Thrillers: 100 Must-Reads

by David Morrell, Hank Wagner

The most riveting reads in history meet today's biggest thriller writers in Thrillers: 100 Must-Reads.Edited by David Morrell and Hank Wagner, Thrillers: 100 Must-Reads examines 100 seminal works of suspense through essays contributed by such esteemed modern thriller writers as: David Baldacci, Steve Berry, Sandra Brown, Lee Child, Jeffery Deaver, Tess Gerritsen, Heather Graham, John Lescroart, Gayle Lynds, Katherine Neville, Michael Palmer, James Rollins, R. L. Stine, and many more.Thrillers: 100 Must-Reads features 100 works - from Beowulf to The Bourne Identity, Dracula to Deliverance, Heart of Darkness to The Hunt for Red October - deemed must-reads by the International Thriller Writers organization.Much more than an anthology, Thrillers: 100 Must-Reads goes deep inside the most notable thrillers published over the centuries. Through lively, spirited, and thoughtful essays that examine each work's significance, impact, and influence, Thrillers: 100 Must-Reads provides both historical and personal perspective on those spellbinding works that have kept readers on the edge of their seats for centuries.

Genres: Nonfiction, Thriller, Books About Books, Mystery, Reference, Suspense, Essays

404 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 5, 2010

About the author

David Morrell is a Canadian novelist from Kitchener, Ontario, who has been living in the United States for a number of years. He is best known for his debut 1972 novel First Blood, which would later become a successful film franchise starring Sylvester Stallone. More recently, he has been writing the Captain America comic books limited-series The Chosen.

Reviews

[Jack Heath · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 Stars. Technically I am not finished! And not sure I ever will. Why? Because the essays reviewing 100 great thrillers are so well written and so enticing, that I'm going to make an effort to work through as many as possible of the recommended titles. And every time, before I start one, I will surely read its review by one of these great authors! Speaking for myself, I can occasionally see some books in our favourite category, mysteries and thrillers, as a straight-forward "Who-dun-it?", or a "How can our hero resolve this terrible situation?" The plot is complicated but there's a resolution at the end tying it all up. The reviewers demonstrate that there are intriguing nuances to the 100 as well. Let's take Christie's "And Then There Were None" reviewed by David Morrell. He calls it a novel of sensation and takes us back to Wilkie Collins' 1868 "The Moonstone" to clarify its antecedents. He also references an earlier true case from 1860. Many of the reviewers are names we have heard of, and admire, and each of them might add something to your next read! As I put together my "Basic Mystery and Thriller Compilation," this book was helpful. (April 2020.)

[Connie G · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thrillers create suspense and get the adrenaline flowing. The genre has changed over the years, and the essays in "Thrillers: 100 Must Reads" present some of the most notable works in chronological order. The book begins with classic adventure tales such as "The Odyssey" and "Beowulf," and soon moves on to 20th Century works.

The essays present short biographies of the thriller authors and the essayists. The discussion of each thriller puts the story in its historical context. The essayists often mentioned what the book meant to them, and how it influenced their own work and the output of others that wrote similar books. Many of the works were chosen because they took thrillers into new directions. The authors' original professions often influenced the type of works they wrote--such as espionage thrillers, medical thrillers, legal thrillers, naval thrillers, etc. World Wars, the Nazis hiding in South America, the Cold War, the Kennedy assassination, Vietnam vets with post-traumatic stress, racial conflicts, and other world problems influenced the authors' choice of characters and themes during certain eras. Other works were psychological thrillers or set on the horror/thriller fence.

The essays were enthusiastic and well-written. Most of the thrillers chosen were written by male authors so some of the choices were too high testosterone for my taste. Some of the essays went into spoiler territory as the essayist explained why the thriller was such an exceptional or groundbreaking story. Of course, I'll be adding more suspenseful books to my overflowing TBR list.

[Arun Divakar · Rating 4 out of 5]

The overall premise of this book was something I immediately latched on to : a thriller writer recommends one book from the thriller genre that he/she considers a must read. Nothing could shine more light into the inner workings of the genre than having authors with working knowledge of the tradecraft talking about books that inspired, amazed or astounded them. Thrillers are dime-a-dozen in the book market and it is for this same reason that I liked this book for it helps to filter out some of the really outstanding works in the field. These 100 articles run across a wide section of the history of books themselves. The second article is about Homer and the last article is about Dan Brown and all the others follow a roughly chronological timeline.

