Thrillers & Suspense

This is the list for books that I think fall into the category of Thrillers & Suspense.  A few were kind of hard to categorize - were they supposed to be scary and weren't really, leaving them only suspenseful?  Were they actually scary but full of suspense as well?  Were they supposed to be a thriller but were only kinda sorta?  Maybe they had a mystery or action-adventure component, but were definitely thrilling and suspenseful.  A few of the books fit solidly into this and only this genre, but most of the others can be found on additional genre lists (the tags will help you identify which ones).

Clicking on the book title will take you to the review/mini-review if I have one.  Also, be sure to read my note about reading and age appropriate levels at the bottom of the page.


Ask the Dark by Henry Turner
(4.9) (UG) (kidnapping, mystery, juvenile delinquents)

Blackbird by Anna Carey
(4.8) (UG) (amnesia, murder, action/adventure, mystery, suspense)

Bonechiller by Graham McNamee   
(3.8) (UG) (family, friendship, ancient predator)

Boy Nobody (alternate title: I Am the Weapon) by Allen Zadoff (series)
(3.6) (UG) (assassins, action-adventure, thrillers/suspense)

Broken Things by Lauren Oliver
(/) (UG) (friendship, murder mystery, moving on, *)

Crash by Lisa McMann (series)
(4.9) (MG+) (paranormal abilities, family relationships, romance, thriller/suspense, LGB)

Dangerous Lies by Becca Fitzpatrick
(4.8) (UG) (witness protection program, secrets, romance, coming of age)

Fake I.D. by Walter Sorrells
(4.0) (UG) (fake identity, family, murder, mystery)

First We Were IV by Alexandra Sirowy *
(/) (UG) (secret societies, friendship, family secrets, murder mysteries)

Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers (series)
(5.9/6.1/6.4) (UG) (assassins, adventure, romance, court intrigue, Middle Ages)

Hostage Three by Nick Lake
(4.8) (UG) (family relationships, hostage situations)

I Am Not a Serial Killer by Dan Wells
(6.0) (UG) (serial killers, obsessions, paranormal/supernatural)

I Hunt Killers by Barry Lyga (series)
(5.2/4.9/5.4) (UG) (serial killers, family, friendship, fathers & sons)

Into the Grey by Celine Kiernan *
(MG+) (brothers, twins, ghosts, WWI, family relationships)

Kill Switch by Chris Lynch
(4.3) (UG) (grandfathers, secrets, dementia)

Made for You by Melissa Marr
(4.9) (UG) (paranormal abilities, murder, romance)

Not Even Bones by Rebecca Shaeffer  (series)
(/) (UG) (paranormal creatures, survival, black market, ethics)

Oblivion by Sasha Dawn
(/) (UG) (family secrets, murder mystery, graphomania, romance, mental illness)

Paper Valentine by Brenna Yovanoff
(5.9) (UG) (serial killers, mystery)

Period 8 by Chris Crutcher
(4.2) (UG) (friendship, deception, murder)

Prisoner of Night and Fog by Anne Blankman
(6.0) (UG) (1930’s, Germany, Hitler, secrets)

Rotters by Daniel Kraus *
(5.7) (UG) (grave robbers, rivalry, fathers & sons)

Savannah Grey by Cliff McNish
(5.2) (MG+) (special abilities, evil entity, friendship, suspense)

Splinter by Sasha Dawn
(/) (MG+) (family secrets, murder mystery, family relationships)


Strange Grace by Tessa Gratton *

(/) (UG) (magic, bargains, witches, family, friendship, sacrifice, love triangles, secrets, *)

The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey (series) 
(4.6/5.7) (UG) (alien invasion, survival, family, friendship, romance) 

The Becoming of Noah Shaw by Michelle Hodkin
(/) (UG) (Mara Dyer series, paranormal abilities, mystery, death, romance)

The Bitter Side of Sweet by Tara Sullivan
(5.1) (MG+) (Africa, child slave labor, brothers)

The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting
(6.8) (UG) (murder, psychic abilities, romance, thriller/suspense)

The Book of Blood and Shadow by Robin Wasserman *
(5.5) (UG) (murder, secret societies, mystery, thriller/suspense) 

The Butterfly Clues by Kate Ellison
(5.0) (UG) (OCD, murder, grief, family relationships, runaways)

The Compound by S. A. Bodeen
(4.1) (MG+) (family, nuclear war, mental psychosis)

The Diabolic by S. J. Kincaid
(6.2) (UG) (futuristic, intrigue, genetic engineering, romance, space society)

The Doubt Factory by Paolo Bacigalupi
(/) (UG) (conspiracies, kidnapping)

The Edge of Everything by Jeff Giles
(5.3) (UG) (romance, thrillers/suspense, family relationships, caving)

The Girl Who Was Supposed to Die by April Henry
(4.7) (UG) (kidnapping, amnesia)

The House by Christina Lauren
(6.0) (UG) (hauntings, mystery, abandonment, romance)

The Hunt by Andrew Fukuda (series) 
(5.2/4.8/5.3) (UG) (‘vampires’, secrets, survival) 

The Killing Woods by Lucy Christopher
(4.6) (UG) (murder mystery, family, post-traumatic stress disorder)

The Lovely and the Lost by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
(?) (UG) (missing children, adoption, family relationships, mystery, search & rescue dogs)

The Maze Runner by James Dashner
(5.3) (MG+) (mystery, confinement, dystopian, survival)

The Monster Variations by Daniel Kraus
(6.6) (UG) (family, friendship, murder)

The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater (series) *
(5.4/5.0/5.1/5.7) (UG) (prophecies, friendship, magic, mystery)

The Sacrifice Box by Martin Stewart
(/) (MG+) (ancient evil, friendship, coming of age, horror/thriller)

The Storyteller by Antonia Michaelis
(4.7) (UG+) (murder, mystery, siblings, survival, friendship, romance)

Thirteen Days to Midnight by Patrick Carman *
(5.0) (MG+) (immortality, death, mystery, orphans, friendship)

Unbreakable by Kami Garcia
(4.9) (UG) (malevolent spirits, action/adventure, mystery, secret societies)

Variant by Robison Wells (series)
(4.5/4.3) (UG) (boarding schools, friendship, survival, mystery)

White Crow by Marcus Sedgwick
(4.9) (UG) (family, friendship, secrets, death)



Note:  Lists are arranged with Title, Author, Reading Level, Age Appropriate Level, and Descriptive Tags.
(Age appropriate level denotes the youngest readers that the book is appropriate for.  That doesn't mean that older readers will not enjoy the book!)

* =  books that I thought were GREAT

UG = upper grades  (contain sex, drugs, and/or very graphic violence; deal with mature subject matter such as rape, prostitution, child abuse, etc. )
MG+ = junior high  (may contain some profanity or sexual references; may deal with subject matter too mature for younger audiences)
MG = 4th through 6th grades (nothing inappropriate for children, but may not keep the interest of younger readers)
MG- = all ages (perfect for bedtime stories or read-alouds, or for precocious readers in the lower grades)

* = LGBTQ themes - characters, situations, or references to same-sex couples


Books included in this list are all ones that I have read myself and given a rating of at least 3 out of 5 Stars (why would I recommend anything less?)  When a book is part of a series, only the first title is listed, but the reading level for all books in the series is shown.  Lists will be updated periodically as I read new books.


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