Jump to content

Seeking an edge-of-seat thriller


Recommended Posts

Over the past week or two I seem to have developed a craving for a real edge-of-your-seat kind of action/adventure/thriller, one where the main character is either on the run or living in fear for their life, with loads of suspense and white-knuckle moments.  The only books I've read in the last couple of years that fit the bill were all by Patrick Lee (Runner and his Breach Trilogy), but his next book isn't out until October and I've been struggling to find others that I haven't already read.  I've read several of Lee Child's Jack Reacher books and also Robert Ludlum's Bourne books, so don't want any more of those at the moment, and I'm not really looking for any Nordic Noir.

 

I'm quite liking C J Box's books, but they don't really fit the bill.  I'm currently reading the first of Vince Flynn's books but his character, Mitch Rapp, feels like he's going to be a bit like Jack Reacher, too good at everything.

 

So far I'm looking at:  Jeffery Deaver, Michael Connelly, John Connolly, Tim Weaver, Tom Harper, and - going back a bit - Alistair MacLean, Frederick Forsyth and Len Deighton, but I'm not sure if any of these fit the bill.

 

Does anyone have any other suggestions please?  :smile:

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

A Jeffrey Deaver stand alone novel that might suit would be perhaps his Praying For Sleep.

 

For a twisty turny "What the blazes is happening?" type read, Sebastian Fitzek, either Therapy or Splinter may be worth looking at.  

 

I will think on this a bit, it's a matter of matching the book titles with the stories I'm thinking of.  :smile:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

How about I Am Pilgrim by Terry Hayes?. It's a brilliantly fast-paced spy thriller...quite a few people on here have read it and raved about it.

 

A Jeffrey Deaver stand alone novel that might suit would be perhaps his Praying For Sleep.

I'm immediately sold on both of those, having had a brief read of the samples.  Thanks both!  :smile: 

 

 

 

For a twisty turny "What the blazes is happening?" type read, Sebastian Fitzek, either Therapy or Splinter may be worth looking at.  

 

I will think on this a bit, it's a matter of matching the book titles with the stories I'm thinking of.  :smile:

 

Ooh, I've read Splinter but forgot about Therapy.  Thanks, Chrissy  :smile:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Try "Memory Man" by David Baldacci. I couldn't put the book down once I started it.

 

Sounds good - going on the wishlist!  

 

I've not read any Baldacci - I think I only own one, Zero Day, which I got for 99p but then was a little put off by the reviews saying the main character was a Jack Reacher-a-like but not as good :unsure:

 

Thanks Muggle  :smile:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If you`re thinking of Len Deighton, try his trilogies ( 9 books in all, the first in the series is Berlin Match ) - I think they`re the best spy thrillers I`ve read - believable hero and some jaw-dropping twists along the way - there`s one you really won`t see coming.....  :smile:

 

There`s also Desmond Bagley - Running Blind  - a 70`s thriller set in Iceland - a bit dated but a fun read. 

 

Oh, and Adam Hall`s Quiller books - great fun.  :smile:

Edited by Little Pixie
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sounds good - going on the wishlist!  

 

I've not read any Baldacci - I think I only own one, Zero Day, which I got for 99p but then was a little put off by the reviews saying the main character was a Jack Reacher-a-like but not as good :unsure:

 

Thanks Muggle  :smile:

Baldacci is one of my favorites. I read every book he writes. I hope you get a chance to read Memory Man and most of all, I hope you enjoy it. It is a thriller and a mystery for sure. :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If you`re thinking of Len Deighton, try his trilogies ( 9 books in all, the first in the series is Berlin Match ) - I think they`re the best spy thrillers I`ve read - believable hero and some jaw-dropping twists along the way - there`s one you really won`t see coming.....  :smile:

 

There`s also Desmond Bagley - Running Blind  - a 70`s thriller set in Iceland - a bit dated but a fun read. 

 

Oh, and Adam Hall`s Quiller books - great fun.  :smile:

 

Rats, I went and bought The Ipcress File cos it was going cheap and I liked the Harry Palmer films  :doh:

 

Running Blind looks interesting - it's going on the wishlist.  Re the Quiller books, the first one doesn't seem to be available on Kindle, which is a pain.

