Top new thriller books in May 2025
Last updated:
May 31, 2025
May 2025 featuring new releases by Michael Connelly, Alex North, Sarah Pinborough, Bob Mortimer, Hannah Beckerman, Kristin Atherton, Lucinda Berry, Robert Dugoni, Cara Hunter, Lisa Gray, Freida McFadden and many more.
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Nightshade by Michael Connelly
#1 New York Times bestselling author Michael Connelly introduces a new cop relentlessly following his mission in the seemingly idyllic setting of Catalina island. #1 New York Times bestselling author Michael Connelly introduces a new cop relentlessly following his mission in the seemingly idyllic setting of Catalina island...mystery · fiction · law-enforcement · suspense · crime · male-author · police-procedural · literary-fiction · murder · thriller -
![The Man Made of Smoke by Alex North]()
The Man Made of Smoke by Alex North
The latest gripping serial killer thriller from the New York Times bestselling author Alex North.Dan Garvie’s life has been haunted by the crime he witnessed as a child—narrowly escaping an encounter with a notorious serial killer. He has dedicated his life since to becoming a criminal profiler, eager to seek justice for innocent victims...mystery · horror · fiction · suspense · crime · psychological · murder · thriller · ghosts · serial-killers -
![We Live Here Now by Sarah Pinborough]()
We Live Here Now by Sarah Pinborough
After an accident that nearly kills her, Emily and her husband, Freddie, move from London to a beautiful Dartmoor country house called Larkin Lodge. The house is gorgeous, striking—and to Emily, something about it feels deeply wrong. Old boards creak at night; fires extinguish; and books fall from the shelves—all of it stemming from the terrible presence she feels in the third-floor room...horror · mystery · gothic · audiobook · fiction · paranormal · suspense · thriller · haunted-places · psychological -
![The Hotel Avocado by Bob Mortimer]()
The Hotel Avocado by Bob Mortimer
Gary Thorn is struggling with a big decision. Should he stay in London, wallowing in the safety of his legal job in Peckham and eating pies with his next door neighbour, Grace and her dog Lassoo, or should he move to Brighton, where his girlfriend Emily is about to open The Hotel Avocado? Either way, he’d be letting someone down...europe · british-isles · united-kingdom · england · fiction · audiobook · mystery · crime · humor · comedy -
![Three Mothers by Hannah Beckerman, Kristin Atherton]()
Three Mothers by Hannah Beckerman, Kristin Atherton
From the bestselling author of The Forgetting : a tense, character-driven suspense with a final twist that will make you gaspA heartbroken motherWhen seventeen-year-old Isla Richardson is killed in a hit-and-run incident, a community’s lives are thrown into disarray. For Isla’s mum, Abby, it is her second devastating bereavement, having lost her husband five years ago...fiction · mystery · suspense · audiobook · contemporary · psychological · crime · thriller · family · womens-fiction -
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![One in Four by Lucinda Berry]()
One in Four by Lucinda Berry
When a reality show about former child stars overcoming addiction culminates in murder, their therapist must take a closer look into their lives—and her own, from USA Today bestselling author Lucinda Berry.Dr. Laurel Harlow can’t believe she’s agreed to do a reality TV show. But her years as a chemical dependency counselor and personal history with the show’s director make her the obvious choice... -
![A Dead Draw by Robert Dugoni]()
A Dead Draw by Robert Dugoni
An Amazon Charts and Wall Street Journal bestselling series.A killer fueled by revenge. A detective haunted by the past. They are headed for a high-stakes showdown in this bone-chilling new Tracy Crosswhite novel by New York Times bestselling author Robert Dugoni.Detective Tracy Crosswhite isn’t one to lose her cool...mystery · fiction · crime · audiobook · suspense · contemporary · law-enforcement · police-procedural · killer · drama -
![Making a Killing by Cara Hunter]()
Making a Killing by Cara Hunter
