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Who are your favorite female thriller writers?
Dana Kaye
Posted: Sunday, July 3, 2011 2:54 PM
Joined: 3/31/2011
Posts: 5


Most straight thriller writers are male. Most of the female thriller authors write "romantic suspense" or "domestic thrillers". I love Jamie Freveletti, who writes action/adventure with a strong female protagonist, and Lisa Gardiner.

Who are your favorites? Looking to add more to my list!


Danielle Poiesz
Posted: Friday, August 5, 2011 3:36 PM
I'm a big fan of Tess Gerritsen, Tami Hoag (her straight suspense stuff is great fun!), and Jan Burke.

It's intriguing to me that thriller writers tend to be men. I hate to say that it's because most women tend to write "love relationships" into their books, shifting them more toward romance--that would be so frustrating if it were the real reason! Why do you think it's the case, Dana?
M E Anders
Posted: Monday, August 22, 2011 8:35 PM
Joined: 8/22/2011
Posts: 1


It's too bad that most thriller writers are male, but that gives us female writers an advantage if we want to bring something new to the genre.

Jamie Freveletti is a favorite for me.
Sherry Foley
Posted: Tuesday, August 30, 2011 2:35 AM
Joined: 8/13/2011
Posts: 5


I like Jordan Dane, Philip Margolin, Lisa Gardner, Faye Kellerman to name a few. I'm currently looking into finding some medical thriller writers. Can anyone suggest someone?
Dana Kaye
Posted: Tuesday, August 30, 2011 6:28 PM
Joined: 3/31/2011
Posts: 5


Sherry,
Tess Gerritsen's books have a lot of medical themes. Not sure if they'd be considered straight medical thrillers though.
SusanElizabeth
Posted: Wednesday, October 5, 2011 1:50 AM
Joined: 7/18/2011
Posts: 24


Patricia Cornwell is one of the few female writers that's really stood out to me. She spends most of the time in the morgue and following the police procedural, while authors like Evanovich and Grafton spend a lot of time focusing on the central character's personal life and love life. I haven't tried any of the authors mentioned above, but now I'm excited to add them to my list - I've grown a bit frustrated trying to find a good female writer of crime! I just read Kate White's HUSH. While it was entertaining, I found that it wasfull of "false cliffhangers." I would finish a chapter with the "I have to keep reading" feeling, but then the answer to the cliffhanger would be revealed in the first paragraph of the next chapter - and it was usually a tension-relieving "Gotcha!"
Dave McClure
Posted: Saturday, December 10, 2011 12:08 PM
Joined: 11/17/2011
Posts: 21


I tend to read a lot of older authors from a half-decade ago or more.  And for my money, Helen MacInnes is one of the finest thriller writers I have ever read.  The stuff is a little dated now, with the Nazis defeated and the Soviet Communists safely (for now) kept at bay.  But first-rate stuff, with some romance thrown in for good measure.
AgKJ
Posted: Tuesday, June 12, 2012 10:58 AM
Joined: 6/11/2012
Posts: 1


I've been searching for the name & author of a book that I read back in the mid to late 90s. I recall that it was by a female writer. The central character, a woman, went to her lake cabin. In the opening chapter, she was putting things away in the pantry and spotted a figure inside. The way the writer described how she stayed cool and pretended that she hadn't seen the intruder while calmly trying to get out of the house has always stuck with me.

Of course, the guy in the pantry chased her down before she got to her car, and for the rest of the book she was his hostage, etc.

That's all I have to go on - anyone know what book this is? Thanks.

MariAdkins
Posted: Wednesday, November 21, 2012 4:19 PM
I'm a huge fan of LJ Sellers' LT Jackson stories. They're fantastic. She's great with research, and her writing is superb.

Nevena Georgieva
Posted: Monday, December 3, 2012 1:48 PM
Joined: 2/9/2012
Posts: 427


How about Gillian Flynn? Gone Girl is just masterful...