 

Thanks for the suggestions, Sarah  :smile:

 

 

 

Baldacci is one of my favorites. I read every book he writes. I hope you get a chance to read Memory Man and most of all, I hope you enjoy it. It is a thriller and a mystery for sure. :)

 

I shall definitely get to it.  It's quite expensive on Kindle at the mo, so shall keep an eye out for the price to drop  :smile:

 

 

 

Has anyone here read any of Nelson DeMille's books?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Rats, I went and bought The Ipcress File cos it was going cheap and I liked the Harry Palmer films  :doh:

 

Running Blind looks interesting - it's going on the wishlist.  Re the Quiller books, the first one doesn't seem to be available on Kindle, which is a pain.

 

Thanks for the suggestions, Sarah  :smile:

 

:D

 

I went and saw The Ipcress File in the cinema a few years ago when they did a new print of it for some anniversary - even better on a big screen, and I`d seen it a bunch of times already. The Harry Palmer character is good fun. Do get the trilogies at some point  - read them in order, that`s a must - since thinking about them yesterday, I`m thinking of a re-read myself.  :smile:

 

I don`t think the Quiller books really need to be read in order, but the Quiller Memorandum is a good`un and was made into a film with George Segal. 

 

Running Blind was made by the Beeb into a TV film in the late 70`s - it made such an impression on me, that I searched for years for the book (  with a vague` this happened in it and I don`t know the title` search criteria ). 

 

 

 

Has anyone here read any of Nelson DeMille's books?

 

I`ve read a couple of them - The General`s Daughter and Up Country - both excellent - and I have the first three in his John Corey series ( got them through The Book People, super cheaply ) . Erm, they`re not the sort of thing you`d want your maiden aunt to read, but he tells a cracking story with stand-out characters.  :smile:

Edited by Little Pixie
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I was looking for some funny mysteries recently and ended up googling ` authors like Donna Andrews ` and `books like Alpine for You` - and got some good results. I don`t know if you`d already tried that with your authors ?

 

For instance, ` authors like Patrick Lee `  gets you some GoodReads and Librarything lists.  :smile:

 

Oh, and I found if I searched on my Kindle Fire, which uses Bing, I got a different set of results which threw up some goodies. 

Edited by Little Pixie
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I`ve read a couple of them - The General`s Daughter and Up Country - both excellent - and I have the first three in his John Corey series ( got them through The Book People, super cheaply ) . Erm, they`re not the sort of thing you`d want your maiden aunt to read, but he tells a cracking story with stand-out characters.  :smile:

 

Okay, thanks - I'm quite tempted by a couple of his books so might give one a try sooner or later :smile:  This one's really appealing to me, but I don't think I want to read it before I go on holiday :hide:

 

 

 

 

For instance, ` authors like Patrick Lee `  gets you some GoodReads and Librarything lists.  :smile:

 

I actually tried that a few months back but it didn't prove very fruitful.  Thanks, though!  I do seem to be turning up some interesting ones by looking for a particular book on Amazon and then looking through the 'Customers who bought this also bought' links :giggle2:

 

I also think I may have to return to Richard Morgan's stuff and try Market Forces, which I already have on my Kindle as part of a collection of his books. 

 

 

 

It seemed logical to me to start from the top of the thread, so I've taken bobbly's recommendation and started I Am Pilgrim :smile:

 

 

 

ETA:  Ohhh, I am so tempted by this :giggle2:

Edited by Karsa Orlong
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'd like to seconf Little Pixie's suggestion of Desmond Bagley. Running Blind was one of the best of his that I have read - also The Tightrope men & Landslide are pretty good too.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Rats, I went and bought The Ipcress File cos it was going cheap and I liked the Harry Palmer films  :doh:

 

Running Blind looks interesting - it's going on the wishlist.  Re the Quiller books, the first one doesn't seem to be available on Kindle, which is a pain.

 

Thanks for the suggestions, Sarah  :smile:

 

 

 

 

I shall definitely get to it.  It's quite expensive on Kindle at the mo, so shall keep an eye out for the price to drop  :smile:

 

 

 

Has anyone here read any of Nelson DeMille's books?

