A Good Thriller Novel

[SylviaRosemond]

Greetings,

I'm new to the forums and would like to get some help with my new picks.

I'm looking for a new thriller novel to read, and I don't want a spy thriller. I want a novel that’s different.

A story where the main character isn't trained to fight, or doesn't have all the skills necessary to complete the task. Want I really want is an ordinary character whose life is turned upside down and he/she has to figure it out before being killed. Detective novels are okay too, but I'm leaning more to the private eye, working alone detective. I don't want my MC to have access to all the resources that a regular cop would. I don't want police procedural.

I don't mind novels is a series, but I'm looking for novels that are standalone.

Thanks,
Sylvia

 

[Sarah Dietz]

Greetings,

I'm new to the forums and would like to get some help with my new picks.

I'm looking for a new thriller novel to read, and I don't want a spy thriller. I want a novel that’s different.

A story where the main character isn't trained to fight, or doesn't have all the skills necessary to complete the task. Want I really want is an ordinary character whose life is turned upside down and he/she has to figure it out before being killed. Detective novels are okay too, but I'm leaning more to the private eye, working alone detective. I don't want my MC to have access to all the resources that a regular cop would. I don't want police procedural.

I don't mind novels is a series, but I'm looking for novels that are standalone.

Thanks,
Sylvia

I highly recommend reading Discipline by Paco Ahlgren. It has a little bit of everything mixed into this thriller. It's unpredictable. It's one of those books that I will want to read again every few years because I feel like it will reveal something new each time.

 

[Maine Colonial]

Hi Sylvia, and welcome to Book and Reader. Two novels I can think of (and highly recommend) that fit what you're looking for are Josh Bazell's Beat the Reaper and Joseph Garber's Vertical Run. Both are novels about regular guys who go to work one day and all hell breaks loose. I wrote a blog post about bad-things-happen-at-work thrillers that you can read here:

http://www.readmedeadly.com/2011/09/how-was-your-day-dear.html

This will give you a better idea of these books and whether you might like them. You might also spot some other candidates among the books I describe in the post.

Good luck!

 

[SylviaRosemond]

@Sarah Dietz - Thanks for the recommendation!

@Maine Colonial- Thanks for the recommendation and blog post. I've placed Vertical Run on my reading list.