If you love the thriller genre, this will be a fascinating series of articles to read to get new perspectives on some books that have really been landmarks in this field. Each article is a mix of facts about the book and the author along with the thoughts from the writer about the book. So many different authors mean so many different styles and subgenres too. And so we get to discover chase stories, manhunts, romantic thrillers, whodunits, spy thrillers, action during WWI and WWII, the Cold War era, the post 9/11 era, familial feuds, stranded stories, horror stories, cop stories, the common man as a hero, dirty politics and much, much more.

Two of the essays stood out for their uniqueness – R.L. Stine’s essay on why P.G. Wodehouse’s Summer Lightning is a splendid thriller. The play of words that Stine employs here proceeds to tell us why a comedy can also make a good thriller. The second was Lee Goldberg’s article on Trevanian’s Eiger Sanction which gave me a fresh new pair of lenses to view the story I had read a while back.

Recommended. There is no such thing as a must-read but then these are all books that will really help you to understand how the thrillers in the English language evolved over time.

[Armand Rosamilia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not only are the 100 books interesting and literature I need to read, the authors writing the chapters are as well, offering personal insight about the book and what it means to them as a writer. To me (because I'm a writer) it was the best part of the book.

[Jill H. · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a compilation of short sections by current authors, reviewing their favorite "thriller" book. I put "thriller" in quotation marks because there are several books included that don't seem to fit my definition of thriller. Certainly such books as, The Woman in White, The Lodger and Rear Window fit into what I think are thrillers, but I'm not sure how The Last of the Mohicans or The Sea Wolf fit that category. But the authors used "thriller" in a broader sense and the list is very diverse. Generally I liked the book but some of the authors went a bit off the rails when describing why they liked a particular book. It was, however, interesting to see how many they picked that have had an influence on their own writing. An OK book for down-time reading.

[Sheila Beaumont · Rating 4 out of 5]

A couple of weeks ago, I happened upon a complete list of the writers contributing to this book, and couldn't resist getting myself a copy. I'm glad I did! Thriller fans will delight in this book, in which many of today's top writers of the genre tell us about their favorite thrillers and why they're important. By the time I finished this book, I had quite a long list of must-reads (and must-read-agains). I did notice some sloppy copy editing, along with a couple of glaring factual errors, but on the whole it's a really enjoyable, absorbing and informative book that will result in countless hours of great reading entertainment.

[Sandi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Collection of essays by members of the International Thriller Association presenting their selections of the 100 best thrillers of all time. Some rather out there picks (I never thought of Summer Lightning by P.G. Wodehouse as a thriller) but overall an enjoyable read and I added many new books to my TBR. Probably should be either avoided or just skimmed by those who are spoiler sensitive.

[Gloria · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great source for librarians or anyone looking for new authors to read. Each of the 100 entries has a short background on the author and then a 2-3 page essay on the chosen book that is written by another esteemed author or book critic. Definitely led me to some new authors and titles, and perhaps most importantly these books were chosen because of their influence on others' writing style as well as the publishing industry.

[Robert Carraher · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The Thriller is the oldest kind of story - rooted in our deepest hopes and fears, for ourselves, those we love, and the world around us."

Whether you are an aspiring author, a seasoned veteran of the New York Times Best Seller lists, whether your books have been turned into multi 100 million dollar movies or you are just an avid reader, creative writing major, history student or just want to know more about what makes a thriller popular and good, this book is indispensible and should set on your bookshelf next to the dictionary, thesaurus and book of quotations. If you occupy any of the above categories, or many more, then this book is a Must Have not just a must read. There are few "writers books" that stand the test of time but "Thrillers: 100 Must Reads" not only will stand the test, it is the test as it spans the history of the Thriller from "Beowulf to The Bourne Identity, Dracula to Deliverance and The Heart of Darkness to The Hunt for Red October".

Writing a review on this wonderful book is akin to writing a book report on a book report. It's a daunting task as the authors who wrote these essays are amongst the best in the world in any genre and the giants and grand masters of the Thriller. When the publishers, Oceanview Publishing first provided me with an ARC of this book I almost took a pass. These guys are an impossible act to follow. And if I think it is daunting for me, the authors of the essays found it daunting as well. Any "Best of..." list is hard for one person to agree on, let alone a large number of people. David Morrell states in the preface, the authors collectively had a hard time deciding how far back in history to go in compiling the list. And these esteemed authors didn't just draw titles out of a hat and write quick little blurbs. It quickly becomes apparent that not only did they struggle with the selections and nominations, but each and everyone of them wrote what amounts to a synopsis for a thesis in a masters class in creative writing.

