Thanks again to all who responded. A couple people asked for a compilation. Here's the title list I ended up with from my own searches plus your contributions, in case you find it useful. (I included a caveat that our staff may want to start with series openers.) I'm using this as a supplement to the ARRT list.

Please don't be offended if I didn't include your suggestions in my final list. Some fit in different genres/subgenres we already covered or plan to hit later (like action/adventure, suspense, mystery/crime, historical), and I noted your suggestions for those genres. It's splitting hairs, as always. I also considered whether we own enough copies, plus I whittled down to titles that had both outstanding reviews and reader scores. Some of our staff are reluctant readers of this genre, so I hoped to find the very best to recommend so they'll be more open-minded. Fingers crossed.

*= titles you most highly recommended.

Thanks again! You've been a wonderful resource.
-Steve

Espionage
Adrenaline by Jeff Abbott (series start)
Twelve Days by Alex Berenson (series #9)
A Divided Spy by Charles Cumming (series #3)
A Hero of France by Alan Furst (series #14)
The Gray Man by Mark Greaney (series start)
An Officer and a Spy by Robert Harris (standalone)
*I Am Pilgrim: A Thriller by Terry Hayes (standalone)
Slow Horses by Mick Herron (series start)
The Other Side of Silence by Philip Kerr (series #11)
Red Sparrow by Jason Matthews (series start)
Rules of Betrayal by Christopher Reich (series #3)
The Black Widow by Daniel Silva (series #16)
*The Tourist by Olen Steinhauer (series start)

Forensic
Deja Dead by Kathy Reichs (series start, 1997, with many recent installments)

Historical
The One Man by Andrew Gross (standalone)

Legal
The Ex by Alafair Burke (standalone)
Sycamore Row by John Grisham (recent sequel to A Time to Kill (1989))
Say Nothing by Brad Parks (standalone, not typical for the genre)

Medical
*Beat the Reaper by Josh Bazell (series start)
Mercy by Daniel Palmer & Michael Palmer (standalone)
Dr. Knox by Peter Spiegelman  (series start)

Military
Zero Day by David Baldacci (series start)
61 Hours by Lee Child (Series #14)
Orphan X by Gregg Hurwitz (series start)
Runner by Patrick Lee (series start)
*The Drifter by Nick Petrie (series start)
The Insider Threat by Brad Taylor (series #8)
Foreign Agent: A Thriller by Brad Thor (series #15)

Supernatural
The Last Policeman by Ben H. Winters  (series start)

Tech
Tom Clancy: True Faith and Allegiance by Mark Greaney (series #17)

Stephen Sposato 
Manager, Content Curation
400 S. State St. | Chicago IL 60605  | 312 747 4178 
[log in to unmask] 

> I'm compiling a reading list for staff for training on the thriller genre,
> and although it's challenging in this era of genre-blends I'd prefer
> examples that best illustrate thriller genre elements as opposed to mystery
> or the hugely popular psychological suspense genre. (Interestingly, even
> most thriller award winners I'm looking up seem to be primarily works of
> suspense/mystery, which will make a good talking point in training).
>
>
> I've got plenty of resources from Novelist/ARRT already, but I'm curious
> what you folks consider essential thriller titles from the last decade or
> so.
>
> Think medical/legal/political/supernatural/tech/forensic/spy thrillers.
>
>
> What thrillers would you hold up as enjoyable models to demonstrate what
> the genre is all about?
>
>
> Thanks in advance!
>
>
> *Stephen Sposato*
>
> Manager, Content Curation
>
> 400 S. State St. | Chicago IL 60605
>
> [log in to unmask]

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