The Greatest Historical Fiction and Thrillers of All Time
Click to learn how this list is calculated.
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.
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 |