https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2026/books/best-thriller-books-21st-century.html It's standard practice to complain when a newspaper publishes a "Year's Best" list. Best movies. Best fashion statements. Best actors. A complaint then triggers a counter-complaint: "If you wanted to include THAT addition, which name would you REMOVE from the current list?" I'm not writing in a serious spirit. I'm not going to argue for *subtractions* from the NYT thriller list. I'm just going to say that certain omissions surprised me. First, Anthony Horowitz is among the most important popular writers in England right now. He has created a series for Lesley Manville, updated the James Bond series in plausible ways, insightfully championed the works of other writers (Ira Levin, Sarah Waters). Horowitz is on the current list for "Magpie Murders," a great novel. But his career-defining series--Horowitz and Hawthorne--is off the list. At least one of the...