Tops in Suspense: "Marathon Man," "Six Days of the Condor"... and Your Choice?

[Paul Levine]

DEERFIELD BEACH, FL-- At SLEUTHFEST today, famed medical thriller writer Michael Palmer named two "perfect" suspense novels: "Marathon Man" by William Goldman and "Six Days of the Condor" by James Grady. 

(The former was adapted into the Dustin Hoffman/Laurence Olivier thriller; the latter into the movie starring Robert Redford and Faye Dunaway...with three fewer days in the title).

Hard to disagree with my panel-mate Dr. Palmer.  But it got me to thinking?  What's my favorite novel of suspense?  What's yours?   Think of stay-up-lage page-turners with the hero in nail-biting jeopardy).

Paul Levine

[pidgeon92]

I have to agree, these two books (and movies) are exceptional.

[R. Doug]

Loved Six Days of the Condor.  Much better than the movie version, in my opinion.  A few of my all-time favorite suspense novels:

The Eiger Sanction, Trevanian
The Lion's Game, Nelson DeMille
Spencerville, Nelson DeMille
The Charm School, Nelson DeMille
From Russia with Love, Ian Fleming
Goldfinger, Ian Fleming
Thunderball, Ian Fleming
On Her Majesty's Secret Service, Ian Fleming
Thirty-Four East, Alfred Coppel

[williammeikle]

THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE
THE IPCRESS FILES
THE EAGLE HAS LANDED
WHERE EAGLES DARE

Actually, mostly anything of Alistair MacLean's will do. :-)

[Ruth Harris]

Day of the Jackal by Frederick Forsyth was a great book that was also made into a terrific movie--it's about a military plot to assassinate Charles deGaulle after the Algerian war...follows the assassin and the cops who are trying to catch him in a pulse-pounding tick-tock

Black Sunday by Thomas Harris--this is the book he wrote before Silence of the Lambs & was a terrific movie with Bruce Dern as a creepy terrorist-pilot who's about to blow up the Super Bowl

Both of these were keep-you-up-all-night top notch suspense thrillers by masters of the genre.

[williammeikle]

THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE
THE IPCRESS FILES
THE EAGLE HAS LANDED
WHERE EAGLES DARE

Actually, mostly anything of Alistair MacLean's will do. :-)

And 2 even older favorites

THE THIRTY NINE STEPS
ROGUE MALE

[jmiked]

Brotherhood of the Rose - David Morrell
Creepers - David Morrell
Caravan to Vaccares - Alistair MacLean
Where Eagles Dare - Alistair MacLean
The Eiger Sanction - Trevanian
Rules of the Hunt - Victory O'Reilly
Tree Frog - Martin Woodhouse

A few weeks ago, I finally located and purchased a copy of Six Days of the Condor (along with its sequel). I'm looking forward to reading them both, I liked the movie a lot.

Edit: I'll second The Thirty-Nine Steps.

Mike

[R. Doug]

OOOOooo.  The Ipcress File, Black Sunday, The Day of the Jackal, and Alistair MacLean's books.  How could I forget to mention those?

[Harry Shannon]

Marathon Man
Silence of the Lambs
Six Days of the Condor

And in no particular order...
Day of the Jackal
The Manchurian Candidate
From Russia With Love
First Blood

[jtlindroos]

ROGUE MALE, no doubt. Alistair MacLean was great growing up, have no idea if he would still hold up, but NIGHT WITHOUT END, GOLDEN RENDEZVOUS and THE SATAN BUG were childhood faves. I also loved Warren Murphy's DESTROYER books with Remo Williams....