A British thriller classic. An Englishman plots to assassinate the dictator of a European country and the reader follows his status from hunter to hunted as he is pursued deep underground and must use every trick in his repertoire to survive. Killer: Cold and psychological.

Burgess’s Alex is one of the most repellent and paradoxically engaging thugs in literary history. It’s difficult not to sympathize with him by the end of the story and the book examines some interesting moral questions. Killer: Gung ho and chilling.

The novel on which the move ‘Angel Heart’ was based this is a gripping, satanic noir thriller about a ruthless PI’s hunt for a missing person with the ultimate killer twist. Killer: Unexpected.

Bizarre character study of Frank – murderer of three people and inhabitant of a grotesque world that precipitates revelations far more shocking than the crimes he believes himself guilty of. Killer: Innocent?

The ultimate modern psychopath. Patrick Bateman inhabits a superficial world of long lunches, tan envy and casual mutilation. A strong stomach is needed for the explicit homicide but the underlying humor mitigates much of the content. Killer: Random, bored – fantasist?