From the New York Times bestselling author of the TikTok sensation Murder in the Family and the popular DI Adam Fawley series comes a brand-new gripping thriller in which a true-crime TV show turns up the heat on a controversial case from Fawley’s past…When Nick Vincent, producer of true-crime show Infamous, hears about an explosive new angle on a high-profile case—the 2016 murder of an...mystery · crime · audiobook · fiction · suspense · law-enforcement · police-procedural · thriller · female-author · family -
![Dead of Night by Lisa Gray]()
Dead of Night by Lisa Gray
A crime writer. A cold case. Will she survive to tell the story?Since the sudden and tragic death of her partner, bestselling crime author Serena Winters hasn’t written a word. With deadlines looming, she packs up her grief and escapes from New York City to a secluded clifftop house in small-town California, hoping the change of scenery will cure her writer’s block...north-america · usa · oregon · urban · new-york-state · audiobook · mystery · fiction · crime · suspense -
![The Tenant by Freida McFadden]()
The Tenant by Freida McFadden
There’s no place like home…Blake Porter is riding high, until he's not. Fired abruptly from his job as a VP of marketing and unable to make the mortgage payments on the new brownstone that he shares with his fiancee, he's desperate to make ends meet.Enter Whitney. Beautiful, charming, down-to-earth, and looking for a room to rent. She's exactly what Blake's looking for...suspense · fiction · audiobook · murder · thriller · season-spring · crime · psychological · book · adult -
![The Last Ferry Out by Andrea Bartz]()
The Last Ferry Out by Andrea Bartz
On a trip to the tropical paradise where her fiancée died, a young woman begins to suspect the death was no accident—and the killer’s still on the island—in this twisty thriller from the New York Times bestselling author of Reese's Book Club pick We Were Never Here.When Abby decided to come to Isla Colel, she wasn't sure what—if anything—she'd find...fiction · audiobook · suspense · season-summer · lgbtq · thriller · crime · psychological · wlw · female-mc -
![A Hired Kill by Steven Konkoly]()
A Hired Kill by Steven Konkoly
A serial killer draws an FBI agent into an explosive government conspiracy in a white-knuckle thriller by Steven Konkoly, the USA Today bestselling author of A Clean Kill.After FBI special agent Garrett Mann executes a deadly raid on an underground facility in New Mexico, the sole survivor’s testimony reveals a greater threat to come...mystery · suspense · fiction · crime · psychological · audiobook · spooky · espionage · thriller · action-adventure -
![Something I Keep Upstairs by J.D. Barker]()
Something I Keep Upstairs by J.D. Barker
For a haunted house to be born, somebody has to die.In the sleepy coastal town of New Castle, New Hampshire, seventeen-year-old Billy Hasler's life is about to take a terrifying turn. When his best friend David Spivey inherits a mysterious house on a nearby island, it seems like the perfect place to spend their final summer before heading off to college. No parents. No police. No responsibilities...horror · mystery · young-adult · fiction · audiobook · ghosts · suspense · supernatural · haunted-places · paranormal -
![The Birthday Party by Shalini Boland]()
The Birthday Party by Shalini Boland
A party. A nightmare. A child gone without a trace.It started out as a six little girls gliding and giggling at the ice rink to celebrate Natalie’s daughter’s eighth birthday.But by Natalie’s next head count, it’s turned into a crime scene. Six children went onto the ice—and now there are just five. Nobody saw her niece, Elle, being taken... -
![Never Flinch by Stephen King]()
Never Flinch by Stephen King
From master storyteller Stephen King comes an extraordinary new novel with intertwining storylines—one about a killer on a diabolical revenge mission, and another about a vigilante targeting a feminist celebrity speaker—featuring the beloved Holly Gibney and a dynamic new cast of characters...horror · fiction · mystery · crime · suspense · spooky · thriller · psychological · supernatural · vigilante -
