Are These the 50 Best Thrillers of the 21st Century?

They’re at it again. Staff of The New York Times Book Review recently surveyed nearly 300 authors, editors, librarians, booksellers, critics and others to compile a list of the best thrillers of the 21st century.

Here’s a gift link to their top 50 picks.

This is the same team that put together the 100 best books of the 21st century; indeed, they say that list-making led to this one because “There simply wasn’t enough room to encompass all of the great work being done across genres like … thrillers.”

I don’t agree with their top pick but then I rarely agree with these “best of” lists. For me, the fun is in seeing what others like so I can figure out whether I want to add their picks to my TBR pile. In this case, it’s a curated collection by smart people in the writing community so it’s definitely worth a look.

This list has the added bonus of that old debate – does a thriller fit the definition of a mystery? Are all thrillers mysteries or just some of them? You’ll find some familiar mystery authors on this list, such as Tana French, Jane Harper and Attica Locke. But is Mick Herron of Slow Horses fame a mystery writer? Is We Need to Talk about Kevin a mystery?

Agree or disagree, the list will get you thinking and maybe introduce a new author or two. Enjoy!