One of my favorite things to do is reading thrillers. The suspense and drama keeps you hooked as the world around you is all but forgotten. An amazing thriller will have you reading for hours without you even realizing it. That made us want to make a list of the five best thrillers of all time!
There are dozens of amazing thrillers out there and choosing only five sounds almost impossible. We are going to have to leave out some books and that may be due to our biases more than anything else. No list is perfect or the only list. More than anything else, this list invites debate and to help people find the best thrillers to read.
The goal of this list is to highlight the five best works in the thriller genre. There are just too many amazing books for one list to be the right one. Having a discussion and discovering new books to read is one of the main goals of this list. You can see the full list below!
The Five Best Thrillers of All Time
- The Day of the Jackal by Frederick Forsyth
- Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane
- Strangers on a Train by Patricia Highsmith
- The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides
- The Hunt for Red October by Tom Clancy
The Day of the Jackal
A classic spy thriller novel that everyone needs to read is The Day of the Jackal by Frederick Forsyth. It is a brilliant novel that is impossible to put down. When a novel spoils the plot at the beginning, you have to wonder what will keep you reading. But Forsyth does an amazing job it telling the story, making you wonder if it was a red herring.
When talking about thriller novels, I have to always mention this one. The pacing, plot, and characters make this novel an incredible read. It uses a plot device that few novels would even dare to and you can’t help lose yourself in this book.
Shutter Island
Another thriller that I rank highly on my list is Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane. If you like reading novels where you can’t trust the protagonist, then this is for you.
U.S. Marshal Edward “Teddy” Daniels and his new partner, Chuck Aule hake a ferry to Shutter Island to investigate a disappearance. But Teddy soon realizes that he can’t trust anyone and that something nefarious is going on at Shutter Island.
I ended up watching the movie first and then reading the book because of how much I enjoyed it. This is the one time the movie might be better than the novel. But they both hold up very well because of the amazing plot that Lehane has written.
Strangers on a Train
This novel was Patricia Highsmith’s debut and it captured the public’s attention with questions of morality. Her novels showcased that everything isn’t always black and white but shades of gray. Her characters are questionable and yet, you can’t turn away from them.
This novel led to one of the greatest movies ever made. It was directed by none other than Alfred Hitchcock in 1951. If you haven’ read any of Highsmith’s novel, then you are missing out. She is a unique author that has a style that is her own and has led to some to of the best novels-turned-movies.
The Silent Patient
The Silent Patient might have one of the best plot twists of a thriller novel that I have read. After seeing in it on so many lists, I knew I had to read it. And it surpassed all my expectations.
The novel is about a woman who doesn’t talk after being found next to her murdered husband. Psychotherapist Theo Faber has taken an interest in this case and transfer to the Grove to help Alicia Berenson talk again. He wants to find out what actually happened on the day of the murder and why Alicia hasn’t talked since then.
The Hunt for Red October
Having two spy novels on this list is bold of us but it is hard to argue that The Hunt for Red October by Tom Clancy is not one of the best thrillers ever written.
The stakes are high and involves a defected Soviet nuclear submarine, the USSR’s latest weapon. It is led by their most trusted officer and but now they are trying to destroy it before the Americans get their hands on it. Who will find it first to find the submarine that can potentially decide the winner of the Cold War?
Conclusion
That is all for our list of thefive best thrillers of all time. Two spy novels made the list and it is hard to argue against spy novels. They are some of the most interesting novels there are and every page is action packed.
But three other thrillers fill the list that are just as good. Choosing only these five was not easy and if I made the list again, I don’t know if it would look the same.
How many of these books have you read? What other books should have made the list? Let us know in the comments below. Until next time, happy reading!
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Thank you for this, forgot I have been meaning to read Strangers on a Train. I will check out The Day of the Jackal!
Glad to help!
Intensity by Dean Koontz.
Have you read THE HILLS BE SHAKEN? They call Michael Stewart, “The John Grisham of Engineering Thrillers”
Mystic river in place of Shutter Island, same author.9
I may have a bias and chose Shutter Island over Mystic River. Both are great novels and it comes down to preference. I think I leaned towards Shutter Island because the ending of Mystic Island was disappointing for me.
The Silent Patient belongs on this list. Maybe at the top of the list. Awesome book.
The Shining is horror but yes to Shutter Island, what a brilliantly written book, if sad. Day of the Jackal was v v big to people of my dad’s generation. Somehow I’ve always avoided it. As they say, it’s a thriller that works despite you knowing De Gaulle won’t die.