A Crash Course On Thriller Books For Beginners (That Aren't Freida Mcfadden)

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Thrillers are what really got me into reading in college, even if it wasn’t a lot. Shattered by Dean Koontz TERRIFIED me. I wouldn’t say these are scary (I am hard to scare now) but I do think it’s a great selection of thriller books for beginners.

This guide includes personal recommendations plus a giant list of other big authors in the thriller genre so you can explore from there. This is a fun genre to explore and I hope you’re able to find a lot of things that sound good to you!

I did include a few in the cover photo for this that aren’t in this list, but are also really great thrillers that I would definitely recommend. A fun little way for some extra recommendations.

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A few disclaimers and “what I consider thriller” type things

I would like to acknowledge here that this is a very white list. I have a whole post of thrillers by Black authors but the ones I chose here stand out more to me and they all have a lot of books published.

That post has a ton of great books, but I haven’t read all of them. I HAVE read everything in this post though, which is specifically beginner recommendations. I try to make sure lists are diverse but this one just.. isn’t (as far as race goes).

And I know John Grisham, Dan Brown, Dean Koontz, James Michener, etc., are all thriller authors too but I consider them a different genre and don’t include them for this kind of thing. Different target audience and all that.

I also haven’t included or mentioned Agatha Christie (the queen herself) because she’s so well known and I would also say different target, more mystery.

And one final “I didn’t” is that I didn’t include any authors that verge more on horror (Stephen Graham Jones, Nick Medina, Josh Malerman) because, well, I consider them horror, which will be getting it’s own post.

Types of thrillers

There are a lot of different types of thrillers, some official categorizations, others more casual and just..common formats or types. Here is a quick little guide on some of those.

Domestic: features a marriage-type relationship as the center of the drama
Psychological: distorted mental state, unreliable narrator, internal conflict, compromised perspective from/because of outside sources
Locked room: characters are trapped somewhere (snowed in at a lodge, trapped on an island, etc.) and one of them is the bad guy (And Then There Were None is the OG locked room)
Podcast/mixed media: features a podcast as part of the story, or told via articles, emails, texts, letters, etc.
Police procedural: follows a police/detective as they solve the crime
Popcorn: fun, fast moving, easy, and digestible
Supernatural/paranormal: includes ghosts or something like that, haunted
Legal: usually set in a courtroom or features a legal case
Political: a thriller, but politics
Mystery: thriller, but leaning more mystery trying to find out who did the bad thing
Suspense: mostly vibes, tense and possibly dread inducing, typically not political/medical/spy/conspiracy
Medical: a thriller, but medical
Spy: features spies

Big players in the thriller game

While I think this list is a great place to start for reading thrillers, with specific book recommendations, any of the authors below will have giant backlogs of books (or at least two) that would also be good to choose from.

I don’t/haven’t read from all of them, but I have read from or have books by quite a few of them.

I have a ton of other thriller posts linked at the bottom of this post if you want even more specific book recommendations and reading challenges. I’ve bolded my favorites.

Ruth Ware
Riley Sager
Jeneva Rose
Alex Finlay
Alex Michaelides
Rachel Hawkins
Karin Slaughter
Alex North
Janice Hallett
Simone St. James
Megan Miranda
Sara Shepard
Holly Jackson
Megan Lally
Kara Thomas
Lisa Jewell
Hannah Morrissey
Alice Feeney
Lucy Foley
Lisa Unger
Lisa Scottoline
Lisa Gardner
S.A. Cosby
Alyssa Cole
Catherine Ryan Howard
Gillian McAllister
Taylor Adams
Rachel Howzell Hall
Stacy Willingham
Freida McFadden
John Marrs
Clemence Michallon
Sally Hepworth

Thrillers for beginners: the shortlist

Don’t have time or want to read the whole list right now? No worries! These are my top three recommendations.

Thrillers for beginners: the longlist

Here we have the full list of thriller books I recommend for people wanting to get into the genre. While it’s a great place to start, there are SO many great ones out there (and some pretty bad ones, but that’s all genres).

No Exit

Darby is on her way to see her dying mother back home in Utah when she gets caught in a blizzard in the Colorado mountains. She’s forced to wait out the storm at a rest stop with four total strangers.

Trying to find a signal to call home, Darby goes to the parking lot and instead finds a little girl locked in an animal crate in the van parked next to her.

Now she is determined to find a way to get the girl out of the van and escape since one of her fellow travelers is a kidnapper. She has to decide who she can trust now.

Why it’s great for beginners: I think this is a great starter-thriller because it’s so fast paced and action packed, leaving you with a claustrophobic feeling just like the characters.

This had me hooked and on edge from the beginning. It’s the best Taylor Adams so far and a great introduction to high action, tense (but not police-y) thrillers.

None of This is True

Josie and Alix are both celebrating their 45th birthdays at the same pub. They’re birthday twins. A few days later they bump into each other and Josie suggests she become a guest on Alix’s podcast.

Josie’s life seems strange and complicated, and even though Alix is unsettled, she’s curious enough to agree, inviting Josie into her life and home, changing her own life forever.

But as quickly as Josie appears, she’s gone, now leaving Alix at the center of her own true crime podcast.

Why it’s great for beginners: I just read this and I DEVOURED it! I read this in two days, I loved it. This is one of a two podcast books on this list, but not the best podcast one. Although it is the only adult podcast book on here, so if that’s what you want, it’s perfect.

