The best thriller books of all time (that you may not have read)

Why read this: Three murdered women unite beyond death to stop the man who killed them. Ihli reinvents the serial killer thriller by centering power where it’s usually denied. If you loved The Housemaid, you’ll love Ask for Andrea.
If you’re looking for: Serial killer thriller, revenge thriller, supernatural suspense, female-led thriller, victim-centred crime fiction.
Great for fans of: Karin Slaughter, Frieda Mcfadden.
What the experts think: 'Hands down one of my favourite reads of the year.' – Freida McFadden, author of The Housemaid. 'Ask For Andrea is a propulsive story that haunts and mesmerizes.' – Karin Slaughter, author of The Will Trent series. 'The Lovely Bones meets The Midnight Library in this powerful psychological thriller.' – Lisa Gardner, author of Before She Disappeared.

Why read this: When Laura’s son falls for Cherry, resentment hardens into control, then obsession. What begins as social discomfort becomes something far darker, driven by class, maternal possession and a ruthless desire to have it all, and leads to an unravelling none see coming. This slow-burn psychological thriller is now a major Netflix series.
If you’re looking for: Psychological thriller, toxic family dynamics, possessive parent, class tension, slow-burn, domestic suspense.
Great for fans of: B. A. Paris, Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl.

What the experts think: 'I was blown away. The Girlfriend is the most marvellous psychological thriller . . . I couldn’t put it down and kept sneaking upstairs to read another few pages.'  – Jilly Cooper.

Why read this: In this internationally bestselling scandi-noir from M. T. Edvardsson, the question isn’t what happened — it’s what you’d protect. When a teenage girl is accused of murder, her parents are forced to confront the limits of loyalty. Told through shifting perspectives, this psychological legal thriller dismantles certainty one voice at a time. In 2023, Netflix adapted the book into a six part series.

If you’re looking for: Psychological thriller, family crime drama, multiple perspectives, legal suspense.
Great for fans of: Defending Jacob by William Landay, We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver.
What the experts think: 'I couldn't go to bed until I finished it. Effortlessly brilliant' – Sandie Jones, author of The Other Woman. 'I couldn't put it down' – Michelle Frances, author of The Girlfriend.

Why read this: Emily believes she has found the perfect partner, until his mother Pammie begins to exert a quiet, relentless control. Jones crafts a claustrophobic domestic thriller that turns the toxic mother-in-law trope into something genuinely menacing.
If you’re looking for: Psychological thriller, toxic family dynamics, gaslighting, claustrophobic domestic suspense, relationship manipulation.
Great for fans of: Behind Closed Doors by B. A. Paris, The Girlfriend by Michelle Frances.

What the experts say: ‘Thoroughly entertaining’ – Michelle Frances, number one bestselling author of The Girlfriend. ‘Twisty, deliciously fun’ – Sarah Pekkanen, bestselling author of The Wife Between Us.

Why read this: Haunted by perfect recall following a serious brain injury, detective Amos Decker is forced to relive the murder of his wife and daughter while hunting a killer who may be closer than anyone expects. From international bestseller David Baldacci, this dark, gripping thriller is the first in the Amos Decker series. 

If you’re looking for: Detective crime thriller, damaged heroes, procedural tension. 

Great for fans of: John Grisham, Robert Ludlum, Patricia Cornwell. 

What the experts think: 'Baldacci is the master of American detective stories.' – Jeffrey Archer. 'One of the world’s thriller masters.' – Daily Mail.

Why read this: In rural South Australia, a woman disappears during a community festival, leaving her baby alone in a pram. One year on, investigator Aaron Falk discovers that sometimes it takes an outsider to get to the truth. Devastating and unforgettable, Exiles is a New York Times and Sunday Times Top 10 bestseller and the final book in the Aaron Falk mystery series.

If you’re looking for: Outback noir, missing person mystery, cold case investigation, small-town secrets.
Great for fans of: Tana French, Chris Whitaker.
What the experts think: ‘A stunningly atmospheric read’ - Val McDermid. ‘Spellbinding’ - Ian Rankin. 'An avalanche of suspense' - David Baldacci.

