Episode · The Book Review · 2026-08-05
Books mentioned on Let’s Talk About the 50 Best Thrillers of the 21st Century
Tina Jordan recommended Defending Jacob by William Landay, and discussed Cat Among the Pigeons by Agatha Christie, Peril at End House by Agatha Christie, The Secret History by Donna Tartt, and We need to talk about Kevin by Lionel Shriver. Sarah Lyall recommended Time and Again by Jack Finney, Life After Life by Kate Atkinson, and The Anomaly by Hervé Le Tellier, and discussed Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier, The Turn of the Screw by Henry James, The Firm by John Grisham, The Pelican Brief by John Grisham, Case Histories by Kate Atkinson, and My sister, the serial killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite. Gilbert Cruz recommended Presumed Innocent by Scott Turow, and discussed And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie, Crooked House by Agatha Christie, Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn, Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn, Broken Harbor by Tana French and others, Mystic river by Dennis Lehane, All the Sinners Bleed by S. A. Cosby, The God of the Woods by Liz Moore, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson, No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy, and Butter by Asako Yuzuki.
Books mentioned, in the order they came up
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Cat Among the Pigeons
Discussed“My teacher, Mrs. McB read aloud to the class the Agatha Christie mystery, Cat Among the Pigeons. I don't know if you've read this one.”
Where to get it
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Rebecca
Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier is a classic psychological thriller that follows a young second wife haunted by the lingering memory and presence of her husband's deceased first wife at a remote estate.
Discussed“So other things were like Rebecca, amazing thriller, The Turn of the Screw, and you know, you read those not knowing what genre they are, but oh my god, there are thrillers.”
Where to get it
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The Turn of the Screw
The Turn of the Screw by Henry James is a classic gothic novella that follows a governess who becomes convinced that the remote estate where she cares for two children is haunted by malevolent spirits.
Discussed“So other things were like Rebecca, amazing thriller, The Turn of the Screw, and you know, you read those not knowing what genre they are, but oh my god, there are thrillers.”
Where to get it
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The Firm
The Firm by John Grisham is a gripping legal thriller published in 1991 that follows a young lawyer who joins a prestigious firm, only to discover it is a front for the mafia.
Discussed“I remember maybe 13 or so picking up an early John Gisham. Might have been around the time that the movie version of The Firm came out.”
Where to get it
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The Pelican Brief
The Pelican Brief by John Grisham is a legal thriller novel that follows a young law student who uncovers a dangerous conspiracy involving the assassinations of two Supreme Court justices.
Discussed“So, you know, the firm I think at the time it probably was the firm went back to a time to kill then it had to the client and then I picked up several other oh pelican brief. I really love that book.”
Where to get it
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Presumed Innocent
Presumed Innocent by Scott Turow is a legal thriller centering on a prosecutor accused of murdering his colleague.
Recommended“And then I picked up um Presumed Innocent. I you know, actually I've Okay, go leave this podcast right now and go and read it. What's wrong with you? Uh Sarah, best book on this podcast maybe four years ago. You told me to read Presumed Innocent and I still haven't.”
Where to get it
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And Then There Were None
And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie is a masterclass in suspense, following ten strangers lured to a remote island who are systematically murdered one by one.
Discussed“But then there was a period where I moved to Agatha Christie myself. I picked up and then there Were None, which is still, holy cow, just one of the is tightly plotted and creepy books I've ever read.”
Where to get it
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Peril at End House
Discussed“Gina, do you have a favorite Agatha Christie? Oh, that's too hard. Um, Peril at End House, maybe.”
Where to get it
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Crooked House
Crooked House by Agatha Christie is a psychological mystery novel revolving around the secretive and dysfunctional members of a wealthy family residing in a sprawling English estate.
Discussed“I mean, I think probably in Then There Were None is the best one, but there's one called Crooked House. Oh. That is so creepy and weird...”
Where to get it
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Time and Again
Time and Again by Jack Finney is a classic time travel novel that immerses an advertising illustrator in a secret government project to transport him back to the late nineteenth century in New York City.
Recommended“I love a time travel thriller because how it plays with reality and what you can change and and so I would always point people back to The Great Time and Again by Jack Finney, which has the benefit also of being set in old New York.”
Where to get it
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Gone Girl
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn is a dark psychological thriller that unravels the turbulent marriage and sudden disappearance of Amy Dunne through the increasingly suspect perspective of her husband, Nick.
Discussed“Tina Gong Girl by Gillian Flynn. That's the number one book on this list. Number one by a darn mile.”
Where to get it
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Sharp Objects
Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn is a psychological thriller about a troubled reporter named Camille Preaker who returns to her hometown to cover the murders of two young girls while battling severe self-destructive habits.
Discussed“She also does a great job with Family Dynamics and another book that she has on her list, which is called Sharp Objects.”
Where to get it
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Broken Harbor
Broken Harbor by Tana French is a dark psychological thriller set in a half-finished housing estate outside Dublin, where a horrific family tragedy forces detectives to confront suburban decay and personal demons.
Discussed“So the three books of Frenches that are on this list are In the Woods, which came in at number three, The Likeness, which came in at number 34, and Broken Harbor, which came in at number 20.”
