Thriller Genre Guide
Our guides are broken down by sub-genre, to provide a broad selection and help you find titles that fit your interests. You can place a request on any of these titles by clicking on the cover, which will take you to our online catalogue.
Domestic Thrillers
Behind Closed Doors, by B.A. Paris
The friends of a seemingly perfect socialite couple begin to see cracks in the facade when they realize that the husband and wife are never apart and that there are bars on one of their upstairs windows.
Gone Girl, by Gillian Flynn
When beautiful Amy Dunne disappears from her Missouri home, it looks as if her husband Nick is to blame. But though he protests his innocence, it's clear that he's not being entirely truthful. Gone Girl is not only the story of a disappearance, but a truly frightening glimpse of a souring marriage.
My Lovely Wife, by Samantha Downing
A seemingly typical suburban husband discloses the secret ways that his wife of 15 years and he keep their marriage alive and chase away domestic boredom by orchestrating creative ways to get away with murder
The Silent Patient, by Alex Michaelides
Theo Faber, a criminal psychotherapist, is determined to get an artist who shot her husband and then never spoke another word to talk, which takes him down a twisting path into his own motivations--a search for the truth that threatens to consume him.
Big Little Lies, by Liane Moriarty
A horrible act of violence occurs at the Pirriwee Public School's trivia night fundraiser for parents, but what happened and who was involved? The novel begins six months before that fateful evening and lets us in on the lives of single mother Jane, twice-married Madeline, and Celeste, who secretly suffers from domestic abuse.
Then She Was Gone, by Lisa Jewell
Struggling to put her life back together a decade after her beloved teen daughter's disappearance, a divorced woman bonds with a charming single father whose young child eerily resembles the woman's own lost daughter and who compels a wrenching search for answers.
Psychological Thrillers
The Push, by Ashley Audrain
A devoted mother with a painful past gradually realizes that something is very wrong with her daughter, a fear that is complicated by her husband's dismissive views and the birth of a healthy son.
The One, by John Marrs
A decade after scientists discover that everyone has a "soulmate gene" that they share with just one other person, five people meet their matches, only to be torn by shocking secrets.
Lock Every Door, by Riley Sager
A young woman gets a job house sitting in one of New York's oldest and most glamorous apartments, that may cost more than it pays.
No Exit, by Taylor Adams
Trapped at a Colorado rest stop with four strangers during a snowstorm, Darby Thomas must figure out which of them kidnapped the girl locked in a crate in the van parked next to Darby's car.
The Last Mrs. Parrish, by Liv Constantine
Daphne seems to have hit the jackpot by marrying Jackson Parrish. They live in a lovely Connecticut mansion and travel around the world, all the while raising two beautiful daughters. When Mrs. Parrish meets Amber, a kindred spirit, Daphne instantly feels a connection, perhaps someone to fill the endless void of sorrow that has plagued her since her sister's death. We learn that nothing is what it appears to be.
The Turn of the Key, by Ruth Ware
When a high-paying nanny job at a luxurious Scottish Highlands home ends with her imprisonment for a child's murder, a young woman struggles to explain to her lawyer the unravelling events that led to her incarceration.
Suspenseful Thrillers
Home Before Dark, by Riley Sager
Twenty-five years after her father published a wildly popular non-fiction book based on her family's rushed exit from a haunted Victorian estate, naysayer Maggie inherits the house and begins renovations only to make a number of disturbing discoveries.
The Girl on the Train, by Paula Hawkins
Obsessively watching a breakfasting couple every day to escape the pain of her losses, Rachel witnesses a shocking event that inextricably entangles her in the lives of strangers.
The Passenger, by Lisa Lutz
Tanya Dubois finds her husband, Frank, dead after a tumble down the stairs and knows she can’t afford the scrutiny police will give his questionable death. So, Tanya gases up his truck, blackmails mysterious Mr. Oliver for a new identity, and hits the road to start over as Amelia Keen. She allows herself to forge a new friendship with Blue, a secretive Austin bartender. When threats from both of their pasts resurface, Blue devises their risky escapes. But as Tanya/Amelia struggles to settle into her newest fake life and reluctantly squelches a dangerous romance with a small-town sheriff, she begins to suspect that Blue’s plan may have served darker purposes.
The Wife Between Us, by Greer Hendricks & Sarah Pekkanen
A psychologically charged tale of suspense follows the unexpected twists that shape a divorce and second marriage that are anything but what they seem.
The Passengers, by John Marrs
In a near-future society where self-driving cars are the norm, eight people find themselves trapped in cars which have been hacked, with a mysterious voice telling them they are going to die while their fearful reactions are broadcast around the world from hidden cameras.
Legal Thrillers
A Good Marriage, by Kimberly McCreight
Begged for help by an old friend, an overworked lawyer investigates a suspicious death in a Brooklyn brownstone before she is confronted by a close-knit circle of parents who would protect an exclusive school.
Miracle Creek, by Angie Kim
A dramatic murder trial in the aftermath of an experimental medical treatment and a fatal explosion upends a rural Virginia community where personal secrets and private ambitions complicate efforts to uncover what happened.
The Night Swim, by Megan Goldin
Two crimes that occurred in a small town 25 years apart. Rachel, an investigative podcast reporter, is covering the trial of a young man accused of the latest crime. While there, she is pulled into the past by the earlier victim's sister, Hannah, who has been haunted by it for a very long time.
A Nearly Normal Family, by M.T. Edvardsson
A legal thriller told in three acts follows the trial of a 17-year-old girl from an upstanding family who has been implicated in the murder of a shady businessman, testing the limits of her father's faith and mother's ethics
The Law of Innocence, by Michael Connelly
Defense attorney Mickey Haller utilizes his legal team's resources from behind bars to organize his own defense when he is framed for murder by an unknown adversary. This book is #7 in the Mickey Haller series.
A Time For Mercy, by John Grisham
Court-appointed lawyer Jake Brigance puts his career and the safety of his family on the line to defend a 16-year-old murder suspect who is facing the death penalty. This book is #3 Jake Brigance series.
Political Thrillers
Total Power, by Kyle Mills
When an ISIS plot devastates America’s power grid, Mitch Rapp and his CIA team race to find the responsible cyberterrorists to prevent the nation from succumbing to total collapse. This book is #19 in the Mitch Rapp Series.
Near Dark, by Brad Thor
The world’s largest bounty has just been placed upon America’s top spy. His only hope for survival is to outwit, outrun, and outlast his enemies long enough to get to the truth. This book is #19 in the Scott Harvath series.
Daylight, by David Baldacci
When her search for her sister clashes with one of John Puller's high-stakes investigations, FBI agent Atlee Pine confronts traumatizing forces in the world of organized crime. This book is #3 in the Atlee Pine series.
Relentless, by Mark Greaney
Attempting to secure an operative who is among several who have gone missing throughout the world, the Gray Man secures vital intelligence from a team of assassins, before an undercover agent in Berlin makes a life-threatening discovery. This book is #10 in the Gray Man series.
The Sentinel, by Lee Child & Andrew Child
In broad daylight Reacher spots a hapless soul walking into an ambush, so he intervenes, with his own trademark brand of conflict resolution. The man he saves is Rusty Rutherford, an unassuming IT manager, recently fired after a cyberattack locked up the town’s data, records, information . . . and secrets. The bad guys who jumped Rutherford are part of something serious and deadly, involving a conspiracy, a cover-up, and murder. This book is #25 in the Jack Reacher series.
