Best Thriller Authors You Should Know
Best Thriller Authors You Should Know
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The thriller genre is a popular category of fiction that aims to keep readers on the edge of their seats through suspenseful and often shocking plot twists. Often, thrillers revolve around a high-stakes situation that puts the protagonist's life or the lives of others in danger. This can include crime, espionage, or other dangerous activities.
One hallmark of thrillers is the use of tension and suspense to keep readers engaged. This can be achieved through pacing, plot twists, and cliffhangers. Additionally, thrillers often feature complex characters who are not always what they seem. The antagonist, in particular, may be a surprise to readers and may be revealed gradually throughout the story.
Overall, the thriller genre is a great choice for readers who enjoy fast-paced, adrenaline-fueled stories that keep them guessing until the very end. Whether you're a fan of classic thrillers like Silence of the Lambs or modern hits like Gone Girl, there's sure to be a book in the thriller genre that will keep you on the edge of your seat.
Below is a list of the best thriller authors, to help expand your TBR pile.
Best Thriller Authors
S.R. Fabrico
S.R. Fabrico is an award-winning author whose literary talents have captivated readers worldwide. With her debut novel, The Secrets We Conceal, she has emerged as a rising star in the literary realm.
With a remarkable 25-plus-year career in business, marketing, and sports, S.R. Fabrico brings a unique perspective to her writing. As a World Champion Dance Coach and esteemed speaker, she infuses her stories with passion and insight.
Residing in Tennessee with her husband and children, S.R. Fabrico continues to create captivating narratives that will transport you to new and extraordinary worlds. Prepare to be enchanted by her exceptional storytelling prowess.
In addition to her passion for writing novels, she has published a series of sports journals and a journal for women
Daco S. Auffenorde
Born at the Naval hospital in Bethesda, Maryland and raised in Huntsville, Alabama—also known as Rocket City for its role in building the rocket that took astronauts into space—Daco holds a B.A. and M.A.S. from The University of Alabama in Huntsville and a J.D. from the Cumberland School of Law. She is a member of the International Thriller Writers, Mystery Writers of America, Romance Writers of America, Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, Alabama Writers' Forum, Authors Guild, and Alabama State Bar.
Rachel Howzell Hall
Rachel Howzell Hall is the critically acclaimed author of the Amazon Charts bestseller Thriller Award-nominated These Toxic Things and the Los Angeles Times Book Prize-nominated And Now She’s Gone, which was also nominated for the Lefty-, Barry-, Shamus- and Anthony Awards. Also author of the Audible Originals bestseller, Thriller Award- and Audie Awards-nominated How It Ends, Rachel is a New York Times bestselling author of The Good Sister with James Patterson, She’s received nominations and acclaim for They All Fall Down, an homage to Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None, and for Land of Shadows, Skies of Ash, Trail of Echoes and City of Saviors in the Detective Elouise Norton series.
Rachel is a former member of the board of directors for Mystery Writers of America and has been a featured writer on NPR’s acclaimed Crime in the City series and the National Endowment for the Arts weekly podcast; she has also served as a mentor in Pitch Wars and the Association of Writers Programs. Rachel lives in Los Angeles with her husband and daughter. For more information, visit www.rachelhowzell.com
Lee Goldberg
Lee Goldberg is a two-time Edgar Award and two-time Shamus Award nominee and the #1 New York Times bestselling author of more than thirty novels, including Lost Hills, the Ian Ludlow trilogy (True Fiction, Killer Thriller and Fake Truth), fifteen Monk mysteries, and five internationally bestselling Fox & O’Hare books (The Heist, The Chase, The Job, The Scam, and The Pursuit) co-written with Janet Evanovich. He has also written and/or produced many TV shows, including Diagnosis Murder, SeaQuest, and Monk, and is the co-creator of the hit Hallmark movie series Mystery 101. As an international television consultant, he has advised networks and studios in Canada, France, Germany, Spain, China, Sweden, and the Netherlands on the creation, writing, and production of episodic television series. He is also co-founder of the publishing company Brash Books (www.brash-books.com).
