The Best Thriller Book Of Every Year Of The 2010s

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The 2010s were a halcyon time for book lovers. The 10-year span produced a plethora of thrillers like "Big Little Lies" and "The Girl on the Train" that, unlike some of the time's outdated fashion trends (chevron, we're looking at you), have stood the test of time and still make gripping reads. But which books from the decade that brought us Instagram, iPads, and One Direction are the best? It may surprise you to learn there are more popular thriller novels than the much talked about titles that became an enthralling TV show or movie.

To determine the best thriller books of the era, we took a deep dive into the novels that Goodreads deemed the time's finest based on the Goodreads Reader Awards nominees from 2010 to 2019, as well as Goodreads' reader-driven thriller compilation lists. We discovered thriller lovers couldn't get enough of a whodunnit series (books from the likes of J.D. Robb's huge collection of "In Death" books and the Chief Inspector Armand Gamache collection from Louise Penny came out on top in multiple years), while stories about major secrets and life-changing mysteries also kept readers' noses buried deep in their physical books and e-readers.

"The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey" by Walter Mosley has a 4.15 rating on Goodreads, an impressive feat considering over 9,100 readers rated the book. The mystery thriller, which was later adapted into a TV series, tells nonagenarian Ptolemy Grey's story. Grey is experiencing dementia and experiences a tragic loss when his much-loved younger family member is murdered. He begins losing contact with the outside world as he refuses to trust anyone following his sudden loss, but things start to change when he meets Robyn, a teenager who's determined to stop Grey from living his final years as a depressed recluse. To make things even more complicated, Grey then encounters a doctor who offers him a drug that will give him the chance to live his final days as a carefree man without the burden of his dementia. The catch? If he takes it, his life is guaranteed to end in just a few months.

A 5-star review enthusiastically praised Mosley for his engrossing storytelling ability, and a second reviewer also gave the novel full marks and stated, "This story is stunning in what I feel is its authentic presentation of the ways in which a human mind works when it is plagued with memory issues and, likely, mental health issues in the form of depression." Others made it clear they loved the story so much they planned to reread the tale, while another wrote, "The dialogue and movement make this book a natural page-turner."

"New York to Dallas," the first of J.D. Robb's (also known as Nora Roberts, who wrote the series under a pseudonym) books our list, was a nominee for the Readers' Favorite Mystery and Thriller accolade in the 2011 Goodreads Choice Awards. Considering this thriller boasts a very impressive 4.45-star average from an equally admirable 34,700 ratings, that's no shock. The 33rd book in the "In Death" series reintroduces us to Lieutenant Eve Dallas as she learns that a dangerous sex offender and murderer she put behind bars years ago has escaped from prison. Not only is he a major danger to the public, but he's also determined to seek revenge against the one who put him behind bars. The pressure's on for Eve, who has to chase down the bad actor and bring him to justice again — all while he's dead set on dredging up her difficult past by leading her back to the Lone Star State.

One reviewer confirmed they read the entire novel in just one day. A second gushed in a 5-star review, "This was most [definitely] one of the best but gruesome detective books that [I] have ever read in my life!" A third fan commented, "Book #33 and still going strong!! I LOVED this one! ... I knew without a doubt that this book was going to be heavy[,] and it was an emotional read in several ways."

"The Third Coincidence" by David Bishop is the first in the Jack McCall mystery novels, and proved to be a big hit with readers. The thriller has a 4.13 rating on Goodreads from over 1,500 ratings. The fiction book delves into danger when a murderer, hellbent on revenge, kills high-profile government figures. With the country desperate for answers and for those responsible to be brought to justice, the president enlists the help of former CIA and Defense Intelligence officer Jack McCall to lead a skilled team to find the killers as quickly as possible. But things take a twist when he's forced to work with an agent from his past, Rachel Johnstone, meaning the mission won't run quite as smoothly as he hoped. With the pressure mounting and tensions rising, can Jack achieve his goal and keep the nation safe?

The book has predominantly 5-star ratings on Goodreads, with one reader praising the story's "[good] pacing, ... [its] use of 'show' rather than 'tell,'" and its excellent dialogue. A 4-star reviewer was impressed by Bishop's work too, writing, "The plot is well[-]structured, [and] the scenes flawlessly executed."