Where to get it
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Mystic river
Mystic River by Dennis Lehane is a gripping psychological crime thriller that delves into the dark aftermath of childhood trauma, community secrets, and the tragic ties that bind three former friends.
Discussed“And Mystic River, Dennis Leah Hannes novel came in at number two. Number two.”
Where to get it
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All the Sinners Bleed
All the Sinners Bleed by S.
Discussed“if you're a criminal in his books or if you are the first black sheriff in a particular county as is the case in all the sinners bleed...”
Where to get it
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The God of the Woods
Liz Moore's bestselling novel The God of the Woods is a suspenseful mystery set in the Adirondack mountains during the 1970s, revolving around a wealthy dynastic family whose daughter disappears from a summer camp they founded.
Discussed“Sarah, something that I know is a trend that you have called out recurs in one of the more recent books on this list, which is God of the Woods by Liz Moore.”
Where to get it
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The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson is a gripping psychological thriller that launched the global phenomenon of Scandinavian noir through its complex investigation into a decades-old disappearance.
Discussed“Gong Girl David Fincher who also took on the girl with the dragon tattoo, the Steve Larson book which came in at number four...”
Where to get it
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No Country for Old Men
No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy is a bleak, violent western thriller about a drug deal gone wrong and the relentless hunter pursuing the survivor.
Discussed“No Country for Old Men which the Cone brothers directed the Cormack McCarthy novel which came in number five one best picture.”
Where to get it
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Case Histories
Case Histories by Kate Atkinson is a compelling contemporary detective novel featuring private investigator Jackson Brodie.
Discussed“and the same actually with the adaptation of the Kate Atkinson book that's on our list case uh histories which is such a fantastic book and Jason Issacs, who's a great actor, plays the main detective in that, who's wonderful, but it just couldn't do justice.”
Where to get it
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The Secret History
The Secret History by Donna Tartt is a gripping psychological thriller following a tightly knit circle of eccentric classics students at an elite New England college whose intellectual arrogance leads to moral decay and murder.
Discussed“Kyle, let's go back to even further say to a favorite book like Secret History, which I think we've all read. Gilbert, tell me you've read that.”
Where to get it
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My sister, the serial killer
My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite is a darkly comedic thriller that explores complex sibling dynamics against the backdrop of unusual crimes.
Discussed“I was surprised and delighted to see My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oen Ken Braithweight. It came in so high. It came in so high. I think it's at number six, right?”
Where to get it
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We need to talk about Kevin
We need to talk about Kevin by Lionel Shriver is a chilling psychological novel about the mother of a school shooter grappling with her son's innate cruelty.
Discussed“Sarah, it's such a great book, but I was sort of surprised and very pleasantly to see we need to talk about Kevin on this list.”
Where to get it
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Butter
Discussed“In all of the front windows was this book Butter by Asako Yuzuki which was a Japanese uh thriller. It was huge there.”
Where to get it
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Life After Life
Life After Life by Kate Atkinson is a celebrated novel that follows protagonist Ursula Todd as she repeatedly dies and is reborn across different eras of the twentieth century, most notably the Second World War.
Recommended“and she's written some beautiful novels, especially Life After Life, which is one of my favorite books of all time.”
Where to get it
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Defending Jacob
Defending Jacob by William Landay is a gripping psychological legal thriller that examines the devastating fallout within a family when a teenage boy is accused of murder.
Recommended“It's defending Jacob by William Lande, an evil child book as we discussed.”
Where to get it
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The Anomaly
The Anomaly by Hervé Le Tellier is an inventive, high-concept literary thriller in translation that examines the chaotic societal and philosophical fallout after a commercial flight duplicates itself mid-air.
Recommended“So I'm going to go with with a thriller in translation, The Anomaly by the French writer Elve Lutellier, which I reviewed a few years ago when it came out because I loved it so much and it won the Pri Gonko the uh France's top literary prize...”
Where to get it
Other mentions in this episode (12) — ad reads, self-promotion and passing references, never counted
“So, you know, the firm I think at the time it probably was the firm went back to a time to kill then it had to the client and then I picked up several other oh pelican brief.”
“So, you know, the firm I think at the time it probably was the firm went back to a time to kill then it had to the client and then I picked up several other oh pelican brief.”
“Murder on the Express and some of the more obvious Agatha Christie books.”
“So the three books of Frenches that are on this list are In the Woods, which came in at number three, The Likeness, which came in at number 34, and Broken Harbor, which came in at number 20.”
“So the three books of Frenches that are on this list are In the Woods, which came in at number three, The Likeness, which came in at number 34, and Broken Harbor, which came in at number 20.”
“Um, defending Jacob. We need to talk about Kevin and the push. So there's three.”
“Um, defending Jacob. We need to talk about Kevin and the push. So there's three.”
“Um, defending Jacob. We need to talk about Kevin and the push. So there's three.”
“And you know, Gong Girl made into a well-known David Fincher movie starring Ben Affleck and and Rosman Pike.”
“Clint Eastwood directed the movie adaptation of Mystic River and that was that was an extraordinary movie nominated for best picture”
“Shutter Island was directed by Martin Scorsesei.”
“you know, the constant gardener was made into an amazing movie.”