9 British Thrillers That Will Keep You on the Edge of Your Seat

Edited by Ezvid Wiki Editorial on 25 August 2019

Whether you're a thrill-seeker, an Anglophile, or just a fan of well-written fiction, the works on this list are sure to keep you engaged from start to finish. These thrillers are full of suspense, plot twists, and characters who have something to hide. If you're looking for a book that will keep your pulse racing, check out the nine novels listed here. This video was made with Ezvid Wikimaker.

British Thrillers: Our 9 Picks

Title Author
1. Twisted David Ambrose
2. Sudden Exit Thomas Wymark
3. Blind Side Jennie Ensor
4. Mercury Margot Livesey
5. Fox Hunter Zoë Sharp
6. The Lazarus Succession Ken Fry
7. Being Tommy Boronovski A.J. Sendall
8. Hope's Peak Tony Healey
9. The War Reporter Martin Fletcher

8 Great Thriller Films

  1. Munich (2005)
  2. The Departed (2006)
  3. The Bourne Identity (2002)
  4. Heat (1995)
  5. Spy Game (2001)
  6. Black Swan (2010)
  7. Se7en (1995)
  8. Taken (2008)

How to Make Your Writing Suspenseful

In Depth

A good suspense novel can transport its readers to a strange, often sinister world, brimming with danger, deceit, and death. With a long tradition of success in the genre, U.K. authors offer a wide range of exhilarating works, from cases of mistaken identity to tales of fierce obsession. If you're looking for your next electrifying read, here, in no particular order, are nine British thrillers that will make your heart race.

At #1 is "Twisted" by David Ambrose. Joe Turner is a starving artist living in London, desperate for his fortunes to change. After he crashes into a Porsche, Joe befriends Catherine, the car's owner, and her husband Sergei. He is quickly swept up into the privileged world of the wealthy and connected Europeans. With his art career on the rise, he finds his personal life intertwined with the married couple's, beginning a fling with Catherine and committing a crime for Sergei. Joe knows he must break ties with them, but he might not be able to do so without putting himself in serious danger.

In the #2 spot is Thomas Wymark's "Sudden Exit." Michael, an ex-soldier suffering from a head injury sustained in Afghanistan, lives with his wife and their daughter Katy, who urgently needs an expensive operation. While looking out his kitchen window, he sees a man fall to his death and land in the back garden. After the incident, Mike stumbles upon something in his yard that might reverse his family's bad luck. However, a split-second decision implicates him in a plot much bigger than himself, including mobsters and a kidnapping.

Michael, an ex-soldier suffering from a head injury sustained in Afghanistan, lives with his wife and their daughter Katy, who urgently needs an expensive operation.

Coming in at #3 is Jennie Ensor's "Blind Side." Georgie, a successful career woman who has been unlucky in love, agrees to a one-night stand with her long-time friend Julian. She regrets her decision afterward, especially when she later meets the mysterious Nikolai, a Russian ex-military man with a dark past. Julian has misgivings about Nikolai and is nursing a jealous obsession with Georgie that borders on dangerous. When the 2005 London bombings change life in the city forever, Georgie works to discover if Nikolai, with whom she has a growing infatuation, is in any way involved.

At #4 is "Mercury" by Margot Livesey. A beautiful young horse named Mercury arrives at Windy Hill with his owner Hilary, who recently moved to the area. Viv, who manages the stables, is immediately in awe of the intrepid and attractive animal. With her interest in competitive riding stoked again, Viv develops a dangerous fixation on Mercury, one that threatens to upend the tranquil life that she has built with her optometrist husband and their two children.

At #5 is Zoe Sharp's "Fox Hunter." Professional bodyguard Charlie Fox returns to Iraq, desperate to find her boss Sean Meyer. Formerly a special forces soldier, her military career was violently cut short, but she refused to pursue the men responsible. When one of them turns up murdered while Sean is still missing, Charlie, worried that her volatile boss is out for revenge on her behalf, races against the clock to find him in the hot, inhospitable Iraqi countryside.

Formerly a special forces soldier, her military career was violently cut short, but she refused to pursue the men responsible.

In the #6 spot is "The Lazarus Succession" by Ken Fry, the first book in the "Resurrection Chronicles." A Spanish countess on her deathbed enlists the help of Sir Maxwell Throgmorton, a once-respected High Court judge, to track down "The Raising of Lazarus," an intriguing yet mysterious painting that is believed to have life-saving powers. Throgmorton hires Broderick Ladro and Ulla Stuart, two art recovery experts, to find the lost work. The duo grows to suspect that the greedy judge's motives are less than pure as they travel throughout Europe and experience first-hand the mystical influence of the painting.

Coming in at #7 is A.J. Sendall's "Being Tommy Boronovski." Mike Bray, an average family man living in England's capital, is swept into the underbelly of the South London crime world when he is snatched off the street on a Friday evening. Bearing a close resemblance to a petty criminal named Tommy Boronovski, Mike is pressured into impersonating the man by the leader of a local gang. But what starts out as a minor, one-time job for the crime boss rapidly leads to a precarious balancing act as Mike struggles to keep himself and his family safe while pleasing the ruthless criminal.

At #8 is "Hope's Peak" by Tony Healey, the first book in the "Harper and Lane" mysteries. A twisted serial killer is on the loose in Hope's Peak, a small town in North Carolina, where the corpse of a young woman with a crown of vines on her head has been found in a cornfield. Detectives Jane Harper and Stu Raley are determined to crack the case, but a lack of leads and a police department hampered by scandal impede their progress. Fortunately, their lucky break comes in the form of a psychic named Ida Lane, who agrees to help them track down the killer before it's too late.

Fortunately, their lucky break comes in the form of a psychic named Ida Lane, who agrees to help them track down the killer before it's too late.

At #9 is Martin Fletcher's "The War Reporter." Correspondent Tom Layne travels back to Sarajevo to work on a documentary about Ratko Mladic, a notorious war criminal wanted for crimes against humanity. Eleven years earlier, while working on a story that took him off the beaten path, Tom was kidnapped and tortured in the same city, and one member of his crew was killed. Now, once again in Sarajevo with his interpreter Nina, whom he loves, Tom, struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder, is pulled back into a chaotic and dangerous world as he attempts to discover the whereabouts of Mladic.