Best books of 2025: New thrillers and crime novels to read next year

Looking for a new crime novel to sink your teeth into next year? You’re in luck. There are so many stand-out thrillers being published in 2025 and we’ve rounded up the best.  

Whether you want to read the latest Jack Reacher book from Lee Child, a new psychological suspense from Lisa Jewell, or a cosy murder mystery from a debut author, there is something for every crime fiction lover on our list below. 

21 of the best crime books of 2025

Don’t Let Him In by Lisa Jewell

Lisa Jewell’s dark, twisty psychological thriller None of This is True was voted the Crime Novel of the Year in 2024. Her latest is just as gripping. Don’t Let Him In sees the lives of a widow, her daughter, and a frazzled mother-of-two collide as they are forced to question the men in their lives. This is a disturbing tale of deception that will have you questioning every character.

Exit Strategy by Lee Child and Andrew Child

Exit Strategy sees the return of everyone’s favourite action hero, Jack Reacher. The former army general is in a café when a stranger slips him a note almost without detection, asking for help. Intrigued by the man’s method and message, Reacher makes it his mission to find out more… Exit Strategy is the 30th instalment of a series that continues to go from strength to strength.

Death in the Arctic by Tom Hindle

There’s a good reason that Tom Hindle has been named the “heir to Agatha Christie”: his locked-room novels have a Golden Age feel to them, and always have us second-guessing every character. In his latest, an aspiring travel journalist is on an Arctic cruise when a fellow passenger is found dead. Everyone is a suspect, and soon the guests are turning on each other.

The Summer Guests by Tess Gerritsen

To the outside world, the Martini Club is a book club of retirees; in reality, it is a group of former spies. When a teenager goes missing in their small town, and a friend of the Club is the prime suspect, the retired spies conduct their own investigation. The Summer Guests is the follow-up to last year’s hugely popular espionage novel, The Spy Coast.

Marble Hall Murders by Anthony Horowitz

Miriam Crace was a bestselling author until her untimely death 20 years ago. Her grandson Eliot believes she was poisoned and has hidden the identity of the alleged killer in his new novel. It’s down to literary editor Susan Ryeland to solve the case and work out its connection to a fictional mystery. But someone in the Crace family doesn’t want Eliot’s book to be published – and they’ll go to extreme lengths to protect their privacy.

The Cleaner by Mary Watson

Nobody pays Esmie much attention in the gated neighbourhood of the Woodlands. She is a cleaner to the wealthy families who live there, but she has an ulterior motive: gathering intel on the people who destroyed her brother’s life, so she can take revenge. This is an immersive, atmospheric novel that’s perfect for fans of Lisa Jewell and Gillian McAllister.

Nobody’s Fool by Harlan Coben

When Detective Sami Kierce was a teenager, he woke up covered in blood, holding a knife, next to the dead body of his girlfriend Anna. Twenty-two years later, he sees Anna in a crowd, and she runs away. Now, Sami must track her down and finally solve the mystery that has haunted his adult life. Harlan Coben’s latest heart-pounding thriller is a sequel to Fool Me Once (aka our 2024 TV obsession).

The New Neighbours by Claire Douglas

The Morgans seem to be a nice, retired couple. But their neighbour, Lena, is convinced she overheard them plotting a crime. Her friends and family think she must have misheard, but what if she’s right and they’re about to do something terrible? This is the latest claustrophobic thriller from Claire Douglas, the author of the 2024 runaway bestseller, The Wrong Sister.

She Didn’t See It Coming by Shari Lapena

Sam is at work when he receives the call: his wife, Bryden, didn’t collect their daughter from nursery. When he arrives at their home, where his wife was working, he finds her car in the garage, her laptop on the table, and her phone and keys nearby. How can someone just vanish from inside their own home? This addictive novel is the latest from the author of Everyone Here is Lying.

You Are Fatally Invited by Ande Pliego

In this fresh, original thriller, six bestselling crime authors go on a writing retreat. But their plans for mystery-themed games are brought to a halt when a guest is murdered. Each writer has made a career from plotting murder mysteries; now, they’ll have to survive one. This debut novel is like Knives Out meets Cluedo and we can understand why Tess Gerritsen describes it as “Agatha Christie on steroids”.

