Thriller and mystery books are some of the most popular works in literature, with a long and rich history that's endured to this day. With the arrival of 2025, there are so many new and visionary additions to the genre that readers can look forward to in the coming months and later in the year. While many of these novels are sequels or part of long-running series, like Agatha Christie's continual return to Hercule Poirot's adventures, others are from debut authors or standalone works. Regardless, there are plenty of books to choose from that will surprise and delight all readers.
The best thriller books of 2024 kept readers well satisfied last year, but 2025 holds even more chills and mysteries in the literature. Contemporary topics are touched upon, like the increasing interest in true crime or the way emerging technologies impact everyday life and the way crimes are investigated. Additionally, many authors are pushing the boundaries of the genre by tackling the well-known narratives of classic novels and giving them a modern twist. These different interpretations of the thriller and mystery niches are what keep readers returning to their pages year after year.
15 Holmes Is Missing By James Patterson & Brian Sitts
Expected Release: January 6th, 2025
James Patterson is one of the most prolific authors within the mystery genre, and if readers haven't picked up one of his books yet, it's highly likely they've already heard of him. His collaboration with Brian Sitts, Holmes is Missing, is the highly anticipated sequel to the Holmes, Margaret & Poe series that captured readers' minds with the first book. This time around, the brilliant investigator Brendan Holmes is missing, and it's up to Margaret and Auguste to find him.
Diving into the Holmes, Margaret & Poe series is ideal for any mystery fan but will be extra special for those who consider themselves thriller buffs.
After so many years in the industry, Patterson is well-versed in all the patterns, tricks, and familiar faces within the mystery genre. Diving into the Holmes, Margaret & Poe series is ideal for any mystery fan but will be extra special for those who consider themselves thriller buffs. Though invoking the names of famous sleuths isn't enough to create a strong story on its own, Patterson and Sitts will have crafted an even more compelling book than the first, expanding upon the trio's chemistry.
14 Vantage Point By Sara Sligar
Expected Release: January 14th, 2025
Vantage Point has already been compared to the hit TV series Succession in its press materials, and if the sharp characters, drama, and witty humor of the show are involved, this is enough reason to read Sara Sligar's Vantage Point. Set in Maine against the backdrop of an old-money American family, Vantage Point sees the two remaining of the family, Clara and Teddy, fight for their lives and reputations against a rumored family curse and a mysterious force that's always one step ahead of them.
Sligar's 2020 debut novel, Take Me Apart, also made waves in thriller circles, and it's exciting to see that Sligar is back for more incredible secrets and intrigue. Focusing on the role that social media plays in modern battles for power and influence, Vantage Point will make the reader and characters question their own reality. When anything can be created online, the characters are left wondering if they can trust their own memories.
13 Beautiful Ugly By Alice Feeney
Expected Release: January 14th, 2025
Alice Feeney has been crafting mystery stories for many years, and her newest book, Beautiful Ugly, is another emotionally powerful addition to her oeuvre. Marriage, betrayal, and secrets are at the forefront of the novel, which chronicles the life of Grady Green, an author who comes undone after his wife mysteriously disappears. However, this is just the beginning of his journey, as he comes face to face with a woman who might be his wife a year after she goes missing.
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Beautiful Ugly isn't just about Grady going on a relentless search to find his wife or the difficulties of solving a cold case. Grady and his wife, Abby, are in for a long and unexpected sequence of events. As always, Feeney will keep audiences guessing until the final moments of the story and maintain the tension with unique settings and tense atmospheres. Though Grady isn't the perfect husband, he's still a character worth exploring.
12 You Are Fatally Invited By Ande Pliego
Expected Release: February 11th, 2025
You Are Fatally Invited is a metatextual thrill ride that takes on not just the mystery genre but the authors behind these gripping stories. The author, Ande Pliego, uses tongue-in-cheek references to the well-known tropes that are seen throughout thrillers and turns them against the very people who use them to flesh out their stories. Mila, the protagonist, plans on executing her ingenious plan of the perfect murder in a setting similar to those in a classic Christie novel. However, someone else steals her thunder and turns the tables.
Agatha Christie's best books have been inspiring writers for generations, and it's always enjoyable when authors pay tribute to the path that Christie paved for mystery narratives. Pliego uses a structure that appears like And Then There Were None, but in this version, both the killer and the potential victims are all seasoned writers who understand how a murder is plotted. For fans of mysteries, there's nothing better than a book that has just as much love for this type of work.
11 Close Your Eyes And Count To 10 By Lisa Unger
Expected Release: February 18th, 2025
The title of Lisa Unger's new book, Close Your Eyes and Count To 10, is reminiscent of classic murder mysteries like And Then There Were None. However, Close Your Eyes and Count To 10 touches upon many other references to iconic parts of the thriller and mystery genres, old and new. The book revolves around the childhood game of hide-and-seek, following Adele, who enters a competition posed by an elusive adventurer on a remote island, much like the Netflix phenomenon, Squid Game.
