When The Real Book Spy launched in December of 2015, our goal was to devote coverage to the thriller genre unlike anywhere else on the web. As you might have noticed, other sites do provide similar content, just not exclusively to this genre. That’s one thing that makes us unique. Here on our site, it’s all thrillers, all the time.
“Which authors do you cover?” is one of the most asked questions we receive via email. The simple answer, frankly, is everyone! Our target coverage begins with political thrillers and spy novels. However, we also cover some psychological and adventure thrillers, along with mysteries and even some nonfiction, if it has to do with real-life spies, of course.
When it comes to political thrillers and spy novels, there are a few names above the rest. I think most readers would agree that those authors are Brad Thor, Daniel Silva, Kyle Mills (who took over Mitch Rapp’s series), Ben Coes, Brad Taylor, Ted Bell, James Rollins, Lee Child, David Baldacci (specifically his Will Robie series), Alex Berenson, and Steve Berry.
While those authors are pretty much the gold standard for political thrillers, C.J. Box, William Kent Krueger, Joseph Finder, Harlan Coben, John Lescroart, Michael Connelly, Craig Johnson, Brad Meltzer, John Connolly, Joel C. Rosenberg, Dan Brown, John Grisham, Robert Crais, Nelson DeMille, and Stephen Coonts are all just as good–they just write slightly different kinds of books.
Likewise, Gayle Lynds, Linda Fairstein, Mark Greaney, Grant Blackwood, Dalton Fury, Jon Land, Karin Slaughter, Steve Hamilton, John Sandford, Stuart Woods, Patricia Cornwell, Mattew Dunn, Lisa Gardner, A.J. Tata, Heather Graham, Thomas Mullen, David Hagberg, Preston & Child, Mark Henshaw, Mary Kubica, Allison Leotta, Joe Hill, W.E.B. Griffin, Ace Atkins, Eric Van Lustbader, Carla Neggers, Raymond Khoury, Jason Matthews, Jack Coughlin, Scot McEwen, Matthew Riely, Steve Martini, Chris Holm, Jeff Abbott, Alan Fust, J.A. Jance, Chris Pavone, Dick Wolf, Wilbur Smith, Diane Capri, Paul Cleave, Terry Hayes, Marc Cameron, Brian Haig, John Gilstrap, Tom Wood have all written very solid thrillers throughout their careers.
Then there’s the talented class of newcomers like Matthew Betley, Erik Storey, Janey Mack, Ezekiel Boone, Sean McFate, Joshua Hood, K.J. Howe, and others, who have shown incredible potential in a short amount of time.
In total–from reviews and book announcements, to cover reveals and relevant author news–we’re covering more than a hundred thriller authors!