![Homewrecker by J.M. Dalgliesh]()
Homewrecker by J.M. Dalgliesh
‘Sophie Beckett?’ I smile sweetly. ‘I’m your daughter’s new tutor. May I come in?’ My heart thunders in my chest. Sophie has no idea who I really am, and I need it to stay that way. Otherwise, I might not leave this house alive…When I first meet Sophie, she seems like any normal loving mother, trying desperately to help her teenage daughter. That’s where I come in... -
![By the Time You Read This by Brianna Labuskes]()
By the Time You Read This by Brianna Labuskes
The sinister puzzle of an FBI linguist’s past is far from finished in a gripping novel of twisted family ties, from USA Today bestselling author Brianna Labuskes.FBI forensic linguist Raisa Susanto thinks she’s through with the past now that her psychopathic serial killer sister, Isabel, is locked away forever. Then Raisa receives a letter from Isabel...mystery · fiction · audiobook · suspense · crime · law-enforcement · serial-killers · female-mc · alpha-mc · thriller -
![The Doorman by Chris Pavone]()
The Doorman by Chris Pavone
In the new novel from the bestselling author of Two Nights in Lisbon, on the worst night in the greatest city on Earth, a doorman at the toniest address in town is drawn into a web of intrigue, robbery, and murder.Chicky Diaz stands on his little patch of the earth, the clean quiet sidewalk in front of the Bohemia Apartments, there sure are a lot of great places to kill someone in this city... -
![The Tradwife’s Secret by Liane Child]()
The Tradwife’s Secret by Liane Child
A marriage is between two people. And their millions of followers. Madison March is the perfect wife, with the perfect family and the perfect life.She spends her days baking sourdough and picking vegetables from the garden while watching her children play in the fields surrounding her Montana homestead...north-america · usa · montana · fiction · suspense · audiobook · psychological · thriller · female-mc · action-adventure -
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![The Casual Date by Alan Petersen]()
The Casual Date by Alan Petersen
He only wanted something casual. What he got was a living nightmare.Freshly divorced, Ethan Hall relocates to a quiet mountain town in Northern California to be near his eleven-year-old son. It’s a far cry from the chaos of Los Angeles—and a lonely place for an outsider.Looking to ease the isolation, Ethan tries online dating for the first time... -
![The Sleepwalker by Ian Blackwood]()
The Sleepwalker by Ian Blackwood
Ellie has a problem. The monster in her dreams has come to life.Dr. Ellie Thompson has always been haunted by her nightmares. But now they're bleeding into reality. She wakes to find there really is glass in her foot, a knife under her pillow...psychological · fiction · thriller · suspense · mental-illness · stalking · medical · female-mc · book · adult -
![Tom Clancy: Line of Demarcation by Tom Clancy, M.P. Woodward]()
Tom Clancy: Line of Demarcation by Tom Clancy, M.P. Woodward
The discovery of an oil field off the coast of Guyana plunges Jack Ryan, Jr into a cauldron of lies in the latest entry in this New York Times bestselling series.It starts with the destruction of a US Coast Guard cutter and the loss of her entire crew...fiction · action-adventure · mystery · suspense · military · espionage · thriller · contemporary · audiobook · conspiracies -
![Whistle by Linwood Barclay]()
Whistle by Linwood Barclay
New York Times bestselling author Linwood Barclay enters new territory with a supernatural chiller in which a woman and her young son move to a small town looking for a fresh start, only to be haunted by disturbing events and strange visions when they find a mysterious train set in a storage shed.Evil has a one track mind...Annie Blunt has had an unimaginably terrible year...horror · mystery · fiction · paranormal · supernatural · audiobook · suspense · thriller · spooky · ghosts -
![Parents Weekend by Alex Finlay]()
Parents Weekend by Alex Finlay
