# Good Thriller Authors



## Markterry (Apr 5, 2010)

Dazzle me, folks! Let me know some great and great-priced thrillers you've read on the Kindle. Hey, you can even promote yourself.

Cheers,
Mark Terry


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## BTackitt (Dec 15, 2008)

Actually, According to Forum rules here, no... Authors cannot self promote their books to you. 
However, if you are looking for authors who write thrillers, http://www.kboards.com/index.php/topic,27235.msg506229.html#msg506229
Will be where you want to start.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

Right -- self promotion only in the Book Bazaar. . .(and I've edited your post to remove the link to your site) but I'll move this thread to the book CORNER where you're likely to get more people to respond.


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## Markterry (Apr 5, 2010)

Okay. Thanks. I still like recommendations.


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## Gastro Detective (Feb 17, 2011)

My definition of a thriller writer is someone who compels you to turn the page. Not some tricked-out story of bombs, missles, terrorist etc (although the can be present).

How about: Chuck Palahniuk for starters


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## Aaron Pogue (Feb 18, 2011)

I've only just started reading the series, but I highly recommend Lee Child.



Definitely bombs, missiles, and terrorists. And a compelling hero saving the day.


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## JumpingShip (Jun 3, 2010)

Patrick Lee, Michael Palmer, and Vince Flynn come to mind.


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## Daniel Arenson (Apr 11, 2010)

Ken Follett, Dean Koontz....


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## Cynthia Justlin (Feb 23, 2011)

Brad Meltzer, Dean Koontz, David Baldacci, Lee Child...those are the ones that come to mind off the top of my head.


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## victoriaallman (Mar 25, 2011)

I just finished a fantastic thriller that had me guess right up until the end.

Ce Grundler's Last Exit in New Jersey is action-packed and a real page-turner. How can it not be with an opening line of: Nice young ladies really shouldn't be dumping dead bodies at sea. It just gets more interesting and intriguing from there!

http://www.amazon.com/Last-Exit-New-Jersey-ebook/dp/B003WUY33A/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1302410250&sr=8-2-fkmr0


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## KindleGirl (Nov 11, 2008)

James Grippando and Harlan Coben come to mind and no one has mentioned those yet.


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## Tris (Oct 30, 2008)

They haven't been mentioned yet, but I consider Michael Connelly and John Connolly good thriller writers.

Tris


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## Stephen T. Harper (Dec 20, 2010)

Michael Connolly is good for very straight forward cop mysteries. Almost feels like your watching a good detective movee

Ton Clancy is obviously very famous and, other than one book, I wouldn't necessarily recommend him here, but if you like techno-thrillers and haven't read "The Hunt for Red October" it's a very fun/fascinating read.

JA Konrath is a smooth storyteller who writes detective books and horror/thrillers.  His books are kind of unique in that they are intense (with violence mostly) but are also light at the same time - he writes with an underlying sense of humor.  It's fun, accessible writing, but some might need to develop a taste for it.


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## djledford (Oct 21, 2009)

I'm a huge Lisa Gardner fan and recently finished reading her latest, Love You More.  Not quite as thrilling as Live to Tell, but still a great read.


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## SebastianDark (Apr 3, 2011)

Lee Child's been mentioned a few times, and I like Eisler also.


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## nmg222 (Sep 14, 2010)

Daniel Silva's Gabriel Allon series.  Great character and some of the best writing on the market today.


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## jason10mm (Apr 7, 2009)

Helps to know where you are coming from. For example, have you gone through Gardner, Ludlum and Lustbader? A lot of the more recent thriller books are more interesting once you've read the predecessors they are actively trying to imitate, spoof, or diverge from 

Do you like the "24" style one man army (Flynn, Wynne, and sometimes Morrell) or the more technothriller writer like Clancy, Coyle, and Bond?

Barry Eisler is a relatively recent stand-out for sure. Nice locales, interesting character background, good tips on scotch  But I find the thriller genre in particular to be very susceptible to series sequelitis and burn-out and very hard to find a new author that feels fresh.


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## Julia444 (Feb 24, 2011)

Back in the mid-20th Century, I really enjoyed thrillers by Helen MacInnes--lots of really great Cold War stuff that had a Bourne sensibility.  Maybe because lots of them were set in Europe.

Julia


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## BrentNichols (Mar 18, 2011)

Alistair MacLean.  He rocks.


