Five Thrillers That We Loved That You Need to Read

The thriller genre is filled with many old and new classics and is a great way to read more books. That is why we will be sharing five thrillers that we loved that you need to read. So, keep reading to find out what they are!

Whenever I find myself reading a thriller, I find it impossible to think of anything else. That is why I often finish thrillers in one day. I have to know what happens and every chapter is a cliffhanger!

The great thing about thrillers is that there are many subgenres and they don’t tend to be very long. These two things mean that you can read a variety of thrillers and not get bored. But it ultimately depends on what you read. 

Out list includes five amazing thrillers that you will fall in love with because we know we did. From spy novels to your classic suspense novels, we have something for everyone. You can see the full list below!

Five Thrillers That We Loved That You Need to Read

• First Lie Wins by Ashley Elston
• Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane 
• The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides
• The Bourne Identity by Robert Ludlum
• Strangers on a Train by Patricia Highsmith

First Lie Wins

A thriller novel that I recently read and enjoyed was then First Lie Wins by Ashley Elston. Protagonist Evie Porter is living the perfect life but there is only problem: Evie Porter isn’t real.

She is an identity for the current mission, one that Evie needs to figure out or she will be replaced. Evie’s previous mission didn’t go well and this mission and when Evie meets someone who is using her Evie’s real name, it lets her know that her time may be running out if she doesn’t deliver what her boss wants. 

I loved every second of this novel and ended up reading it in one day. There are so many plot twists and Elston does a wonderful job of not overloading the information, instead slowly letting the reader know which just leads to more questions. This is brilliant writing and what a thriller novel is supposed to be like. 

Shutter Island

One of my all-time favorite thrillers is Shutter Island by Denise Lehane. I watched the movie before I read the novel but even then, I enjoyed the novel even when I knew the twist. 

U.S. Marshal Edward “Teddy” Danielsand his new partner Chuck Aule take a ferry to Shutter Island to visit the Ashecliffe Hospital for the criminally insane. They are there to investigate the disappearance of a patient named Rachel Solando.

Teddy and Chuck interview inmates and search the island to find Rachel. Along with finding Rachel, Teddy is also searching for the man who killed his wife, Andrew Laeddis. Teddy believes that Andrew is also an inmate at Ashecliffe and trues to find him also. 

Shutter Island isn’t the greatest thriller ever but the novel and an amazing movie adaption make this a must read. And after reading the novel, you have to watch the movie and see what a great adaptation looks like. 

The Silent Patient

After coming across The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides on many lists of the best thriller novels, I finally decided to read it and I saw why people thought highly of it. The storytelling and plot twists make this one of the best thrillers I have ever read. 

Protagonist Theo Faber is a criminal psychotherapist and he finds himself interested in Alicia Berenson’s case. She shot her husband five times in the face and never has said another word again. Theo wants to make her speak again and solve the mystery of why she shot her husband but this mystery may upend his life as well.

Michaelides is a phenomenal storyteller and I loved everything about this novel. There are clues throughout the novel that will only make sense once you reach the climax. And if you want to see just how talented Michaelides is, then reread the novel and it’ll feel like you’re  reading another book. 

The Bourne Identity

Spy novels are some of the best thrillers and The Bourne Identity by Robert Ludlum is a great example of that. You may have seen the popular action movies but the novels are much better. 

In The Bourne Identity, a shooting takes place within the first few pages. A man is shot and falls over into the water and the boat explodes soon after. When the man regains consciousness, he has no memory of who he is. But there are clues that can lead him to answers that he desperately craves.

Jason Bourne uses the clues around him to reach out to people he thinks may be able to help tell him who he is. Things take a left turn and Bourne finds himself pursued by assassins and organizations he knows nothing about. If Bourne wants to survive, he must use the skills he has and find out who he is before his enemies do or it’ll be too late.

The Jason Bourne series are the epitome of spy novels and it isn’t surprising to see the success the series has over multiple mediums. It feels like spy novels aren’t as prevalent anymore but once upon a time, they were everywhere. 

Strangers on a Train

When you talk about thrillers, Patricia Highsmith needs to be mentioned. One of my favorite novels by her is Strangers on a Train because there is nobody else like her. Highsmith has fresh plots and her characters aren’t the most moral, leading to situations that sound right out of a movie. 

In Strangers on a Train, Guy gets on the train and meets a stranger named Bruno who pitches the idea of murdering for each other. This way, the police will never find a motive and they will be able to walk away free. 

Guy thinks that Bruno is insane and doesn’t entertain this idea at all. They go their separate ways and Guy thinks nothing more of it. But when Guy gets a call telling him that his wife was murdered, Guy can’t help but wonder if Bruno was behind it. 

Now, Bruno wants Guy to keep his end of the deal and harasses Guy through letters and threatens to tell the police about the murder. Guy finds himself losing his sanity and wonders what to do? Should he tell the police and will they believe him or should he commit a murder to make Bruno go away?

If you haven’t read a novel by Patricia Highsmith, then you are for a treat. She had a pessimistic view on humanity and it leads to some amazing novels and characters you won’t find in other novels. And you can watch the classic movie of the same name produced and directed Alfred Hitchcock. 

Conclusion

With so many amazing thriller novels to choose from, we narrowed it down to five thrillers that we loved that you need to read. The list includes modern thrillers such as First Lie Wins and The Silent Patient as well as as classics such as The Bourne Identity and Strangers on a Train.

All of these novels are different and unique and will make you get back into reading in no time. With thrillers it can be hard to put them down once you start reading them. The good news is that there are tons of amazing thrillers and we will make sure to let you know the best ones to read. Happy reading!

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