The ninth book in the Chief Inspector Armand Gamache collection, "How the Light Gets In" by Louise Penny has a 4.48 Goodreads rating. This makes it the highest-rated novel on our list, so it's no surprise this twisty mystery thriller was nominated for the 2013 Goodreads Choice Awards in the Favorite Mystery and Thriller category. It's set during the holidays, as Chief Inspector Armand Gamache comes across the case of a missing woman who used to be famous around the world but has since stepped back from public life. While looking into her disappearance, Armand Gamache soon finds himself attached to the seemingly tranquil location of Three Pines, which seems much safer than the big Canadian city he lives in — but everything may not be as it seems as he digs up facts that will shock everyone.

Readers shared their belief the Chief Inspector Armand Gamache books are best read in order, so get your hands on the eight books that preceded "How the Light Gets In," if you haven't already. Others shared plenty of praise for the book as a standalone installment, though, with one fan writing, "Treachery; suspense; still voices; moving targets; exquisite plotting — the reader will be satisfied AND nonplussed in equal measure by the end of the book." Another review further stated, "THAT ENDING!! I didn't see any of it coming, including the reveal, the hard choice that was made, or that epilogue of sorts." Another one of Penny's novels landed on our list of the best books of 2024 for every genre and interest: Her equally enthralling story "The Grey Wolf," which is the 19th book featuring the Chief Inspector.

"Festive in Death" by J.D. Robb was a nominee for the Goodreads Choice Awards in the Favorite Mystery and Thriller category in 2014 and has a 4.33 rating out of 5.0. The novel, set in 2060, focuses on the murder of Trey Ziegler and the many women he did wrong, who may or may not have been involved in his mysterious death. In the 39th "In Death" installment, Lieutenant Eve Dallas is tasked with finding out what really happened to Trey and why, while dealing with the personal trappings the holiday season brings at the same time.

"There are some laugh out loud moments along with the mystery. It's a very well[-]balanced story between the personal [moments] and the murder case. Nicely done," one Goodreads reviewer wrote. Another reviewer mused that "The murder mystery involving an egotistical, immoral personal trainer is a really interesting one. It challenges Dallas to put her personal feelings aside in order to get justice for a man that nobody liked. The suspects are really interesting, and this is one whodunit that kept me guessing." Other readers noted Robb's long-running "In Death" series doesn't have to be read in order to make sense (phew!), while another appreciated that "Festive in Death" gave less gruesome details of crimes than some of the other books in the collection. If you're looking for a more disturbing thriller, though, we've got you covered.

J.D. Robb's "Obsession In Death," the third book from the "In Death" series on this list, was nominated for the Goodreads Choice Awards in the Favorite Mystery and Thriller category in 2015. It has a 4.38 rating on Goodreads, putting it just a few points higher than "Festive in Death." Robb brings Lieutenant Eve Dallas back in the suspenseful thriller after another question-inducing murder takes place. Only this time, the murderer left a very telling message for Dallas at the crime scene. Realizing her own life and the lives of those she loves are now in danger thanks to the deranged murderer who's on the loose, it's a race against time for the cop to work out who's behind it all before a bad situation turns even worse.

Multiple reviewers praised the author's ability to keep fans gripped despite releasing so many books in the same series. "To all those authors out there who cannot maintain their momentum through a mere trilogy — this is how you write a series!" one fan wrote in their Goodreads review. "The book is pure perfection, tightly plotted and so smoothly written that you barely even notice the words and the sentences. It's a story that develops right in front of us, outside of language or any confines of its genre," a second reviewer commented. A third reader praised the author for expertly keeping the killer's identity underwraps before revealing all during the shocking ending.

The 12th book in the Chief Inspector Armand Gamache series, "A Great Reckoning" by Louise Penny has a high score of 4.43 on Goodreads and over 84,200 ratings. The second of Penny's books on our list is a New York Times bestseller and was nominated in the Goodreads Choice Awards' Favorite Mystery and Thriller category in 2016. The book's story focuses on the discovery of an old map, which falls into the hands of Armand Gamache. He is tasked with deciphering what it means and uncovering its hidden secrets, but things only get stranger when he starts looking into the death of a professor who had a copy of the same map in his possession. While trying to untangle the mystery of his death, Gamache soon becomes intrigued by cadet Amelia Choquet, who may have a connection to the murdered professor and could be the key to him working out what's really been going on.