Joy Castro
Joy Castro is the award-winning author of the novel 'Flight Risk,' the post-Katrina New Orleans literary thrillers 'Hell or High Water,' which received the Nebraska Book Award, and 'Nearer Home,' and the story collection 'How Winter Began,' as well as the memoir 'The Truth Book' and the essay collection 'Island of Bones,' which received the International Latino Book Award. She is also editor of the anthology 'Family Trouble' and served as the guest judge of CRAFT‘s first Creative Nonfiction Award. Her work has appeared in the 'New York Times Magazine,' 'Senses of Cinema,' 'Salon,' 'Ploughshares,' 'Gulf Coast,' 'Brevity,' 'Afro-Hispanic Review,' and elsewhere. A former Writer-in-Residence at Vanderbilt University, she is currently the Willa Cather Professor of English and Ethnic Studies at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
Jenny Milchman
Jenny Milchman is the Mary Higgins Clark award winning and USA Today bestselling author of five psychological thrillers about women who face the worst and become the heroes of their own stories. Jenny speaks nationwide about the importance of the face-to-face in our high tech world. She is a member of the Sisters in Crime speakers bureau, a former vice president for International Thriller Writers, and the founder of Take Your Child to a Bookstore Day, which has been celebrated in all 50 states and on 5 continents.
Mim Eichmann
A graduate from the Jordan College of Music at Butler University in Indianapolis, IN, Mim Eichmann has found that her creative journey has taken her down many exciting, interwoven pathways including that of musician, choreographer and now author. Her debut historical fiction novel 'A Sparrow Alone' published in April 2020 was a semi-finalist in the Illinois Library Association's Soon-to-be-Famous Project Competition. The highly anticipated sequel, 'Muskrat Ramble', was published in March 2021. Both books are bestsellers.
Kaira Rouda
Kaira Rouda is a USA TODAY and international bestselling, multiple award-winning author of contemporary fiction that explores what goes on beneath the surface of seemingly perfect lives. Her domestic suspense novels include BEST DAY EVER and THE FAVORITE DAUGHTER. Her next novel, THE NEXT WIFE, is out in May 2021. To date, Kaira's novels have been translated into more than ten languages.
She lives in Southern California with her family and is at work on her next novel. Connect with her on Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest: @KairaRouda; and on Facebook at Kaira Rouda Books.
If you'd like to host Kaira at your book club, in person or virtually, connect with the author, visit KairaRouda.com.
Loreth Anne White
Loreth Anne White is an Amazon Charts and Washington Post bestselling author of thrillers, mysteries, and suspense. With well over 2 million books sold around the world, she is a three-time RITA finalist, an overall Daphne du Maurier Award winner, Arthur Ellis finalist, and winner of multiple other industry awards.
A recovering journalist who has worked in both South Africa and Canada, she now calls Canada home. She resides in the Pacific Northwest, dividing time between Victoria on Vancouver Island, the ski resort of Whistler in the Coast Mountains, and a rustic lakeside cabin in the Cariboo. When she’s not writing or dreaming up plots, you will find her on the lakes, in the ocean, or on the trails with her dog where she tries—unsuccessfully—to avoid bears. For more information on her books please visit her website at lorethannewhite.com
Carter Wilson
USA Today bestselling author Carter Wilson has written eight critically acclaimed, standalone psychological thrillers, as well as numerous short stories. He is an ITW Thriller Award finalist, a four-time winner of the Colorado Book Award, and his works have been optioned for television and film. Carter lives in Erie, Colorado in a Victorian house that is spooky but isn't haunted...yet.
Walt Gragg
Walt Gragg lives in Austin, Texas. He is a retired attorney and former Texas State Prosecutor.
Prior to law school, he spent a number of years in the military. His time with the Army involved many interesting assignments including three years in the middle of the first Cold War serving at United States European Command Headquarters in Germany where the idea for his first novel THE RED LINE took shape.
Walt is the 14th Annual American BookFest Best Book Award Winner for best thriller and was a finalist for the prestigious International Thriller Writers Best First Novel.
His second novel the critically acclaimed THE CHOSEN ONE was released on November 19th. The Providence Journal had this to say about it. "The book imagines a nightmare scenario in the Middle East in which an actual army led by a murderous Islamic fundamentalist is on the march through friendly Arab states. America’s tit-for-tat military response unfolds from the perspective of Marine Lt. Sam Erickson, who has staged an amphibious landing from the Mediterranean. As the missiles and bombs fly, Erickson slogs through the front lines where the war will be won or lost.
What follows is military writing at its level best, making Gragg the chosen one in his own right when it comes to this kind of tale. But his follow-up to “The Red Line” presents war from a literary sensibility more like James Jones (“From Here to Eternity”) or Herman Wouk (“The Winds of War”), making this a must-read for all military thriller fans."
He is presently working on a follow-up to The Chosen One that is already under contract to the Berkley Publishing Group at Penguin Random House.
