Thriller Books

From a novel about the murder of Congolese leader Patrice Lumumba to the latest John le Carré novel, from a Mossad agent in London to the hunt for a traitor at CIA HQ in Virginia, Shane Whaley, host of Spybrary—the podcast for lovers of spy books—talks us through his best spy novels of 2024.

'Eco thrillers' are books that combine suspenseful plotting with environmental themes. Here, the bestselling novelist and chart-topping podcaster Manda Scott selects five thrilling novels that explore the climate emergency and other ecological crises through fiction, with an emphasis on books that envisage a route forward.

The British author Ian Fleming (1908-1964) wrote only 12 James Bond novels, but dozens more have been published since his death. Mark Edlitz, author of James Bond After Fleming, guides us through the 'continuation novels,' starting with Kingsley Amis in 1968.

From a noir novel by Eric Ambler set in 1930s Europe to some of the great spy thrillers of the post-World War II era, British novelist Patrick Worrall, author of The Exile, talks us through five of his favourite espionage novels.

Psychological thrillers play on our fears that those closest to us can't be trusted and that even our homes aren't safe, explains Tammy Cohen, author of Stop at Nothing and They All Fall Down. She recommends five psychological thrillers and explains what it is that makes them so deeply unsettling and utterly gripping.

With the end of the Soviet Union, many thought the spy novel was dead. Within a decade, it was back, with old antagonists back in different guises and a new raft of international flashpoints to keep both fictional and real-life spies busy. Here, British spy novelist Charles Cumming, author of more than ten books, recommends five key post-Soviet spy thrillers and explains how the genre has evolved since the fall of the Berlin Wall.

Thrillers for teens have to be fast paced, exciting and entertaining, argues Kathryn Foxfield, author of YA thriller Good Girls Die First. She recommends some of her favourite teen thrillers, from books published this year to classics of the genre.

Many of us enjoy thrillers because of the pacy story, but good crime fiction has always been about society, says American novelist Karin Slaughter. She recommends five crime novels that are not only great reads but "pry the scab off the human condition."

Every week, dozens of new thrillers appear in bookshops. But, often, the classic ones are the best of all. If you haven't read any of these five yet, you have a treat in store—recommended by British novelist Lucy Atkins, author of the brilliant Magpie Lane.

There are now 56 Dick Francis books. 39 of them were written by Richard Francis (1920-2010), a champion jockey who rode for the Queen and the Queen Mother before retiring and turning to a career as a writer. Since then, they've been written by his son, Felix Francis, who has continued writing thrillers in the style of his father. Felix's latest book, set at the bloodstock sales in Newmarket, is No Reserve.