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What’s Your Favorite Mystery/Suspense/Thriller Novel of All Time?

June 2, 2010 by Nathan Bransford 161 Comments

Please continue to enter The Rock Paper Tiger Chase/Action Writing Contest Extravaganza if you have not already! Be sure to do so in the official contest thread.

And as we continue in Rock Paper Tiger week (on sale now!), a very timely question: what is your favorite mystery/suspense/thriller novel of all time?

I was drawn to Rock Paper Tiger because it has incredible style and a very keen sense of place. And a lot of what I loved about it I also love about The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler.

What’s your favorite?

Filed Under: Books Tagged With: book recommendations, Suspense, You Tell Me

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Emily Morganson says

    June 4, 2010 at 2:23 am

    THR3E by Ted Dekker. I couldn't guess the ending, not by far, and that is quite an accomplishment by the author.

    Reply
  2. Christina says

    June 4, 2010 at 3:12 am

    REBECCA by Daphne du Maurier. A classic, but SO good. I always thought that Mrs. Danvers was in love with her late mistress. She was so creepy about the way she would describe her.

    Reply
  3. Marjorie says

    June 4, 2010 at 3:28 am

    The best suspense thrillers of all time are in the "film noir" collection of my new blog:

    marjorie-cartoons.blogspot.com

    This blog is da shiznit!

    Reply
  4. Lyn says

    June 4, 2010 at 5:06 pm

    Sorry. Found a typo.
    Hammett's RED HARVEST. Bradbury's THE MARTIAN CHRONICLES. Lately, one book that just sticks with me is Robert Doherty's LOST GIRLS, which is kind of a sequel to BODYGUARD OF LIES, but different, too.

    Currently reading THE HOUSE ON THE STRAND, and if you can get past the first 130 pages, which are boring to the point of restless tears, it does pick up a bit. We'll see. But I'm not impressed with it at all.

    Reply
  5. HistorySleuth says

    June 8, 2010 at 6:50 am

    REBECCA by Daphne DuMaurier is my favorite.

    Reply
  6. MB Dabney says

    June 9, 2010 at 4:38 am

    TINKER, TAILOR, SOLDIER, SPY by John LeCarre. George Smiley was wonderfully written and was, at the time, quite atypical of fictional spies. He was brilliant, of coruse, but also fat and middle-aged. And he had one major flaw — he loved his indiscreet wife.
    I read the book again every couple of years.

    Reply
  7. Jonathan_Priest says

    July 9, 2010 at 7:47 am

    Just ploughed through The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield and found it a great disappointment compared to the glowing reviews it received here. Nicely written and helpful as a guide to style but I didn't believe the premise, the characters or their bizarre development. The author did a great job removing any hint of passion, let alone sex.

    Reply
  8. Ahsan Ali says

    November 18, 2010 at 3:40 pm

    Wow, so many great recommendations.

    Any who hasn't read The Count of Monte Cristo, well, that's what a thriller is!

    I'd also add james meek's "the people's act of love"

    Reply
  9. Becky says

    November 22, 2011 at 11:21 pm

    Becky
    My favorite is Without Mercy By Lisa Jackson. Once, I started reading it. I couldn't put it down. I hope, there's another part to the story.

    Reply
  10. Anonymous says

    January 31, 2013 at 7:10 am

    Mo Hayder's 'The Devil of Nanking' also titled 'Tokyo',It's disturbing and stays with you long after reading.

    Reply
  11. Edward says

    November 6, 2017 at 3:29 pm

    Reacher said nothing. But I agree with those who selected Lee Child’s Jack Reacher series.

    Reply
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