One reviewer, who claimed to have read all 11 of the books that preceded "A Great Reckoning," described it as the best in the collection. A second commented, "It starts out a little slow, but trust the process." A third wrote, in their glowing 5-star review, "Any of the Armand Gamache books are good, but 'A Great Reckoning' is wildly excellent. It's rich and poignant. There are moments you will want so badly to see how high pressure situations get resolved you must force yourself not to skip ahead, and moments of piercing pathos that you must remind yourself you are in a public area and you must not break down bawling."

The mystery thriller "The Missing Girls" by Carol Wyer, which is the third book in the author's DI Robyn Carter series, has a rating of 4.37 on Goodreads. The dark story delves into Detective Robyn Carter's latest challenge after she's tasked with finding out what really happened to a young girl whose body is found in a storage unit. Before long, Carter discovers she may be dealing with a dangerous serial killer. Just as she's getting close to finding out the truth, tragedy strikes her personal life when a young girl she knows very well goes missing. The detective then gets wrapped up in the mystery in a deeper way than ever before, which makes the investigation a true race against time before the killer can strike again.

"Carol has packed this fast[-]paced thriller with enough twists, forensics[,] and good team of investigators that it leaves us asking for more. A great thriller," one Goodreads user noted. Another commended the book's pacing and twisty plot, while a third reviewer described the popular novel as better than the previous in the series (it followed "Secrets of the Dead," which was also released in 2017 and has a slightly lower 4.19 rating on Goodreads). A fourth reader shared their admiration for how Wyer took a tough subject and brought it to the world's attention. "Carol took a very hard issue that is such a huge thing within the world right now[,] especially younger kids that aren't as well equipped to handle the harsh realities that are out there[,] and she smashed it out of the park," they wrote.

Linda Castillo's "A Gathering of Secrets," the 10th book in her Kate Burkholder collection, has a score of 4.18 on Goodreads from over 16,500 ratings. The 2018 thriller novel reintroduces Chief of Police Kate Burkholder as she investigates the odd case of a barn that suddenly burns down in the middle of the night with an Amish teenager inside. Kate, who used to be a member of the Amish community, finds she doesn't get much help from the people who have now chosen to shun her. She must work out if their decision not to cooperate is personal or if it's because there are secrets surrounding the incident that they don't want uncovered.

The book has predominantly 4-star ratings on Goodreads, so it fared much better than the least popular thriller and mystery picks from Reese's Book Club. One Goodreads review praised Castillo's insightful peek inside the usually closed Amish community, while another user stated, "This installment is dark, edgy, and very thought[-]provoking." A third fan shared their delight at how what really happened remained a mystery until the very end. "I thought the story opened well and was instantly intriguing. The author introduced a massive red herring and then appeared to have forgotten all about it until the end. I was sitting there saying 'but-but–but' and she dealt with it on the last page," they shared, describing "A Gathering of Secrets" as the best in the series.

The 27th book in James Patterson's Alex Cross series, "Criss Cross" has a score of 4.25 out of 5 on Goodreads. The 2019 fiction book blends mystery, crime, and thriller elements to tell the suspenseful story of Alex Cross and his partner John Sampson's experience after the crime solvers convict a criminal. However, they soon learn someone is out for revenge against them, which makes them question if the man they helped bring to justice (and was subsequently put to death) was even guilty. As they contemplate what they've done, things get even more complicated when long-buried Cross family secrets suddenly resurface.

"I thoroughly enjoyed 'Criss Cross' which, as ever, is a high octane thriller with several twists and what seems like action in every chapter," wrote one impressed Goodreads reviewer, who also praised the book for not requiring a lot of deep detective work from the reader. A second reviewer noted, "A fast[-]paced story full of action, this book was fantastic from start to finish. [Every time] I thought I had M figured out[,] the book twisted and I had to rethink the direction of the story." Another Patterson novel appeared on our list of books to read if you love a good heist movie.

We defined the best thriller book of each year of the 2010s based on Goodreads' lists of popular thrillers from each 12-month period (which gathers books based on how they've been shelved by users) or the shortlist for each year's Goodreads Choice Awards in the Favorite Mystery and Thriller category. To determine which one came out on top, we chose the book with the highest Goodreads star rating out of 5, focusing solely on thrillers with a score of 4.0 or more. We also looked at each novel's individual user reviews to find out what readers liked most about each one. Each novel was only eligible to be considered in the year it was first released. (We did not consider books based on their rerelease dates or later paperback release date.)