Caution: The best new thriller books are so addicting you’ll find yourself glued to the page. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.
Fall is probably my favorite season: gorgeous leaves, crisp air, and plenty of spooky reads.
Of course, my fall reading list is full of all the best new thriller books I could find.
If you are a fan of page-turning mysteries, you’ll love this list of all the fall thrillers of 2021. On my search for the best thrillers books of the year, I’ve included all the best thriller books I could find.
Whether you are looking for the best new psychological thriller books or prefer a good domestic mystery, there’s something for everyone!
New Psychological Thriller Books
The Night She Disappeared
Lisa Jewell
One night in 2017, a teen mom has her mother watch her baby girl so she can attend a party in the nearby woods, only to disappear without a trace. Two years later, Sophie is wandering the woods near her boyfriend’s new job as a teacher when she finds a note attached to a tree saying, “Dig Here.” Lisa Jewell’s dark stories are always top of my list for best new thriller books, so expect plenty of harrowing twists in her new release.
Sleepless
Romy Hausmann
After serving a prison sentence for a cruel crime, Nadja Kulka wants nothing more than a quiet, ordinary life. When Laura, Nadja’s friend and the wife of her boss, kills her lover, Nadja finds herself dragged into covering it up. As the plan to bury the body in the woods falls apart, Nadja realizes she has unwittingly set herself up as the perfect scapegoat for the murder.
Last Girl Ghosted
Lisa Unger
Wren met Adam on a dating app. But what starts as a quick hook-up quickly turns to something more. Which is why Wren is shocked when Adam ghosts her. As Wren investigates, she learns that she is not the only woman Adam has ghosted. The more she digs the more obsessive she becomes, blurring the lines between predator and prey.
You’ll Be the Death of Me
Karen M. McManus
If you are looking for the best new thriller books for young adults, you can never go wrong with Karen M. McManus. At Carlton High, Cal, Ivy and Mateo used to be close, but have drifted apart. When they find themselves all running late to class, they decide to skip and go to the city together. Soon, they find themselves witnesses to another student’s murder, a student they all want to hide their connection to.
ICYMI: Psychological Thrillers From Summer 2021
New Mystery Thriller Novels
A Slow Fire Burning
Paula Hawkins
When a young man is murdered on a London houseboat, police investigate three women: his one-night stand Laura, his grieving aunt Carla, and his nosy neighbor Miriam. Even though Miriam spotted Laura leaving the houseboat that night covered in blood, she is loath to say anything. For Miriam knows exactly what it’s like to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.
State of Terror
Hillary Rodham Clinton and Louise Penny
Former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton teams up with acclaimed mystery novelist Louise Penny in one of the most-anticipated best new thriller books of Fall 2021. Years of American withdrawal from the world stage have left a power vacuum that its enemies have been more than happy to fill. After a series of terrorist attacks, novice Secretary of State Ellen Adams, under the administration of her rival, must unravel a deadly global conspiracy.
Never
Ken Follett
Pauline Green, the United States’s first female President, tries to avoid war when an act of aggression escalates and the world’s greatest powers are caught up in a tangled web of alliances. With the aid a young intelligence officer, an undercover spy, and a Chinese spymaster, Green must use all her political saavy to save the world in this epic political thriller that lands a spot among the best new thriller books of 2021.
The Judge’s List
John Grisham
After taking on a criminal syndicate that was paying off a federal judge in The Whistler, Florida Board of Judicial Conduct investigator Lacy Stoltz returns in Grisham’s latest thriller. In her latest case, the crimes are even worse than before. Instead of taking bribes, a corrupt judge is taking lives with his own hit list.
ICYMI: Mystery Thrillers From Summer 2021
New Domestic Thriller Books
Apples Never Fall
Liane Moriarty
It should be the golden years for Stan and Joy Delaney now that they’ve sold their tennis academy and settled into retirement, so why aren’t they happy? When they welcome a bleeding stranger into their home, her arrival begins a cascade of events. Now Joy is missing, and the four grown Delaney children wonder if their father might have done it. Liane Moriarty’s books always make for exciting reads, so you’ll want to keep your eye out for her latest novel on any list of best new thriller books.