And the stories, ah the stories. You could just print out the table of contents, use it as a shopping list and go to the bookstore. Stack these titles on your coffee table, arrange them nicely on your office book case or devote a few shelves in your library to them and anybody In the world would think you are a serious reader and book lover.

[Loripdx · Rating 4 out of 5]

Terrific! I wasn't paying attention when I chose to read this book; I thought it was comprised of today's thriller writers each contributing a new short story. In reality, it's a series of extremely brief essays (on average only two pages long) lauding 100 of the best thriller stories of all time.

Ack! I need to quit my job and read full-time.

[Mike Violano · Rating 4 out of 5]

Discovered a few thrillers that I'll likely read based on the descriptions and reviews by other thriller authors. Some mighty odd and quirky choices but that's what makes books of this ilk fun to browse.

[Bill reilly · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a young man I read novels at a 50/50 rate with non-fiction, but now at sixty I am at a 1/99 percent ratio, half of which are of the true crime genre. Hannibal Lector cannot compete with Theodore Robert Bundy. The Silence of the Lambs is good, but The Stranger Beside Me is great. Misery is the Stephen King novel chosen here, but I would have chosen The Stand. Cormac McCarthy’s The Road should be on the list, and where is Crime and Punishment? Steinbeck, Dostoyevsky, John Irving and Stephen King are some of the novelists that I favored. I have read only eight of the thrillers reviewed; Frankenstein, Dracula, From Russia with Love, Jaws, The Choirboys, Coma, The Most Dangerous Game, and Misery. Lee Childs points out that everything supposedly new can be traced back to older books. Theseus and the Monitaur (1500 B.C.) were redone in modern form by Ian Fleming in Dr. No. Homer’s Illiad and Odyssey from 2,700 years ago are also cited as major influences on current literature and film. I haven’t read Shakespeare since high school and Macbeth is included for review. Daniel Defoe wrote for money and was thus labeled a hack writer. Robinson Crusoe lives on. I loved Frankenstein and was amazed at Mary Shelley’s eloquence. The film adaptations are a travesty. Edgar Alan Poe died at forty and left behind a massive number of works. I have not read The Count of Monte Crisco, and at 1,243 pages, I probably won’t. I had never heard of Wilkie Collin’s The Woman in White, but I have read the reviewer’s book, The Monster of Florence, a complicated and unsolved murder mystery by Douglas Preston. Science fiction is not my thing, with the exception of Harlan Ellison, a wise ass and sarcastic writer who makes sci-fi funny and entertaining. King Solomon’s Mines does not interest me. Its’ style was used in Raiders of the Lost Ark, a movie I despised. As for Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, I may have seen a film adaptation in the 1960’s. Sarah Langan sees it as a morality tale against the upper class of Victorian England. I have Dracula and Frankenstein combined in the same volume. Stoker’s vampire endures, especially on celluloid. Orson Welle’s radio broadcast of War of the World’s is well known. I heard it on tape and it sounds silly now. I am familiar with Rudyard Kipling, but not the novel Kim. Kipling met with Mark Twain in 1899. They sat on a porch in my New York State, smoking cigars and discussing literature; amazing. I never got into Sherlock Holmes, I prefer true crime. Apocalypse Now was adapted from Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness. Brando is riveting; the horror, the horror. I’ve never read any of the Tarzan books; me Tarzan, you Jane; don’t care. I read The Most Dangerous Game in high school, the ultimate man vs. man saga. I am not interested in spy novels and had never heard of Somerset Maugham’s Ashenden. Of Human Bondage was excellent. I haven’t read P.G. Wodehouse but his character Jeeves the butler is familiar to me. King Kong was published in 1932 and a movie soon followed. The ape lives on, most recently in Skull Island. I’ve never heard of Lester Dent or Doc Savage. Rebecca is a romance novel with a large female readership. I started an Agatha Christie mystery many years ago and I just could not get into it. A series of writers unknown to me are covered; Eric Ambler, Geoffrey Household, Helen MacInnes, Cornell Woolrich, Vera Caspary, and Kenneth Fearing. I have not read Graham Greene but I use his phrase, “Catholic atheist” to describe myself. Mickey Spillane wrote gumshoe novels and became a Jehovah’s Witness; that’s funny. Invasion of the Body Snatchers was made into four films; all pretty good flicks, but I have not read the book. I remember Ian Fleming’s From Russia with Love as being surprisingly short. The Manchurian Candidate was made for the screen twice, with Frank Sinatra in 1962, and Denzel Washington in 2004, and both are excellent. Several more 1960’s Cold War novelists are reviewed; most of them obscure names, with the exception of John Le Carre. Death Wish made Charles Bronson a star and the book it was based on was written in two weeks. Jaws sold 20 million copies. I remember the movie more than I do the book. Joseph Wambaugh’s The Choirboys is here, but as a true crime fan, I prefer The Onion Field. Robin Cook’s Coma was both a good book and movie. Although they are popular, I have not read Follett, MacDonald or Ludlum, and one Bourne movie was quite enough for my taste. Red Dragon preceded The Silence of the Lambs. The latter was a decent book, and I recognized Hannibal Lecter as a composite of Ted Bundy, Ed Kemper, and Ed Gein. Tom Clancy was a favorite of Ronald Reagan’s. I did not care for Clancy’s politics or those of President Bonzo. Misery is reviewed and I read it when it was published in 1987. Peter Straub wrote The Talisman with Stephen King and it is a good read, as is Straub’s Ghost Story. Koko is here and I have avoided all of John Grisham’s fiction, but I highly recommend An Innocent Man, a great case of criminal injustice in America. I have not read anything by the final ten authors reviewed, and I am only familiar with the names James Patterson and Dan Brown. Thrillers: 100-Must Reads has enough valuable information on the craft of writing to make it worthwhile.

