The best thrillers that kept me reading all night

Why am I passionate about this?

When I was at school, reading was a chore. We were given books that held no interest and told to dissect the author’s words to find a deeper meaning. It put me off reading for years. It wasn’t until I came across a thriller that I discovered my love of books, and I’ve been hooked ever since. There’s nothing like mounting tension to get you flipping the pages, and I try to do that in my books. 


I wrote...

Run and Hide

By Alan McDermott,

Book cover of Run and Hide

What is my book about?

After her brother is killed in a faked suicide, CIA wet ops specialist Eva Driscoll teams up with ex-soldier Rees Colback, the one person who can help her find answers. Together they’re determined to uncover why members of his Special Forces squad are dying in mysterious circumstances. But with every agency in the country in hot pursuit, their only choice is to flee. The clock is ticking. They can’t run forever. It’s time to make a choice: kill or be killed…

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The books I picked & why

Book cover of Rainbow Six

Alan McDermott Why did I love this book?

The best book I’ve read. I still have the hardcover edition that I bought twenty years ago, and it’s well-thumbed, trust me. Clancy, for me, was the master of the international action thriller. This one features a few of his better-known characters, including Ding Chavez and John Kelly (who was known by different names in other books). Kelly is tasked with creating a multinational anti-terror group using special forces personnel from around the world. Just in time, as a threat to mankind is unearthed.

By Tom Clancy,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Rainbow Six as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Rainbow Six is a nerve-shredding thriller from international bestseller, Tom Clancy.

Newly named head of an elite multinational task force, John Clark faces the world's greatest fear: international terrorism. And following each terrifying new outbreak - the ghosts from his own past.

The challenge of a new mission is just what Clark needs, but the opportunities come faster than he expected. Hostage-taking at a Swiss bank. The kidnapping of an international trader. Carnage at a theme park in Spain. Each incident seems separate, yet the timing disturbs Clark.

Is there a connection? Is he being tested? Or is there a…


Book cover of Unleashed

Alan McDermott Why did I love this book?

In Adam Black, Karl Hill has created a strong, believable character, full of angst and anger. Black is ex-SAS, a former captain turned lawyer. Out jogging from his home in a Scottish village, Black comes across trouble in the form of some gangster types hell-bent on violence. Believe me when I say they chose the wrong man.

By Karl Hill,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Unleashed as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

An ex-SAS captain survives a violent attack only to wind up in the crosshairs of a vengeful Glaswegian gangster in this crime thriller series opener.

Adam Black, a lawyer and former SAS captain, is randomly attacked while out for his nightly jog in the quiet Scottish village of Eaglesham. But Black does not take the ambush lying down, and while defending himself, kills two of the three attackers.

After Black is interviewed by the police, they decide not to press charges . . . against him.

Unbeknownst to Black, the men who assaulted him have links to a vicious criminal,…


Book cover of Killing Hope

Alan McDermott Why did I love this book?

I bought this book after meeting the author, a down-to-earth Lancashire lad. When I started reading about an American cop, I had to check that I’d picked up the right book. I had, and the story he wove had me enthralled. The atmosphere was authentic, like Houghton had been there, done that. I went on to read everything he’s written.

By Keith Houghton,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Killing Hope as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

THE #1 KINDLE BESTSELLER

"If you like James Patterson's Alex Cross books, then this is the thriller series for you." ★★★★★ Seriously Good Reads

When homicide detective Gabe Quinn returns to the Los Angeles streets after the murder of his wife Hope, he thinks he has fought off all the demons that life can throw his way. But his first case back on the job may prove to be his last ...

A repeat killer is in town, a killer on a personal mission to bring Gabe to his knees, luring him into a deadly game of cat and mouse.…


Book cover of Jet

Alan McDermott Why did I love this book?

A cracking action thriller. A friend recommended this to me, saying my pulse would rise within the first few pages. He wasn’t wrong. It shot up and barely came down. Jet is an Israeli agent who wants out, but it’s never that easy. Such a good first book that the author wrote about 20 more in the series. Guess who read them all!

By Russell Blake,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Jet as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Code name: Jet Twenty-eight-year-old Jet was once the Mossad's most lethal operative before faking her own death and burying that identity forever. But the past doesn't give up on its secrets easily. When her new life on a tranquil island is shattered by a brutal attack, Jet must return to a clandestine existence of savagery and deception to save herself and those she loves. A gritty, unflinching roller-coaster of high-stakes twists and shocking turns, JET features a new breed of protagonist that breaks the mold. Fans of Lisbeth Salander, SALT, and the Bourne trilogy will find themselves carried along at…


Book cover of Walking with Shadows

Alan McDermott Why did I love this book?

What I loved most about this was the story within the story. A famous author is travelling back from a convention in Brazil when his plane goes down. The only other survivor is a young boy, not quite in his teens. In order to reach safety, they must battle not only Colombian drug runners and other nefarious characters, but the jungle itself.

By Luke Romyn,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Walking with Shadows as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

"This is one of the best stories I've had the pleasure of reading in a long time. I highly recommend it."—Vigilant Reader Book Reviews

A plane crashes in South America, leaving only two survivors.

Reclusive author Jonas Drake stumbles from the fiery wreckage of the crashed 747 and meets Jeremy, a young boy struggling to come to grips with the loss of his mother. Hunted by F.A.R.C. insurgents chasing them for ransom, the pair flee into the rainforest with no plan and almost no hope.

Desperate to distract Jeremy from the nightmares surrounding them, Jonas tells him stories from his…


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The Last Bird of Paradise

By Clifford Garstang,

Book cover of The Last Bird of Paradise

Clifford Garstang Author Of Oliver's Travels

New book alert!

Why am I passionate about this?

Author Fiction writer Globalist Lawyer Philosopher Seeker

Clifford's 3 favorite reads in 2023

What is my book about?

Two women, a century apart, seek to rebuild their lives after leaving their homelands. Arriving in tropical Singapore, they find romance, but also find they haven’t left behind the dangers that caused them to flee.

Haunted by the specter of terrorism after 9/11, Aislinn Givens leaves her New York career and joins her husband in Southeast Asia when he takes a job there. She acquires several paintings by a colonial-era British artist that she believes are a warning.

The artist, Elizabeth Pennington, tells her own tumultuous story through diary entries that end when World War I reaches the colony with catastrophic results. In the present, Aislinn and her husband learn that terrorism takes many shapes when they are ensnared by local political upheaval and corruption.

The Last Bird of Paradise

By Clifford Garstang,

What is this book about?

"Aislinn Givens leaves a settled life in Manhattan for an unsettled life in Singapore. That painting radiates mystery and longing. So does Clifford Garstang's vivid and simmering novel, The Last Bird of Paradise." –John Dalton, author of Heaven Lake and The Inverted Forest

Two women, nearly a century apart, seek to rebuild their lives when they reluctantly leave their homelands. Arriving in Singapore, they find romance in a tropical paradise, but also find they haven't left behind the dangers that caused them to flee.

In the aftermath of 9/11 and haunted by the specter of terrorism, Aislinn Givens leaves her…


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