Rock Paper Scissors
Alice Feeney
After winning a trip to a remote Scotland getaway for the weekend, Adam and Amelia try one last-ditch effort to save their marriage. Amelia is tired of Adam putting his work as a screenwriter before her and Adam is just tired of Amelia. As things start to unravel and their past is revealed through secret anniversary letters Adam has never read, you find that someone is lying and someone doesn’t want them to end happily ever after.
The Replacement Wife
Darby Kane
Elisa Wright is convinced her brother-in-law is a murder. Not only did Josh’s wife die, but his fiancee disappeared. Now Josh is dating again, and Elisa suspects the worst. As Elisa gets to know the new girlfriend and digs into the past, she can’t tell if her panic attacks and mysterious illness are signs of a breakdown, or warnings that she’s getting too close to the truth.
Friends Like These
Kimberly McCreight
A group of college friends reunites on a trip to the Catskills. Although they’ve grown apart, they find themselves bound together by the death of their friend Alice ten years ago. As a mysterious individual starts prying into their secrets, they struggle to keep a united front and maintain the secrets that they desperately need to keep hidden.
ICYMI: Domestic Thrillers From Summer 2021
Bestselling Mystery & Thriller Series
Best Thriller Fiction of Winter 2022
The Maid by Nita Prose
January 4, 2022 – An orderly maid discovers a wealthy guest dead in his hotel bed and must investigate the murder to prove her own innocence. Amazon | Goodreads | More Info
Reckless Girls by Rachel Hawkins
January 4, 2022 – A woman and her boyfriend are hired to sail two women to a remote Pacific island, where the perfect vacation turns deadly. Amazon | Goodreads | More Info
A Flicker in the Dark by Stacy Willingham
January 11, 2022 – While a teen, Chloe’s dad was arrested as a serial killer. As her wedding approaches, Chloe fears the past is repeating when teen girls start vanishing. Amazon | Goodreads | More Info
The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley
February 15, 2022 – Looking for a fresh start, a woman moves into her half-brother’s Paris apartment to find him missing and realizes the neighbor’s know more than they are telling. Amazon | Goodreads | More Info
The Golden Couple by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen
March 8, 2022 – After cheating on her husband, Marisa Bishop tries to save her marriage by turning to a rogue therapist who claims to be able to fix anything in 10 sessions. Amazon | Goodreads | More Info
The Book of Cold Cases by Simone St. James
March 15, 2022 – A true-crime blogger gets more than she expects when she interviews an eccentric woman who was acquitted of two cold case slayings in the 1970s. Amazon | Goodreads | More Info
The Resting Place by Camilla Sten
March 29, 2022 – A woman with face blindness, who witnessed her grandmother’s murder but can’t identify the killer, inherits her grandmother’s estate and the dark secrets that come with it. Amazon | Goodreads | More Info
Which of the best new thriller books are you most excited to read?
I don’t think I can wait for all of these awesome books to come out this summer. I’m impatient! lol!
I’ve got a fantastic summer read for you that is a psychological thriller with suspense and a truly haunting spiritual twist. It’s called “Deciduous” by Michael Devendorf. This book was really incredible and you could tell the depth of feeling that went into it. The main character, Sienna, suffers an enormous loss in the beginning when she loses both of her children. What follows is a thrilling and sometimes terrifying journey through the characters’ psyche. Was she responsible for the deaths? Is there something more sinister at play? Every chapter is a new dark turn and I loved every minute of it. Definitely check this one out! Happy Summer and Happy Reading!
I am really excited for “Survive the Night” – It’s great to see there are so many awesome thrillers due to come out. I love thrillers, sci fi and horror and I just finished a book that delivered on all fronts. “Shimmers” by author J.P. Strecker is my favorite read so far this summer.