The Greatest Historical Fiction and Thrillers of All Time

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This list represents a comprehensive and trusted collection of the greatest books. Developed through a specialized algorithm, it brings together 488 'best of' book lists to form a definitive guide to the world's most acclaimed books. For those interested in how these books are chosen, additional details can be found on the rankings page.

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Rank Book Authors Year Country Language Actions
88 The Count of Monte Cristo Alexandre Dumas 1844 French French
150 The Name of the Rose Umberto Eco 1980 Italian Italian
337 The Quiet American Graham Greene 1955 British English
644 The Last of the Mohicans James Fenimore Cooper 1826 American English
708 Fingersmith Sarah Waters 2002 British English
800 The Sympathizer Viet Thanh Nguyen 2015 American English
1597 The Club Dumas Arturo Pérez-Reverte 1993 Spanish Spanish
1698 Cause for Alarm Eric Ambler 1938 British English
1760 The Shadow of the Wind Carlos Ruiz Zafon 2001 Spanish Spanish
1987 Mean Spirit Linda Hogan 1990 American English
2029 Shogun James Clavell 1975 British English
2454 The Eagle Has Landed Jack Higgins 1975 British English
2843 Tree of Smoke Denis Johnson 2007 American English
2936 The Sound Of Things Falling Juan Gabriel Vásquez 2011 Colombian Spanish
3051 Fatherland Robert Harris 1992 British English
3266 Morituri Yasmina Khadra 1997 Algerian French
3315 With A Bare Bodkin Cyril Hare 1946 British English
3634 Trust Hernan Díaz 2022 Chilean English
3911 Pereira Maintains Antonio Tabucchi 1994 Italian Italian
4055 Queenpin Megan Abbott 2007 American English
4142 The Terror Dan Simmons 2007 American English
4412 March Violets Philip Kerr 1989 British English
4460 Past Caring Robert Goddard 1986 British English
4702 The Big Blowdown George P. Pelecanos 1996 American English
4731 The Power Of The Dog Don Winslow 2005 American English
5623 The Little Stranger Sarah Waters 2009 British English
5700 The Company Robert Littell 2002 American English
5748 The Widows Of Malabar Hill Sujata Massey 2018 American English
5766 La Dama Número Trece José Carlos Somoza 2003 Spanish Spanish
6296 A Flag For Sunrise Robert Stone 1981 American English
6362 The Key To Rebecca Ken Follett 1980 British English
6588 The Alienist Caleb Carr 1994 American English
6659 Black Water Rising Attica Locke 2009 American English
6807 Carter Beats The Devil Glen David Gold 2001 American English
7261 The North Water Ian McGuire 2016 British English
7190 Epitaph For A Spy Eric Ambler 1938 British English
7190 Journey Into Fear Eric Ambler 1940 British English
7190 The Ministry Of Fear Graham Greene 1943 British English
7190 The Great Impersonation E. Phillips Oppenheim 1920 British English
7830 A Book Of Scars William Shaw 2015 British English
8403 Smoke And Ashes Abir Mukherjee 2018 British English
10831 Enigma Robert Harris 1995 British English
11228 Rampart Street David Fulmer 2006 American English
12302 A Quiet Belief In Angels R. J. Ellory 2007 British English
12970 The Enemy's Enemy Jan Guillou 1995 Swedish Swedish
13110 Silver City Maurice Leitch 1976 Irish English
13080 Rawblood Catriona Ward 2015 British English
13080 Little Eve Catriona Ward 2018 British English
13255 Labyrinth Kate Mosse 2005 British English
14371 The Templar Legacy Steve Berry 2006 American English
14371 The Eight Katherine Neville 1988 American English
14371 Alex Cross's Trial James Patterson 2009 American English
14371 Book Lust Nancy Pearl 2003 American English
14371 Leaving Berlin Joseph Kanon 2015 American English