'Killer Thrillers': Vote For The 100 Best Ever - NPR

[cyberswede]

You can vote for your top 10 from the list of finalists. Fun list! Many of these I have seen as movies, but not read the book yet, so I voted only from those that I have read. Share your top 10!

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=128518102

Last month when we asked the NPR audience to submit nominations for a list of the 100 most pulse-quickening, suspenseful novels ever written, you came through with some 600 titles. It was a fascinating, if unwieldy, collection.

Now, with your input, a panel of thriller writers and critics has whittled that list down to a manageable 182 novels. That roster, which we now offer for final voting, draws from every known thriller sub-genre — techno, espionage, crime, medical, psychological, horror, legal, supernatural and more.

{snip}

In the end, you'll decide what makes the top 100. Everyone gets 10 votes. Feel free to lobby for your favorites in the comments area. We'll announce the winners on August 2. (Click here for a complete, printable list of all the Killer Thriller finalists.)

Mine:
The Alienist by Caleb Carr
And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
The Killer Inside Me by Jim Thompson
The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett
Mystic River by Dennis Lehane
The Poet by Michael Connelly
Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier
Rules of Prey by John Sandford

[PDJane]

1. There are 15 on the list I haven't read..........

I'll attempt to read those shortly. Strictly oversight. I absolutely hated a couple of them, including Jaws and the Da Vinci code. There's nothing by Elizabeth George on the list; that's a bit of a disappointment.

The Stephen King short story called "The Apt Pupil" doesn't qualify; too bad.

Interesting list, though. Thanks for pointing it out!

ETA: The Alienist is a wonderful book!

[cyberswede]

2. I agree re: DaVinci Code.

I mean how many times could the protagonist be ABSOLUTELY SHOCKED by events that occurred...once he was absolutely shocked the first dozen times, you'd think he'd start expecting the unexpected. :)

[abluelady]

4. Where Was Elizabeth George?

I felt the same way. I actually read the list two times to be sure that I just hadn't overlooked her.

[Hamlette]

12. the list seems to be a mix of mystery and thriller, but I'm with you, how is George not on the list

or Josephine Tey of Dick Francis or Hillerman or James Lee Burke or Peter Robinson or McKinty or Donna Leon????

I worked at an independent bookstore and for our 20th anniversary we made lists of the best 20 books in the last 20 years in several categories and made them into bookmarks. We argued for HOURS (good naturedly of course) sometimes we could agree on an author but not which of his/her books was best.

The problem with this list, like many, is it is a point in time. Trust me, 61 Hours will not make the cut in a list like this even a year from now (I like Child okay but really? Two books on this list? And 61 hours is WAAAAAY flawed. IMHO)

[hippywife]

3. I'm not a huge fan of these kinds of books

but I do remember reading The Eight by Katherine Neville and absolutely loving it. I may have to read it again. :hi:

[pitohui]

14. well i'm a huge fan i'm pretty much read them all on this list and more

i will not even bother to vote in a so-called thriller contest that overlooks rendell or oates

there are some good books here don't get me wrong but there are many more i read on a plane and remember nothing more about them

this poll is bogus

[LWolf]

5. Mine:

The Alienist by Caleb Carr
And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie
The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
In the Woods by Tana French
The Manchurian Candidate by Richard Condon
Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier
The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
Strangers On a Train by Patricia Highsmith

I agree; I didn't choose any I hadn't actually read. Movies didn't count. I wonder if the results of this poll will be influenced by movies rather than books. It's certainly influenced by the number of those books responders have actually read.
This looks like a great source to add to my summer reading list. Thanks for posting!

[cyberswede]

6. Manchurian Candidate

I *so* wanted to include that one - but I've only seen the movie. The original, of course, as that is the only one that counts. :)
I have a feeling that I won't be able to read the book without picturing Frank Sinatra, et. al. as I read it.

I'm going to read some from your list that I haven't read before - thanks for sharing!!

[LWolf]

7. You're welcome.

I've never seen the movie, although I've heard people talk about it. :)

[closeupready]

8. I've read only nine of them, though I have others on my bookshelf.

I had to vote for Shutter Island because it was suspenseful throughout though the ending sucked.

The Shining and Dragon Tattoo deserve it to be on the final list, if nothing else does.

[Onceuponalife]

9. I'm not too impressed with that list....

Where is The Executioner's Song by Norman Mailer? That panel seems obsessed with authors such as Lee Child and Stephen King.

[mitchum]

10. Self delete

[mitchum]

11. My 10 from their quite limited choices...

American Tabloid by James Ellroy
And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie
Cape Fear by John MacDonald
Eye of the Needle by Ken Follett
Gorky Park by Martin Cruz Smith
In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
The Killer Inside Me by Jim Thompson
The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett
No Country For Old Men by Cormac McCarthy
The Power and the Glory by Graham Greene

I can't believe there is no Cain, Chandler, LaCarre,or Willeford on there

[Lydia Leftcoast]

13. Too many airport and supermarket books in that list

I'm more inclined to favor the ones that are a bit older but still being read today.