Most Popular Thriller Books of the 1950s

Our Man in Havana

Graham Greene

Spy Thriller · Historical Fiction · Mainstream · Thriller

1958

The Bird's Nest

Shirley Jackson

Thriller

1954

British Library Science Fiction Classics

The Tide Went Out

Charles Eric Maine

Science Fiction · Dystopia · Post-Apocalyptic · Thriller

1958

HMS Ulysses

Alistair MacLean

Suspense Thriller · War & Military · Adventure · Thriller

1955

Guns of Navarone #1

The Guns of Navarone

Alistair MacLean

War & Military · Movie · Thriller

1957

Ripley #1

The Talented Mr. Ripley

Patricia Highsmith

Crime Fiction · Suspense Thriller · Mystery · Thriller

November 30, 1955

Miss Marple #4

A Murder is Announced

Agatha Christie

Crime Fiction · TV Series · Mystery · Thriller

June 20, 1950

Hercule Poirot #36

Cat Among the Pigeons

Agatha Christie

Crime Fiction · Mystery · Thriller

November 2, 1959

Hercule Poirot #34

Hickory Dickory Dock

Agatha Christie

Crime Fiction · Mystery · Thriller

January 1, 1955

Hercule Poirot #33

After the Funeral

Agatha Christie

Crime Fiction · Mystery · Thriller

March 1, 1953

Night Without End

Alistair MacLean

Suspense Thriller · Thriller

1959

The Last Frontier

Alistair MacLean

Spy Thriller · Movie · Thriller

1959

Miss Marple #7

4:50 from Paddington

Agatha Christie

Crime Fiction · TV Series · Mystery · Thriller

November 4, 1957

Miss Marple #6

A Pocketful of Rye

Agatha Christie

Crime Fiction · TV Series · Mystery · Thriller

November 9, 1953

Miss Marple #5

They Do It With Mirrors

Agatha Christie

Crime Fiction · TV Series · Mystery · Thriller

1952

Hercule Poirot #31

The Under Dog and Other Stories

Agatha Christie

Crime Fiction · Collection · Short Stories · Mystery · Thriller

July 1, 1951

The Third Man

Graham Greene

Crime Fiction · Spy Thriller · Movie · Mystery · Thriller

January 1, 1950

Hercule Poirot #30

Three Blind Mice and Other Stories

Agatha Christie

Crime Fiction · Collection · Short Stories · Mystery · Thriller

January 1, 1950

James Bond #3

Moonraker

Ian Fleming

Science Fiction · Crime Fiction · Spy Thriller · Adventure · Thriller

1955

Psycho #1

Psycho

Robert Bloch

Horror · Psychological Horror · Psychological Thriller · Thriller

1959

Hercule Poirot #35

Dead Man's Folly

Agatha Christie

Crime Fiction · Mystery · Thriller

October 1, 1956

Hercule Poirot #32

Mrs. McGinty’s Dead

Agatha Christie

Crime Fiction · Mystery · Thriller

February 1, 1952

South by Java Head

Alistair MacLean

War & Military · Historical Fiction · Thriller

1958

Philip Marlowe #6

The Long Goodbye

Raymond Chandler

Crime Fiction · Mystery · Thriller

January 1, 1953

87th Precinct #9

'Til Death

Ed McBain

Crime Fiction · Mystery · Thriller

January 1, 1959

87th Precinct #10

King’s Ransom

Ed McBain

Crime Fiction · Mystery · Thriller

January 1, 1959

87th Precinct #7

Killer’s Wedge

Ed McBain

Crime Fiction · Mystery · Thriller

January 1, 1959

James Bond #7

Goldfinger

Ian Fleming

Crime Fiction · Spy Thriller · Adventure · Mystery · Thriller

March 23, 1959

Sad Wind from the Sea

Jack Higgins, Harry Patterson

Adventure · Thriller

January 1, 1959

The Beach Girls

John D. MacDonald

Mystery · Thriller

January 1, 1959

Passage of Arms

Eric Ambler

Crime Fiction · Spy Thriller · Suspense Thriller · Mystery · Thriller

1959

Fu Manchu #12

Emperor Fu Manchu

Sax Rohmer

Fantasy · Thriller

1959

Ride the Nightmare

Richard Matheson

Thriller

1959

Trygve Yamamura #1

Perish by the Sword

Poul Anderson

Thriller

1959

Scent of White Poppies

John Christopher

Thriller

1959

North from Rome

Helen MacInnes

Spy Thriller · Adventure · Mystery · Romance · Thriller

January 1, 1958