A thriller is a genre of fiction where the writing style creates anticipation, dread, suspense, and excitement in the reader. The protagonist is often an underdog and at constant risk, and the antagonist is usually overpowering. Thrillers also make use of many plot twists, red herrings, cliffhangers, and climax to create that edge-of-your-seat feeling. Thrillers are also action-packed and have a sense of urgency to them.
Suspense, which thrillers also have, is more of that uneasy feeling a reader gets when they’re not sure what’s about to happen next, and this happens due to the writer’s very controlled and slower release of information. Importantly, suspense novels are much slower in pace than a thriller. Also, the reader knows more than the protagonist does in a suspense novel, which creates even more suspense!