Killer Thriller List...two for the price of one.

[shadowkat]

And here's the Top 100 Mystery Thrillers or Killer Thrillers according to NPR (go here: http://mysteryreadersinc.blogspot.com/2010/08/top-100-thrillers-from-npr-killer.html) I'm going to go through the genre's to see how many of these crazy books I've read.



Same rules apply - bold those read, underline those tried to read and didn't get all the way through,
italicize those you plan to read and/or own.


1. The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris
2. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
3. Kiss the Girls, by James Patterson
4. The Bourne Identity, by Robert Ludlum
5. In Cold Blood, by Truman Capote
6. The Da Vinci Code, by Dan Brown
7. The Shining, by Stephen King
8. And Then There Were None, by Agatha Christie
9. The Hunt tor Red October, by Tom Clancy
10. The Hound of the Baskervilles, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
11. Dracula, by Bram Stoker
12. The Stand, by Stephen King (okay why is this on two lists and I beg to differ - it is NOT a mystery or a killer thriller, it's horror/sci-fi! And still the worst Stephen King I've read.)
13. The Bone Collector, by Jeffery Deaver
14. Jurassic Park, by Michael Crichton - This is Sci-Fi people!!!
15. Angels & Demons, by Dan Brown
16. A Time to Kill, by John Grisham
17. The Andromeda Strain, by Michael Crichton - also Sci-Fi (ugh!) And by the way a really great Robert Wise film - go rent it now!
18. Mystic River, by Dennis Lehane - saw the movie, probably doesn't count?
19. The Day of the Jackal, by Frederick Forsyth
20. Rebecca, by Daphne du Maurier - I got bored. The movie is better. And so is Du Maurier short story - The Birds.
21. Eye of the Needle, by Ken Follett - great book and great film. The best of Follet.
22. It, by Stephen King - saw the mini-series
23. The Count of Monte Cristo, by Alexandre Dumas - own it.
24. The Girl Who Played with Fire, by Stieg Larsson - tried couldn't get through it and honestly, two Stieg Larrson books? He's not that good.
25. Jaws, by Peter Benchley - see the film, it's better.
26. The Alienist, by Caleb Carr - Amazing, one of the best books I've read in this category, if you like historical mysteries - go read, now.
27. Red Dragon, by Thomas Harris - better than the two movie versions, much scarier.
28. Presumed Innocent, by Scott Turow - book was better than the Harrison Ford film
29. The Maltese Falcon, by Dashiell Hammett - own and plan to read - Hammett I've been told by people I trust is a true artist when it comes to writing. Seen the film, written by Raymond Chandler and starring Humphrey Bogart five times.
30. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest, by Stieg Larsson (this is just sad people...most overrated writer ever!)
31. No Country For Old Men, by Cormac McCarthy - saw the Oscar winning film.
32. Gone Baby Gone, by Dennis Lehane
33. Gorky Park, by Martin Cruz Smith
34. Rosemary's Baby, by Ira Levin (again horror/fantasy!)
35. Subterranean, by James Rollins
36. Clear and Present Danger, by Tom Clancy - yes, I went through a Tom Clancy period, didn't everyone?
37. Salem's Lot, by Stephen King - own, and may have gotten rid of, not sure - I got fed up with King finally.
38. Shutter Island, by Dennis Lehane (seriously, the repetion of the same writers on this list is scary)
39. The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, by John Le Carre
40. The Poet, by Michael Connelly
41. The Boys from Brazil, by Ira Levin - go rent the brilliant movie with Gregory Peck and Laurence Oliver now!
42. Cape Fear, by John MacDonald
43. The Bride Collector, by Ted Dekker
44. Pet Sematary, by Stephen King