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## Bob Mayer (Feb 20, 2011)

Nice that someone mentioned Alistair MacClean.  He was one of the originals.  Gun of Navarone is still a classic.
Tom Clancy I can live without.  He's an example of an author who doesn't respect his readers-- he came to Fort Campbell to speak and acted like he was above it all-- and he had officers from 5th Special Forces, the Nighstalkers of TF-160, the Screaming Eagles of the 101st Airborne in the audience.  He was an insurance salesman and never spent a day in uniform. 
Mark Bowden does nonfiction but he writes with fantastic insight.  Blackhawk Down reads like a thriller.  The TF-160 and Delta commanders there were people I worked with and they said his book is pretty spot on.
Same with Eric Haney's Inside Delta Force.  He pretty much burned his bridges inside the community with that and you've got to wonder if he was all the places he said he was, but for me the book felt real.  Just those little details that tell you.
Hey, anyone read Allan Eckert?  His Wilderness War series was classic.


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## Guest (May 3, 2011)

BrentNichols said:


> Alistair MacLean. He rocks.


I'd agree with this one. For writers in the same group there's also Hammond Innes and Desmond Bagley. Gavin Lyall's books are less known, but definitely worth a look.


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## padowd (Jan 14, 2010)

I really like Karin Slaughter. She has a series called Grant County. She is one of my favorite writers. I also like some of the books that James Patterson does like the Women's Murder Club series.


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## SidneyW (Aug 6, 2010)

Joseph Finder is a great choice for thoughtful, corporate thrillers. Company Man's an excellent one.

I agree on MacLean. Clive Cussler's good for high adventure also.


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## Amyshojai (May 3, 2010)

Check out the folks over at http://thrillerwriters.org/ for a slew of great thriller authors, including those nominated this year for awards.


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## Dave_White (May 3, 2011)

My favorite book in 2011 is CHOKE ON YOUR LIES by Anthony Neil Smith. A great noir-ish thriller that's also a take on the Nero Wolfe novels. Dark, funny, vulgar, and suspenseful. http://www.amazon.com/Choke-on-Your-Lies-ebook/dp/B004K1F96A/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2&s=books&qid=1304462914&sr=8-1


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## authorandystraka (May 4, 2011)

Check out Steve Hamilton's The Lock Artist - just won the Edgar for Best Novel.


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## docnoir (Jan 21, 2011)

Thanks, Dave, always good to hear you say nice things about me.

By the way, Dave's own MORE SINNED AGAINST (http://amzn.to/ms4oWY) is a mighty fine crime read, too.

I've been really keen on the Charlie Hood novels of T. Jefferson Parker. There is a pretty involved backstory that snakes through all four novels, which makes it even more fun, like a good TV series. Depth of character, some strange mysticism, lots of fine writing. He's really, shamefully good.


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## Guest (May 5, 2011)

Check out any of John Sandford's Lucas Davenport novels. They all have "Prey" in the title. For my money, thrillers don't get any better than a Sandford novel.


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## L.J. Sellers novelist (Feb 28, 2010)

I highly recommend The Lock Artist too. Although I consider it more crime fiction than thriller. 
L.J


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## Duane Gundrum (Apr 5, 2011)

I would highly recommend the earlier Dirk Pitt novels of Clive Cussler. The latest stuff is nowhere as great as the earlier stuff, but the earlier stuff is still some of the greatest thriller writing that exists.


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## SeanBlack (May 13, 2010)

Gregg Hurwitz and Jesse Kellerman are two terrific young American thriller writers.

Oh, and someone mentioned Joseph Finder, which was a good call, and not just because he said that I write with the pace of Lee Child and the heart of Harlan Coben, although that did endear me to him slightly.


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## docnoir (Jan 21, 2011)

I'll say "Yea" to Joseph Finder, too. Especially his earlier corporate-themed thrillers. Unique stuff.

Also check out my friend Allan Guthrie's work. They never end up quite where you expect. He's a grand storyteller.


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## Mike D. aka jmiked (Oct 28, 2008)

I'll second Alistair Maclean and Lee Child, and add David Morrell.

Mike


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## cork_dork_mom (Mar 24, 2011)

Greg Iles is a great thriller type author. "Blood Memory" is my favorite.


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## Russell Brooks (Dec 23, 2010)

I recommend Barry Eisler and Joseph Finder. I never miss anything written by them.


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## davidhburton (Mar 11, 2010)

Scott Nicholson. Just finished reading Liquid Fear. Woah!

Liquid Fear


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## NathanWrann (May 5, 2011)

I always liked William Diehl and Lawrence Sanders.


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## joshuacorin (May 6, 2011)

My favorite thriller writer has always been Richard Laymon, whose novels are so full of delicious tension that you may need medication just to keep your heart from exploding.  

Anyway, I'm currently reading Brett Battles' short novel SICK on my Kindle and it has a very Laymon-esque feel to it.


