Good thrillers in first person POV?

Because Google is my friend, I can suggest these books, without ever having read them myself ...

Examples of mysteries and thrillers written in first person:
The Woods by Harlan Coben (thriller)
Shattered by Dick Francis (investigative)
The Meaning of Night by Michael Cox (psychological mystery, confessional)

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From The Soul Pitt

British thriller writer Geoffrey Household, who, alas, is not a household name these days, wrote several excellent novels using first-person POV. Notably Rogue Male and Watcher in the Shadows. They are 50+ years old, but still eminently readable and creepy. Recommend him highly.

caw

Lee Child has a few in first person for his Jack Reacher books.

I think Robert Crais has done the same with his series.

JJ

I would highly recommend John D. McDonald's Travis McGee books. They are not political thrillers, more adventure/mysteries, but they manage to pull off incredibly complex plots in first person with deceptive ease. I learned more about first person writing from those books than anywhere else. Plus, they’re great fun.

For a little more modern adventure/mystery, Robert Parker's Spenser series is similar to the Travis Mcgee books.

Richard

The Lincoln Lawyer by Michael Connelly is a legal thriller that worked quite well in first-person.

WannabeWriter said:

The Lincoln Lawyer by Michael Connelly is a legal thriller that worked quite well in first-person.

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Agreed.

Also try Lisa Unger. I know her last one (Black Out) is in first person.

JJ

JJ Cooper said:

Agreed.

Also try Lisa Unger. I know her last one (Black Out) is in first person.

JJ

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So was her debut, Beautiful Lies. A good read. And probably the follow up, Sliver of Truth, as it features the same character?

I'm a big fan of first person POV, but not a fan of political thrillers, so I can't recommend any in that genre. But for other good first person POV, check out Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier, The Lake of Dead Languages by Carol Goodman (actually, I think all her books are written in 1st person POV), and The Secret History by Donna Tarrt. They're all suspense novels, not thrillers, but offers good examples of how effective first person narrative can be in creating immediacy and tension.

Although, as evidenced by the numerous examples above, first person can be done in a thriller, I think it makes your job harder. The core of a thriller is tension of the impending doom (and all the little impending dooms) the MC has to overcome. With a first person, the reader encounters those doom for the first time with the MC.

Writing in the third person, you can show the reader the doom long before the MC knows about it, let the reader fret and worry and see that doom coming down the pike. Because of this, it seems easier to build the tight suspense a thriller needs with third person. It's also a reason why some of the novels listed above, employed third person in addition to the main first person perspective. The authors wanted to create tension by giving the reader information the MC did not have.

Like many things, the technique of mixing perspectives seems to smooth and easy in the hands of very talented writers. I think it's tougher than it looks to pull off.

Try Joseph Finder. If I remember correctly, Paranoia, Killer Instinct, and Power Play are all in 1st person and all very good.

Take a look at PREY by Crichton. It's a quick read and he used the 1st P-POV very effectively.

-MM

Robert Crais, Rick Riordan, Michael Connelly and his Harry Bosch series and Lee Child, all wonderful examples of how to make it work in first person. They don't always stay in first, but switch POV to make the story work, but switch back to first POV when they go back to their MC.

:::shameless self-aggrandizement ON:::

Well...mine.


While not political thrillers, they are suspense (and have garnered some nice reviews, shockingly, from people I don't know). Check my sig for fuller details.
And I should be horribly sorry for this thread hijack. But I'm not.

:::shameless self-aggrandizement OFF:::

sheadakota said:

all wonderful examples of how to make it work in first person. They don't always stay in first, but switch POV to make the story work, but switch back to first POV when they go back to their MC.

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personally I would not consider this a good example of writing in first person POV. It seems to be a common trait in contemporay suspense novels. I don't mind this technique at all, but wouldn't recommend any title or author as "a good" example of "solid" first person POV, since the author did not "make the story work" in first POV without relying on the third POV crutch.

Just my little old opinion.

I think the problem with writing a thriller in first person is you won't have any scenes told from the antagonist's POV, so his/her motivation is not as well developed and might tend to weaken the overall sense of danger and doom.

Connelly writes in third person in his Bosch series. They are great books.

I personally can't stand first person. When I shop for books the first thing I do after reading the back blurb is to open it and see what the POV is. If it's first person, I put it down. I was fooled a couple of times when the story would start with third person, but then switch to first person later. So, now, I not only look at the beginning, but I flip through it and check out a couple of other places. If I see any first person, I put it back on the shelf.

What really annoys me to no end is first person, present tense. Patricia Cornwell is a good example of that. It just drives me nuts! I had her book Predator while I was recovering from surgery. With nothing else to do and not even any decent TV to watch, I could barely get through it. I eventually finished it, but was more entertained by the nurses coming in to change my IV bag!

Forgot to add, I read a lot of thrillers and especially plot-driven stories, and third person is the way to go.

Greg Iles writes in the 1st person. He does it well. The recorded productions of his novels narrated by Dick Hill are excellent.

the1dsquared said:

Greg Iles writes in the 1st person. He does it well. The recorded productions of his novels narrated by Dick Hill are excellent.

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I haven't read Jonathan Kellerman in so long I forgot about him. His Alex Delaware books were succesfully written thrillers in first person for a number of years (I'd say at least ten in a row) he has only turned to first / third in the past few books.

cletus said:

Try Joseph Finder. If I remember correctly, Paranoia, Killer Instinct, and Power Play are all in 1st person and all very good.

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Same ones as I was about to mention - all GREAT books!

cheers
Sam

The others have already listed my faves. I don't mind first person so much any more, esp. if there are other third person POVs in the work as well.

Love thrillers of all kinds.

Jay

James Patterson writes in first person for his main character and at the chapter break switches to third person for others. It works for him.