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  1. Genres
  2. ›Thriller

Best Thriller Books

Suspense and thriller novels

1,424 summaries

Showing 1–24 of 1,424

  1. Angels & Demons

    Dan Brown

    ★ 3.9 (2.7M) average on GoodreadsHistorical Fiction

    A Harvard symbologist races through Rome's ancient sites, deciphering cryptic clues to unmask the Illuminati and stop a vengeful plot to destroy the Vatican with a stolen antimatter weapon.

  2. Gone Girl

    Gillian Flynn

    ★ 4.1 (2.3M) average on GoodreadsMystery

    A wife's sudden disappearance on her fifth anniversary reveals a web of lies and psychological warfare, exposing the secrets within a seemingly perfect marriage.

  3. The Girl on the Train

    Paula Hawkins

    ★ 3.9 (2.1M) average on GoodreadsMystery

    A woman’s fascination with a seemingly perfect couple she watches from her daily train commute leads her into a dark investigation when she witnesses something that shatters their idyllic image.

  4. The Da Vinci Code

    Dan Brown

    ★ 3.9 (1.9M) average on GoodreadsHistorical Fiction

    A symbologist and a cryptologist race through European landmarks, deciphering ancient codes and uncovering a conspiracy that could rewrite the foundations of Christianity.

  5. The Guest List

    Lucy Foley

    ★ 3.8 (1.3M) average on Goodreads

    On a remote Irish island, a glamorous wedding descends into a deadly whodunnit when a guest is found murdered, trapping everyone with their secrets as a storm rages.

  6. The Shining

    Stephen King

    ★ 4.2 (1.1M) average on GoodreadsFantasy

    A recovering alcoholic accepts a caretaking job at a snow-bound, haunted hotel, where his son's psychic abilities reveal the sinister forces that drive him to madness and terrorize his family.

  7. And Then There Were None

    Agatha Christie

    ★ 4.3 (822k) average on GoodreadsMystery

    Ten strangers, each with a secret, are drawn to an isolated island and systematically killed, following a nursery rhyme until no one is left.

  8. The Martian

    Andy Weir

    ★ 4.4 (817k) average on GoodreadsScience Fiction

    Stranded and presumed dead on Mars, an astronaut must outwit the planet with his scientific knowledge and a roll of duct tape to survive against impossible odds.

  9. The Girl Who Played with Fire

    Stieg Larsson

    ★ 4.2 (809k) average on GoodreadsMystery

    When a bombshell exposé on sex trafficking leads to murder, a journalist must clear his friend, the hacker Lisbeth Salander, as she confronts the violent ghosts of her past.

  10. Jurassic Park

    Michael Crichton

    ★ 4.0 (803k) average on GoodreadsFantasy

    On a remote island, a millionaire's dinosaur theme park becomes a nightmare when the resurrected predators escape, turning a scientific wonder into a terrifying fight for survival against creatures humanity brought back from extinction.

  11. Big Little Lies

    Liane Moriarty

    ★ 4.3 (748k) average on GoodreadsMystery

    Beneath the facade of an affluent coastal town, the lives of three women intertwine through schoolyard drama, domestic secrets, and the dangerous little lies that ultimately lead to a shocking murder.

  12. Room

    Emma Donoghue

    ★ 4.1 (714k) average on Goodreads

    A captive mother and her son, whose world is a single room, must rely on the child's bravery to escape a horrifying reality and face the overwhelming outside world.

  13. A Time to Kill

    John Grisham

    ★ 4.1 (703k) average on GoodreadsMystery

    In a racially charged Mississippi town, a father's violent revenge for his daughter's rape ignites prejudice, forcing a young lawyer to defend the indefensible amid threats of mob rule and a trial that could tear the community apart.

  14. Sharp Objects

    Gillian Flynn

    ★ 4.0 (678k) average on GoodreadsMystery

    A reporter, recently discharged from a psychiatric hospital, returns to her stifling hometown to investigate the murders of two young girls. She finds herself caught between her troubled past and the sinister secrets of her wealthy, dysfunctional family.

  15. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest

    Stieg Larsson

    ★ 4.2 (646k) average on GoodreadsMystery

    With a bullet in her head and murder charges looming, hacker Lisbeth Salander must expose a government conspiracy and get revenge on those who sought to silence her, all from her hospital bed.

  16. The Stand

    Stephen King

    ★ 4.3 (616k) average on GoodreadsFantasy

    After a plague kills most people, the few survivors are drawn into a fight between good and evil, led by a kind prophet and a demonic figure, for the future of a new world.

  17. A Clockwork Orange

    Anthony Burgess

    ★ 4.0 (601k) average on GoodreadsScience Fiction

    In a dystopian future, a charismatic, ultraviolent teen enjoys his 'nadsat'-laced depravity until a State-mandated re-education program challenges his free will.

  18. Deception Point

    Dan Brown

    ★ 3.7 (591k) average on GoodreadsMystery

    An intelligence analyst uncovers a deadly conspiracy surrounding a miraculous Arctic discovery, forcing her to flee assassins and expose a scientific deception that could shatter a presidential election.

  19. Dark Places

    Gillian Flynn

    ★ 3.9 (578k) average on GoodreadsMystery

    A woman who profited from testifying that her brother murdered their family as a child must face the truth of that night when a true-crime club reopens the case, uncovering secrets more sinister than she imagined.

  20. Digital Fortress

    Dan Brown

    ★ 3.7 (561k) average on GoodreadsMystery

    An NSA cryptographer cracks an unbreakable code, uncovering a digital weapon that threatens U.S. intelligence and exposes a high-level conspiracy, forcing her to fight for her country, her life, and the man she loves.

  21. The Husband's Secret

    Liane Moriarty

    ★ 3.9 (532k) average on GoodreadsMystery

    A woman's perfectly ordered life falls apart when she finds a letter from her husband, revealing a devastating secret that affects other unsuspecting women.

  22. In Cold Blood

    Truman Capote

    ★ 4.1 (529k) average on GoodreadsBiography

    Capote dissects the brutal, motiveless Clutter family murders, exposing the chilling humanity and depravity of the killers while blurring the lines between true crime and literary art.

  23. The Lost Symbol

    Dan Brown

    ★ 3.7 (521k) average on GoodreadsHistorical Fiction

    Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon races through Washington D.C.'s hidden Masonic underworld to decipher ancient symbols and save his kidnapped mentor from a terrifying villain obsessed with unlocking esoteric wisdom.

  24. Carrie

    Stephen King

    ★ 4.0 (520k) average on GoodreadsFantasy

    An ostracized and telekinetic teenage girl, pushed to her breaking point by relentless bullying and religious fanaticism, unleashes a fiery, devastating revenge on her tormentors during their senior prom.

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