45. Dead Zone, by Stephen King
46. The Manchurian Candidate, by Richard Condon - can't remember if I read it, I did see the movie 20 times.
47. Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, by John Le Carre
48. The Talented Mr. Ripley, by Patricia Highsmith - saw both versions of the film, see the French one with Paul Delane - it's better.
49. Tell No One, by Harlan Coben - great French film, haven't read the book
50. Consent to Kill, by Vince Flynn
51. The 39 Steps, by John Buchan - I liked the BBC film of it
52. Blowback, by Brad Thor
53. The Children of Men, by P.D. James - great film
54. 61 Hours, by Lee Child
55. Marathon Man, by William Goldman - great film and great book.
56. The Woman in White, by Wilkie Collins (hard to read - watch the film done by BBC a few years back instead).
57. 206 Bones, by Kathy Reichs
58. Psycho, by Robert Bloch
59. The Killing Floor, by Lee Child
60. Rules of Prey, by John Sandford
61. The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins
62. In the Woods, by Tana French
63. Shogun, by James Clavell - how is this a thriller? (I thought it was a historical? I saw the mini-series with Richard Chamberlain.)
64. The Relic, by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child
65. Intensity, by Dean Koontz
66. Casino Royale, by Ian Fleming
67. Metzger's Dog, by Thomas Perry
68. Timeline, by Michael Crichton
69. Contact, by Carl Sagan --- isn't this a science-fiction story?
70. What the Dead Know, by Laura Lippman
71. The Shadow of the Wind, by Carlos Ruiz Zafon - I tried, found it hard to read and poorly written.
72. The Cabinet of Curiosities, by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child
73. Charm School, by Nelson DeMille
74. Feed, by Mira Grant - trying a sample - also this is horror/sci-fi.
75. Gone Tomorrow, by Lee Child
76. Darkly Dreaming Dexter, by Jeff Lindsay
77. The Secret History, by Donna Tartt
78. The First Deadly Sin, by Lawrence Sanders - read but do not remember
79. Cryptonomicon, by Neal Stephenson
80. The Brotherhood of the Rose, by David Morrell - read but do not remember
81. Primal Fear, by William Diehl
82. The Templar Legacy, by Steve Berry
82. The Hard Way, by Lee Child [tie]
84. The Last of the Mohicans, by James Fenimore Cooper - sigh. Bad book. And racist. But not a bad movie, rather liked the Daniel Day Lewis movie - which my brother and his wife found to be racist and argued that the book was probably better, to which I giggled and told them - really, really not.
85. Six Days of the Condor, by James Grady - don't remember - but did read.
86. Fail-Safe, by Eugene Burdick and Harvey Wheeler
87. Strangers on a Train, by Patricia Highsmith - own
88. The Eight, by Katherine Neville - Actually A Calculated Risk was the better book, even if the love interest resembles my brother.
89. The Lost Symbol, by Dan Brown
90. Goldfinger, by Ian Fleming - The Spy Who Loved Me is the better book, sorry, but it is.
91. Bangkok 8, by John Burdett
92. The Kill Artist, by Daniel Silva
93. Hardball, by Sara Paretsky - read, do not remember.
94. The Club Dumas, by Arturo Perez-Reverte - this is pathetic. The best books are The Seville Communion and The Flander's Panel, the Club Dumas was just hokey, and made into a really bad Roman Polanski film with Johnny Depp.
95. The Deep Blue Good-by, by John MacDonald - read but do not remember - I read all of John MacDonald's Travis McGee books - all had a color in them, when I was in high school.
96. The Monkey's Raincoat, by Robert Crais
96. Berlin Game, by Len Deighton [tie] - read - do not remember.
98. A Simple Plan, by Scott Smith - good film.
99. Child 44, by Tom Rob Smith
100. Heartsick, by Chelsea Cain