It's likely that Unger will continue her streak of tense and timely work with Close Your Eyes and Count To 10.
Blending elements of horror and survival, Close Your Eyes and Count To 10 quickly pushes Adele to her limits, but there's more to her than meets the eye. Unger is well known for her contributions to the thriller genre, with recent books like The New Couple in 5B and Secluded Cabin Sleeps Six garnering acclaim from critics and readers alike. It's likely that Unger will continue her streak of tense and timely work with Close Your Eyes and Count To 10.
10 Fagin The Thief By Allison Epstein
Expected Release: February 25th, 2025
Fans of Charles Dickens will instantly recognize the name Fagin as one of the characters in the 19th-century novel Oliver Twist. However, this mysterious and complex figure is given new depth in Allison Epstein's Fagin the Thief. Retellings of classic books have been increasing in popularity in recent years, and Epstein's new work will be a worthy addition to this niche of literature. Since Fagin has been overlooked and pigeonholed for so long, it was high time that he got to tell his side of the story.
Many of Charles Dickens' best books have become movies thanks to their well-crafted stories. Epstein pays tribute to the grand storytelling and high drama of Dickens' works that makes them so adaptable to the screen. Instead of a one-dimensional villain, Fagin is a troubled young man looking for his place in the world like everyone else. However, Fagin isn't the only character that readers will recognize, as Bill Sikes, Nancy, and Dodger all make appearances as well.
9 Battle Mountain By C.J. Box
Expected Release: February 25th, 2025
Battle Mountain is the latest installment of the Joe Pickett novel series by C.J. Box and picks up with Joe back at work, solving the crimes that other investigators can't handle. Box created a wonderful protagonist with Joe, and it's easy to see why his stories connect with so many readers. Nate Romanowski is also back in Battle Mountain, and his influence on Joe and the work Joe is doing to find the governor's missing son-in-law will intertwine throughout the story.
Battle Mountain promises to be just as enthralling as every other adventure that Joe Pickett has gone on.
Falconry will be a large part of Battle Mountain, as Nate's work with his falcons will bring him closer to Joe as he searches for the missing young man. A new character, Susan Kany, s Joe on his mission, and it will be interesting to see how his dynamic with another game warden impacts his work. Battle Mountain promises to be just as enthralling as every other adventure that Joe Pickett has gone on.
8 All The Other Mothers Hate Me By Sarah Harman
Expected Release: March 11th, 2025
Sarah Harman's debut novel, All The Other Mothers Hate Me, follows Florence Grimes, a woman whose life didn't turn out exactly how she thought it would. However, Florence would do anything for her son, and when he's implicated in the disappearance of another boy his age, Florence realizes she's the only one who can prove his innocence. This sets her on a path to discover who's really behind the crime and unpack why the other mothers don't get along with her.
The protagonist of All The Other Mothers Hate Me sounds like a perfectly flawed and relatable main character, similar to the complex women who populate some of the past decade's best novels. Harman has chosen a subject and story that's thrillingly readable but also touches upon the joys and perils of motherhood. These topics have been getting more attention in recent years, and it's always fantastic to see another novel grapple with the humor and headaches of parenthood.
7 Kills Well With Others By Deanna Raybourn
Expected Release: March 11th, 2025
Deanna Raybourn is back and better than ever with Kills Well With Others, the highly anticipated follow-up to Killers of a Certain Age. Billie, Helen, Mary Alice, and Natalie are back as well, putting their considerable skill set to use and tracking down their enemies with the skill and precision that defines Raybourn's work. This time around, they have even bigger obstacles facing them, as a new threat emerges in the form of a gangster who has been using the Museum, their assassin organization, to their own advantage.
After gaining notoriety with her Lady Julia Grey series, Raybourn has been exploring new territory with Killers of a Certain Age.
After gaining notoriety with her Lady Julia Grey series, Raybourn has been exploring new territory with Killers of a Certain Age. It's interesting when a murder mystery or thriller novel is told from the perspectives of the assassins, but despite their violent ways, it's easy to spend time with the women in Raybourn's books. It's refreshing and compelling to see older women not only take center stage but be the heroes of their stories.
6 Lethal Prey By John Sandford
Expected Release: March 25th, 2025
John Sandford returns with Lethal Prey, the latest in his long line of Lucas Davenport novels, with Lucas seeking help from Virgil Flowers for this cold case. In Lethal Prey, Lara is moved to finally solve her sister's murder twenty years after it went cold, taking it upon herself to release the information about the investigation to the public. It's a risky move, but lucky for her, Lucas and Virgil get sucked into their latest case with all the vigor of their previous collaborations.
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It's always interesting when mystery writers tackle the growing interest in true crime that's gripped audiences and readers across the world. Since so many people can become amateur sleuths with the help of their computers, it can be difficult to determine what leads will solve the case and what clues are red herrings. Fortunately, in Lethal Prey, Lara will have the help of Lucas and Virgil, even if having the assistance of the true-crime bloggers will both help and hinder the investigation.