New Mysteries and Thrillers to Read in 2025
Find new 2025 mysteries and thrillers with fun capers, dark slow-burns, or edge-of-your-seat thrills.
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If 2025 hasn’t already thrown you for a loop (whew!), or you just need some fictional twists and turns in your life, these 2025 mysteries and thrillers might be right up your alley.
Whether you like funny capers, dark slow-burns, edge-of-your-seat thrillers, or genre-bending literary mysteries, there’s something here for you.
Beautiful Ugly
Author: Alice Feeney
Publish Date: January 14, 2025
Source: Flatiron Books
Genres: Mysteries & Thrillers
When author Grady Green is on the phone with his wife, ready to share some great news, he suddenly hears her slam on the brakes and get out of the car. That’s the last thing he hears. When he finds the car at the edge of a cliff, phone still inside, his wife is nowhere to be seen. One year later, he travels to a remote Scottish island to deal with his grief–but he sees a woman who looks exactly like his wife. Reviews call this a slow-burn, twisty mystery that delves into the complexities of marriage.
Famous Last Words
Author: Gillian McAllister
Publish Date: February 25, 2025
Source: William Morrow
Genres: Mysteries & Thrillers
On the day Camilla is set to return to work after her maternity leave, she awakes to find her husband, Luke, gone. He’s left her a note. But then she hears of a hostage situation in London, and the police arrive to tell her Luke is involved–as the gunman. And the cryptic note he left may be the key to what’s actually happening.
The Strange Case of Jane O.
Author: Karen Thompson Walker
Publish Date: February 25, 2025
Source: Random House
Genres: Literary Fiction, Mysteries & Thrillers, Sci-Fi & Fantasy
After having her first child, Jane experiences a number of psychological episodes, culminating in her going missing and then reappearing unconcscious in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park, with no memory of what happened. Told through Jane’s letters and her psychiatrist’s notes, Thompson weaves a literary tale that’s part psychological mystery and part sci-fi. She does this beautifully in her previous books, The Age of Miracles and The Dreamers, and I can’t wait to dive back into one of her dreamy literary worlds.
Finlay Donovan Digs Her Own Grave
Author: Elle Cosimano
Publish Date: March 4, 2025
Source: Minotaur Books
Genres: Mysteries & Thrillers
When a dead body is found in the backyard of Finlay’s nosy neighbor, Mrs. Haggerty, Finlay finds herself the unwitting host of the elderly woman. And getting her back home means that Finlay and Vero need to solve the murder–and clear the name of Finlay’s ex-husband.
I’m a sucker for a Finlay Donovan book, but I have to admit that I got a little lost in the chaotic crime-world storylines of books 2 and 3. This is book 5, and it’s one of my favorites. It still helps to read the rest of the series–there are many callbacks to previous storylines. But this one has less of the criminal underground focus and more of the quirky characters that I loved in the first Finlay Donovan. I hope the series continues in this way.
Kills Well with Others
Author: Deanna Raybourn
Publish Date: March 4, 2025
Source: Berkley
Genres: Mysteries & Thrillers
In this follow-up to the delightful Killers of a Certain Age, senior assassins Billie, Helen, Mary Alice, and Natalie are called back into action. Tasked with rooting out both a mole and an Eastern European crime queen who is hunting down agents (and may have her sights on the four), the women embark on their biggest globe-trotting mission yet. Filled with action, snark, and (according to reviewers–be warned) some gore, this promises to be another wild ride.
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Killer Potential
Author: Hannah Deitch
Narrators: Kristen Sieh & Daru Oda
Publish Date: March 18, 2025
Source: William Morrow via Libro.fm ALC
Genres: Mysteries & Thrillers
After graduating from an elite university, Evie Gordon has started tutoring for wealthy families to make ends meet. When she arrives at the Victor’s one afternoon, she finds the father and mother of her student dead in the backyard–and a woman tied up under the stairs, crying for help. She reacts in fear when she’s spotted, and suddenly the two women are on the run together, the objects of a nationwide manhunt. But Evie didn’t do anything, and the woman with her isn’t saying a word. The two make their way around the country, slowly gaining trust in one another as Evie tries to piece together what happened to the Victors, and how the woman ended up under the stairs. Getting answers is the only way she can clear her name.
This was a wild ride from start to finish, with a number of outrageous scenarios that require some suspension of disbelief. If you can do that, you’re in for an entertaining cross-country trip that will have you wondering who to root for–sometimes moment-to-moment. A fun, fast-paced listen.
Saltwater
Author: Katy Hays
Publish Date: March 25, 2025
Source: Ballantine Books
Genres: Mysteries & Thrillers
Thirty years after Sarah Lingate is found dead below the cliffs of Capri, the Lingate family returns for its annual trip and finds her necklace. Her death was ruled an accident, and the wealthy family was determined to demonstrate that it was. Helen, the daughter Sarah left behind, is determined to escape from the insular family. When her assistant, Lorna disappears, she begins to wonder what her family is hiding. Told in multiple timelines and perspectives, this promises to be a twisty, slow-burn mystery.
The Matchmaker
Author: Aisha Saeed
Publish Date: April 8, 2025
Source: Bantam
Genres: Mysteries & Thrillers
Nura is a matchmaker with an exclusive clientele and an impeccable record. She can be choosy in who she takes on in her business–but she soon realizes that her exclusivity may have put her in the crosshairs of an embittered rejected client. With her best friend (and crush) Azar’s help, Nura is soon in a cat-and-mouse game to save her business–and her life. Part mystery and part romance, this seems like a fun caper for spring reading.
The Missing Half
Author: Ashley Flowers
Publish Date: May 6, 2025
Source: Bantam
Genres: Mysteries & Thrillers
Nic has been struggling ever since her sister, Kasey went missing seven years ago. An empty car and her untouched purse were the only things the police had to go on–except for Jules Connor, another young woman who disappeared in the same way two weeks earlier. Both became cold cases, but when Jules’s sister, Jenna, finds Nic, they both are determined to learn what happened to their sisters.
Don’t Let Him In
Author: Lisa Jewell
Publish Date: June 24, 2025
Source: Atria Books
Genres: Mysteries & Thrillers
When Paddy Swan is pushed in front of a train, his wife, Nina, and 20-something daughter are left devastated. His old friend, Nick, appears in their lives with a lighter that belonged to Paddy. Nick and Nina are drawn closer together. Meanwhile, Martha is starting to wonder why she and her husband, Al, never seem to have any money. Nick and Al may not be who they seem, and the three women are brought together to discover the truth about these men in their lives.
Everyone Is Lying to You
Author: Jo Piazza
Publish Date: July 15, 2025
Source: Dutton
Genres: Mysteries & Thrillers
In the 15 years since they graduated, Lizzie’s college best friend, Bex, has become a trad-wife influencers on social media. When Bex calls Lizzie (a magazine writer) and offers her an interview and an invitation to a high-profile conference, it may be just the career boost she needs. But then Bex goes missing and her husband is found dead. Lizzie must navigate the cut-throat world of influencers in order to find her friend and clear her own name. If you’ve watched the rise of trad-wife influencers with the same mixed feelings of fascination and revulsion as I have, this will be right up your alley.
Hot Wax
Author: M.L. Rio
Publish Date: September 9, 2025
Source: Wildfire
Genres: Mysteries & Thrillers
In 1989, 10-year-old Suzanne joins her father on his concert tour and is the only witness to a devastating act of violence. Twenty-nine years later, her father suddenly dies and Suzanna plunges back into the rock-and-roll world she left behind, trying to find answers. But her husband doesn’t want to let her go, and her chase takes her on a desperate thrill ride.
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