Cyprus-born author Alex Michaelides has earned a spot on one of publishing’s most closely watched new rankings, after his 2019 psychological thriller “The Silent Patient” was named among the 21st century’s 50 best thrillers, placing the Greek-Cypriot author‘s book alongside titles from some of the genre’s biggest names.
The list was compiled by The New York Times Book Review, which asked 291 crime novelists, editors, booksellers, librarians and other readers to submit their top 10 thrillers published since 2000. Contributors to the project included Stephen King, John Grisham, Gillian Flynn and Lee Child, among hundreds of others.
Greek-Cypriot author’s book joins global ranking
“The Silent Patient” ranked No. 36 on the list. The novel follows Theo Faber, a London psychotherapist who becomes drawn to a patient named Alicia Berenson after she stops speaking in the wake of her husband’s shooting death.
Author Blake Crouch, whose own novel “Dark Matter” also made the ranking, selected Michaelides’ book on his ballot.
The Silent Patient, a book by Greek-Cypriot author Alex Michaelides, lands at No. 36 on The New York Times' list of the century's best thrillers. pic.twitter.com/5hJA0vOqEY
— Tom Marvolo Riddle (@tom_riddle2025) August 6, 2026
Michaelides was born in Cyprus to a Greek Cypriot father and an English mother and later studied English literature at Trinity College, Cambridge. Before turning to fiction, he spent years writing screenplays, a career he described as increasingly discouraging, until a stranger’s blunt remark at a party pushed him to try writing a novel instead.
Published by Celadon Books in February 2019, “The Silent Patient” debuted at No. 1 on the Times bestseller list and has since sold more than 6.5 million copies worldwide. It won the Goodreads Choice Award for best mystery and thriller that year.
In July 2026, Sony Pictures acquired the film rights to the story, with Annapurna Pictures and Plan B Entertainment also attached as producers.
The recognition marks a notable moment for a Greek-Cypriot author whose book now stands among titles by King, Flynn and other veteran names on a list meant to define the genre’s modern era.
Michaelides followed his debut with a second novel, “The Maidens,” in 2021, a mystery set at a Cambridge college that reached No. 2 on the Times fiction bestseller list.
Full list of 21st Century’s 50 Best Thriller Books
50. ‘None of This Is True’ by Lisa Jewell (2023)
49. ‘Magpie Murders’ by Anthony Horowitz (2017)
48. ‘All the Colors of the Dark’ by Chris Whitaker (2024)
47. ‘The Push’ by Ashley Audrain (2021)
46. ‘Before I Go to Sleep’ by S.J. Watson (2011)
45. ‘Mexican Gothic’ by Silvia Moreno-Garcia (2020)
44. ‘Jar of Hearts’ by Jennifer Hillier (2018)
43. ‘Lush Life’ by Richard Price (2008)
42. ‘You’ by Caroline Kepnes (2014)
41. ‘Tell No One’ by Harlan Coben (2001)
40. ‘Dark Matter’ by Blake Crouch (2016)
39. ‘Fingersmith’ by Sarah Waters (2002)
38. ‘I Am Pilgrim’ by Terry Hayes (2014)
37. ‘Your House Will Pay’ by Steph Cha (2019)
36. ‘The Silent Patient’ by Alex Michaelides (2019)
35. ‘All the Sinners Bleed’ by S.A. Cosby (2023)
34. ‘The Likeness’ by Tana French (2008)
33. ‘The Witch Elm’ by Tana French (2018)
32. ‘Notes on an Execution’ by Danya Kukafka (2022)
31. ‘Defending Jacob’ by William Landay (2012)
30. ‘The Sympathizer’ by Viet Thanh Nguyen (2015)
29. ‘The Plot’ by Jean Hanff Korelitz (2021)
28. ‘The Perfect Nanny’ by Leila Slimani (2018)
27. ‘Big Little Lies’ by Liane Moriarty (2014)
26. ‘The Da Vinci Code’ by Dan Brown (2003)
25. ‘Winter’s Bone’ by Daniel Woodrell (2006)
24. ‘The Dry’ by Jane Harper (2017)
23. ‘The Goldfinch’ by Donna Tartt (2013)
22. ‘The Constant Gardener’ by John le Carré (2001)
21. ‘Room’ by Emma Donoghue (2010)
20. ‘Broken Harbor’ by Tana French (2012)
19. ‘Sharp Objects’ by Gillian Flynn (2006)
18. ’11/22/63′ by Stephen King (2011)
17. ‘Shutter Island’ by Dennis Lehane (2003)
16. ‘The Lincoln Lawyer’ by Michael Connelly (2005)
15. ‘Dare Me’ by Megan Abbott (2012)
14. ‘We Need to Talk About Kevin’ by Lionel Shriver (2003)
13. ‘Case Histories’ by Kate Atkinson (2004)
12. ‘The Girl on the Train’ by Paula Hawkins (2015)
11. ‘Blacktop Wasteland’ by S.A. Cosby (2020)
10. ‘Bluebird, Bluebird’ by Attica Locke (2017)
9. ‘Slow Horses’ by Mick Herron (2010)
8. ‘Razorblade Tears’ by S.A. Cosby (2021)
7. ‘The God of the Woods’ by Liz Moore (2024)
6. ‘My Sister, the Serial Killer’ by Oyinkan Braithwaite (2018)
5. ‘No Country for Old Men’ by Cormac McCarthy (2005)
4. ‘The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo’ by Stieg Larsson (2008)
3. ‘In the Woods’ by Tana French (2007)
2. ‘Mystic River’ by Dennis Lehane (2001)
1. ‘Gone Girl’ by Gillian Flynn (2012)
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