Fan of thrillers? Celebrating its 20th anniversary, the International Thriller Writers offers this list of award winners from the past decade.
2025
“The Last One at the Wedding” by Jason Rekulak
Frank Szatowski is shocked to hear from his long-estranged daughter, Maggie, who invited him to her wedding in New Hampshire. Determined to make things right, Frank nonetheless has difficulty connecting with Maggie’s fiancé, the son of a tech billionaire, and locals are disturbingly hostile to members of his family. Frank needs to know more about them, but if he pushes too hard, he could lose Maggie forever.
2024
“All the Sinners Bleed” by S.A. Cosby
Titus Crown is the first Black sheriff in Charon County, Virginia, a quiet corner that doesn’t see much serious crime. But when a teacher is killed by a former student—who is subsequently killed by Crown’s deputies—terrible secrets rise to the surface.
2023
“Sundial” by Catriona Ward
Rob’s daughter Callie collects animal bones and talks to imaginary friends. Fearing that her family’s haunted history is rearing its ugly head, Rob’s only solution is to return to the family ranch in the Mojave Desert…but that also means confronting all the painful memories left behind.
2022
“Razorblade Tears” by S.A. Cosby
Ike Randoph, who’s white, and Buddy Lee, who’s Black, ex-cons with a criminal past and a love for their dead sons, join forces in a desperate desire for revenge. In their attempt to do better for their sons in death than they did in life, the hardened men face their own various prejudices.
2021
“Blacktop Wasteland” by S.A. Cosby
Beauregard “Bug” Montage is trying to live a law-abiding life, putting his past as the best wheelman on the East Coast behind him. But money troubles drive him back to a jewel heist that goes wrong, and Bug must make impossible choices to save his family and himself.
2020
“The Chain” by Adrian McKinty
After Rachel Klein drops her daughter off at school, the last thing she expects is a call that her daughter has been kidnapped. The ransom demand is not typical: the kidnapper is another mother whose son has been taken. To save her daughter, Rachel must abduct another child to keep The Chain going…or lose her forever.
2019
“The Jar of Hearts” by Jennifer Hillier
Angela Wong disappeared when she was 16. No one suspected her best friend Georgina knew anything—until Angela’s remains are discovered, and Georgina is arrested. But was Georgina’s first love, serial killer Calvin James, responsible for Angela’s death?
2018
“The Final Girls” by Riley Sager
Quincy Carpenter survived a massacre and became one of the media-dubbed Final Girls, with two others who survived similar traumas. She does her best to put the past behind her and move on with her life, which works …until the first Final Girl is found dead and the second shows up on her doorstep. Quincy must figure out who to trust and unravel her memories of what happened a decade ago before she becomes the next victim.
2017
“Before the Fall” by Noah Hawley
A private plane crash kills everyone on board except painter Scott Burroughs and a 4-year-old boy who is heir to a media empire. As signs point to a possible conspiracy, Scott struggles with the notoriety that comes with surviving. His relationship with the boy grows stronger while the search for the truth threatens to drag them under.
2016
“The Fifth Gospel” by Ian Caldwell
A week before a mysterious exhibit is due to open at the Vatican, the curator is murdered; on the same night, someone violently breaks into the home of the curator’s research partner, Father Alex. When the papal police fail to solve the crimes, Father Alex, dodging a stalker, begins his own investigation into his friend’s murder.
2017
“The Fever” by Megan Abbott
Deenie Nash and her family live a good life in a close-knit town. But after the teen’s best friend suffers a seizure in class, rumors of a hazardous outbreak spread, and hysteria and contagion swell. Tightly held secrets emerge, threatening to unravel friendships, families and the town’s fragile sense of security.