Just an FYI, you can dabble in the Alex Cross series without feeling forced to read them all. I say that because that is how I approach that series, still having not read them all. The protagonist persists and evolves but the stories are generally begun and ended in the same single book.
Lots of good suggestions in the thread already. I see Peter Watts mentioned so I'd add his Rifter trilogy as a SF/thriller mixture with some elements of horror.
|