Historical Thriller Books

The best historical thriller book reviews. Historical thrillers feature suspenseful situations set in specific time periods, in which the survival of fictional characters are threatened by the real circumstances of prior historical eras and places.

Blood Before Dawn

BLOOD BEFORE DAWN, The Year’s Best Historical Thriller

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The Bottom Line: The year’s best historical thriller (Winner, The BestThrillers.com Book Awards). April 1979: Ken Verrier and his wife, Sam return to Liberia only to buy diamonds, but they get caught up in a bloody rice riot and a coup d’état. Ken witnesses and unwittingly participates in a period of Liberia’s tumultuous yet poorly documented history—the overthrow of the Tolbert presidency that ultimately ends …

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The Memory Seeker, an Astonishing Historical Thriller by Ronald Niezen

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The Bottom Line: An astonishing debut novel that establishes Ronald Niezen as one of the most exciting new voices in historical fiction. Peter Dekker, fresh off a fellowship at Cambridge, takes a job as an investigator for the International Criminal Court in The Hague. A trained anthropologist with Dutch-Canadian ancestry, Peter learns that he’ll be assigned to the civil war in Mali. It’s a truly …

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Richter’s War: Case of the Ghostly Séance, an Alt History Thriller by Daniel P. Douglas

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The Bottom Line:  An action-packed alt history thriller that succesfully blends LA noir and Nazi obsession with the supernatural.  In 1943 Los Angeles, private detective Geno Richter has been hired by the War Department to hunt down Nazi agents, spies and saboteurs. In this, author Daniel P. Douglas’ third book featuring Richter, he’s been assigned a new partner – attractive former Marine Corps nurse Anna …

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Best Political Thriller 2022 - BestThrillers.com Book Awards

The Doomsday Medallion, a Bewitching Political Thriller by Avanti Centrae

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The Bottom Line: An epic and bewitching mashup of historical suspense and political thriller. Perfect for fans of Steve Berry and James Rollins. Sixteenth-century French prophet Nostradamus is said to have predicted the Great Fire of London, the French Revolution, the rises of Napoleon and Adolf Hitler and both world wars. In Avanti Centrae’s The Doomsday Medallion, we learn that Nostradamus may have used a …

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The Silver Waterfall, the Year’s Best Historical Thriller

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The Bottom Line: Honored in the Best Thriller Book Awards as the Best Historical Thriller of 2021. In the desolate middle of the largest ocean on earth, two great navies met, one bent on conclusive battle, the other lying in ambush. Six months after Pearl Harbor, Yamamoto again crossed the Pacific with the most powerful naval armada the world had ever seen, this time to …

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Clochán, a Charming Historical Thriller by Lawrence P. O’Brien

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The Bottom Line: A vivid, gut-wrenching and charming historical thriller that captures a man’s coming of age in early 19th century Ireland. Set in the years surrounding the Irish Rebellion of 1798, the novel’s early chapters follow the plight of the Neal family as they attempt to survive an armed uprising against British rule and its subsequent backlash. Wartime is not kind to the Neal …

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Shadows of Leonardo, a Thriller Destined for the Big Screen by Will Ottinger

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The Bottom Line: Daniel Silva fans will find a new favorite with this made-for-Hollywood tale of ancient art, mystery and murder. Shadows of Leonardo opens months before the end of World War II, as the Nazi regime is collapsing across the eastern front with Russia. Starving and on the verge of freezing to death, a Nazi SS officer discovers a create bound for Reichsmarschall Göring. …

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On the Devil’s Knee, a Richly Drawn Historical Thriller by Craig A. Godfrey

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The Bottom Line: A richly drawn historical thriller filled with murder, intrigue and shocking twists. Craig A. Godfrey’s historical thriller begins in Tasmania on Boxing Day, 1914. What appears to be a hat box is delivered to 22-year-old Protestant Frankie Mulberry, who lives at her parent’s home despite secretly marrying a young Roman Catholic named Brady. But upon opening the present, a bomb detonates, killing …

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Mr. Simpson and Other Short Stories, a Deliciously Ruthless Collection by Stephen Maitland-Lewis

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The Bottom Line: Deliciously ruthless predators rule in this collection of stories about deceit, deception, fraud and power. Highly recommended. Stephen Maitland-Lewis, author of the pulse-pounding financial thriller Duped, is back with a collection of suspenseful stories that succeed wildly in chronicling the relentless pursuit of success, status and survival. The book opens with a tale centered around Ernest Simpson, the American-born British shipbroker who …

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The Pilate Scroll, an Edge-of-Your Seat Christian Thriller by M.B. Lewis

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The Bottom line: An edge-of-your-seat Christian Thriller that Indiana Jones fans will find irresistible. Highly recommended. Kadie Jenkins thought she was in Egypt to help the Global Disease Initiative (GDI) find a cure for an ancient virus. Fluent in Latin, Greek and Aramaic, an ancient language of the Middle East and biblical texts, Kadie was handpicked for the job after the GDI had been contracted …

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