Why read this:
The launch of Island Home –  a forgotten island remade as the most exclusive private members’ club in the world – is meant to be the celebrity event of the decade, but as the weekend unfolds and secrets surface, ambition curdles into violence. The guests soon discover that reputation is a currency worth killing for in this relentlessly twisty and instant New York Times bestselling thriller.

If you’re looking for: Psychological thriller, locked-room mystery, rich-people-behaving-badly, social satire, destination thriller, unpredictable twists.
Great for fans of: The White Lotus, Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty, The Hunting Party by Lucy Foley.
What the experts think:: 'One of the most riveting books I've read in a long time' – Louise Candlish, author of Our House.

Why read this: Twenty-one years after a ten-year-old girl, dubbed the ‘Angel of Death’, murdered her parents, a documentary reopens the case. As media attention returns, two sisters are forced to confront buried truths with devastating consequences.Fiona Cummins delivers a dark, compassionate psychological thriller that interrogates the stories we build to survive.

If you’re looking for: Psychological thriller, child crime, unreliable memory, media intrusion.
Great for fans of: Louise Candlish, Clare Mackintosh, Val McDermid.
What the experts think: : ‘Grips like a vice’ – Val McDermid, author of the Karen Pirie series. ‘Utterly compelling; a true just-one-more-chapter thriller’ – Clare Mackintosh, author of The Last Party.

Why read this: When a glamorous woman vanishes, a suburban blogger steps into a labyrinth of secrets. Adapted into a film starring Blake Lively and Anna Kendrick in 2018, this compulsive thriller thrives on misdirection, unreliable narration and the unsettling gap between who people are and who they pretend to be.
If you’re looking for: Domestic thriller, unreliable narrator, missing person mystery, suburban noir, dark secrets.
Great for fans of: Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty, Mothers’ Instinct by Barbara Abel.
What the experts think: 'A compellingly creepy female protagonist who kept me guessing right up to the end.' Michelle Frances, number one bestselling author of The Girlfriend.

Why read this: Abducted into a life he doesn’t recognise, Jason Dessen discovers a machine that opens infinite versions of himself. Crouch combines breakneck pacing with philosophical dread in one of the most influential modern thrillers. Dark Matter was adapted into a major Apple TV+ series starring Joel Edgerton and Jennifer Connelly, in 2024.
If you’re looking for: Dystopian thriller, high-concept thriller, sci-fi thriller, alternate realities, man-on-the-run, identity thriller.
Great for fans of: Black Mirror, The One and The Marriage Act by John Marrs.
What the experts think: 'Brilliant. A book to remember. I think Blake Crouch just invented something new' – Lee Child. 'A masterful, truly original work of suspense. Crouch delivers laser-focused prose . . . and a touching, twisted love story that plays out in ways you'll never see coming.' – Harlan Coben.

Why read this: In a near-future Britain where marriage is enforced by law, four couples are about to discover what happens to your relationship when a right-wing government will use every tool in its arsenal to ensure everyone will love, honour and obey. Marrs delivers a chilling dystopian thriller rooted in all-too-recognisable social anxieties.
If you’re looking for: Dystopian thriller, speculative suspense, surveillance state fiction, relationship under pressure, near-future Britain
Great for fans of: The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood, The Power by Naomi Alderman, 1984 by George Orwell, Black Mirror.
What the experts think: 'Few writers do domestic suspense meets dystopia better than John Marrs.' Lucy Foley, author of The Midnight Feast and The Hunting Party. 'Impossible to put down' – Alex Michaelides, author of The Fury.

Why read this: Another unmissable crime thriller from literary great, Percival Everett. Robert Hawks, a curious hydrologist fishing north of Denver, becomes entangled in a violent conflict over Native American treaty rights, where a quiet outing spirals into murder and exposes government secrets. Everett blends thrilling storytelling with sharp political critique.

If you’re looking for: political thriller, conspiracy, crime with social justice themes, literary crime fiction.
Great for fans of: California Fire and Life by Don Winslow.

