10 of the Best Political Thrillers Ever

Hilarious and sharp, this satire starring a vacuum salesman is no slouch in the suspense department, even stacked with as many laughs as it is. This is a story teeming with personality, with characters who expertly carry the narrative whre you least expect it.

Scott Brodie and Maggie Taylor make their dazzling debut in this epic thriller that marries an armed forces narrative with a suspenseful spy story, delivering the best of both worlds. And there’s a lot more of Brodie and Taylor to come!

You might think of le Carré as a writer of espionage novels, but politics encompasses espionage and crime as well as law-making and foreign policy. His novels are as much about the secret tension between ruling and governing, and the crimes committed in the name of patriotism and realpolitik, as they are about skulduggery and moles. In The Constant Gardener, an unremarkable man with a remarkable wife is jolted out of a mediocre political career when his spouse is killed, and he determines to find out why she was murdered, and by whom. For the first time in his life he’s willing to take chances—and if there’s one thing the secretive world of politics can’t stand, it’s people who have nothing to lose. The end result is a pitch-perfect thriller.

A CIA-operative-turned-hitman kicks off this thrilling and action-packed series with a high-stakes page turner that is relentless in its twists and turns. It’s a power play of man-against-the-world delights, and the series sprawls forth from here.

This fast-action adventure is a certified nail-biter from the very first page, with details only a former president could write and action only Patterson could dream up. Just imagine the president as a superhero — all the fun without the cape!

Clancy’s breakout novel is set at the hot height of the Cold War, but it remains a classic political thriller because it perfectly combines thrilling spycraft, visceral action, an insider’s view of behind-closed-doors political maneuvering, and global stakes. Clancy’s expert grasp of each of these aspects makes this story of a rogue Soviet submarine captain planning to steal the experimental sub he’s been assigned to and defect to the West—and the young CIA analyst, Jack Ryan, who tries desperately to convince everyone from the president down that this isn’t the Soviet Union starting World War III—just about the Platonic ideal of a political thriller. Rumor is Clancy’s grasp of top-secret technology rattled the FBI enough that they paid him a visit, and anyone who reads the book will believe it.

Anyone familiar with Jason Bourne knows that you should never make a dangerous man feel trapped. The Terminal List gives us a similar action thriller of epic proportions as a Navy SEAL becomes the only law he needs in search of answers. You may want to wear a seatbelt, because you’ll be falling out out of your chair at every turn.

From a master of plot twists comes a story built around corrupt politicians, assassination attempts and a riveting investigation. With unexpected twists at every corner, this is a tough one to put down.

Another satisfying installment in the thrilling Mitch Rapp series. A devious killer is on the lose, casting a wide scope of stakes and twists that will keep you glued to the page. This is action-packed and brimming with real-world implications.

Thor’s first Scott Harvath novel opens with a bang: former Navy SEAL and current Secret Service agent Harvath is overseeing the president’s security detail in Park City, Utah, when a brazen attack leaves thirty other agents dead—and the president kidnapped. Harvath, disgraced and confused, goes on a one-man mission to piece together what happened and why, while the United States dithers and hesitates to meet the kidnappers’ demands, resulting in a presidential finger being mailed to the White House. While a bit more oriented towards the thriller side of things, that doesn’t mean Thor lacks a fine touch when it comes to the political side, which he renders in an equally exciting manner, leading to an explosive ending that’s not to be missed.