🔪 Thriller readers, this one’s for you.
The New York Times just ranked the 50 best thrillers of the 21st century, and naturally I had to go through the entire list and see how I stacked up.
📚 22: Now on my Goodreads to-read list (or, in several cases, already languishing there)
Do I agree with all of the rankings? Absolutely not. Several books in the top 20 were solidly 3- or 4-star reads for me, so I have thoughts about some of these placements.
But their #1? Gone Girl gets no argument from me. That book was absolutely amazing. One of those rare thrillers where I wish I could erase it from my memory just so I could experience it for the first time again.
If thrillers are your thing, this list is dangerous for your TBR. Consider yourself warned.
And because this is a gifted NYT link, you should be able to read the whole thing:
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2026/books/best-thriller-books-21st-century.html?unlocked_article_code=1.4lA.1f0t.Qt9ByZTnautL&smid=url-share
How many have you read? And more importantly: what would your #1 be?