Best Thriller Book Series

The best thriller book series ranked by average reader rating — the series that deliver tension and surprises from first book to last.

Thriller series are built for binge reading — once you know the protagonist, every new installment ratchets the stakes higher. This list ranks thriller book series by average reader rating across all installments, rewarding the series that stay tense and well-plotted from first book to last.

Every series here has at least 3 books in our catalog. These are the thriller series that readers trust to deliver consistent quality — no filler volumes, no phoned-in sequels.

1

Terminal List

by Jack Carr

98h 40m total 7 books ★ 4.82 avg

Books in series:

#1 The Terminal List, #2 True Believer, #3 Savage Son, #4 The Devil's Hand, #5 In the Blood, #6 Only the Dead, #7 Red Sky Mourning
2

Millennium Series

by Stieg Larsson, Reg Keeland - translator

55h 11m total 3 books ★ 4.71 avg

Books in series:

#1 The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, #2 The Girl Who Played with Fire, #3 The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest
3

Tier One

by Brian Andrews, Jeffrey Wilson

100h 5m total 8 books ★ 4.66 avg

Books in series:

#1 Spezialeinheit Tier One, #1 Tier One, #2 War Shadows, #3 Crusader One, #4 American Operator, #5 Red Specter, #6 Collateral, #8 Ember
4

In Death

by J.D. Robb

104h 46m total 8 books ★ 4.66 avg

Books in series:

#6 Vengeance in Death, #15 Purity in Death, #17 Imitation in Death, #33 New York to Dallas, #35 Delusion in Death, #40 Obsession in Death, #43 Apprentice in Death, #49 Vendetta in Death
5

Mitch Rapp

by Vince Flynn

244h 47m total 21 books ★ 4.62 avg

Books in series:

#1 American Assassin, #2 Kill Shot, #3 Transfer of Power, #4 The Third Option, #5 Separation Of Power, #6 Executive Power, #7 Memorial Day, #8 Consent to Kill, #9 Act of Treason, #10 Protect and Defend, #11 Extreme Measures, #12 Pursuit of Honor +9 more
6

Orphan X

by Gregg Hurwitz

145h 54m total 11 books ★ 4.54 avg

Books in series:

#1 Orphan X, #2 The Nowhere Man, #3 Hellbent, #4 Out of the Dark, #5 Into the Fire, #6 Prodigal Son, #7 Dark Horse, #8 The Last Orphan, #9 Lone Wolf, #10 Nemesis, #11 Antihero
7

Jack Ryan

by Tom Clancy

154h 39m total 7 books ★ 4.53 avg

Books in series:

#1 Patriot Games, #2 Red Rabbit, #3 The Hunt for Red October, #6 The Sum of All Fears, #10 Full Force and Effect, #19 Tom Clancy Act of Defiance, #21 Tom Clancy Executive Power
8

The Senator's Wife

by Jen Lyon

37h 21m total 3 books ★ 4.53 avg

Books in series:

#1 The Senator's Wife, #2 Caught Sleeping, #3 Whistleblower
9

Will Robie

by David Baldacci

48h 36m total 4 books ★ 4.52 avg

Books in series:

#1 The Innocent, #2 The Hit, #3 The Target, #4 The Guilty
10

Power of the Dog

by Don Winslow

72h 40m total 3 books ★ 4.51 avg

Books in series:

#1 The Power of the Dog, #2 The Cartel, #3 The Border
11

The Housemaid

by Freida McFadden

31h 12m total 3 books ★ 4.51 avg

Books in series:

#1 The Housemaid, #2 The Housemaid's Secret, #3 The Housemaid Is Watching
12

4MK Thriller

by J.D. Barker

42h 8m total 3 books ★ 4.51 avg

Books in series:

#1 The Fourth Monkey, #2 The Fifth to Die, #3 The Sixth Wicked Child
13

Billy Harney

by James Patterson, David Ellis

27h 46m total 3 books ★ 4.51 avg

Books in series:

#1 The Black Book, #2 The Red Book, #3 Escape
14

Jack Ryan Universe

by Marc Cameron, Tom Clancy

94h 58m total 7 books ★ 4.49 avg

Books in series:

#27 Tom Clancy's Oath of Office (Jack Ryan), #29 Tom Clancy Code of Honor, #31 Shadow of the Dragon, #33 Chain of Command, #37 Command and Control, #40 Tom Clancy Defense Protocol, #41 Tom Clancy: Line of Demarcation
15

Scot Harvath

by Brad Thor

264h 11m total 23 books ★ 4.46 avg

Books in series:

#1 The Lions of Lucerne, #2 Path of the Assassin, #3 State of the Union, #4 Blowback, #5 Takedown, #6 The First Commandment, #7 The Last Patriot, #8 The Apostle, #9 Foreign Influence, #10 Full Black, #11 Black List, #12 Hidden Order +11 more
16

Pendergast

by Douglas Preston, Lincoln Child

74h 9m total 5 books ★ 4.44 avg

Books in series:

#1 Relic, #2 Reliquary, #4 Still Life With Crows, #6 Dance of Death, #7 The Book of the Dead
17

Joe Ledger

by Jonathan Maberry

174h 59m total 11 books ★ 4.44 avg

Books in series:

#1 Patient Zero, #2 The Dragon Factory, #3 The King of Plagues, #4 Assassin's Code, #5 Extinction Machine, #6 Code Zero, #7 Predator One, #8 Kill Switch, #9 Dogs of War, #10 Deep Silence, Joe Ledger: Secret Missions Volume One and Two
18

Nameless: Season One

by Dean Koontz

5h 9m total 4 books ★ 4.44 avg

Books in series:

#1 In the Heart of the Fire, #4 Red Rain, #5 The Mercy of Snakes, #6 Memories of Tomorrow
19

Robert Langdon Series

by Dan Brown

58h 17m total 3 books ★ 4.42 avg

Books in series:

#1 Angels & Demons, #2 The Da Vinci Code, #6 The Secret of Secrets
20

Jack Ryan, Jr.

by Tom Clancy, Mark Greaney

131h 49m total 9 books ★ 4.39 avg

Books in series:

#3 Locked On, #4 Threat Vector, #5 Command Authority, #6 Tom Clancy's Support and Defend Mark Greaney, #8 Tom Clancy's Under Fire, #10 Tom Clancy's Point of Contact, #13 Tom Clancy’s Firing Point, #18 Tom Clancy Shadow State (A Jack Ryan Jr. Novel Book 18), #20 Tom Clancy Terminal Velocity: Jack Ryan, Jr. faces his toughest ever challenge in this seriously tense, action-packed global thriller
21

Detective D.D. Warren

by Lisa Gardner

97h 11m total 8 books ★ 4.38 avg

Books in series:

#1 Alone, #3 The Neighbor, #4 Live to Tell, #6 Catch Me, #8 Fear Nothing, #9 Find Her, #10 Look For Me, #12 When You See Me
22

Nameless: Season Two

by Dean Koontz

6h 1m total 3 books ★ 4.38 avg

Books in series:

#1 The Lost Soul of the City, #2 Gentle Is the Angel of Death, #6 Zero In
23

Callahan & McLane

by Kendra Elliot

28h 3m total 3 books ★ 4.37 avg

Books in series:

#1 Vanished, #2 Bridged, #3 Spiraled
24

Gabriel Allon

by Daniel Silva

250h 11m total 23 books ★ 4.37 avg

Books in series:

#1 The Kill Artist, #2 The English Assassin, #3 The Confessor, #4 A Death in Vienna, #5 Prince of Fire, #6 The Messenger, #7 The Secret Servant, #10 The Rembrandt Affair, #11 Portrait of a Spy, #12 The Fallen Angel, #13 The English Girl, #14 The Heist +11 more
25

Detective Erika Foster

by Robert Bryndza

38h 19m total 4 books ★ 4.36 avg

Books in series:

#1 The Girl in the Ice, #2 The Night Stalker, #4 Last Breath, #5 Cold Blood
26

Jack Reacher

by Lee Child

416h 34m total 32 books ★ 4.35 avg

Books in series:

#1 Killing Floor, #2 Die Trying, #3 Tripwire, #4 Running Blind, #5 Echo Burning, #6 Without Fail, #7 Persuader, #8 The Enemy, #9 [One Shot] [by: Lee Child], #10 The Hard Way, #11 Bad Luck and Trouble, #12 Nothing to Lose +20 more
27

Rogue Team International

by Jonathan Maberry

95h 12m total 5 books ★ 4.32 avg

Books in series:

#1 Rage: A Joe Ledger and Rogue Team International Novel, #2 Relentless, #3 Cave 13, #4 Burn to Shine, #5 Red Empire
28

Isaac Bell

by Jack Du Brul, Clive Cussler

159h 36m total 14 books ★ 4.31 avg

Books in series:

#1 The Chase, #2 The Wrecker, #3 The Spy, #4 The Race, #5 The Thief, #7 The Bootlegger, #8 The Assassin, #9 The Gangster, #10 The Cutthroat, #11 The Titanic Secret, #12 The Saboteurs, #13 The Sea Wolves +2 more
29

Scott Brodie & Maggie Taylor

by Nelson DeMille, Alex DeMille

52h 29m total 3 books ★ 4.31 avg

Books in series:

#1 The Deserter, #2 Blood Lines, #3 The Tin Men
30

Alex Cross

by James Patterson, Brendan DuBois

224h 11m total 26 books ★ 4.31 avg

Books in series:

#1 Ricorda Maggie Rose, #2 Kiss the Girls, #3 Jack & Jill, #4 Cat & Mouse, #5 Pop Goes the Weasel, #6 Roses Are Red, #7 Violets Are Blue, #9 The Big Bad Wolf, #10 London Bridges, #11 Mary, Mary, #13 Double Cross, #14 Cross Country +14 more

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