From the bestselling author of If Something Happens to Me, comes one of the year’s most anticipated thrillers.In the glow of their children’s exciting first year of college at a small private school in Northern California, five families plan on a night of dinner and cocktails for the opening festivities of Parents Weekend...north-america · usa · california · suspense · fiction · contemporary · audiobook · thriller · crime · psychological -
![Skin and Bones: And Other Mike Bowditch Short Stories by Paul Doiron]()
Skin and Bones: And Other Mike Bowditch Short Stories by Paul Doiron
For the first time in print, Skin and Bones features a collection of eight gripping original short stories in the bestselling Mike Bowditch series―including one brand new, never-before-published story―from Edgar-award nominated author Paul Doiron.In THE BEAR TRAP, legendary Maine woodsman and bush pilot Charley Stevens tries to convince young Mike of the dangers awaiting rookie game wardens...mystery · fiction · audiobook · crime · thriller · action-adventure · law-enforcement · dogs · animals · anthologies -
![They Had It Coming by Nikki Smith]()
They Had It Coming by Nikki Smith
Escape to Bali in this gripping new sunlounger thriller, for fans of Lucy Clarke and Ruth Ware.'THE NEW QUEEN OF THE GLAMOROUS DESTINATION THRILLER' ELLERY LLOYDKeep your friends close and your enemies closer . . .Nate and Layla, Jude and Sophie. They've been a four for as long as they can fancy dinners, dancing 'til dawn . . . Even living and working together...mystery · psychological · season-summer · audiobook · suspense · fiction · crime · contemporary · revenge · thriller -
![The Ascent by Allison Buccola]()
The Ascent by Allison Buccola
What would you do if the past showed up on your doorstep? A woman who grew up in a cult must decide if she can trust the stranger claiming to have answers to the dark mysteries of her childhood in this "irresistible"* thriller.Twenty years ago, the members of a reclusive commune outside Philadelphia vanished without a trace. The mystery of their disappearance has never been solved...fiction · suspense · cults · fundamentalism · contemporary · mental-illness · thriller · audiobook · anthologies · psychological -
![Lloyd McNeil’s Last Ride by Will Leitch]()
Lloyd McNeil’s Last Ride by Will Leitch
From the award-winning author of How Lucky and The Time Has Come, this heartfelt and humorous novel follows an Atlanta police officer who learns he has months to live and determines to get killed in the line of duty to provide for his son . . . but keeps failing in unexpected ways...fiction · contemporary · audiobook · mystery · crime · thriller · suspense · psychological · law-enforcement · police-procedural -
![Last One Out by Steph Nelson]()
Last One Out by Steph Nelson
Perfect for fans of Noelle Ihli and Stacy Willingham, this chilling, riveting thriller unravels the dark secrets behind Chloe Webster’s disappearance and her shocking return twenty-five years later, as her cousin Frankie races to uncover a truth more terrifying than she could imagine.Chloe Webster is supposed to be dead...mystery · suspense · audiobook · fiction · psychological · dark · season-summer · crime · thriller · amateur-sleuth -
![The House That Held Her by Ellis Hart]()
The House That Held Her by Ellis Hart
Margot Bennett thought she was leaving the past behind when she moved to the quiet town of Mount Dora, Florida. A fresh start, a charming old house, and the promise of peace—until she unearths something sinister buried beneath the floorboards of Hawthorn Manor...horror · mystery · gothic · fiction · murder · suspense · audiobook · thriller · haunted-places · paranormal -
![Marguerite by the Lake by Mary Dixie Carter]()
Marguerite by the Lake by Mary Dixie Carter
From Mary Dixie Carter comes an atmospheric, tense novel about the death of a wealthy garden designer, her lonely widower, and the scrappy young gardener who smoothly steps into her life.Marguerite Gray is a lifestyle icon known for her garden parties, high-end business ventures, and being the muse behind the famous Serge Kuhnert painting, Marguerite by the Lake...fiction · suspense · romantic-love · killer · love-triangle · drama · dark · season-summer · ghosts · supernatural -