[Sahar Find Me On Story Graph · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a writer – well, fine, as a wannabe writer – one of my dreams has always been to meet a favourite writer of mine and chat up a storm. One of the things we’d talk about, apart from the weather, the awesomeness of Canada, and the many ways to enjoy chocolate would be a piece of literature we both particularly like. We wouldn’t only talk about why it’s our favourite piece of literature; we would also talk about its various themes and subthemes, its philosophical implications and the impact it has both on the times it was published as well as today, all the while sipping on nice, hot, homemade mochas.

Hey, nerds can have dreams, too.

Since my network of friends and acquaintances doesn’t include any of my favourite authors, reading a book such as Thrillers:100 Must-Reads is definitely the next best thing. It’s a collection of 100 essays by 100 of today’s best thriller authors about the 100 best thrillers of all times. Contemporary authors such as R.L. Stine, Michael Palmer, Janet Berliner, Sandra Brown and Hank Wagner write about thrillers such as Macbeth (yes, the one by Shakespeare), Mysterious Island, King Kong, And Then There were None. Excuse me while I go a little fangirl here, but oh, my, GOD – it was like having 100 dates with 100 great authors talking about 100 great books.

There are many people who should read this book, most obvious of which are fans of the genre. Some of the books you will recognize; some of the authors you will recognize; and, amidst these 100 essays, you are bound to discover a couple of new ones you might want to give a try.

Another reason for fans of the genre to pick up this book is to acquire new perspectives even on book you have read a million times. One of my favourite books is Alexandre Dumas’ The Count of Monte-Cristo. I really thought I knew everything about the book, not because I’m smart or anything (oh how I wish that were the case) but rather because I have read so many essays and opinion pieces about it, and also because I have read it so many times. Francine Matthews’ insightful essay pointed out many points that I hadn’t quite seen in that light before, making me put her on top of the list of authors I’d love to talk about a book with.

Give a girl a break for having a bias – it is, after all, Alexandra Dumas!

Authors, wannabe or real, for that matter, should also pick up a copy of this book as they hone their craft. Many of the details which make the 100 titles covered in this book timeless classics are brought out in such ways that — were you to pay attention to each of them and apply them to your own manuscript — you just might be able to make it a lot better.

Then there are those out there who like philosophical discussions. Such discussions abound in this volume in essays about books such as The Great Impersonation, The Most Dangerous Game, Dracula, Frankenstein. Even if you haven’t read these titles – I haven’t read some of the aforementioned – the essays include a short summary setting the context just about enough to thoroughly enjoy the essay.

If you are looking for very well written deep insights into some of the most influential works of the genre, then Thrillers:100 Must-Reads is for you. Just be prepared to spend a lot of money purchasing the books covered in this volume that you have yet to read. Trust me – after reading these essays, you are going to have an unstoppable urge to pick them all up.