This is a good introduction to mixed media thrillers (which there are a lot of) and will keep you on your toes from page one. If this premise doesn’t intrigue you, Listen for the Lie is another great podcast book alternative.

The Sundown Motel

Every small town like Fell, New York has a place like the Sundown Motel, especially back in 1982. Some guests are out-of-towners and others are locals trying the hide their secrets. Viv Delaney is the night clerk and is determined to uncover all their secrets, but things don’t go as planned and her niece follows her footsteps years later uncovering even more.

Why it’s great for beginners: I think this is a great choice for beginners that are interested in more supernatural/paranormal thrillers. It’s atmospheric and dark, with the perfect mix of supernatural and thrilling.

If you like this, you’ll probably like her other books. They pretty much all have a bit of supernatural and a lot of them are set in this same universe/world, but they’re all standalones.

A Riley Sager

Ok, so this one isn’t a specific recommendation but I have my reasons. Riley Sager has a ton of books spanning a variety of times and places.

And, for me, they’re pretty hit or miss. I’ve really liked some and really hated others, but no matter what they’re at least fast paced and entertaining.

So, for this, I would recommend reading the descriptions of all of them to see which appeals to you the most. If I had to make the recommendation, I would go with Lock Every Door or Final Girls.

His books are perfect for people just wanting to get into thrillers because they are fast paced, things keep moving, they’re full of twists and turns, and they do cover a lot of times (historical, 80s/90s, and now) so there is almost something for everyone.

The Perfect Stranger

Leah needs to get out of Boston so when her friend Emmy proposes they move to rural Pennsylvania together to start over, she jumps at the chance.

Everything starts to fall apart when a woman resembling Leah is assaulted by the lake and Emmy disappears days later.

Leah is determined to find Emmy but along the way, starts to wonder if she ever knew the real Emmy at all.

Why it’s great for beginners: This is another one that I devoured, I read the whole thing in one day. I read all of Megan Miranda’s books but this one was easily my favorite.

It’s fast paced and keeps you on your toes the whole time. It’s not too long either, which is nice. I think this can kind of be considered a “popcorn thriller” because it’s so easily digestible (in a good way).

The Au Pair

Seraphine and her twin brother Danny were born in the summer on the Norfolk coast. Within hours of their birth, their mother threw herself off the cliff and the au pair fled.

Now as an adult, Seraphine is mourning the death of her father. She finds a photograph in his belongings that makes her question everything: a photo of her parents, older brother, and just one baby.

Why it’s great for beginners: This is perfect for beginners looking for something that’s just wild and full of reveals. I remember describing this to someone when I read it and it was so hard to explain but in the best way, because so much was going on.

It’s underrated (I’ve never seen anyone walk about it) and keeps you on your toes wondering what could possibly happen next.

Th1rt3en

It’s the murder trial of the century, a movie star killed his wife. Or so they think. But Joshua Kane knows better and is determined to get the wrong man jailed for the crime. He killed to get the best seat in the house: one on the jury so he could watch it all go down.

But Eddie Flynn, a former con man now defense attorney, is on his tail and doesn’t think his client, the movie star, is guilty.

Why it’s great for beginners: This one is great to get a taste of a courtroom thriller, but with a twist: the serial killer is on the jury. That’s who we’re following, not the lawyers, so it’s a little different, but it’s a unique perspective and holds interest very well.

If you want something a little more legal/courtroom, Miracle Creek is a really great choice, and another one I love.

Reckless Girls

Meroe Island is an island in the Pacific steeped in mystery, and six twentysomethings are headed there for the getaway of a lifetime, where they soon realize they’re more cut off from civilization than they thought.

When one person disappears and another turns up dead, everyone begins to wonder who is next.

Why it’s great for beginners: I had to include a locked room mystery/thriller on here because they’re so prominent in the thriller world. I don’t personally love them, but I liked this one more than others.

I would say this one could be considered a popcorn thriller, too. The setting is great, the characters are terrible (in a good way), and the reveals are good. I also really liked the ending, which is important. I generally don’t like Ruth Ware, but she’s also known for locked room mysteries.

Sadie (YA)

Sadie’s life growing up in a small town, raising her little sister Mattie, hasn’t been easy, but she’s trying her best. But after Mattie is found dead and the investigation is botched, she hits the road determined to bring her sister justice.

West McCray is a radio personality who overhears Sadie’s story in a gas station while working on a story about forgotten towns in America. He becomes obsessed and starts a podcast and tracks Sadie’s journey to try and figure out what happened to her before it’s too late.

Why it’s great for beginners: I think this is one of the best podcast book there is. It got me out of a major reading slump and I read it all in one day.

This is a deep, sad, “true crime” podcast story. It’s beloved for good reason and I think great for getting into the genre.

That’s Not My Name (YA)

Waking up on the side of a dirt road with no memory of how she got there or who she is, a passing officer takes her to the police station, where a frantic man arrives claiming to be her father. He’s been searching for her for hours. He has her school ID, her birth certificate, and even family photos.

Drew thought Lola just needed some time to cool off when she stormed away from his car. Instead, she disappeared, and the sheriff, his friends, and the whole town are convinced Drew murdered her.

Why it’s great for beginners: This is a compulsive YA thriller that is intense, frustrating, and sad (all in good ways). This is another one I devoured last year and think it’s a great introduction to thrillers.

Since it’s YA it will be easier to read, and it’s not too long so if you’re really not sure you’ll like the genre, I think this one is a perfect choice.