Again, bad list. What happened to Minette Walters? The Sculptress which won, hello, and Edgar! Or
The Ice House?? How about the great Agatha Christie's Curtain??? Or Smila's Sense of Snow - which was a lot better than the Girl with the Dragon books. And where's the great Raymond Chandler - the Big Sleep? Or David Baldacci? Or John Grisham's The Firm? Too many of the same writers on this list.
There's a lot of women they left off it as well. Not to mention minority - hello, Walter Mosely.





Same rules as above.

1. Arthur Conan Doyle: The Complete Sherlock Holmes (1887-1927)
2. Dashiell Hammett: The Maltese Falcon (1930)
3. Edgar Allan Poe: Tales of Mystery & Imagination (1852) - okay why wasn't Edgar Allen Poe on the above list?
4. Josephine Tey: The Daughter of Time (1951) -this should have been on the list above too, or at the very least Brat Farrar.
5. Scott Turow: Presumed Innocent (1987)
6. John le Carré: The Spy Who Came In From the Cold (1963)
7. Wilkie Collins: The Moonstone (1868)
8. Raymond Chandler: The Big Sleep (1939)
9 Daphne du Maurier: Rebecca (1938)
10 Agatha Christie: And Then There Were None (1939)
11. Robert Traver: Anatomy of a Murder (1958) - I keep thinking this was a play I read.
12. Agatha Christie: The Murder of Roger Ackroyd (1926)
13. Raymond Chandler: The Long Goodbye (1953)
14. James M. Cain: The Postman Always Rings Twice (1934)
15. Mario Puzo: The Godfather (1969)
16 Thomas Harris: The Silence of the Lambs (1988)
17. Eric Ambler: A Coffin for Dimitrios (1939)
18. Dorothy L. Sayers: Gaudy Night (1935)
19. Agatha Christie: The Witness for the Prosecution (1948)
20. Frederick Forsyth: The Day of the Jackal (1971)
21. Raymond Chandler: Farewell My Lovely (1940)
22 John Buchan: The Thirty-Nine Steps (1915)
23. Umberto Eco: The Name of the Rose (1980)
24. Fyodor Dostoyevsky: Crime and Punishment (1866)
25 Ken Follett: Eye of the Needle (1978)
26. John Mortimer: Rumpole of the Bailey (1978)2
27. Thomas Harris: Red Dragon (1981)
28. Dorothy L. Sayers: The Nine Tailors (1934)
29. Gregory Mcdonald: Fletch (1974)
30. John Le Carré: Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (1974)
31. Dashiell Hammett: The Thin Man (1934) - I can't remember if I read it.
32. Wilkie Collins: The Woman in White (1860)
33. E. C. Bentley: Trent's Last Case (1913)
34. James M. Cain: Double Indemnity (1943)
35. Martin Cruz Smith: Gorky Park (1981)
36. Dorothy L. Sayers: Strong Poison (1930)
37. Tony Hillerman: Dance Hall of the Dead (1973)
38. Donald E. Westlake: The Hot Rock (1970)2
39. Dashiell Hammett: Red Harvest (1929)
40. Mary Roberts Rinehart: The Circular Staircase (1908)2
41. Agatha Christie: Murder on the Orient Express (1934)2
42. John Grisham: The Firm (1991)4
43. Len Deighton: The IPCRESS File (1962)
44. Vera Caspary: Laura (1942)2
45. Mickey Spillane: I, the Jury (1947)2
46. Maj Sjöwall & Per Wahlöö: The Laughing Policeman (1968)2
47. Donald E. Westlake: Bank Shot (1972)2
48. Graham Greene: The Third Man (1950)- saw the film five times.
49. Jim Thompson: The Killer Inside Me (1952)2 - read over 10 years ago, so don't remember.
50. Mary Higgins Clark: Where Are the Children? (1975)2
51. Sue Grafton: "A" is for Alibi (1982)2
52. Lawrence Sanders: The First Deadly Sin (1973)2
53. Tony Hillerman: A Thief of Time (1989)
54. Truman Capote: In Cold Blood (1966)
55. Geoffrey Household: Rogue Male (1939)
56. Dorothy L. Sayers: Murder Must Advertise (1933)
57. G. K. Chesterton: The Innocence of Father Brown (1911)2
58. John le Carré: Smiley's People (1979)2
59. Raymond Chandler: The Lady in the Lake (1943)
60. Harper Lee: To Kill a Mockingbird (1960)
61. Graham Greene: Our Man in Havana (1958)2
62. Charles Dickens: The Mystery of Edwin Drood (1870)2 - read the play or what someone turned into a play, probably doesn't count.
63. Peter Lovesey: Wobble to Death (1970)
64. W. Somerset Maugham: Ashenden (1928)2
65. Nicholas Meyer: The Seven Per-Cent Solution (1974)2
66. Rex Stout: The Doorbell Rang (1965)2
67. Elmore Leonard: Stick (1983)2 - I've read so many Leonard - I've lost count. Also where's Carl Hiasson??
68. John le Carré: The Little Drummer Girl (1983) - I tried, I think I scanned most of it.
69. Graham Greene: Brighton Rock (1938)
70. Bram Stoker: Dracula (1897)
71. Patricia Highsmith: The Talented Mr. Ripley (1955)
72. Edmund Crispin: The Moving Toyshop (1946)
73. John Grisham: A Time to Kill (1989)2
74. Hillary Waugh: Last Seen Wearing ... (1952)
75. W. R. Burnett: Little Caesar (1929)2
76. George V. Higgins: The Friends of Eddie Coyle (1972)2
77. Dorothy L. Sayers: Clouds of Witness (1927)2
78. Ian Fleming: From Russia, with Love (1957) - what's with all the Ian Fleming?
79. Margaret Millar: Beast in View (1955)
80. Michael Gilbert: Smallbone Deceased (1950)
81. Josephine Tey: The Franchise Affair (1948)
82 Elizabeth Peters: Crocodile on the Sandbank (1975)2 ( I read the Vicky Bliss Mysteries instead.)
83. P. D. James: Shroud for a Nightingale (1971)2
84. Tom Clancy: The Hunt for Red October (1984)2
85. Ross Thomas: Chinaman's Chance (1978)2
86. Joseph Conrad: The Secret Agent (1907)2
87. John D. MacDonald: The Dreadful Lemon Sky (1975)2
88. Dashiell Hammett: The Glass Key (1931)
89. Ruth Rendell: A Judgement in Stone (1977)
90. Josephine Tey: Brat Farrar (1950)2
91. Ross Macdonald: The Chill (1963)2
92. Walter Mosley: Devil in a Blue Dress (1990)4 - I think I read this one.
93. Joseph Wambaugh: The Choirboys (1975)2
94. Donald E. Westlake: God Save the Mark (1967)2
95. Craig Rice: Home Sweet Homicide (1944)2
96. John Dickson Carr: The Three Coffins (1935)
97. Richard Condon: Prizzi's Honor (1982)2
98. James McClure: The Steam Pig (1974)2
99. Jack Finney: Time and Again (1970)2
100.Ellis Peters: A Morbid Taste for Bones (1977)

