The 100 Best Thrillers according to Télérama

This is one of the 759 lists we use to generate our main The Greatest Books list.

About this list

Télérama, 100 Books

The French magazine Télérama has explored the depths of crime fiction to present its own "ideal library" in noir. Spanning from foundational detective novels to the latest voices in the genre, they've curated a list of 100 books designed to thrill, transport, and stimulate thought. These selections are organized into ten major themes, offering readers a diverse range of stories to delve into the world of mystery and suspense.

This list was originally published in 2024 and was added to this site almost 2 years ago.

View: List Grid Table
Rank Book Authors Year Country Language Actions
1785 The Murders in the Rue Morgue Edgar Allan Poe 1841 American English
164 The Hound of the Baskervilles Arthur Conan Doyle 1902 British English
2531 The Mystery Of The Yellow Room Gaston Leroux 1907 French French
251 The Murder of Roger Ackroyd Agatha Christie 1926 British English
536 Red Harvest Dashiell Hammett 1929 American English
1511 The Strange Case of Peter the Lett Georges Simenon 1931 Belgian French
1640 The Asphalt Jungle W. R. Burnett 1949 American English
161 The Long Goodbye Raymond Chandler 1953 American English
17165 The Prone Gunman Jean-Patrick Manchette 2002 French French
2069 The Black Dahlia James Ellroy 1987 American English
16648 City Of The Dead Herbert Lieberman 1976 American English
400 The Shining Stephen King 1977 American English
7988 The Poet Michael Connelly 1996 American English
17165 The Mermaids Singing Val McDermid 1995 British English
17165 The Crimson Rivers Jean-Christophe Grangé 2000 French French
7892 Shutter Island Dennis Lehane 2003 American English
14985 The Devil Of Nanking Mo Hayder 2005 British English
17165 Des Nœuds D'acier Sandrine Collette 2013 French French
17165 Ragdoll Daniel Cole 2017 British English
17165 1991 Franck Thilliez 2021 French French
15916 The Diamond Bikini Charles Williams 1956 American English
16648 Marilyn The Wild Jerome Charyn 1976 American English
17165 Ralph: Or, What's Eating The Folks In Fatchakulla County? Ned Crabb 1985 American English
17165 Femmes Blafardes Pierre Siniac 1981 French French
3057 LaBrava Elmore Leonard 1983 American English
14985 Skin Tight Carl Hiaasen 1989 American English
4301 The Fairy Gunmother Daniel Pennac 1987 French French
17165 L'homme à L'oreille Croquée Jean-Bernard Pouy 1994 French French
17165 Drowned Hopes Donald E. Westlake 1990 American English
17165 The Godmother Hannelore Cayre 2017 French French
59 Rebecca Daphne du Maurier 1938 British English
15916 Phantom Lady William Irish 1942 American English
15916 Vertigo Boileau-Narcejac 1954 French French
143 The Talented Mr. Ripley Patricia Highsmith 1955 American English
3202 Trap For Cinderella Sebastien Japrisot 1963 French French
1324 A Judgement In Stone Ruth Rendell 1977 British English
16809 A Stranger Is Watching Mary Higgins Clark 1977 American English
14985 Before I Go To Sleep S. J. Watson 2011 British English
791 Gone Girl Gillian Flynn 2012 American English
7022 The Girl On The Train Paula Hawkins 2015 British English
469 The Postman Always Rings Twice James M. Cain 1934 American English
1954 They Shoot Horses, Don't They? Horace McCoy 1935 American English
15916 Street Of No Return David Goodis 1954 American English
2442 A Rage In Harlem Chester Himes 1957 American English
15916 Sylvia Howard Fast 1961 American English
5646 Pop. 1280 Jim Thompson 1964 American English
1695 The Last Good Kiss James Crumley 1978 American English
17165 Cadillac Jukebox James Lee Burke 1996 American English
17165 L.A. Requiem Robert Crais 1999 American English
6081 The Power Of The Dog Don Winslow 2005 American English
17165 Tarzan Malade Hervé Prudon 1979 French French
15916 Le Boucher Des Hurlus Jean Amila 1956 French French
17165 Dernière Station Avant L'autoroute Hugues Pagan 1997 French French
17165 Moloch Thierry Jonquet 1998 French French
17165 Carnage, Constellation Marcus Malte 1997 French Unknown
17165 The A26 Pascal Garnier 1999 French French
17165 L'ange Gardien Jérôme Leroy 2014 French French
17165 Prendre Des Loups Pour Des Chiens Hervé Le Corre 2017 French French
17165 Les Biffins Marc Villard 2018 French Unknown
17165 Marseille 73 Dominique Manotti 2020 French French
4483 The Night Of The Hunter Davis Grubb 1953 American English
15916 The Killer Colin Wilson 1970 British English
15916 American Gothic Robert Bloch 1974 American English
1001 Red Dragon Thomas Harris 1981 American English
17165 I Was Dora Suarez Derek Raymond 1990 British English
17165 The Brave Gregory Mcdonald 1991 American English
17165 Blood Stained Kings Tim Willocks 1995 British Unknown
5414 Nineteen Seventy Four David Peace 1999 British English
17165 Irène Pierre Lemaitre 2006 French French
17165 Versus Antoine Chainas 2008 French French
14200 Roseanna Maj Sjöwall, Per Wahlöö 1965 Swedish Swedish
16809 The Angst Ridden Executive Manuel Vázquez Montalbán 1977 Spanish Spanish
4271 Eight Million Ways To Die Lawrence Block 1982 American English
5303 A Thief Of Time Tony Hillerman 1988 American English
17165 Nocturne Ed McBain 1997 American English
8186 One Step Behind Henning Mankell 1997 Swedish Swedish
5603 Jar City Arnaldur Indriðason 2000 Icelandic Icelandic
2190 The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo Stieg Larsson 2005 Swedish Swedish
6440 The Snowman Jo Nesbø 2007 Norwegian Norwegian
8306 The Ghost Riders Of Ordebec Fred Vargas 2011 French French
15916 120, Rue De La Gare Léo Malet 1943 French French
14963 Laidlaw William McIlvanney 1977 British English
17165 La Dame De Cachemire Francisco González Ledesma 1986 Spanish Spanish
14232 Knots and Crosses Ian Rankin 1987 British English
17165 Lonely Hearts John Harvey 1989 British English
5439 The Black Echo Michael Connelly 1992 American English
17165 Freedomland Richard Price 1998 American English
17165 Havana Black Leonardo Padura 1998 Cuban Spanish
17165 Romanzo Criminale Giancarlo De Cataldo 2002 Italian Italian
9143 Bangkok 8 John Burdett 2003 British English
15916 The Chinese Maze Murders Robert Van Gulik 1957 Dutch English
114 The Name of the Rose Umberto Eco 1980 Italian Italian
17165 Murder In Memoriam Didier Daeninckx 1984 French French
5660 March Violets Philip Kerr 1989 British English
14985 The Flanders Panel Arturo Pérez-Reverte 1990 Spanish Spanish
3388 Death Of A Red Heroine Qiu Xiaolong 2000 Chinese English
17165 Murder On The Eiffel Tower Claude Izner 2003 French French
14985 The Given Day Dennis Lehane 2008 American English
17165 Tranchecaille Patrick Pécherot 2008 French French
17165 Leaving Berlin Joseph Kanon 2015 American English