The 100 Best Thrillers according to Télérama

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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 over 1 year 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
2530 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
17152 The Prone Gunman Jean-Patrick Manchette 2002 French French
2068 The Black Dahlia James Ellroy 1987 American English
16637 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
17152 The Mermaids Singing Val McDermid 1995 British English
17152 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
17152 Des Nœuds D'acier Sandrine Collette 2013 French French
17152 Ragdoll Daniel Cole 2017 British English
17152 1991 Franck Thilliez 2021 French French
15910 The Diamond Bikini Charles Williams 1956 American English
16637 Marilyn The Wild Jerome Charyn 1976 American English
17152 Ralph: Or, What's Eating The Folks In Fatchakulla County? Ned Crabb 1985 American English
17152 Femmes Blafardes Pierre Siniac 1981 French French
3058 LaBrava Elmore Leonard 1983 American English
14985 Skin Tight Carl Hiaasen 1989 American English
4300 The Fairy Gunmother Daniel Pennac 1987 French French
17152 L'homme à L'oreille Croquée Jean-Bernard Pouy 1994 French French
17152 Drowned Hopes Donald E. Westlake 1990 American English
17152 The Godmother Hannelore Cayre 2017 French French
59 Rebecca Daphne du Maurier 1938 British English
15910 Phantom Lady William Irish 1942 American English
15910 Vertigo Boileau-Narcejac 1954 French French
143 The Talented Mr. Ripley Patricia Highsmith 1955 American English
3203 Trap For Cinderella Sebastien Japrisot 1963 French French
1324 A Judgement In Stone Ruth Rendell 1977 British English
16800 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
15910 Street Of No Return David Goodis 1954 American English
2441 A Rage In Harlem Chester Himes 1957 American English
15910 Sylvia Howard Fast 1961 American English
5645 Pop. 1280 Jim Thompson 1964 American English
1695 The Last Good Kiss James Crumley 1978 American English
17152 Cadillac Jukebox James Lee Burke 1996 American English
17152 L.A. Requiem Robert Crais 1999 American English
6080 The Power Of The Dog Don Winslow 2005 American English
17152 Tarzan Malade Hervé Prudon 1979 French French
15910 Le Boucher Des Hurlus Jean Amila 1956 French French
17152 Dernière Station Avant L'autoroute Hugues Pagan 1997 French French
17152 Moloch Thierry Jonquet 1998 French French
17152 Carnage, Constellation Marcus Malte 1997 French Unknown
17152 The A26 Pascal Garnier 1999 French French
17152 L'ange Gardien Jérôme Leroy 2014 French French
17152 Prendre Des Loups Pour Des Chiens Hervé Le Corre 2017 French French
17152 Les Biffins Marc Villard 2018 French Unknown
17152 Marseille 73 Dominique Manotti 2020 French French
4482 The Night Of The Hunter Davis Grubb 1953 American English
15910 The Killer Colin Wilson 1970 British English
15910 American Gothic Robert Bloch 1974 American English
1001 Red Dragon Thomas Harris 1981 American English
17152 I Was Dora Suarez Derek Raymond 1990 British English
17152 The Brave Gregory Mcdonald 1991 American English
17152 Blood Stained Kings Tim Willocks 1995 British Unknown
5413 Nineteen Seventy Four David Peace 1999 British English
17152 Irène Pierre Lemaitre 2006 French French
17152 Versus Antoine Chainas 2008 French French
14199 Roseanna Maj Sjöwall, Per Wahlöö 1965 Swedish Swedish
16800 The Angst Ridden Executive Manuel Vázquez Montalbán 1977 Spanish Spanish
4270 Eight Million Ways To Die Lawrence Block 1982 American English
5302 A Thief Of Time Tony Hillerman 1988 American English
17152 Nocturne Ed McBain 1997 American English
8186 One Step Behind Henning Mankell 1997 Swedish Swedish
5602 Jar City Arnaldur Indriðason 2000 Icelandic Icelandic
2189 The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo Stieg Larsson 2005 Swedish Swedish
6439 The Snowman Jo Nesbø 2007 Norwegian Norwegian
8305 The Ghost Riders Of Ordebec Fred Vargas 2011 French French
15910 120, Rue De La Gare Léo Malet 1943 French French
14963 Laidlaw William McIlvanney 1977 British English
17152 La Dame De Cachemire Francisco González Ledesma 1986 Spanish Spanish
14232 Knots and Crosses Ian Rankin 1987 British English
17152 Lonely Hearts John Harvey 1989 British English
5438 The Black Echo Michael Connelly 1992 American English
17152 Freedomland Richard Price 1998 American English
17152 Havana Black Leonardo Padura 1998 Cuban Spanish
17152 Romanzo Criminale Giancarlo De Cataldo 2002 Italian Italian
9140 Bangkok 8 John Burdett 2003 British English
15910 The Chinese Maze Murders Robert Van Gulik 1957 Dutch English
114 The Name of the Rose Umberto Eco 1980 Italian Italian
17152 Murder In Memoriam Didier Daeninckx 1984 French French
5659 March Violets Philip Kerr 1989 British English
14985 The Flanders Panel Arturo Pérez-Reverte 1990 Spanish Spanish
3389 Death Of A Red Heroine Qiu Xiaolong 2000 Chinese English
17152 Murder On The Eiffel Tower Claude Izner 2003 French French
14985 The Given Day Dennis Lehane 2008 American English
17152 Tranchecaille Patrick Pécherot 2008 French French
17152 Leaving Berlin Joseph Kanon 2015 American English