Some of literature's most popular books are thrillers. These are books which give the reader a heady mix of danger and action, suspense and excitement. Here are a list of the best thriller novels and information about the authors who brought them to life.
The name Dashiel Hammet is synonymous with a certain type of thriller - that of hard-boiled detectives on the tough city streets. His most famous story "The Maltese Falcon" offers the reader everything they could want from a P. I. Novel. In it detective Sam Spade goes in search of the precious statue of the novel's title and meets danger, poisonous sensuality and double crossing villains at every turn on 30's San Francisco's twisted streets.
Where Hammet left off in the 30s, James Ellroy began in the late 80s. His work, primarily set amongst cops and criminals in 50's L. A. Took the thriller and crime genres to hither to unimagined levels of darkness and intensity. 'L. A. Confidential' is probably his best known work. It is a no holds barred journey into a twisted version of classic Hollywood and its seedy underbelly.
Agatha Christie remains perhaps the most famous mystery writer in the world. One mention of her name is enough to get you thinking about illicit murder plots, small town poisoners and country house dinner parties where the host ends up with a letter opener in his back. One of her best novels is the chilling 'And Then There Were None".
Patricia Highsmith is another of the thrillers most famous proponents. Her novels were notable for how clearly she seemed able to depict and dissect the minds of dangerous, psychopathic thinkers. Her most famous creation was the ghoulish Tom Ripley, a strange, detached, charming killer whose exploits thrilled and chilled in equal measure.
Another of Highsmith's best is her debut book "Strangers On A Train" which was later filmed by shock maestro Alfred Hitchcock. It told the tale of two men, one a famous tennis player, the other a rich layabout who lives fat off his parent's money, who meet by chance on a train carriage and discuss the convenience of each taking care of the others problems by murdering the person causing trouble in their lives. The tennis pro laughs the encounter off, not realizing the rich layabout was also a deadly psychopath and, more importantly, 100% serious about the proposition.
Possibly the most talked about thriller writer of our last decade is a man who tragically passed away before his greatest successes. Stieg Larsson, the Swedish author of the 'Millenium' trilogy, died before the publication of its first installment, 'The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo' in 2005. It went on to make him one of the most celebrated authors in the world.
The three books, "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo", "The Girl Who Played With Fire" and "The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest" are fiercely feminist in tone. They take historical chauvinism to task and play on modern fears of privacy and information being shared illicitly. They are great examples of the best thriller novels.
The name Dashiel Hammet is synonymous with a certain type of thriller - that of hard-boiled detectives on the tough city streets. His most famous story "The Maltese Falcon" offers the reader everything they could want from a P. I. Novel. In it detective Sam Spade goes in search of the precious statue of the novel's title and meets danger, poisonous sensuality and double crossing villains at every turn on 30's San Francisco's twisted streets.
Where Hammet left off in the 30s, James Ellroy began in the late 80s. His work, primarily set amongst cops and criminals in 50's L. A. Took the thriller and crime genres to hither to unimagined levels of darkness and intensity. 'L. A. Confidential' is probably his best known work. It is a no holds barred journey into a twisted version of classic Hollywood and its seedy underbelly.
Agatha Christie remains perhaps the most famous mystery writer in the world. One mention of her name is enough to get you thinking about illicit murder plots, small town poisoners and country house dinner parties where the host ends up with a letter opener in his back. One of her best novels is the chilling 'And Then There Were None".
Patricia Highsmith is another of the thrillers most famous proponents. Her novels were notable for how clearly she seemed able to depict and dissect the minds of dangerous, psychopathic thinkers. Her most famous creation was the ghoulish Tom Ripley, a strange, detached, charming killer whose exploits thrilled and chilled in equal measure.
Another of Highsmith's best is her debut book "Strangers On A Train" which was later filmed by shock maestro Alfred Hitchcock. It told the tale of two men, one a famous tennis player, the other a rich layabout who lives fat off his parent's money, who meet by chance on a train carriage and discuss the convenience of each taking care of the others problems by murdering the person causing trouble in their lives. The tennis pro laughs the encounter off, not realizing the rich layabout was also a deadly psychopath and, more importantly, 100% serious about the proposition.
Possibly the most talked about thriller writer of our last decade is a man who tragically passed away before his greatest successes. Stieg Larsson, the Swedish author of the 'Millenium' trilogy, died before the publication of its first installment, 'The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo' in 2005. It went on to make him one of the most celebrated authors in the world.
The three books, "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo", "The Girl Who Played With Fire" and "The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest" are fiercely feminist in tone. They take historical chauvinism to task and play on modern fears of privacy and information being shared illicitly. They are great examples of the best thriller novels.
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