A person can go broke buying all the recommendations. :) Memory Man is a bit expensive though currently. Hopefully it will come down in price.

 

One downside to David Baldacci, you can become addicted to him and there are a lot of books to read if you are only starting to read him.:) I particularly like his series on Will Robie. As previously stated, I read everything he writes but as you may have noticed, I do that with most authors that I like.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've read a few of the Nelson DeMille books, and especially liked Plum Island and Night Fall featuring the character, John Corey. I'm pretty sure I still have Mr DeMille on my shelves. If you are interested I'd be happy to send some to you to give them a try.  :smile:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'd like to seconf Little Pixie's suggestion of Desmond Bagley. Running Blind was one of the best of his that I have read - also The Tightrope men & Landslide are pretty good too.

 

I haven`t read those other two ; shall see if they`re hiding on a bookshelf somewhere.  :smile:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'd like to seconf Little Pixie's suggestion of Desmond Bagley. Running Blind was one of the best of his that I have read - also The Tightrope men & Landslide are pretty good too.

 

That's two recs for that one so I really must give it a go.  Thanks, Ian :smile:

 

 

One downside to David Baldacci, you can become addicted to him and there are a lot of books to read if you are only starting to read him. :)

 

Yeah, I noticed that :lol:  I do seem to be starting off a lot of new series, so stand alone stories are always welcome :smile:

 

 

 

Have you read Dan Brown`s Deception Point ? 

 

Must admit I've only read the obvious one of his, and it kind of put me off reading any more :unsure:

 

 

 

I've read a few of the Nelson DeMille books, and especially liked Plum Island and Night Fall featuring the character, John Corey. I'm pretty sure I still have Mr DeMille on my shelves. If you are interested I'd be happy to send some to you to give them a try.  :smile:

 

Oh that's very kind of you Chrissy, thank you, I might take you up on that at some point, but only if I can send you a book in return  :smile:   I'll probably give Mayday a go.  I'm highly tempted to read whilst I'm on the plane to Calgary just to see how much it freaks me out :giggle2:

 

 

 

Daniel Silva

 

I don`t know if you`d like these, Steve. The Kill Artist is the first of the Gabriel Allon series ( they`re big on research into Middle Eastern issues ).  :smile:

 

Not heard of him, off to have a look, ta  :smile:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm not 100% sure if this one fits the bill, but I'd recommend A Tap on the Window by Linwood Barclay: "When Cal Weaver stops at red light on a rainy night while driving home, he ignores the bedraggled-looking teenaged girl trying to hitch a lift. Even when she starts tapping on his window. But when she says, 'Hey, aren't you Scott's dad?' and he realizes she's one of his son's classmates, he can't really ignore her. OK, so giving a ride to a teenage girl might not be the smartest move, but how much harm could it do?"   (There's more to the synopsis on the Amazon link, but you can go with just the few details in the text I've copy+pasted in this thread, too.)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm not 100% sure if this one fits the bill, but I'd recommend A Tap on the Window by Linwood Barclay: "When Cal Weaver stops at red light on a rainy night while driving home, he ignores the bedraggled-looking teenaged girl trying to hitch a lift. Even when she starts tapping on his window. But when she says, 'Hey, aren't you Scott's dad?' and he realizes she's one of his son's classmates, he can't really ignore her. OK, so giving a ride to a teenage girl might not be the smartest move, but how much harm could it do?"   (There's more to the synopsis on the Amazon link, but you can go with just the few details in the text I've copy+pasted in this thread, too.)

 

Thanks Sari, I shall add that one to the wishlist  :smile:

 

 

I seem to have settled on James Rollins at the moment, recommended to me by someone on the Malazan forums  :smile:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I keep wondering if the second novel in the Lincoln Rhymes -series by Jeffery Deaver would fit the bill... It probably doesn't. If you at some point ... oh yeah, shouldn't be recommending any series to you, sorry :D

Edited by frankie
Link to comment
Share on other sites

 oh yeah, shouldn't be recommending any series to you, sorry :D

 

I seem to have started three or four more series in the past couple of weeks, so I wouldn't worry :lol:

 

But yeah, Deaver's been on the radar for a good few years now, so I'll definitely be giving him a proper go :smile:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...