Jason Pinter
Jason Pinter is the internationally bestselling author of HIDE AWAY, the first Rachel Marin novel, and the Henry Parker thriller series (THE MARK, THE GUILTY, THE STOLEN, THE FURY, and THE DARKNESS), as well as the acclaimed standalone thriller THE CASTLE, and two children's books. He has been nominated for the Thriller Award, Strand Critics Award, Barry Award, Shamus Award, and more. THE FURY and THE DARKNESS were both chosen as Indie Next selections, and THE MARK, THE STOLEN, and THE FURY were all named to The Strand's Best Books of the Year list. THE MARK was optioned to be a feature film, and there are over 1.5 million copies of Jason's books in print worldwide.
He is the Founder and Publisher of Polis Books, and was named one of Publisher Weekly's inaugural Star Watch honorees, which "recognizes young publishing professionals who have distinguished themselves as future leaders of the industry." He has written for The New Republic, Entrepreneur, Esquire, and The Daily Beast, and been featured in Library Journal, Publishers Weekly, Mystery Scene and more. He lives in NJ with his wife and their two daughters. Visit him at www.JasonPinter.com, and follow him on Twitter and Instagram at @JasonPinter.
Simon Lelic
Simon Lelic is the author of The Liar's Room, The New Neighbors, A Thousand Cuts (winner of a Betty Trask Award and shortlisted for the John Creasey New Blood Dagger), The Facility and The Child Who (longlisted for the CWA Gold Dagger and CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger 2012). The Haven, The Haven: Revolution and The Haven: Deadfall are his first books for young teenagers (11+). His newest novel, The Search Party, will be published in August 2020.
The New Neighbors is his first psychological thriller, inspired by a love of Alfred Hitchcock and Stephen King.
Simon is married, with three young children, and lives in Brighton, England. Other than his family, reading is Simon's biggest passion. He also holds a black belt in karate, in which he trains daily.
Lynne Reeves
Lynne Reeves Griffin is an internationally recognized family counselor, public speaker, teacher and writer of fiction and non-fiction. Her work has appeared in Parents, Psychology Today, Solstice Literary Magazine, Chautauqua Journal, Craft Literary, Fiction Writers Review, Brain, Child and more.
Writing as Lynne Griffin, she is the author of the family-focused novels, Life Without Summer (St. Martin’s Press), Sea Escape (Simon & Schuster), and Girl Sent Away (SixOneSeven Books).
She writes novels of domestic suspense as Lynne Reeves, with The Dangers of an Ordinary Night to be published by Crooked Lane Books in November 2021.
Gabrielle St. George
Gabrielle St. George (Aka The Ex-Whisperer) is a Canadian screenwriter and story-editor with credits on over 100 produced television shows, both in the USA and Canada. Her feature film scripts have been optioned in Hollywood. She is a member of the Writer’s Guild of Canada, Crime Writers of Canada, Sisters in Crime, Mystery Writers of America, and International Thriller Writers. Ms. St. George writes humorous mysteries and domestic noir about subjects of which she is an expert—mostly failed relationships, hence her debut soft-boiled series, The Ex-Whisperer Files, which launches with HOW TO MURDER A MARRIAGE. She is also the author of the non-fiction GAL GUIDE SERIES: How to Say So Long to Mr. Wrong, How to Know if He’s Having an Affair, and How to Survive the Love You Hate to Love.
Gabrielle lives a wildly magical life on a fairy-tale farm along the Saugeen River and spends weekends at her 1930s cabin on the shores of Lake Huron with her partner (current coupling still alive and kicking) and their extremely disobedient dogs. When she’s not writing, painting, gardening, stargazing, moondancing, and daydreaming, she travels the world to visit her four fabulous children who live abroad.
Yasmin Angoe
Yasmin Angoe is a first-generation Ghanaian American and debut author of Her Name Is Knight. She is the 2020, recipient of the Sisters in Crime Eleanor Taylor Bland Award for Emerging Writers of Color and is a proud member of SinC, Crime Writers of Color, International Thriller Writers, and Mystery Writers of America. Yasmin was an English teacher and currently works with authors as a developmental editor and sensitivity/authenticity reader. When not writing or editing, she is either watching movies, engrossed in a new audiobook, or daydreaming about the fact she probably should be writing.
Erica Ferencik
Award-winning novelist Erica Ferencik has received glowing critical praise for her literary thrillers featuring women who face extreme physical challenges in nature, even as they grapple with internal struggles. Devoted to authenticity in her craft, Erica spent weeks in the wilderness of northern Maine as research for her debut novel, The River at Night, an Indie Next Pick that New York Times bestselling author Ruth Ware called “raw, relentless, and heart-poundingly real.” For her “hair-raisingly vivid” (Kirkus) follow-up, Into the Jungle, Ferencik journeyed a hundred miles up the Amazon to experience firsthand the lush and perilous Peruvian jungle. Now, inspired and informed by a month-long trip to Greenland, Ferencik sets Indie Next Pick GIRL IN ICE (Publisher’s Weekly, starred review “Exemplary…Ferencik outdoes Michael Crichton in the convincing way she mixes emotion and science.”) in one of the most unforgiving, unforgettable landscapes imaginable.