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## liafairchild (Apr 2, 2011)

If you are really looking for something gripping try Brad Meltzer The Millionnaires. That was the first time in a long time where I was just glued to that book. It was constantly exciting starting from page one. The only problem I had was the ending was a bit drawn out, but it was still worth the read.

Lia


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## TerryLP (Feb 15, 2011)

For a good thriller try one of James Rollins (Amazonia, Subterranean, etc.) books. They are very hard to put down. They start out running and pick up from there.


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## Imogen Rose (Mar 22, 2010)

M.P.McDonald (No Good Deed)


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## huwcol (Mar 8, 2011)

Don't think they are on Kindle but Desmond Bagley is superb. If you are in the UK this bookshop has a terrific offer on Bagley's books:

http://www.snazal.com/desmond-bagley-collection-6-books-set-pack-wyatts-hurricane--bahama-crisis-the-spoilers--juggernaut-the-tightrope-men--the-enemy-the-snow-tiger--DEALMAN-U11-1780481853.html

That's 12 novels for £14.


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## Tamara Rose Blodgett (Apr 1, 2011)

Hands down: J.A. Konrath's new book, "Trapped." I really liked that! Couldn't figure things out until the end and then I was like...what?!!!! I think that one is $2.99(?) I will be buying his others. And like with all the books, I'm trying to stay "cheap" so I can fuel my 4-book-per-wk. habit! lol! Enjoy!


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## docnoir (Jan 21, 2011)

Roger Smith. The guy is a monster. Writes noir about South Africa (Cape Town and the Cape Flats), and he will just stun you.

An interview with him is up on Criminal-E today.

http://bit.ly/kM16NW


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## ascepticalmedium (Mar 18, 2011)

Look for Jake Barton's Burn Baby Burn - amongst others. I adore Jake's writing and intend buying every book. His blog is excellent too as you'll see him trying out new writing methods on there and often asks opinions


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## libbyfh (Feb 11, 2010)

I second Daniel SIlva... One of my "must-reads" -- he always has a new book out in July. Which is soon! Yay!

I like WW 2 type thrillers. Or should I say, I inhale them. Aside from the people you already know, I'm really liking the Bernie Gunther thrillers by Philip Kerr. And I read a wonderful thriller by William Boyd, called RESTLESS. I recommend it, especially for women.


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## TLH (Jan 20, 2011)

For me it's Patterson, especially the Cross series. I like Lee Childs too. I read the short stories that Brett Battles recently put out. I like them a lot. I'll have to try out his novels.


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## SimonWood (Nov 13, 2009)

Aaron Pogue said:


> I've only just started reading the series, but I highly recommend Lee Child.
> 
> 
> 
> Definitely bombs, missiles, and terrorists. And a compelling hero saving the day.


This is a great book.


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## libbyfh (Feb 11, 2010)

Just finished Rebecca Cantrell's first novel, A TRACE OF SMOKE, which takes place in 1931 Berlin. Both a crime story and a thriller... I raced through it. Excellent first novel... oh, heck.. excelllent novel, period.


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## Mel Comley (Oct 13, 2010)

Any Karen Rose novel, she just draws the reader into from the start.


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## tim290280 (Jan 11, 2011)

I've enjoyed Matt Hilton's novels. Actually it turns out that most of my favourite authors and books are thrillers. There is a list at the Thriller Writers' page of the 100 must reads.


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## Picatsso (Mar 24, 2011)

He is a bit more tame, but I love Dick Francis' books....


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## TomBale (Jun 3, 2011)

Lee Child and John Sandford have both produced a great body of work - really top quality thrillers. I'd add Martin Cruz Smith as another long-time favourite. More recently, Sean Black and Matt Hilton are worth checking out.


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## crimescribe (Apr 27, 2011)

I like J. Carson Black, Saffina Desforges and Stephen Leather. I've read all three in the past couple of months and enjoyed them all.


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## EvPowers (Mar 15, 2011)

Summers as a youth were filled with Alistair MacLean books. Now I read a lot of John Sandford and Johnathan Kellerman.


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## ascepticalmedium (Mar 18, 2011)

Have any of you checked out Jake Barton' yet? I love his writing and would be interested to know what any others who have read his stuff on here think


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## docnoir (Jan 21, 2011)

Got to give Douglas Lindsay a shout. Just discovered him, but he's been doing this for a while. A Scottish writer. If you don't mind a bit of "crazy" in your thriller (as in ridiculous), give his THE LONG MIDNIGHT OF BARNEY THOMPSON a shot, then you'll be addicted and ready for the whole series.