(First published here on Blogcritics and http://saharsreviews.wordpress.com)

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great anthology for anyone interested in adding to your list of must-read authors. It includes 100 essays written by current authors discussing 100 different selections in this genre that go back to Greek mythology and forward through 2003. Each essay includes a small bio on the author whose work is the subject of the essay, as well as a bio on the writer of the essay. I discovered that I had many of the works discussed in my personal library (some already read, some not) but many I either had not heard of or had not previously considered reading. The essays themselves were very good and in most cases the essay writer was particularly well versed in the author's work. There were many times though when I would have appreciated the essay writer just describing the work without giving away the secrets for those of us who haven't yet read it, but that remains my wish... I think if I were one of the editors I would have made that a requirement. Assuming that the goal was to get readers not only to read this book but the other works as well, it seems to me, given the talent of the essay writers, this could have easily been done in a manner that would have made the experience of reading this book much more exciting as well as a better promotion of the "must-reads" themselves.

[alexander shay · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was thinking this book would be more of an anthology of listings of titles, like the official 'genreflecting' titles. But this book actually uses reviews from well known authors, more or less asking them what their favorite thriller is and getting them to give a summary of what intrigued them about it. Some of the reviews are helpful, though most of them don't actually describe the plot of the book being reviewed which was the reason why I wanted to read the book in the first place.
I was also thinking the titles would be much more recent--maybe 2000 and onward. But the most recent title in this book is The Da Vinci Code, published in 2003. It goes chronologically by publication date, the very first one listed being Theseus and the Minotaur from 1500 BC. Being that this book was published in 2010, I was hoping for more recent titles, maybe ones that aren't quite as 'well known' as some of the ones in this book seem to be (admittedly I hadn't heard of most of them, but the ones I had heard of were already on my to-read shelf).
I did get a handful of titles from this book, and for someone looking for a sort of evolution of the the thriller genre and little history lessons, this would be the perfect book to read. But I was looking for reading recommendations, and for that it is less than ideal if you're wanting current titles.

[SeaShore]

I rate this book 5 stars and would like to own it for reference.
So far I read P G Wodehouse's story analysis by R L Stine. Then, I got distracted and searched out R L Stine. His books might be good but not for me. If you're curious of what makes a thriller a thriller, you'll get good pointers in his analysis of Wodehouse's
The next analysis I read was Agatha Christie's And then there were none. Excellent analysis.
Today I am reading the analysis of Brian Garfield's Death Wish. (1972) Wow. Brian Garfield was born in 1939. John Lescroart did the analysis.
First, Brian Garfield has an incredible bio starting with his appearance on American Bandstand and the amazing list of books published, many worked into films and movies. He wrote Death Wish after the rage he felt when someone slashed the canvas top of his 10 year old convertible. 1972. It took him 2 weeks to write it --- what drives a person to be an avenging vigilante.
"Revenge is a universal fantasy but in practice, it isn't a solution; it's a problem." said Garfield and he meant it.

Oh I'd better get back to another one of the "100 books" analyzed.

A wonderful read from which you can glean some good stuff.

[David Ward · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thrillers: 100 Must Reads edited by David Morrell & Hank Wagner (Oceanview Publishing 2010)(809.3872). This volume "...examines 100 seminal works of suspense through essays contributed by esteemed modern thriller writers." The book features plot summaries, reviews, and accompanying essays on 100 books "deemed must-reads by the International Thriller Writers Organization." What does it mean? It means I can read the summaries of works ranging from Theseus and the Minotaur to Macbeth through Robinson Crusoe to Deliverance to the Da Vinci Code. NOTE: I STRONGLY COMMEND THE READER TO THE TABLE OF CONTENTS IF AVAILABLE ON THIS WEBSITE. These reviews have directed me to some books I've never thought to read and some others I've never heard of. I've found a few more that I'd like to read as a result. My rating: 7/10, finished 3/15/11.

[Cherei · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book.. set me off in many directions! It almost became a full quest to reading an essay.. and then.. going and finding the book that the essay was about! If one is a Lit major.. I HIGHLY recommend.. that this book could almost become a core class at the 0400 level to graduation! For the layman.. this book.. shall broaden your horizons in ways you can't even begin to imagine. You just feel smarter.. having completed it! This book shall prepare you for any intellectual conversation in any setting! The reader shall learn on his journey through this book of essays.. how writing evolved over the course of several centuries. The written word.. has captured mankind.. since the first tale! Oh.. of course.. all tales are thrillers! But, some.. are more!