![The Cassandra Trap by Ted Galdi]()
The Cassandra Trap by Ted Galdi
A shocking, twist-filled mystery thriller perfect for fans of Michael Connelly, Harlan Coben, and D.D. Black.Fame. Money. Murder.Charismatic ex-soldier Evan Drake works for Los Angeles’s rich and famous as a “fixer” of their problems. But when a beautiful young woman hires him to find a missing man, Evan steps into a dark conspiracy that may not be fixable...kidnapping · mystery · vigilante · justice · crime · military · murder · conspiracies · thriller · political-intrigue -
![The Missing Half by Ashley Flowers, Alex Kiester]()
The Missing Half by Ashley Flowers, Alex Kiester
Two women haunted by their sisters' unsolved disappearances band together in this captivating mystery from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of All Good People Here and host of the #1 true crime podcast Crime Junkie.Nicole “Nic” Monroe is in a rut... -
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![Whispers of Dead Girls by Marlee Bush]()
Whispers of Dead Girls by Marlee Bush
She's right. It can never happen again. She won't let it.Ten years have passed, and Ren Taylor is back at square one, having accepted a job at her old high school. She'd hoped to make peace with the past but now she's thrust back into it: her murdered teenage sister is still immortalized in town, and Ren can't stop seeing her wherever she goes... -
![The Marriage Rule by Helen Monks Takhar]()
The Marriage Rule by Helen Monks Takhar
After you say, “I do,” there’s one more thing you must do…A propulsive domestic thriller about what it takes to keep a marriage together, from “addictive” (People) author Helen Monks TakharNine months into motherhood, Elle is struggling. Struggling to balance parenting with work, struggling to feel at home in her post-baby body, struggling to be intimate with her adoring husband, Dom... -
![Burned Bridges by John Gilstrap]()
Burned Bridges by John Gilstrap
An electrifying new series featuring Irene Rivers (code Wolverine), the unforgettable FBI Director from New York Times bestselling author John Gilstrap’s blockbuster, award-winning Jonathan Grave thrillers...crime · suspense · fiction · mystery · law-enforcement · thriller · action-adventure · political-intrigue · historical · murder -
![Feeders by Matt Serafini]()
Feeders by Matt Serafini
When a video depicting the brutal murder of a former classmate leaks online, Kylie Bennington’s curiosity gets the better of her, leading to the discovery of an off-the-grid social media app called MonoLife. Given that Kylie’s dreams of becoming a successful influencer remain frustratingly elusive, this mystery app seems like just the ticket for online superstardom...horror · fiction · mystery · crime · contemporary · paranormal · spooky · thriller · suspense · gothic -
![Murder Land by Carlyn Greenwald]()
Murder Land by Carlyn Greenwald
Murder Land opens tonight. Not everyone will survive. Buckle up for a thriller that will have you on the edge of your seat, perfect for fans of Karen McManus and Holly Jackson.Seventeen-year-old Billie feels like she is on top of the world...horror · young-adult · mystery · fiction · lgbtq · season-summer · contemporary · thriller · suspense · book -
![The Retirement Plan by Sue Hincenbergs]()
The Retirement Plan by Sue Hincenbergs
Three middle-aged best friends turn to murder in order to collect on their husbands’ life insurance policies…but are unaware that their husbands have a devious plan of their own, in this darkly funny debut—perfect for fans of The Thursday Murder Club and Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone...mystery · fiction · humor · womens-fiction · suspense · crime · cozy · comedy · thriller · contemporary -
![Swipe by R.G. Belsky, Bonnie Traymore]()
Swipe by R.G. Belsky, Bonnie Traymore
Sonya's fed up with bad internet dates—but she never meant to kill anyone.After a stressful day at work and a creepy first meetup, Sonya Romano goes on a mission: teach a lesson to the smarmy guys she's meeting on her dating app. But when one of them falls to his death as a result of her confrontation she realizes she's gone too far...
