10 Best Thriller Books To Read Right Now

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Thriller novels, like their screen counterparts, come in all shapes and sizes, including in the form of subgenres like historical thrillers, horror thrillers, sci-fi thrillers, and so on. There are great reads to be found with all of these categories, and each are deserving of their own celebratory lists, but we're here to focus on straight thrillers. But what exactly is a thriller?

A thriller is defined as a work of fiction that holds readers (or viewers) rapt with attention via scenes of suspense, adventure, and/or increasing tension. There's typically a fast pace, maybe even a ticking clock scenario of some kind, with characters racing to prevent something bad or worse from happening like death, destruction, or disaster. Anxiety and adrenaline combine into something that puts readers on edge and begging for a satisfying and entertaining release.

Every year sees great new thrillers land on bookshelves, so consider the list below just a small sampling of what's available — a sampling that hits various elements and aspects of what thrillers do best. Now keep reading for a look at ten of the best thrillers to read right now.

Assassins are common character fodder for thrillers, in part because there's something inherently fascinating about people who murder others for a living. It's not passion or madness — it's just a paycheck, and that kind of career leaves room for some genuinely flexible morality. Some assassins, like Billy Summers, have rules, and one of them is that he only kills undeniably bad men. Rule in place, Billy takes one last job with plans to retire afterwards. Good luck with that, Billy.

All things being equal, "Billy Summers" is an engaging, suspenseful read with a charismatic lead and a thrilling narrative. There are two elements that make it stand apart from the pack, though, and the first comes in the form of the author, Stephen King. The horror legend is no stranger to thrillers, but the overwhelming majority of his novels have some degree of unnatural or supernatural events running through them. Exceptions are slim — think the early likes of "Cujo" and "Misery" — but this is another title for that very short list, as the story and characters stay grounded throughout.

The other element at play here is actually reminiscent of "Misery" in that Billy is writing a memoir during his down time, and those pages are actual pages in the novel. We learn about his past and the events that led him to this lifestyle through his own words, and gives them enough attention to ensure they feel apart from his own writing. It serves the pacing well and imbues the ending with a stronger punch. Here's hoping the upcoming film adaptation is equal to "Misery" as well.

It's understood that fictional serial killers, especially those of the twisted and perverse variety, are what the French call, "fou de céréales au cacao" — or, cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs. The best serial killer novels, though, know that it's a better read when the protagonist chasing them is a little bit damaged in the head too. Thomas Harris' "Red Dragon" and "The Silence of the Lambs" captured this balance beautifully, and many have followed hoping to find that same degree of character chemistry between the light and the dark.

The late Mo Hayder succeeded on that count with her seven novels about Detective Inspector Jack Caffery, a homicide detective tackling brutal crimes while still dealing with the trauma of his brother's disappearance when they were just boys. Caffery thinks he knows who's responsible — and he's still living next to the man in the hopes that some clue will arise — but as Hayder's debut novel, "Birdman," kicks off, it's another killer who's taking precedence.

Someone is killing young women and leaving their bird-stuffed bodies to be found at a later date. It's a gruesome situation, and it's Caffery's first big break as part of London's high-profile homicide division. What follows is a thrilling descent into madness as the killer strikes again, and Caffery struggles to balance his job and his obsession with the man he blames for his brother's disappearance. Hayder delivers sequences of suspense and grueling discovery with a story that builds momentum even as it takes some unexpected turns. Films were made in Belgium of the second and third Caffery novels, "The Treatment" and "Ritual," and they're also worth seeking out.

If you're reading this site, the odds are very, very good that you've enjoyed David Koepp's writing before. He's a screenwriter with a filmography for the ages including blockbusters like "Jurassic Park," "Mission: Impossible," "Spider-Man," and "War of the Worlds" alongside acclaimed gems like "Carlito's Way," "Stir of Echoes," "Panic Room," and "Black Bag." He moved onto bookshelves in 2019 with his debut novel, "Cold Storage," and it's every bit the fun and thrilling read you'd expect from him.

Two strangers working the night shift at a remote storage facility — one that used to be an enormous underground bunker owned by the U.S. government for containing things deemed too dangerous for conventional storage — discover something beneath their feet that threatens the lives of every living thing on the planet. It is a fungus. It is among us. And the odds are in its favor. They're hardly suited for the job, but along with the now-retired special agent who first contained the organism and delivered it to this supposedly final resting place, the two young guards are the only chance humankind has at stopping its deadly growth.