The problem is I don't remember half of them. I read them between 1970s-1990s...Again, where is Minette Walters?? Also what about Donald E Westlake's The Ax? Or the Harper books? Maybe they are in there. I've read so many books, I've forgotten half of them.

Comments

[embers-log.livejournal.com]

I'm just surprised you haven't tried any Dorothy L. Sayers, she was a brilliant woman (one of the first to get a degree from Oxford after they allowed women to enroll) who wrote beautifully and researched her mysteries meticulously (besides, I ended up with a huge crush on Lord Peter Wimsey).

[shadowkat67.livejournal.com]

I think I burned myself out before I got to it. Or I read it and it blurred in with all the other ones. I really can't remember half of them, when I was in my 20s, I was averaging two mystery novels a week.

[cactuswatcher.livejournal.com]

The first list seems a mish mash of genres, the second a little more focused. Both lists have books like Dracula I wouldn't classify as a murder mystery or a killer thriller. Not everyone is going to agree on the definitions of the genres, but I think it says a lot that Eco's The Name of the Rose appears high on the second list, as I think it should, but not at all on the first list.

[shadowkat67.livejournal.com]

Agreed. The Wiki list makes more sense than the NPR internet audience list which feels NY Times best-seller laden and includes books I wouldn't label as mysteries - none of the Stephen King listed are (and they left of the books that actually could be).

[wildtiger7.livejournal.com]

I occasionally read the friends list of my friends and I think I must have gotten the Josephine Tey Brat Farrar recommendation from you. I loved the book and I've been trying to figure out where I had heard of it! Thank you. :)

[shadowkat67.livejournal.com]

You're welcome! But I admittedly haven't read it yet...so it may not have been me. ;-) Did see parts of the BBC television mini-series though.

[wildtiger7.livejournal.com]

There's a miniseries? Was it any good? I shall have to look into that. And I definitely recommend the book! It's delightful.

[shadowkat67.livejournal.com]

Was fairly good - reason I hunted down the book. Can't remember it that clearly though. I think it was made by the BBC and it aired on PBS - in 1986.

Go here for Youtube : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s5giopZvBO0
[not sure if it's regionally blocked or not]

Here for NY Times Review: http://www.nytimes.com/1986/11/14/arts/tv-weekend-brat-farrar-josephine-tey-mystery.html

And apparently it's currently in development as a US film:
http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/443657/Brat-Farrar/overview

[wildtiger7.livejournal.com]

Thank you - the Youtube link does, indeed, work. And it's cool that's in development as a film, I hope they do it well.