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## joanhallhovey (Nov 7, 2010)

I'm finding Dean Koontz' False Memory riveting.  Just got to 21% so far.  I also enjoy Ruth Rendell and Patricia Highsmith, wonderful writers of suspense.  My son is a big fan of Michael Connelly, John Sanford and Lee Child, among others.  We both like Stephen King a whole lot.  I read 11/22/63 and loved it.  So many wonderful writers out there, a lovely banquet for voracious readers.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!
JOAN


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## Mark Young (Dec 13, 2010)

I'd just have to second (or third, fourth ...) the novels of Lee Childs. That Jack Reacher guy ... don't mess with him unless your looking for trouble.


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## Alan Simon (Jul 2, 2010)

I usually read thrillers during business travel; don't really enjoy them too much since too many follow the same formula. However, several people mentioned Daniel Silva and I enjoy the novels of his that I've read. Also several of Nelson DeMille's novels fall into that genre and I usually enjoy those.

Also, I have downloaded several independent ones written by Lior Samson, the pen name for an author and computer technology professional named Larry Constantine who co-authored one of the computer systems textbooks I used - ahem - "many" years ago in college and who is somewhat of a methodology guru for old-timers in the computer field like me. (Sort of a natural affinity for multi-faceted authors who can straddle non-fiction and fiction.) I checked out the "Look Inside" feature on amazon.com and like what I've read, but haven't gotten a chance to read them yet. But I would preemptively add him to Silva and DeMille on my list.


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## Harry Shannon (Jul 30, 2010)

Gregg Hurwitz (Tim Rackley novels were great)
T. Jefferson Parker
Roger Smith from South Africa, hits it out of the park, very dark and violent though
Dave Zeltserman
Vicki Hendricks (sexy noir)
Barry Eisler (not The Detachment IMHO)
Lee Child
Mo Hayder (UK crime)
John Connelly (Charlie Parker series and others)
Michael Connolly (don't miss Void Moon The Poet and other early stand-alones)
Robert Crais (Joe Pike especially)
James Lee Burke
Joe R. Lansdale (Hap and Leonard series, profane and spooky and funny)
Stephen Hunter (not the latest one, the older novels are better)
Martin Cruz Smith
Dennis Lehane
Caleb Carr
Dan Simmons
Dave Morrell


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## Debbie Bennett (Mar 25, 2011)

Matthew Reilly. Preposterous plots, unlikely chases and ridiculous cliffhangers (often literal). But it's edge-of-your-seat reading. Dan Brown on acid with better characters.


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## djgross (May 24, 2011)

Yet another vote for Lee Child and the Reacher series. Child's September 2011 release, The Affair, was written as a prequel and is a great place to start the series.



Echo Burning, Child's first Reacher release, has been mentioned several times in the thread


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## victoriaallman (Mar 25, 2011)

I just finished another great thriller set on a sailboat in the Caribbean.

Christine Kling's, Circle of Bones is excellent.

http://www.amazon.com/Circle-of-Bones-ebook/dp/B006O4N9R2/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1325651695&sr=1-1


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## nmg222 (Sep 14, 2010)

djgross said:


> Yet another vote for Lee Child and the Reacher series. Child's September 2011 release, The Affair, was written as a prequel and is a great place to start the series.
> 
> Echo Burning, Child's first Reacher release, has been mentioned several times in the thread


Echo Burning was the 5th in the series and the one that made me swear to never pick up a Lee Childs book again. So far, I'm true to my word.


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## ThrillAMinute (Jan 5, 2012)

I love Lee Child's entire Jack reacher series. As is often the case, his earliest books are the best, in my opinion, perhaps because they're so fresh. If you love a good old-fashioned spy thriller, hard to go wrong with John Le Carre. Frederick Forsyth and Robert Ludlum give you a little of everything. I've also become a big fan of David Baldacci and Vince Flynn.


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## slandon36 (Jan 24, 2012)

Greg Illes and James Roland


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## Paul Reid (Nov 18, 2010)

I'm not sure if he calls himself a thriller writer, but Tom Rob Smith certainly has the art of suspense nailed down. His books are set in Stalinist Russia. The first, "Child 44", is particularly brilliant. Read the opening scenes and you'll see why.  

If you'd like to chance some very old-school stuff, try John Buchan's "The Thirty-Nine Steps".


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## Scribejohn (Jul 2, 2011)

I would go along with Coben, Connelly (both Michael and John), Daniel Silva and Lee Child. 

Grisham is worth a mention now that he's returning to some of his old form and has put aside for now trying to be a folksy down-south literary writer (Painted House, etc). I recall a leading reviewer once saying that Grisham was like me (or was it the other way round now?


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