The science here is fascinating as it builds on known truths to create a terrifying possibility, and what follows is a desperate race against time that's loaded with grisly demises, suspenseful sequences, and some terrific laughs. Koepp's writing is fast-paced and funny without ever losing its grip on the deadly nature of the threat. You can practically "see" the movie in your head as you're reading — and come 2026, you'll be able to see it on the big screen with Georgina Campbell, Joe Keery, and Liam Neeson in the lead roles.

Dean Koontz published his first novel in 1968, and he never looked back. He's written and published over 130 novels as of this writing, and many of them are absolute bangers, including "Lightning," "The Voice of the Night," "The Good Guy," and more. Government overreach and the cruelty of those in power are a steady theme through many of his books, but it's 1994's "Dark Rivers of the Heart" that crystallizes those ideas most directly and satisfyingly to make it feel a bit too relevant to today's United States.

The story sees a reclusive military veteran join forces with a woman being hunted by a shadowy government agency and the sadistic man in charge. Set-pieces big and small fill the novel as heroes alternate between narrowly evading capture and being forced to square off against agents hellbent on their abduction. There are some technologically fanciful elements at play here, but in the three decades since its publication, some of Koontz's sci-fi creations have come even closer to reality — while other bits, including observations on government surveillance and the blatant diversion of tax dollars from authorized programs to secret wars against "the enemy within" are already our new reality.

Fans of this one will find more to love throughout Koontz's bibliography, especially with early titles like "Night Chills" and "Strangers." He also delivered a five-book series in recent years — it kicks off with "The Silent Corner" — about a woman named Jane Hawk who finds herself hunted by the government's increasingly authoritarian approach to surveillance of its own citizens. Enjoy, and don't forget to vote in next year's midterm elections!

Location is as important to a thriller as its characters or plot, the more unique and different the better, and that's something that author Gin Phillips has taken to heart with her 2017 novel, "Fierce Kingdom." We've seen stories about a mother and their child, and we've seen characters fighting for their life with gunmen on the prowl, but we've never enjoyed that combination set at a zoo after closing.

Joan and her young son have just finished a fun day at the zoo and are heading for the exit when a terrifying sight unfolds. The exit is blocked by both dead bodies and the armed men responsible for the corpses. What follows is a real-time tale of survival as the pair — along with a handful of other unlucky souls trapped in the zoo — try to stay ahead of the shooters and maybe even figure out how and why they ended up in this overnight nightmare.

At under three hundred pages, this isn't a novel interested in wasting time. The story moves quickly, and the pacing is aided by timestamps at the start of each section which add a ticking clock sensation as the night inches closer to dawn — and possibly death. The focus on a mother and child, meanwhile, adds both a relatability and a genuine sense of concern as the pair are well outside their comfort zones. Character moments early on pay off in the third act, and the setting adds to an increasingly ominous atmosphere.

Some books work perfectly as one-offs while others leave you wanting more of their characters, writing, and world-building, but Michael Slade's debut novel, "Headhunter," lands as both. The story follows a homicide unit in the Royal Canadian Mounted Police as they pursue a twisted madman leaving a trail of decapitated corpses and clues that stretch back over a century. Special X, the team's official designation, are a group of experts in profiling, forensics, investigation, and more, and their working will appeal to fans of Thomas Harris' intricately written bestsellers.

Slade, variously described as a Canadian lawyer writing under a pen name and a group of writers sharing the pseudonym, is a strong writer with an eye for thrills, character, and grotesque set pieces, and he has a special affection for history. Morbid truths from world history weave throughout Slade's novels adding context and horror with abandon, and while it can feel quite dense at times, it all serves to beef up the story and the killers' motivations and mindsets.

The Special X team — well, its surviving members, anyway — return throughout Slade's fourteen novels in the series, and while each stands alone, they work best when read in release order. Antagonists sometimes return, as well, and Slade keeps the action and thrills international even as the unit's home base remains in Vancouver, Canada. The books deliver gory, suspenseful, surprising thrills alongside some truly dark glimpses into history, and they're not easily forgotten.

As with Michael Slade's books above, author Lee Child has built a career on the back of a single series. "Killing Floor" is the novel that introduced Jack Reacher to the world, and the 30th book in the series published in November 2025. This first one delivers a fun, fast read while also serving as a proper introduction to Reacher's rules and world. He's an ex-Army cop with no home address who wanders the country by bus or by thumb, and he has a real knack for finding trouble.

