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18 top page turners, as picked by Lee Child

18 top page turners, as picked by Lee Child

18 September 2026

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Lee Child, master thriller writer and author of the bestselling Jack Reacher series, shares some of his favourite crime, thriller and mystery reads. How many have you read?

The Child by Fiona Barton

‘Tense, tantalising and ultimately very satisfying… definitely one of the year’s must-reads’

When a story in an evening newspaper reveals a decades-old tragedy, most readers barely give it a glance. But for three strangers it’s impossible to ignore. For one woman, it’s a reminder of the worst thing that ever happened to her. For another, it reveals the dangerous possibility that her darkest secret is about to be discovered. And for the third, journalist Kate Waters, it’s the first clue in a hunt to uncover the truth.

You Don’t Know Me by Imran Mahmood

‘A daring concept executed to perfection’

A young man is accused of murder. All the evidence points to him – and the police are convinced it’s an open and shut case. But at the trial, just before the closing speeches, the defendant sacks his lawyer and presents his own version of events, picking apart each piece of damning evidence against him. As the truth becomes harder to see, only one thing matters: did he do it?

A Slow Fire Burning by Paula Hawkins

‘Twists and turns like a great thriller should, but it’s also deep, intelligent and intensely human’

Three women, connected by one brutal crime. Three women, determined to right the wrongs done to them. Three women, with everything to hide. When it comes to revenge, even good people are capable of terrible things – but only one person killed Daniel Sutherland. How long can their secrets smoulder, before they explode into flame?

The Deep Blue Goodbye by John D Macdonald

‘MacDonald had a huge influence on me… Reacher is like a fully detached version of Travis McGee’

Travis McGee isn’t particularly strapped for cash, but how can anyone say no to Cathy, a sweet girl who’s been tortured repeatedly by her manipulative ex-boyfriend Junior Allen? What Travis isn’t anticipating is just how many women Junior has torn apart and left in his wake. As Travis hunts for the ruthless man who steals women’s sensibilities and livelihoods, he can’t guess how violent his quest is soon to become.

The President is Missing by Bill Clinton and James Patterson

‘The dream team delivers big time… Clinton’s insider secrets and Patterson’s storytelling genius make this the political thriller of the decade.’

The President is missing. The world is in shock. But the reason he’s missing is much worse than anyone can imagine. With details only a President could know, and the kind of suspense only James Patterson can deliver.

The Chalk Man by C J Tudor

‘Wonderfully creepy – like a cold blade on the back of your neck’

Looking back, it all started on the day of the fair and the terrible accident. When twelve-year-old Eddie first met the Chalk Man. It was the Chalk Man who gave Eddie the idea for the drawings: a way to leave secret messages between his group of friends. And it was fun, to start with, until the figures led them to the body of a young girl. That was thirty years ago and Ed thought the past was behind him. Then he receives a letter containing just two things: a piece of chalk, and a drawing of a stick figure. As history begins to repeat itself, Ed realises the game was never over.

The Night She Disappeared by Lisa Jewell

‘Insane suspense. I loved it.’

2017: teenage mum Tallulah heads out on a date, leaving her baby son at home with her mother, Kim. At 11pm she sends her mum a text message. At 4:30am Kim awakens to discover that Tallulah has not come home. Friends tell her that Tallulah was last seen heading to a pool party at a house in the woods nearby called Dark Place. Tallulah never returns.

2018: walking in the woods behind the boarding school where her boyfriend has just started as a head teacher, Sophie sees a sign nailed to a fence. A sign that says: dig here…

Read more: Where to start reading Lisa Jewell.

The Last Day by Andrew Hunter Murray

‘Wonderful: boldly imagined and beautifully written – the best future-shock thriller for years.’

2059. The world has stopped turning. One half suffers an endless frozen night; the other, nothing but burning sun. Only in a slim twilit region between them can life survive. In an isolationist Britain clinging on in the twilight zone, scientist Ellen Hopper receives a letter from a dying man. It contains a powerful and dangerous secret. One that those in power will kill to conceal…

The Recovery of Rose Gold by Stephanie Wrobel

‘Sensationally good – two complex characters power the story like a nuclear reaction, and won’t let you forget them. Wrobel is one to watch’

Rose Gold Watts believed she was sick for eighteen years. Turned out her mother was a really good liar. After five years in prison, Patty Watts is finally free. All she wants is to put old grievances behind her, reconcile with the daughter who testified against her – and care for her new infant grandson. When Rose Gold agrees to have Patty move in, it seems their relationship is truly on the mend. And she has waited such a long time for her mother to come home. But has Patty truly forgotten their past? And is Rose Gold really able to forgive?

