The internet is full of “Best Of” lists — the 25 greatest books about ducks, 100 films set in Hoboken you have to see before you die — and most of them are… pretty unsatisfying? Maybe because they tend to devolve into a list of books/films that are good for you instead of a list of books/films you might genuinely enjoy. I hate when someone tries to turn a pleasure into homework.
But over on Parade, Michael Giltz has a survey of 110 of the all-time best thrillers, and I thought it was about as good as these lists get. It isn’t definitive, but it also isn’t boring. If you’re scratching around for something to read, it’s hard to go wrong with almost any of the novels he mentions here. I know I found a couple things here to add to my 2023 reading list. Maybe you will too.