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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 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.

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The Wolf's Hour
The Wolf's Hour
by Robert McCammon
Nerve
Nerve
by Dick Francis
The Shepherd
The Shepherd
by Frederick Forsyth
Fellowship of Fear
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by Aaron Elkins
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Foucault's Pendulum
Foucault's Pendulum
by Umberto Eco
The Lords of Discipline
The Lords of Discipline
by Pat Conroy
The Eight
The Eight
by Katherine Neville
Our Man in Havana
Our Man in Havana
by Graham Greene
An Act of Worship
An Act of Worship
by Kate Thompson
Hawk
Hawk
by George Green
Melmoth
Melmoth
by Sarah Perry
The Sleepwalker
The Sleepwalker
by Robert Muchamore
Church of Marvels
Church of Marvels
by Leslie Parry
Bloody Women
Bloody Women
by Helen Fitzgerald
Prism
Prism
by George C. Chesbro
AmeriKKKan JustUS
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by DeLena Slayton
Trauma
Trauma
by CJ Lyons
Trouble at the Brownstone
Trouble at the Brownstone
by Robert Goldsborough
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Foul Deeds
Foul Deeds
by Linda Moore
A Dangerous Glamour
A Dangerous Glamour
by Marc Olden
Murder Knocks Twice
Murder Knocks Twice
by Susanna Calkins
An Awfully Big Adventure
An Awfully Big Adventure
by Beryl Bainbridge
Exo
Exo
by Fonda Lee
The Campus Murders
The Campus Murders
by Ellery Queen
Body Parts
Body Parts
by Jessica Kapp
Capo
Capo
by Peter Watson
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The Gabinian Affair
The Gabinian Affair
by Ray Gleason
The Sequel
The Sequel
by R. L. Stine
Edge
Edge
by Michael Cadnum
Thirteen Hours
Thirteen Hours
by K.L. Seegers, Deon Meyer
Lovesick
Lovesick
by James Driggers
The Woodville Connection
The Woodville Connection
by Kathy Martin
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The Secret of Abdu El Yezdi
The Secret of Abdu El Yezdi
by Mark Hodder
What I Tell You in the Dark
What I Tell You in the Dark
by John Samuel
All the Names
All the Names
by Jose Saramago, Margaret Jull Costa
A Brief Lunacy
A Brief Lunacy
by Cynthia Thayer
Seven Mile Beach
Seven Mile Beach
by Tom Gilling
Goodbye Again
Goodbye Again
by Joseph Hone
The Night She Died
The Night She Died
by Dorothy Simpson
Bloodlines
Bloodlines
by Sharon Sala
Antonia Lively Breaks the Silence
Antonia Lively Breaks the Silence
by David Samuel Levinson
We'll Never Be Apart
We'll Never Be Apart
by Emiko Jean
The Ministry of Fear
The Ministry of Fear
by Graham Greene
The Darkling
The Darkling
by R. B. Chesterton
What the Dead Know
What the Dead Know
by Laura Lippman
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Design for Dying
Design for Dying
by Renee Patrick
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The Deeds of the Disturber
The Deeds of the Disturber
by Elizabeth Peters
Blood on the Moon
Blood on the Moon
by James Ellroy
The Stranger
The Stranger
by Camilla Lackberg
Hunter's Green
Hunter's Green
by Phyllis A. Whitney
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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.