9 Provocative Romantic Thrillers To Get Your Pulse Racing

Romantic Thrillers: Our 9 Picks

Fun Date Ideas For Your Real-Life Romance

Hopefully your real relationship involves a lot less danger than these novels, leaving you plenty of time for romantic activities.

• Cook dinner together
• Go for a hike or a bike ride
• Get together for a karaoke night
• Go bowling
• Have a picnic on a sunny day
• Play a boardgame or video game together
• Go to a roller rink
• Have a candlelit dinner
• Join a book club together

Common Tropes in Romantic Thrillers

While there are a million ways to tell stories in this genre, there are several tropes that writers return to again and again, often adding their own twists. Here are a few common examples:

• Kidnapping
• Mistaken Identity
• Enemies-to-Lovers
• Revenge
• Amnesia
• Disguise

How to Make Your Writing Suspenseful

In Depth

For some readers, the only thing that can give love a run for its money is a good twist. While starting a new relationship is undoubtedly exciting, doing so while avoiding criminals, hiding from murderers, or fighting for your life raises the stakes even higher. If you like to mix suspense with matters of the heart, here are, in no particular order, nine genre-crossing romantic thrillers that will make your pulse race.

In the #1 spot is "Hyphema" by Chelle Cordero. Recently relocated with his wife and son, Matt Garratti starts a new job as a flight medic in small-town North Carolina. While Matt settles into this position, Sudah, his Muslim wife, struggles to adjust to life in a conservative setting with unfriendly neighbors. After Sudah is the victim of an apparent hate crime, Matt's family is shaken and must figure out how to cope as the police refuse to take action.

Coming in at #2 is Melissa Cutler's "Tempted into Danger." Vanessa Crosby, an attractive anti-crime analyst in Panama with a knack for numbers, develops a program that will revolutionize counterterrorism efforts. Tasked with transporting her to a government safe house, black ops agent Diego Santero initially scoffs at an assignment that he thinks is beneath him. As the two travel through the rainforest in Panama, they must contend not only with ruthless mercenaries and drug lords but also their growing feelings for each other.

As the two travel through the rainforest in Panama, they must contend not only with ruthless mercenaries and drug lords but also their growing feelings for each other.

At #3 we have Martha Sweeney's "Killmore," the first offering in a two-part series. To escape her abusive husband, Leia informs on his boss, an infamous Mexican crime lord. Seven years later, Leia, now Laurie thanks to witness protection, lives a quiet life, never quite feeling safe despite her new identity. After she discovers that her boyfriend Aiden is actually an FBI agent who is spying on her neighbor, she feels betrayed. Still, she agrees to help Aiden bring down the criminal next door, and their phony relationship turns genuine.

For #4 we have "Dead Hope" by Nicky Wells. To avoid jail time after a run-in with the law, the spoiled Cat Hope, whose rock star parents died under mysterious circumstances, starts a new office job in a small town after a judge takes pity on her. At her mundane nine to five, she meets co-worker Kay Mahon, a man with a dark past who moonlights as a hacker. Cat and Kay collaborate to solve the mystery of her parents' deaths, becoming more than just friends in the process.

At #5 is Anne Marie Becker's "Only Fear." Dr. Maggie Levine leaves the field of psychiatry after an obsessed patient tries to kill her. In her new position as a radio talk show host, Maggie enjoys an isolated life away from the perils of her old career. Her recently acquired sense of safety is shattered when someone begins killing people and then calling into her show. With Maggie's life in danger, private security expert Ethan Townsend is assigned to protect her from the growing threat.

Dr. Maggie Levine leaves the field of psychiatry after an obsessed patient tries to kill her.

In the #6 spot is "Up in the Pines" by Katie Jennings. In a mountain town in Montana, Deputy Lark Galloway finds the remains of a body that has been dead for twenty years. As Lark works to solve the mystery, she crosses paths with Sawyer Matheson, a famous screenwriter who recently returned heartbroken from Hollywood, and whom Lark once had a crush on in high school. Sawyer assists the deputy in her investigation, while a stranger tries to keep them from discovering who killed the man found in the mountains.

At #7 is Lisa Clark O'Neill's "Forbidden," the second book in her "Southern Comfort" series. Special Agent Clay Copeland is trying to enjoy his beach vacation after a case that has left a small child dead. Blaming himself, Clay wants nothing but to forget about his professional life for a week. When he meets single mother Tate Hennessey, he welcomes such an attractive distraction. After witnessing what appears to be a child abduction on a trip to a local carnival, Clay is drawn back into his work on a case that threatens to reveal secrets from Tate's past.

For #8 we find "Edge" by Tiffinie Helmer. Cache Calder, a photojournalist, returns from his last assignment injured and exhausted, looking forward to a well-earned break. When his next gig takes him to the faraway Alaskan wilderness, he is dismayed, until he sees his subject is Mel Bennett, a former kidnapping victim whom he interviewed years ago. Mel lives alone in Alaska, where no one knows about her abduction. Seeing Cache again sparks surprising feelings, but as their relationship intensifies, Mel fears that the danger from her past is resurfacing.

Mel lives alone in Alaska, where no one knows about her abduction.

Finally, at #9 is Marni MacRae's "Lady Sun." Sophia dreams of sunny skies and sandy beaches as she embarks on a week-long vacation on an isolated island. While traveling on a yacht to her tropical destination, she meets the mysterious Lucas, an attractive cowboy of few words. When their yacht is overrun by pirates, the two virtual strangers escape by raft, and a simple holiday turns into a dangerous journey that forces Sophia and Lucas to fight for their lives.