Star of the North by D B John

‘Extraordinary… smart, sophisticated, suspenseful – and important. If you try one new thing this year, make it Star of the North.’

A young American woman disappears without trace from a South Korean island. The CIA recruits her twin sister to uncover the truth. Now, she must go undercover in the world’s most deadly state. Only by infiltrating the dark heart of the terrifying regime will she be able to save her sister… and herself.

Panic Room by Robert Goddard

‘Is this his best yet?… Full of sinister menace and propulsive pace with twisty plotting’

High on a Cornish cliff sits a vast uninhabited mansion. Uninhabited except for Blake, a young woman of dubious background, secretive and alone, currently acting as housesitter. The house has a panic room. Cunningly concealed, steel lined, impregnable – and apparently closed from within. Even Blake doesn’t know it’s there. She’s too busy being on the run from life, from a story she thinks she’s escaped.

Girl On Fire by Tony Parsons

‘Spectacular! Tense and human, fast and authentic’

When terrorists use a drone to bring down a plane on one of London’s busiest shopping centres, it ignites a chain of events that will draw in the innocent and guilty alike. DC Max Wolfe finds himself caught in the crossfire in a city that seems increasingly dangerous and hostile. But does the danger come from the murderous criminals that Max is tracking down? Or the people he’s trying to protect?

Jack Reacher series

Check out all the books in the Jack Reacher series by Lee Child

Learn more

Last to Die by Tess Gerritsen

‘Suspense doesn’t get much smarter than this’

Three children, strangers to each other, are brought together by seemingly motiveless and extreme acts of violence. Orphaned and alone, they are taken in as students at Evensong, a boarding school for emotionally traumatized children in the remote Maine wilderness.

Check out the full Rizzoli & Isles series.

Orphan X by Gregg Hurwitz

‘Outstanding in every way’

It was always the first question he asked. They called him when they had nowhere else to turn. As a boy he was taken from an orphanage, then raised and trained. As part of a top-secret programme, he was sent out to do the things his government denied any knowledge of. Then he broke with the programme, using everything he’d learned to disappear.

Read more: 21 Questions with Gregg Hurwitz.

Need to Know by Karen Cleveland

‘Superb’

You get to work. Make a coffee. Turn on your computer. Your task: to break into a Russian criminal’s laptop and find proof that he’s concealing five deep-cover agents– seemingly normal people living in plain sight. You’re in. Five faces stare back at you. One of them is your husband.

The Partisan by Patrick Worrall

‘The Partisan is immersive, intriguing, and intelligent – an incredibly impressive debut, already up there with the best in the genre.’

It is the summer of 1961 and the brutal Cold War between East and West is becoming ever more perilous. Two young prodigies from either side of the Iron Curtain, Yulia and Michael, meet at a chess tournament in London. They don’t know it, but they are about to compete in the deadliest game ever played. Shadowing them is Greta, a ruthless resistance fighter who grew up the hard way in the forests of Lithuania, but who is now hunting down some of the most dangerous men in the world – men who are also on the radar of Vassily, perhaps the Soviet Union’s greatest spymaster. A man of cunning and influence, Vassily was Yulia’s minder during her visit to the West, but even he could not foresee the consequences of her meeting Michael. When the world is accelerating towards an inevitable and catastrophic conflict, what can just four people do to prevent it?

Safe by S K Barnett

‘Fantastically good – dark yet compellingly upbeat, and insanely suspenseful… even the twists have twists.’

Your child is missing. She was only six years old when she disappeared. Posters went up, the police investigated – but no one could find her. Now, twelve years later, she’s home and knocking at your door. You’re so happy to see her. But soon you start to wonder why she can’t answer your questions. Where has she been? How did she find her way home? And who is she?

A Treachery of Spies by Manda Scott

‘This is a rich vein for fiction, and Scott does it more than justice, with this beautifully imagined, beautifully written, smart, sophisticated – but fiercely suspenseful – thriller.’

An elderly woman of striking beauty is found murdered in Orleans, France. Her identity has been cleverly erased but the method of her death is very specific: she has been killed in the manner of traitors to the Resistance in World War Two. Tracking down her murderer leads police inspector Inès Picaut back to 1940s France where the men and women of the Resistance were engaged in a desperate fight for survival against the Nazi invaders.

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