Dust
by Thomas H. Cook
The Good Doctor
The Good Doctor
by Damon Galgut
Cannibals and Missionaries
Cannibals and Missionaries
by Mary McCarthy
Assassins and Victims
Assassins and Victims
by Campbell Armstrong
The Terrorist
The Terrorist
by Caroline B. Cooney
The Lesley Glaister Collection Volume One
The Lesley Glaister Collection Volume One
by Lesley Glaister
All the Bells on Earth
All the Bells on Earth
by James P. Blaylock
The Cage
The Cage
by Audrey Schulman
Carriage Trade
Carriage Trade
by Stephen Birmingham
Deep Creek
Deep Creek
by Dana Hand
Afterlands
Afterlands
by Steven Heighton
Hold Tight
Hold Tight
by Christopher Bram
Forsaking All Others
Forsaking All Others
by Jimmy Breslin
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After She's Gone
After She's Gone
by Sheryl Browne
Murder in the English Department
Murder in the English Department
by Valerie Miner
Before the Devil Fell
Before the Devil Fell
by Neil Olson
An Act of Worship
An Act of Worship
by Kate Thompson
Stay with Me
Stay with Me
by Sandra Rodriguez Barron
The Hunt
The Hunt
by Jack Cashill, Mike McMullen
The Castle of Otranto
The Castle of Otranto
by Horace Walpole
Myth and Magic
Myth and Magic
by Mae Clair
Under Fire
Under Fire
by Henri Barbusse, William Fitzwater Wray
Another Part of the Wood
Another Part of the Wood
by Beryl Bainbridge
The Measure of a Man
The Measure of a Man
by Katherine Gregor, Marco Malvaldi, Howard Curtis
Chambermaid
Chambermaid
by Saira Rao
Happy Mutant Baby Pills
Happy Mutant Baby Pills
by Jerry Stahl
The Tremor of Forgery
The Tremor of Forgery
by Patricia Highsmith, Francine Prose
Hawk
Hawk
by George Green
The Lifeguard
The Lifeguard
by Richie Tankersley Cusick
Now We Shall Be Entirely Free
Now We Shall Be Entirely Free
by Andrew Miller
Heat
Heat
by Francine Pascal
Church of Marvels
Church of Marvels
by Leslie Parry
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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.