The Mystery, Crime, and Thriller Group discussion

I've had quite a few hit and misses with crime/thrillers lately. I want to know what the best thriller you have ever read was. I mean one that kept you up at night, made the hairs on your neck stand up on end. The last time I felt that way about a book was by Denise Mina. Help me get back into this amazing genre!! Please!

Tough one!

For, the stand out thrillers (rather than detective or mystery books, from which I tend to look for something else) are probably

Straw Men
Possibly the finest thriller I've read.

Red Harvest
A classic, not what you might expect from the king of hard-boiled detective fiction

Altered Carbon
A superb sci-fi noir thriller. Very adult.

The Spy Who Came In from the Cold
much as I love le Carre's other books, I don't know why this never gets filmed; it would translate to the screen beautifully!

Shutter Island
arguably a mystery, but thrilling and utterly superb

Not The End Of The World
Brookmyre writes thrillers that are exciting, relevant, dark and hilariously funny

Hope you find some of those to your liking :)

Paul 'Pezski' wrote: "Tough one!

For, the stand out thrillers (rather than detective or mystery books, from which I tend to look for something else) are probably

Straw Men
Possibly the finest thriller I've read.

Red..."

Thanks so much, Paul! I'm starting to think I may give Shutter Island a try. Unfortunately I've seen the film so I imagine ot loses some of that mystery, but I usually find the book far better than the movie.

I just read the synopsis of Straw Men. Wow! I think I'll add that to my TBR. Thanks again for the input!

My recommendation is a historical mystery/who-am-I/thriller: The Quincunx by Charles Palliser. Truly, this is one of the most amazing books I've ever read. However, if you don't care for Victorian fiction, you won't care for this.

Here are a couple -

The Thirty Nine Steps by John Buchan;
Black Sunday by Thomas Harris;
The Satan Bug by Alistair MacLean
A Maiden's Grave by Jeffery Deaver

Well, The Fall of the House of Usher and Other Tales definitely kept me up when I was a teen, as did Rebecca and The House on the Strand, both of the last by Daphne DuMaurier. I realize these are oldies, but they're goodies...

K.A. - I've read The House on the Strand two or three times, it is indeed excellent.

Have you tried Mark Billingham or Scott Nicholson?

Bill wrote: "K.A. - I've read The House on the Strand two or three times, it is indeed excellent."

Doesn't seem to be that well known for some reason, but it sure captured my imagination - also has fantasy elements, which I enjoy. Hmmm...may have to re-read now. Aagh! So many books!

K.A. wrote: "Bill wrote: "K.A. - I've read The House on the Strand two or three times, it is indeed excellent."

Doesn't seem to be that well known for some reason, but it sure captured my imagination - also ha..."

Indeed, but that's great, better to have more than less, eh?.. lol

The most exciting? When I traced the events from a Ken Follett book out to an obscure historical incident from which he derived his story from. Made me leap out of my chair. Crossing over from fiction to fact is electrifying. The only other time that occurred was when I was digging into the life of Sidney Reilly.

Scariest was Snowman by Nesbo's. I guess it's also a thriller. The Dragon Tattoo series had lost of terrifying scenes; I had to look ahead to see what happened before I could continue.

Paul 'Pezski' wrote: "Tough one!

For, the stand out thrillers (rather than detective or mystery books, from which I tend to look for something else) are probably

Straw Men
Possibly the finest thriller I've read.Red..."

I've never read The Spy Who Came In From The Cold, but the movies was terrifying!

Sure was. One of the best book adaptations ever; and for some of the most difficult material, too. Basically, Act II & III of the film are one long interrogation and trial. With complicated evidence and testimony.

But you got Martin Ritt directing; and Richard Burton, Clair Bloom, and Oskar Werner in the cast. Phenomenal.

Straw man ... Author???

Edward wrote: "Straw man ... Author???"

Michael Marshall

If you hold your cursor over the link it shows title and author, which is why I don't usually add it separately.

I searched and found numerous titles for Straw Man...
I am using iPad maybe that's why author did show...
Thanks for the reply

Ah, I should've realised; it's the same when I access GR on my phone

The Silence of the Lambs. I read it in one sitting.

Anything by Michael Connelly and Lisa Gardner. Particularly Catch Me by Lisa Gardner and City of Bones by Michael Connelly. I could barely breathe while reading these books.

Taylor wrote: "Anything by Michael Connelly and Lisa Gardner. Particularly Catch Me by Lisa Gardner and City of Bones by Michael Connelly. I could barely breathe while reading these books."

I've been meaning to try Lisa Gardner, so I will definitely add that one to my reading list :)

She's one of my favorites! Hope you enjoy her as much as I always do

ICED by Tim Meyers and D.B. Morgan. It was a thriller about a man seeking revenge, but I laughed all the way through it!

Just finished
Fantastic psychological thriller that brought on emotions that I have never experienced from words on a page before. It is disturbing, graphic yet heart wrenching and enthralling all at once. Probably made my top three favorite books of all time. I don't really know how to describe it other than it just really moved me. He has already won awards for this debut novel.

Like his Facebook and show him our love. <3
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Landon...

Also, only 99 cents on kindle, nook, and ibooks right now! Give it a read.

The Spy Who Came in from the Cold was filmed in 1965 starring Richard Burton. Excellent movie that helped popularize Le Carre. Here is the IMDB link http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0059749/

Red..."