[Robert · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this to be an interesting read. Selecting 100 must read thrillers stretching from 1500 B.C. to 2003 must have been quite the daunting task. Yet this collection of truly great authors have pulled off what basically amounts to 100 book reviews in one book. The reviews are done by some of the finest of the craft. Where I did get annoyed was that in some, not all mind you, of the reviews the reviewer got so damn excited that they spilled the beans on the whole book. This is not cool without some kind of warning to let the interested party know about it. Overall I have found some great avenues to explore. This I found to be the biggest benefit of the book. Finding new authors in your favorite genre can't be all that bad.

[Tim Randall · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book, Thrillers: 100 Must-Reads, was a fascinating list/description of 100 of the best thrillers in history. The book begins and ends with an overview of what makes a book a thriller, and then explains what it took for a book to make this list. Within the body of the book itself was a list of the 100 thrillers, along with a brief biography of the author, and a description of the book by a current author. Beginning with Theseus and the Minotaur, written around 1500 B.C., and described by Lee Child, the list of books continues to Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code, published in 2003, and described by Steve Berry. If you are interested in a list of this type, or you want a list of books to put in your reading list, which is what drew me to it originally, I recommend this book.

[Patricia Gussin · Rating 5 out of 5]

The 100 Essays and Essayists in this book have been carefully chosen and matched. It's obvious that the editors, David Morrell, of Rambo fame, and Hank Wagner, an accomplised reviewer, put a lot of thought into the selection and organizationa to ensure the quality of each essay. But the excitment about this book is the recollection of the Must-Reads that you have read, and the enticement to read those which you've missed along the way. Also this book serves as an introduction to the hottest thriller writers of today. Thank you, David Morrell, Hank Wagner and all the essayist. You've created a genuine treasure.

[Angel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quick impressions: A nice collection of short essays about books in the thrillers genre. From ancient times looking at books such as The Odyssey to The Da Vinci Code, we get short essays on 100 selections. Each short essay is written by other authors in the genre. Morrell, the editor, is the author of First Blood (the basis for the film that went on to spawn the Rambo franchise). There may be one or two titles you may wonder if they are really thrillers, but that is part of the appeal. Overall, a good variety, and it may inspire to go back and look for some titles to read.

(full review on my blog later)

[Steven · Rating 4 out of 5]

Incredible reference and a great read even if you're not usually a fan of "thrillers."

All I know is that, of the 100 noted within, I already read 18, had 14 more on to-read lists for a while now, and I added another 24 to said list from the 100 noted.

And then I added another 31 more books just from the authors who wrote about the 100 thrillers as their books also sounded interesting and worth reading.

So, 1 book read, 55 more added to the interminable to-read list. I'd fret about never finishing that to-read list but having more good things to read is never a bad thing.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love books about books and I love lists so this book is a great combination. I have a very long list of books on GoodReads that I want to read and the list is always growing. This book has significantly increased my list because I really like most thrillers. The only ones I don't care for are spy/political thrillers. I mostly skipped over those ones. I enjoyed the book reviews and also found some new authors to read due to the short bio included about the person who wrote each review.

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good book with fun essays tracking the 100 must read thrillers from Beowulf and the Illiad through The Da Vinci Code (2000 was the cut off). They do a good job at getting to the different types of thrillers. The essays are written by thriller authors themselves so they bring good insight into the essays.

Happy to have read 49 of the 100 and looking forward to reading some more.

[Marguerite Czajka · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, I was going to give this two stars, but gave it three because part of my thinking "it was okay" instead of "liked it" was my fault. I judged a book by its title and downloaded it to my Kindle thinking it was 100 thrillers. It's a nice collection of mini-reviews and blurbs about the reviewers that can lead to a list of "want-to-read"s.

[Peter Sidell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rating this book is different. It is almost a reference or a guide to suggested reading. The insights into the craft of thriller writing enrich the reading experience.
I was disappointed that Turrow want included, especially since Grisham was. Still there are enough reading suggestions to fill a lot of time, an embarrassment of riches. Perhaps I will even read James Patterson.

[Eli Easton]

Now this is a great list of books! I've only scanned the table of contents and the first few essays, but this list looks amazing. A true collection of the 100 best titles. There are many on here that I've read but also many that I haven't. For anyone looking for a resource on mystery/thrillers, this is a must have.

[Metagion · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's just essays from other authors judging other works, such as Shelley's "Frankenstein," to Doyle's "Sherlock Holmes" and others throughout the centuries. A must read for someone that likes to get a perspective on how others take on another author's work.

[Katey · Rating 1 out of 5]

I should have read the one essay by Allison Brennan and returned the book. This is the reason I hate non-fiction books. It was so BORING. But in my mind, I read the whole thing, so I can properly mark it off my list. :-)