7 Crime Thrillers You Need To Read, According To Harlan Coben

Published Sep 15, 2026, 11:49 AM EDT Ambrose Tardive is an editor on ScreenRant's Comics team. Over the past two years, he has developed into the internet's foremost authority on The Far Side. Outside of his work for ScreenRant, Ambrose works as an Adjunct English Instructor. Harlan Coben is the prolific author of nearly three dozen novels. His books are chart-topping bestsellers that have established him as one of the leading names in contemporary mystery thriller fiction. So, when he's not writing, what is Coben reading? Coben frequently posts book recommendations on social media, many of which have been aggregated by websites like Tertulia. Other recommendations have come during media appearances, when the author has shared his takes on must-read books. These aren't always books in his genre, but this list zeroes in on the crime fiction Harlan Coben cosigns. These recommendations are for fans of Coben's work who have plowed through every one of his novels and are now looking for crime writers in the same vein. All the novels discussed here are contemporary releases; the oldest is just under a decade old, while most have just come out in the last few years. And each one has been given the stamp of approval from Harlan Coben himself at one point or another, making the priority reads for crime genre fans. Everybody Knows Written By Jordan Harper; Published In 2023 In an appearance on The Today Show at the time of its January 2023 release, Harlan Coben recommended Jordan Harper's Everybody Knows as one of his must-read books of the new year. Fast-forward three years, and Harper has put out a follow-up, A Violent Masterpiece, with both books garnering praise as masterpieces of modern crime fiction. Everybody Knows is written in a crisp noir style that evokes a lineage of writers including Coben, one of his literary heroes, Elmore Leonard, and stretching all the way back to Raymond Chandler. Except it is saturated with modern vernacular and attitude. Together, those things help make Jordan Harper's raging satire a devourable read. Everybody Knows is also a 10/10 audiobook listen. The novel's two POV characters, alternating chapters, keep up a pulse-pounding thriller pace, and readers should know in advance that whether they read Jordan Harper's work, or listen to it, they're going to have to clear their schedule until they're done. Daisy Darker Written By Alice Feeney; Published In 2022 Harlan Coben cited Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None as the big antecedent for Alice Feeney's Daisy Darker, and the DNA evidence is clear. Set on a island? Check. Characters start getting picked off one at a time? Check. Twist after twist after twist leading up to a breathtaking conclusion? You already know. Daisy Darker is the best kind of genre fiction, in the sense that it is immediately familiar, but also refreshingly hard to get ahead of. Meaning Feeney is in control of the narrative from start to finish. Readers won't find themselves skimming Daisy Darker out of boredom, but they will have to remind themselves to slow down, savor the story, and keep their head on a swivel for clues to the central mystery. That's because the book is so kinetic and tightly plotted that even at 350+ pages, it is still the kind of novel you'll find yourself finishing in a day. Like A Sister Written By Kellye Garrett; Published In 2022 Harlan Coben shouted out author Kellye Garrett on social media at the time of Like a Sister's publication, calling attention to its "buzzed-about" status. It's clear why the book landed on Coben's reading list, and why it should be on the shortlist of next crime fiction reads for fans of his work. Like a Sister is a gripping contemporary murder mystery. The premise: a reality star turns up dead, and the authorities write it off as death by misadventure. Only that doesn't sit right with the star's half-sister, who gets in over her head investigating the case. That's a great starting point for a mystery, but what makes Garrett's novel a peak thriller is where it goes, and how the mystery at the heart of Like a Sister unravels. The Collective Written By Alison Gaylin; Published In 2021 The Collective is a psychological thriller about a group of vigilante killers, told from the perspective of a woman who is drawn into the group after the death of her daughter goes unpunished by the legal system. Harlan Coben called it "one of [his] favorites of the year" at the time of its release. He also described it as having "a touch of Ira Levin," evoking the famous thriller author who wrote The Boys From Brazil, The Stepford Wives, and Rosemary's Baby. That tells us that The Collective is also a work of conspiracy fiction, and should be taken as high praise from Coben. The Collective goes to dark places, and it doesn't bask in the catharsis of conventional vigilante thrillers. Instead, it traps its protagonist in a system that is larger than herself, and gives her the perilous task of trying to fight her way out. An Ambush Of Widows Written By Jeff Abbott; Published In 2021 "Do not miss this one, folks," Harlan Coben wrote on social media the day Jeff Abbot's An Ambush of Widows came out. He's right. Thriller fans will tear through this book, which clocks in right at the 350-page mark. Abbott's novel ups the usual murder plot ante by having two parallel killings happen at once, bringing the eponymous widows of the victims together to solve the crimes. An Ambush flips between the two protagonists' POVs, as well as occasionally dipping into the perspectives of other characters along the way. It is a restless but confident thriller, churning toward a memorable climax. But like all great crime fiction, it is more about the journey than the destination. The trope of civilian characters forced to become detectives is put to perfect use in An Ambush of Windows, and Harlan Coben fans will recognize a vibe similar to his work in the novels of Jeff Abbott. The Thursday Murder Club Written By Richard Osman; Published In 2020 Harlan Coben hyped The Thursday Murder Club on social media at the time of its U.S. release, and that was him getting in on the ground floor of a series that has become a runaway success over the span of just six years. Since the first book came out in 2020, there have been four more Thursday Murder Club books, and a Netflix movie with a loaded cast including Helen Mirren and Ben Kingsley. Richard Osman's debut novel and its sequels are set in a retirement village, where a discussion group about unsolved cases turns into a real murder mystery. It is a 10/10 premise, with protagonists that have quickly established themselves as fan favorites. The Thursday Murder Club is a lighter type of mystery than most on this list, bordering on a caper story. It is a fun throwback to classic mystery tales, and Osman demonstrates a tight grip on the conventions of the genre, which he can lean into and subvert at will. Bluebird, Bluebird Written By Attica Locke; Published In 2017 Bluebird, Bluebird is Attica Locke's fourth novel, and perhaps her finest yet. The award-winning book is a gripping, character-driven mystery, in the vein of underrated crime masterpieces like Gary Phillips' Ivan Monk books and other crime fiction that reckons with racial politics in America. Coben cited Bluebird as a killer read on social media, and as the book nears the tenth anniversary of its publication, it is due to be rediscovered by a wave of new readers. Locke's genre bona fides are clear on every page of Bluebird, Bluebird, from the start when the bodies of a black man and white woman are found, all through the stages of the investigation, up until the emotional and exhaustive conclusion.