Matthew Farrell
Matthew Farrell is the Washington Post and Amazon Charts bestselling author of WHAT HAVE YOU DONE, I KNOW EVERYTHING, and DON'T EVER FORGET. His latest thriller, TELL ME THE TRUTH will be released on June 22. He lives in the Hudson Valley, just outside of New York City, with his wife and two daughters and is currently working on his next book.
Hank Phillippi Ryan
HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN is the USA Today bestselling author of 13 psychological thrillers, winning the genre's most prestigious awards: five Agathas, four Anthonys, and the coveted Mary Higgins Clark Award. She is also investigative reporter for Boston's WHDH-TV, winning 37 EMMYs. Book reviewers call her “a master of suspense” and “superb and gifted storyteller.” THE FIRST TO LIE garnered a Publishers Weekly starred review and is nominated for the Anthony Award for Best Novel and the Mary Higgins Clark Award. Watch for HER PERFECT LIFE on September 14--it received starred reviews from Kirkus and Publishers Weekly, which called it "A superlative thriller."
Tara Laskowski
TARA LASKOWSKI’s debut suspense novel One Night Gone won the Agatha Award, Macavity Award, and the Anthony Award. Her second novel, The Mother Next Door, will be published in October 2021. She also wrote two short story collections, Modern Manners for Your Inner Demons and Bystanders. She has won the Agatha Award and Thriller Award for her short fiction and was the longtime editor of the online flash fiction journal SmokeLong Quarterly. A graduate of Susquehanna University and George Mason University, Tara grew up in Pennsylvania and lives in Virginia.
Kimberly Belle
Kimberly Belle is the USA Today and internationally bestselling author of seven novels, including her forthcoming My Darling Husband and The Marriage Lie, a Goodreads Choice Awards semifinalist for Best Mystery & Thriller. Her books have been published in more than in a dozen languages and have been optioned for film and television. A graduate of Agnes Scott College, Belle divides her time between Atlanta and Amsterdam.
Erin Mayer
Erin Mayer is a freelance writer and editor. Her work has appeared in The Today Show, Bustle, Man Repeller, Literary Hub, and others. A lifelong New Yorker, she now resides in Maine with her husband and her enamel pin collection. FAN CLUB is her first novel.
Tori Eldridge
Tori Eldridge is the Lefty-nominated author of "The Ninja Daughter," which was named one of the “Best Mystery Books of the Year” by The South Florida Sun Sentinel and awarded 2019 Thriller Book of the Year by Authors on the Air Global Radio Network. Her short stories appear in several anthologies, and her screenplay The Gift earned a semifinalist spot in the prestigious Academy Nicholl Fellowship. Before writing, Tori performed as an actress, singer, dancer on Broadway, television, and film. She is of Hawaiian, Chinese, Norwegian descent and was born and raised in Honolulu where she graduated from Punahou School with classmate Barack Obama. Tori holds a fifth-degree black belt in To-Shin Do ninjutsu and has traveled the USA teaching seminars on the ninja arts, weapons, and women’s self-protection. Her second book in the Lily Wong series, "The Ninja’s Blade," releases September 1, 2020.
Gin Phillips
Gin Phillips is the author of six novels, ranging from historical fiction to literary thriller to middle grade. Her work has been sold in 29 countries.
Gin’s debut novel, The Well and the Mine, won the 2009 Barnes & Noble Discover Award. Her recent novel, Fierce Kingdom, was named one of the best books of 2017 by Publishers Weekly, NPR, Amazon, and Kirkus Reviews. Her novels have been named as selections for Indie Next, Book of the Month, and the Junior Library Guild.
Born in Montgomery, Al., Gin graduated from Birmingham-Southern College with a degree in political journalism. She lives with her family in Birmingham, Al.
Jennifer Givhan
Jenn Givhan is a Mexican-American and indigenous poet, novelist, and transformational coach from the Southwestern desert and the recipient of poetry fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and PEN/Rosenthal Emerging Voices. Jenn is the author of five full-length poetry collections, most recently Belly to the Brutal (Wesleyan University Press), and the novels Trinity Sight, Jubilee, and River Woman, River Demon (Blackstone Press). Her work has appeared in The New Republic, The Nation, POETRY, and many others. Follow her at jennifergivhan.com.
