For a thriller you will finish in a weekend, start with The Housemaid or Gone Girl, both around NPR 720 to 792. For classic detection, Agatha Christie is the shelf, and Murder on the Orient Express at around NPR 576 is the way in.
The thriller shelf is where most people go to start reading again after a long gap, and it is the right instinct: a good thriller does the work of pulling you through. The trick is matching the kind of tension you actually enjoy, because "thriller" covers three quite different experiences.
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Which thriller should you read first?
The Housemaid by Freida McFadden, around NPR 792. Short chapters, a twist most readers do not see, and a pace that makes a hundred pages disappear. It is the book people mean when they say they read a thriller in one sitting. Its follow-ups, The Inmate and The Locked Door, are both around NPR 792 and work the same way.
If you want something with more craft behind the shock, Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn at around NPR 720 is the better book: a wife disappears, a husband is suspected, and the middle of the novel does something to the reader that thrillers had not really done before. Sharp Objects, around NPR 720, is her nastier and shorter one.
What is the best classic detective novel?
Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie, around NPR 576. A train stuck in snow, twelve suspects, and the most famous solution in detective fiction. It is fair-play mystery at its best: every clue is on the page, and you can genuinely solve it.
And Then There Were None at around NPR 648 is her masterpiece and the best-selling mystery ever written — ten strangers on an island, dying one by one. Death on the Nile, around NPR 648, is the other one worth owning. If you would rather buy three at once, The World's Favourite: three Christie novels is around NPR 1,762.
What should a younger reader start with?
A Good Girl's Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson, around NPR 720. A school student reopens a closed murder case for a project. It is a proper mystery with real clues, written for teenagers and read by everyone, and the three-book boxed set at around NPR 2,304 covers the whole story.
Which ones are pure page-turners?
- Then She Was Gone by Lisa Jewell, around NPR 864.
- The Guest List by Lucy Foley, around NPR 720. A wedding on a remote island, a body, and everyone with a reason.
- Rock Paper Scissors by Alice Feeney, around NPR 720.
- Angels and Demons by Dan Brown, around NPR 864, and Origin at around NPR 720, if you like your thrillers with symbology and short chapters.
What if you want horror rather than crime?
Stephen King, and the three to start with are The Shining at around NPR 864, Misery at around NPR 960, and Pet Sematary at around NPR 1,152. Misery is the one to read first: two characters, one room, and no supernatural element at all.
Is there anything set closer to home?
The Girl in Room 105 by Chetan Bhagat, around NPR 360, is the cheapest thriller here and set in Delhi, which is a good deal nearer than Maine.
Frequently asked questions
Do Agatha Christie novels need reading in order? No. Each mystery stands alone, even within the Poirot books.
Which is the shortest thriller here? The Girl in Room 105 at around NPR 360, and The Housemaid reads fastest despite being longer.
Do you deliver outside Kathmandu? Yes, to all seven provinces. Typically 1 to 2 days inside the Kathmandu Valley and 3 to 5 days elsewhere.
Can I pay on delivery? Yes. Cash on delivery is currently the only payment method, and you pay the courier when the parcel reaches you.
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