# Thrilling Books. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 22, 2009, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thrilling-books/518502 "2009-11-22T05:24:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![MatthewGerlach](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5e9695/32.png) [@MatthewGerlach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MatthewGerlach)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2009, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thrilling-books/518502/1 "2009-11-22T05:24:22Z")
Which book would you say is the best psychological thriller you’ve ever read? I’m desperately looking for a good book to read. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2009, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thrilling-books/518502/2 "2009-11-22T16:30:25Z")
I’m not sure if they’re psychological thrillers, but there’s psychology in them and they’re thrillers – _Red Dragon_ and _Silence of the Lambs_ by Thomas Harris. ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2009, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thrilling-books/518502/3 "2009-11-22T16:48:27Z")
TIGER IN THE SMOKE by Margery Allingham, from 1952. An oldie but goodie. It suffers a little because Allingham’s hero detective, Albert Campion, is the incidental character, but it’s still brilliantly written and very gripping. ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2009, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thrilling-books/518502/4 "2009-11-25T14:23:16Z")
By definition, the term [psychological thriller](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychological_thriller) covers a lot of ground in different genres. Are you also interested in good old page-turners? If so, let me recommend [Marcus Sakey](http://marcussakey.com/). He’s up-and-coming (only four novels) but he’s getting better and better. I haven’t read his first, but his last two (_Good People_ and _The Amateurs_) were fun reads. I’m a sucker for ordinary people thrust into extraordinary situation scenarios. Fun stuff. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2009, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thrilling-books/518502/5 "2009-11-25T15:22:10Z")
Another vote for Thomas Harris. I slept with a firearm under the bed after reading _Red Dragon._ 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Musky\_Moon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/90db22/32.png) [@Musky\_Moon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musky_Moon)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2009, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thrilling-books/518502/6 "2009-11-25T15:53:11Z")
If a turn of the century psychological thriller sounds like your cup of tea, I would highly recomend **The Alienist** by Caleb Carr. I reread once a year, then give the copy to someone who hasn’t had the pleasure. You won’t regret picking this up. ---
**Author:** ![singular1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ba9def/32.png) [@singular1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/singular1)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2009, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thrilling-books/518502/7 "2009-11-25T16:42:03Z")
I second The Alienist. Great book! And if turn-of-the-century psychological thrillers thrill you, try The [Prestige](http://www.amazon.com/Prestige-Christopher-Priest/dp/0312858868) by Christopher Priest. Don’t worry if you’ve seen the movie - knowing the ending didn’t ruin the reading experience for me at all. It’s a truely original book.