Death at the White Hart by Chris Chibnall

You know a crime novel is going to be good when it’s penned by the writer of Broadchurch. Chris Chibnall’s debut novel does not disappoint, and already counts Lee Child, Shari Lapena and Gillian McAllister among its fans. In Death at the White Hart, a local pub landlord is found dead on a deserted country road. Everyone in the village has something to hide, but only one of them is a killer.

It Should Have Been You by Andrea Mara

A woman accidentally posts her neighbours’ secrets on the local WhatsApp group – and all hell breaks loose. She hopes the hysteria will die down, but then she receives a death threat. The next day, a woman is found murdered: a woman who shares her address, 26 Oakpark, but in another part of town. Did the killer get the wrong house? You’ll be racing to finish this domestic thriller that’s perfect for fans of Big Little Lies.

Murder for Busy People by Tony Parsons

Newly released from prison, where she served 16 years for armed robbery, Emma Moon has one thing on her mind: revenge. Her share of the money is gone, along with her unfaithful husband, and she’s willing to call in a few favours to get her own back. As the bodies pile up, Detective Max Wolfe is on the case, tracking down the very same woman he arrested all those years ago.

Famous Last Words by Gillian McAllister

Camilla is at work when she learns there’s a hostage situation in London, and her husband is involved. But he’s not one of the hostages: he’s the man wielding the gun. How could her sweet-natured husband do such a thing? The answer could lie in the note he left behind that morning, a note nobody else knows about. This domestic thriller will blindside you with its plot twists, keeping you hooked until the end.

The Inheritance by Trisha Sakhlecha

Business tycoon Raj Agarwal gathers his children on a private island off the coast of Scotland to announce how he will split the family empire. Tensions run high, and then there is a murder. Everyone is hiding something, but only one of them would kill to protect themselves. You don’t initially know who has been murdered, or why, in this whodunnit that feels like a cross between Succession and The White Lotus.

Nemesis by Gregg Hurwitz

The latest instalment in the hugely popular Orphan X series sees the return of former government assassin Evan Smoak. Evan might have left the world of secret ops behind, but trouble continues to find him. This time, it’s in the shape of his oldest friend, Tommy, who has crossed a line. The pair clash, and the conflict gets bloody as Evan seeks revenge.

Someone is Lying by Heidi Perks

How can you find your daughter if nobody believes she is missing? That’s the question at the heart of Heidi Perks’ latest thriller. Jess is reluctant to let her teenage daughter Issie go travelling with her cagey new boyfriend, Dylan. Then, during her travels, Issie stops replying to her mother’s messages. Jess knows her daughter is in trouble but, with the police refusing to help, she’ll have to investigate on her own.

The Impossible Thing by Belinda Bauer

Nobody writes crime like Belinda Bauer. Now, the Booker-longlisted author of Rubbernecker and Blacklands is back with a new mystery. A man and his mother have been robbed, but only one object was stolen from their home: a case containing an immaculate scarlet egg. The man and his friend attempt to retrieve it, entering the murky world of egg trafficking, in this novel that is part-crime caper, part-historical mystery.

Runner 13 by Amy McCulloch

Amy McCulloch has made a name for herself as the “queen of the adventure thriller” (to quote Claire Douglas), and we can see why. Her latest novel transports us to the high-adrenaline world of ultra-running, where a group of athletes travel 250 miles across the Sahara, with only the supplies on their backs. The conditions are already brutal – and then there’s a murder.

The Stranger in Room Six by Jane Corry

Belinda is the newest resident of a care home, looking for a fresh start 15 years after she was wrongly convicted of her husband’s murder. Mabel owns the home and has spent her life gathering the secrets of her fellow residents. Unknown to both women, someone is watching them. The Stranger in Room Six is a deliciously dark story; it is Jane Corry at her best.

Not Quite Dead Yet by Holly Jackson

We anticipate this will be one of the most talked-about crime novels of 2025. Not Quite Dead Yet is the debut adult novel from Holly Jackson, the author of the bestselling young adult thriller, A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder. Heiress Jet Mason has been attacked by an unknown assailant and has just seven days to live; she plans to use that time solving her own murder, in the ultimate race against time.

Don’t miss these new titles from some of our favourite authors…

We’ll keep you posted with more details on the below titles when we know more, but they’re already available to pre-order.