Novelist Patricia Highsmith, the queen of psychological suspense and intrigue, would be 102 years old today. Her slow-burning style of literary noir has hooked millions of readers and inspired numerous film adaptations, including Alfred Hitchcock's Strangers on a Train, Anthony Mingella's The Talented Mr. Ripley, and Todd Haynes' Carol, the latter based on her 1952 novel The Price of Salt.

We caught up with author and noted Highsmith fan Alex Segura to name and rank her six best books. Segura's latest novel, Secret Identity, comes out in paperback on February 7. Here's what he had to say:

Segura: There are few authors I love more than Patricia Highsmith, and few novelists who loomed larger over my last novel, Secret Identity, than her and her work. She revels in the gray areas of story — presenting readers with morally-ambiguous characters driven by base emotions, and dousing even the most mundane settings with crackling sparks of noir pathos. Here are some of my absolute favorites, in a particular order.

6. Deep Water

The stylish, smooth-talking cousin of The Blunderer, and like that book, one of (I think!) Highsmith’s more underrated works, Deep Water similarly paints a picture of a seemingly perfect marriage bubbling with danger underneath. Only Patricia Highsmith could make you basically fall in love with a psychopath, lulling you into a state of pure serenity — only to jolt you awake. I read this book at least once every few years.

5. The Blunderer

Crafting a tale that would be considered “domestic suspense” if it were released today, Highsmith brings us into the home of Walter Stackhouse and his wife Clara. On the surface, they seem like an idyllic couple — but readers quickly learn that Walter has been entertaining some cruel and disturbing visions about his partner. Fantasy explodes into reality and Walter, the chief suspect in Clara’s murder, soon makes a number of foolish mistakes — hence the title — that cost him dearly. A perfect example of how Highsmith manages to up the suspense with little actual blood on the page, but plenty of results.

4. This Sweet Sickness

Like modern master, Megan Abbott, Highsmith is able to weave the elements of noir and psychological suspense in unlikely settings, like the world that surrounds this novel’s protagonist, David Kelsey. Kelsey crafts an imaginary world built around his dangerous obsession — a married woman he can never have. As his mental state unspools, the readers are given a front-row seat to one of Highsmith’s most haunting and terrifying novels.

3. The Talented Mr. Ripley

Although I’m not as besotted with the Ripley books as most Highsmith fans are, I’d be foolish not to give this book its due. Who doesn’t love suave, cunning, and flawed villains? The first in a series featuring Tom Ripley, I’d also argue it’s the best of the set.

2. Strangers on a Train

You’ve heard the plot by now, even if you haven’t read Highsmith’s debut — two, ahem, strangers meet on a train and decide to swap dirty deeds: each one will murder the other’s target. But the surface description doesn’t do justice to Highsmith’s poised, menacing, and unforgettable novel. You’ll devour it in one sitting.

1. The Price of Salt

Also known as Carol, and the basis for the magnificent Rooney Mara/Cate Blanchett film, The Price of Salt — originally written under Highsmith’s Clair Morgan pseudonym — doesn’t necessarily fit into the thriller or suspense category, but I dare you to find a book that evokes tension or is as engrossing as Highsmith’s second novel — which tells the tale of shopgirl Therese, who falls in love with an older woman and finds herself pulled into an exhilarating and dangerous chain of events.

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Secret Identity by Alex Segura

All Carmen Valdez wants is to fulfill her dream as a comic book writer. She gets tantalizingly close when she lands at a waning downtown publisher and helps pen a hit superhero series, "The Lethal Lynx." But there's a problem: The only person who knows she wrote it ends up dead. Does the same fate await Carmen? Will she ever get credit for her work? Called a "witty and wholly original" book that "succeeds on so many levels" by the New York Times, Secret Identity from Anthony Award-winning writer Alex Segura is a page-burning thrill ride through the comics world of '70s NYC.