Types of Thriller Tropes and Subgenres

As a long-term thriller fan, I’ve read all kinds of tropes and subgenres. Recently, I’ve been trying to get a better handle on my own reading taste, and I realized that these types of narrative tools play a big role in my enjoyment of a book. To help you figure out your own tastes, I wanted to write this article to explain the types of thriller tropes and subgenres.

For ten years, Jackie and I have been reviewing thriller books on this platform, but we’ve been reading them for far longer. Over those years, I’ve seen people gravitate towards certain subgenres because they are popular – like the domestic thrillers that defined NYT bestseller lists in 2017, 2018, and 2019.

But there are so many different tropes and subgenres in thrillers, so hopefully this list will help define them for you and encourage you to stretch your wings a little. I’ve even given you some tried-and-true examples with each definition to help with clarity. If you find yourself intrigued by a thriller subgenre or trope, click the pink button below to head to a list of book recommendations and reviews that fit that plot device.

What Are Thriller Tropes vs. Thriller Subgenres?

A trope is a plot device that commonly appears in books and can define the genre. Like the one-bed trope in romance, thrillers also have frequently feature tropes like unreliable narrators, being cut off from the world, memory loss, or the killer among us. Thriller subgenres, on the other hand, tell a reader what kind of thriller the book is; common ones are domestic, legal, or psychological thrillers. Thrillers can have multiple tropes within a story, but they usually only belong to one subgenre.

Thriller Tropes

Unreliable Narrator

Unreliable narrator stories are ones where the person actually telling the story of the book is not telling the truth. Sometimes you know from the outset that they aren’t reliable, and sometimes it’s a surprise. The narrator may simply be lying, or they might have amnesia, a drinking problem, or a skewed perspective that the reader can’t trust.

Examples include:

• Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier
• The Woman in the Window by A. J. Finn

The Twist you Never See Coming

All good thrillers have twists and turns, but only some thrillers have a twist you never see coming. You know the ones that, when you finally get to the reveal, have you re-examining all the text that came before.

Examples include:

• Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
• The Wife Between Us by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen

Cut off From the World

You know a cut-off from the world trope from the book blurb, usually. These are the stories where characters are snowed in, have no signal, have nowhere to run, or are isolated from the rest of the world.

Examples include:

• The Sanatorium by Sarah Pearse
• Reckless Girls by Rachel Hawkins

The Getaway Gone Wrong

My favorite vacation thrillers have the getaway gone wrong trope within their pages. These are typically novels set at weddings, in hotels, or on cruise ships and the setting is part of the plot!

Examples include:

• The Guest List by Lucy Foley
• Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware

Memory Loss

Memory loss can be a powerful trope in thriller books because it puts the narrator on the same level as the reader. We are all essentially learning information at the same time as the narrator tries to put together the pieces of the puzzle while suffering from memory loss or confusion.

• Listen for the Lie by Amy Tintera
• I Found You by Lisa Jewell

The Missing Person

A missing person trope is defined as a story in which a person vanishes. Oftentimes the hunt for the person is the narrative device moving the plot forward.

• The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave
• Then She was Gone by Lisa Jewell

Stalkers and Obsessions

Novels about stalkers are some of the creepiest thrillers out there – especially when the author puts you in the mind of the stalker!

• Goodnight Beautiful by Aimee Molloy
• Ace of Spades by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé

The Killer Among Us

The killer among us trope can often overlap with the cut-off from the world trope. It usually appears as people keep popping up dead, and the rest of the cast is looking to figure out the murderer. They are sometimes serial killer books too!

• The Angel Maker by Alex North
• The Family Plot by Megan Collins

The Con

Some of the best-crafted thrillers involve the con trope. This trope involves someone conning or being conned. My favorites are the ones were the con artist is telling the story.

Examples include:

• Pretty Things by Janelle Brown
• First Lie Wins by Ashley Elston

Cults and Secret Societies

Another common trope in a thriller is the presence of a cult or secret society. This trope can heighten the tension because secret members may be lurking among allies.

Examples include:

• Little One by Olivia Muenter
• The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown

Thriller Subgenres (Types of Thrillers)

Psychological Thriller

A psychological thriller generally focuses on the psychological effects of a situation on the main protagonist. These thrillers get their suspense from mind games, social dynamics being off, or the unstable mental health of the narrator or those around them. It’s not uncommon for these novels to have tropes like an unreliable narrator, lying spouses, or other twists. This is arguably the most popular thriller sub-genre.

Examples include:

• Verity by Colleen Hoover
• The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides

Domestic Thrillers

Domestic thrillers, sometimes called domestic noir, are books that focus on marriage, family, or neighborhood dynamics.

Examples include:

• The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins
• The Push by Ashley Audrain

Legal thrillers

Legal thrillers revolve around a court case. Whether the court case is happening in real time as the events are unfolding, or the case is used as a narrative device to go back in time, this subgenre will always have a courtroom component.

• In Her Defense by Philippa Malicka
• Anatomy of a Scandal by Sarah Vaughan

Spy Thrillers

Spy thrillers are all action and the suspense within them comes from the heightened tension of if the spy will be caught and what the spy might uncover.

• Red Sparrow by Jason Matthews
• The Kill Artist by Daniel Silva

Historial Thrillers

Remember earlier when I said most books only have one subgenre? This is the exception because, by definition, it’s two genres in one. The historical setting of the book will lead to tensions and settings that will play a key role in a thriller (life before cellphones made it hard to get to the police so easily), but you need to remember that these thrillers can also have legal, domestic, psychological or other subgenres within them.

Examples include:

• The Doll Factory by Elizabeeth Macneal
• God of the Woods by Liz Moore

Horror Thrillers

Thriller Horrors (or Horror Thrillers) are thrillers that blend suspenseful storytelling with twisty horror moments.

Examples include:

• The Shining by Stephen King
• How to Sell a Haunted House by Grady Hendrix

Mystery Thrillers

Another combo genre, these books have a crime to solve at the pace of a thriller, usually a race against the clock.

Examples include:

• Middle of the Night by Riley Sager
• The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

YA Thrillers

Like historical thrillers, YA thrillers are a mash-up of two genres – thrillers and young adult novels. They are thrillers written for 12 to 18-year-olds.

Examples include:

• One of Us Is Lying by Karen M. McManus
• Family of Liars by E. Lockhart

Frequently Asked Questions

Epilouge

I hope this article helped clarify the difference between a thriller trope and a thriller subgenre. Did you figure out which tropes and subgenres are your favorites?