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All thrillers have a few things in common: tension, suspense, high stakes, and danger—physical, psychological, or both. Often, there’s a ticking clock or a mystery to solve. Sometimes, a big twist. Narrators may be unreliable, and alibis may be fabricated.
There’s a formula to thrillers, and that formula is a feature, not a bug. Thriller writers at the top of their game know this: the constraints provide a framework that forces them to be creative if they want to stand out in one of the most popular genres of the day.
Whether you’re looking for the grittiest crime fiction, sci-fi psychological suspense, or a locked-room story that will have your blood pressure all the way up, there’s something for you in this collection of pulse-pounding reads from some of the best authors in the business.
All the Sinners Bleed by S.A. Cosby
The best crime fiction isn’t just about bad guys versus good guys, it’s about how and why people become good or bad. In S.A. Cosby’s hands, this thriller about the first Black sheriff in a small town in Virginia reeling from two recent murders—a former student killed a beloved teacher, then the police killed the former student—becomes an interrogation of the ways that race, religion, and politics color civic life. Recently rated among the best thrillers of the 21st century by critics, editors, librarians, and other thriller writers, All the Sinners Bleed is a once-in-a-lifetime read.
Age of Vice by Deepti Kapoor
Think Succession meets The Sopranos in modern-day India, and you’ll be pretty close to the vibe of this reads-like-it’s-on-rails novel about wealth, class, and corruption. As entertaining as it is substantial, Age of Vice gives us gangsters, nepo babies, and a failson doing his best to squander the family fortune. It’s a dishy, suspenseful, drug-fueled ride through the subcontinent, from rural villages to the poshest of penthouses. Don’t let the doorstop length fool you—you’ll fly through these pages.
Nightwatching by Tracy Sierra
The terror is coming from inside the house in this chilling work of psychological suspense.
A young woman at home with her kids during a blizzard hears footsteps coming up the stairs in the middle of the night and sees a man hiding in the shadows. (Is your heart racing yet?) After (quietly) waking her children, she bundles them into a secret room hidden behind a wall, where they hide together as the man tries to lure the children out. As she tries to decide whether to fight or flee, it hits her: she knows who he is and what he’s after. Nighwatching will have you sleeping with the lights on.
Dark Matter by Blake Crouch
If you like your thrillers with a side of sci-fi, you’ll love this brain-bending novel that blends quantum mechanics with string theory and existential angst.
Jason Dessen is a college professor living a pretty unremarkable life when he is abducted and knocked unconscious. When he comes to, the world around Jason looks the same, but his life is…not his life. He’s married to the wrong woman. His son doesn’t exist. And he isn’t a professor but a rockstar scientist being celebrated for a history-making discovery. But is he happy?
Also named as one of the best thrillers of the century, Dark Matter was adapted into a series starring Joel Edgerton and Jennifer Connelly, available on Apple TV. Season 2 drops August 28.
The Secret of Secrets by Dan Brown
Dan Brown’s best book since The Da Vinci Code, The Secret of Secrets is about nothing less than the mysteries of human consciousness. And it’s a Dan Brown book, so it’s also about a cabal of scientists and government officials conspiring to hide (or weaponize?) a discovery that could shake the very foundations of society.
Robert Langdon is at his puzzle-solving, symbology-decoding best as he races around Prague trying to catch a murderer, find his just-kidnapped genius girlfriend, and decipher the ancient mythology that inspired a series of terrible crimes, all without ruining his favorite tweed jacket.
Bluebird, Bluebird by Attica Locke
No list of great thrillers is complete without this Edgar Award-winning novel about a Black Texas Ranger who travels to a small town in East Texas where two recent murders have brought long-simmering resentments back to the surface.
Named among the top 10 thrillers of the 21st century, Bluebird, Bluebird marked the breakout of a major name in modern crime fiction. It’s a gritty, tense read infused with blues music and southern history. Good news if it leaves you wanting more: there are two more books in Locke’s Highway 59 series, with a fourth on the way.
A Violent Masterpiece by Jordan Harper
The title of this dark, disturbing crime novel is also an apt description of it, as it appeared on countless most-anticipated lists before its release this spring. We see you, Jordan Harper!
Three occupants of the LA underworld come together to solve a string of grisly crimes on a mission that takes them deep into the dirty dealings of gangsters, junkies, tech brows, Hollywood royalty, and a pedophile reality TV producer, just to name a few. Action-packed and unforgettable, this will grab you by the lapels and hold you until the bitter end.