Paul 'Pezski' wrote: "Tough one!

For, the stand out thrillers (rather than detective or mystery books, from which I tend to look for something else) are probably

Straw Men
Possibly the finest thriller I've read.

Red..."

Though I was much, much younger at the time of reading, I remember that Michael Connelly's The Poet scared me witless...Recently bought the kindle version but now I'm almost wary of re-reading, afraid it won't match up to the first experience... :D


I also recently discovered Simon Kernick's [excellent] books and thought his Relentless really kept up the pace.

The most thrilling book I've ever read was VANISH by Tess Gerritsen. That one really pulled me away from my bed every evening. It drove me nuts but at the same time opened my eyes to something that most of us has overlooked and forgotten- human trafficking. You should try it out! :)) For me it was the best book in the Rizzoli and Isles series

Have you read Honeymoon by James Patterson (and Howard Roughan)? I read it in two days. It was quite a page turner.

"The Passage" by Justin Cronin; the first half, especially. An end-of-the-world as we know it with really creepy things.

Ken Follett's first, EYE OF THE NEEDLE, is still one of the best thrillers ever.
A personal favorite of mine is THUNDERHEAD by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child.

Shirley wrote: "Just finished
Fantastic psychological thriller that brought on emotions that I have never experienced from words on a page before. It is disturbing, graphi..."

Looks great!

I would have to choose The Silence of the Lambs. I read it in one sitting.

Still Life With Crows-by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child. I wouldn't call it the most thrilling book I've ever read, but it is one of the creepiest. Another really creepy one was Dead Sleep-by Greg Iles.

Lisa wrote: "I've had quite a few hit and misses with crime/thrillers lately. I want to know what the best thriller you have ever read was. I mean one that kept you up at night, made the hairs on your neck stan..."

This might not technically fall under crime/thrillers, but Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None (aka Ten Little Indians) is one of those unforgettable books for me. I read it only once - as a teenager - and can still visualize events from it, particularly the last few chapters. I still get that faint flutter in my stomach - not because of a recollection of any violence, but the memory of how it must have felt to be in the moccasins of the last two "indians" on that island. And that twist at the end...all very macabre and unsettling!

Not only a Who-dun-it but a surprise ending. I loved this book.

K.A. wrote: "Well, The Fall of the House of Usher and Other Tales definitely kept me up when I was a teen, as did Rebecca and The House on the Strand, both of the last by Daphne DuMaurier. I realize these are o..."

I have read Rebecca and Jamaica Inn and Daphne DuMaurier is truly a thrilling author. I look forward to reading all of her books.

M. wrote: "Lisa wrote: "I've had quite a few hit and misses with crime/thrillers lately. I want to know what the best thriller you have ever read was. I mean one that kept you up at night, made the hairs on y..."

I loved And Then There Were None! Fun fact, I read that with my bookclub and we had 3 different editions between us. 2 of us read soldieres, 2 read Indians and 2 read the original 'n***ers'

Jeremy wrote: "Shutter Island stays with you a long time after you will have read it for sure.

Gone Girl was also a recent good one."

Looking forward to Gone Girl. I liked her other books.

Lisa, try Greg Iles Dead Sleep. It'll keep you awake at night! I think it's right up your alley.

Carmen wrote: "Lisa, try Greg Iles Dead Sleep. It'll keep you awake at night! I think it's right up your alley."

Thanks Carmen! And thanks everyone! I am loving these recommendations and hitting my library catalogue.

Lisa, I thought "Still Life With Crows" by authors Lincoln-Child was good. I don't think its got a huge psycho angle, but it definitely got the creep factor goin on!! I think it'll keep you up at night! Same with their book "Relic".

Just thought of another book you might like and I KNOW it'll make your hair stand on end! "Amazonia" by James Rollins. It's one kuckass book!

Carmen wrote: "Lisa, try Greg Iles Dead Sleep. It'll keep you awake at night! I think it's right up your alley."

Greg Iles doesn't get enough buzz, unfortunately. He is a great writer!

Psycho thriller, First Night of Summer by Landon Parham
I think this book's violence is so misunderstood. This is the deepest of darknesses that this one family must prevail. This should be disturbing. To all parents I say, this is really out there, so don't stick your head in the sand. All I can say is be sure to read it till the LAST page, don't quit in the middle b/c the second half is surprisingly different. The hunter becomes the hunted. It is gritty and dark, emotionally captivating and eye-opening in its fictional story. This is a talented, young author who does some of the best character development I have ever read. Not for the faint of heart. Superb. I can't wait for more from him. I think his ebook is on sale for $0.99 right now...

I'm about 50% of the way through Into the Darkest Corner right now and I can't remember a book that I've read recently that had the build up and suspense that this book has.

I loved Shutter Island Shutter Island by Denise Lehane. Even though I was told by a lady at B&N that it had a surprise ending, I never guessed what it would be. The tension builds from the first word until, WHAM! Great ending!

Already posted once, but read a really good thriller last night:

The Wicked Girls by Alex Marwood

For me, this was everything Gone Girl was hyped up to be, but wasn't...

Valentine. Most thrilling book I've ever read. Great plot, and a jump out your seat suprise ending. Brilliant on all fronts. Was made into a lousy movie that had nothing at all to do with the book.

Just ordered Valentine from Amazon Seller. I loved Death Never Sleeps EJ Simon....I think the thrill was looking at a future that is around the corner as a computer comes to life.