So many books to read and so little time. We’ve read more great books this year than in any other in recent memory. Increasingly, talented authors seem to be drifting into the thriller genre with new approaches to familiar literary conventions. Here’s our take on the best of the best so far.
Thriller writer Alex Berenson, author of The Faithful Spy and three subsequent novels, has just wrapped up his fifth in the series of John Wells novels, “The Secret Soldier.”
Earlier in the year, we called Justin Cronin the ultimate literary outlier. Cronin, the winner of the Pen/Faulkner award for a book that his Iowa Writer’s Workshop cronies must have admired, went off and wrote himself a gory-ass vampire novel. For those of you unfamiliar with the Iowa Writer’s Workshop, it ‘s far more prestigious than its name implies. Somehow, the most storied graduate writing …
What makes a great psychological thriller? First and foremost, a confounding mystery that is disturbing and at times nearly hallucinogenic. A compelling protagonist whose life is in constant danger. A juicy assortment of clues, both red herrings and genuine puzzle pieces, that don’t quite fit into place until the very end. And a master craftsman at the help who can simultaneously draw the reader in, …
Best Books: Top 5 Psychological Thrillers of the 2000s READ MORE >
With the holiday season upon us, the year’s major political thrillers are now in wide release. The genre’s most prolific authors put out another bumper crop of assassins, rogue intelligence agents, dirty politicians and bleeding edge technology. Relative newcomers stormed the scene, finding more readers than ever thanks to Amazon’s Kindle. Here’s how our list shapes up: Pursuit of Honor, by Vince Flynn CIA Agent …