Reacher steps off a bus in a small Georgia town and is almost immediately arrested for murder. The mistaken identity is cleared up, but not before Reacher finds himself involved in a crime ring featuring killers, skinheads, counterfeiters, and more. Child's hero may be a big, beefy guy, but his writing is incredibly lean meaning both move faster than you're expecting. The term "airport novel" is often used in a derogatory way, but the Reacher books are joys to read as personality, action, and a steady supply of karmic comeuppance are unleashed throughout. The books just satisfy.

This is the novel that the first season of the "Reacher" television series was based on, but it's still a recommended starting point for readers despite a familiarity with the plot. Readers will get a stronger sense of Reacher's character and his past, and supporting players are equally well-treated. Plus, once you've read it and loved it, you'll smile knowing you've got at least 29 more Reacher adventures ahead of you (as well as the upcoming fourth season of the TV series).

Eight years after his wife was abducted and murdered, a doctor is shocked to discover that she might actually still be alive. Attempts to dig into past events leads quickly to threats and murder with the good doctor made to look like the guilty party. Now, with both villains and the police on his tail, he's forced into a desperate race against time to find answers, save lives, and maybe even reunite with the woman he loves. This novel does not let up, people.

If ever there was an author whose work seemed tailormade for an adaptation to the screen by Hollywood, it's Harlan Coben. His novels, particularly his standalone mystery/thrillers like "Gone for Good," "No Second Chance," and "Just One Look," are slick, fast-paced thrillers loaded with twists and turns, but it was a French filmmaker who first took notice. 2001's "Tell No One" was adapted into a French film five years after its publication, and it remains both a fantastic novel and a stellar movie.

Hollywood's lack of interest is interesting for two reasons. First, Coben has a dozen or so standalone novels that are equally engrossing reads and well worth digging into. And second, while American studios remain unmoved, international ones are fully onboard both independently and as part of Netflix's worldwide reach (we've ranked the streamer's Coben adaptations here). Over a dozen miniseries have already been released from countries like France, Spain, Poland, Argentina, and the UK. All are worth watching, but for that kind of time investment, you should probably just read the books first anyway.

As mentioned in the introduction, there's no single blueprint for a thriller novel. Even leaving subgenres aside, straight thrillers come with a variety of structures, plots, and body counts. R.F. Kuang's "Yellowface" is probably the least conventional thriller on this list — to the point that some readers might not even consider it to be a thriller — but it's every bit a suspenseful, surprising novel with real narrative momentum.

A young woman trying to break into the literary scene as a writer steals an unpublished manuscript from a recently deceased acquaintance who happens to be an Asian American bestselling author. The thief, June, is not Asian, but she welcomes a bit of subterfuge alongside her publisher as the book, a novel about Chinese people and history, breaks big and becomes a bestseller. Someone's not happy, though, and soon messages threatening to expose her begin arriving via social media.

There may not be a string of murders or highly graphic carnage here, but the book delivers genuine intellectual thrills in its story and clear critique of social media and the ways in which people use the work of others — specifically minorities — to climb the ladder in an easily manipulated and misinformed society. There are several tense sequences here alongside a somewhat meta commentary on the failings of the publishing industry, and watching Kuang bite the hand that feeds her is more than a little exhilarating.

Think of Steph Cha's "Your House Will Pay" as the back half of a powerful double feature of atypically relevant thrillers alongside "Yellowface" above. There's no mad killer on the loose or world-ending fungus inching its way towards humankind, but there is racial tension, grief, and simmering anger ready to explode at any moment.

A black teenager is shot and killed by a Korean shop owner in 1991 Los Angeles, and her brother Shawn is still haunted by the incident nearly three decades later. The shopkeeper was convicted but served no real jail time and was quietly resettled elsewhere in the city. In the present day, a young Korean woman named Grace is horrified when her mother is gunned down in a drive-by. Two families, connected and shaped by violence and pain, are about to realize their stories aren't quite over.

There are elements at play here fueled by mystery and terror, and thrills emanate from both as the metaphorical match gets closer and closer to the fuse. Tension between blacks and Asians are historically high in the city, and Cha's novel — inspired by the real-life shooting of a young black teenager by a Korean grocer in 1991, an event that in turn helped fuel the L.A. riots — approaches the issue with both insight and sensitivity even as she finds suspenseful thrills with these characters and their seemingly impossible situation. It's as affecting as it is satisfying, and it succeeds at entertaining even as it's instigating thought.