Why read this: In 1965 Queens, New York Ruth Malone wakes to find her two children missing, and police soon make a horrifying discovery. Inspired by a true case, Little Deaths explores how gossip, misogyny, media and moral judgement distort justice. This gripping historical crime thriller lingers long after the final page.
If you’re looking for: Psychological crime thriller, historical thriller, inspired by a true story, media manipulation, courtroom-adjacent drama, literary crime thriller.
Great for fans of: Notes on a Scandal by Zoë Heller, Room by Emma Donoghue.
What the experts think: ‘Little Deaths is one of those so-very-rare accomplishments: a lightning fast, heart-pounding, psychologically resonant crime novel that effortlessly transcends genre. If you believed that literary fiction can't be a one-sitting read, think again.’ Jeffery Deaver, author of The Bone Collector.

Why read this: Wala Kitu, a Brown University mathematician devoted to the concept of nothing, is drawn into a surreal conspiracy when billionaire John Sill recruits him to steal a deposit of “nothing” from Fort Knox. Sill’s plan is driven by vengeance for his father’s murder and a ruthless indictment of America itself. This is one of the most original thrillers of recent years, from Pulitzer Prize-winning and Booker Prize-shortlisted author, Percival Everett.
If you’re looking for: Satire, spy thriller, political thriller, literary thriller, espionage, genre-bending, suspense, post-modern thrillers.
Great for fans of: The Trees by Percival Everett.
What the experts think: 'Clever, funny and mercilessly satirical.' – The Times.

Why read this: Jordan Peele is the visionary writer and director of Get Out, Us, Nope and Him. His award-winning, New York Times bestselling anthology of Black horror, Out There Screaming, fuses supernatural terror with lived injustice, redefining what modern horror-thrillers can achieve.
If you’re looking for: Horror-thriller crossover, social horror, speculative suspense, short story anthology, political horror.
Great for fans of: Get Out.
What the experts think: 'Will keep you awake at night and linger with you in the day' – Daisy Johnson, author of Everything Under.

Why read this: In a remote Australian valley known as the Sink, people arrive seeking solitude, escape or belonging. What they find instead is something far more unsettling, when a mysterious creature begins killing livestock and stirring long-buried fears. Tim Winton builds a quiet, suffocating tension in a thriller driven by atmosphere rather than answers. 

Sub-genres & tropes: atmospheric thriller, rural isolation, horror-adjacent suspense, unreliable memory, slow-burn dread, outback noir, literary noir.
Read if you like: We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson.
Expert quotes: ‘A major work by anyone’s standards’ – Washington Post. ‘Raw and vibrant… mysterious, painful and beautiful’ – Independent on Sunday.

Why read this: Patrick Bateman appears to have everything – youth, wealth, status – but beneath the polished Wall Street façade lurks a psychopathic killer, turning the American Dream into a cold, consumerist nightmare of modern capitalism. Adapted into a major feature film starring Christian Bale in 2000 and multi-million-copy bestseller, Ellis’s notorious novel remains one of the most controversial, disturbing psychological thrillers ever written.

If you’re looking for: Psychological thriller, unreliable narrator, serial killer fiction, transgressive thriller, literary horror.
Great for fans of: Fight Club and Haunted by Chuck Palahniuk.

Why read this: Set in Brighton’s pre-war underworld, Brighton Rock has become a literary crime thriller classic. It follows Pinkie Brown, a neurotic and volatile teenage gangster, who, armed with a razor and a bottle of sulphuric acid, commits a brutal murder that doesn’t go unnoticed. A thriller that has inspired the works of many other authors, it maps the strange border between piety and savagery.
If you’re looking for: Classic crime thriller, gangster noir, moral dilemma thriller, psychological crime, literary suspense, literary crime thriller.
Read if you like: The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith.

Why read this: In this brutal tale of violence and morality in the American West, a Vietnam Veteran discovers the aftermath of a drug deal gone wrong. He takes the money, and runs. What follows is a merciless chain of pursuit and consequence; a bleak, relentless thriller that strips justice down to chance and brutality. No Country for Old Men was adapted for screen by the Cohen Brothers and won four academy awards.
If you’re looking for: Literary crime thriller, cat-and-mouse thriller, western noir, hitman thriller, bleak suspense, pacy plot, punchy dialogue.
Great for fans of: James Ellroy, Denis Johnson.