Mystery & Thriller bestsellers

“Alix Harrow’s The Ten Thousand Doors of January was my favorite book last year, so I had incredibly high expectations when I picked up The Once and Future Witches. This book is very different, but I adore it just as much! Set in the late 1800s in a world with a slightly alternate history from ours, women are fighting for the vote and losing. Three wayward sisters decide to challenge the patriarchy by bringing back witchcraft. Told through familiar stories twisted in new ways, this book is incredible. You will not be able to put it down, from the beautifully written introduction to the pulse-pounding ending!”

“Anthony Horowitz has done it again! With Moonflower Murders, he has crafted another superlative, page-turning, cunning, book-within-a-book mystery chock full of clues (and red herrings), featuring the appealing former editor Susan Ryeland from Magpie Murders. Terrifically engaging, smart, and fun, this book is practically impossible to put down. Don’t miss it!”

“This is a must-read thriller rooted deeply in Brooklyn and its racist past. As the neighborhood makes plans for the annual block party, Sydney ends up battling more than the microaggressions from her new white neighbors. When her best friends go missing, her mom's prized garden is threatened, and a fake meter reader breaks into her home, she will put everything on the line to get out alive. At least she's got a semi-charming, well-meaning Theo by her side.”

“The wild Irish setting was perfect for this Christie-esque whodunit that will keep you guessing until the end! This is a great listening experience as the cast of talented voice actors help tell the story from varied perspectives.”

“When Theo Faber starts his new job at the Grove, a forensic psychiatric hospital, he is determined to work with the famous painter Alicia Berenson, who allegedly murdered her husband. What follows is a tale that will grip you and keep you guessing. With the incredible voice talent of Jack Hawkins, the audiobook elicits the feeling of something very slowly creeping up your spine, and will have you gripping your seat with anxiety throughout. An expansive cast of characters populates this novel, all with intricate connections and relationships, all with dark secrets of their own, making anyone and everyone a suspect. The ending twist was so intense and so unexpected, I had to pause the narration for a moment to scream and gather myself before I could move on. I highly recommend this audiobook for anyone who wants to explore the dark and twisted corners of the human psyche.”

“In this ghostly story of ignoring what’s right in front of you, a group of characters try to grapple with what seems like inevitable choices. Mandel’s book is like the glass in the title: her language glitters while offering clarity and reflection, and her characters are like broken shards, mesmerizing in one light and dangerously ordinary in another. Combining the humanity and structure of Station Eleven with the brutal realism of her earlier works, The Glass Hotel is an exceptional novel.”

“Lucy Foley’s The Hunting Party is a slick, streamlined murder mystery set on a remote Scottish luxury estate. A group of old friends get together for their yearly New Year’s trip, but after over a decade of closeness, some of them may be near the breaking point. Foley uses the multiple-narrator approach to distort the reader’s perspective and challenge their assumptions, but it doesn’t feel excessive. With multiple puzzles that come together to create the bigger picture and a short timeline that adds to the claustrophobic urgency, this novel is a devilishly thrilling winter read.”

“Set in England, story and writing reminiscent of Christie. Wonderful!”

“Even when the world gets back to normal, you'll never trust your coworkers again. Snoop, a hot tech company that gives music fans the ability to follow along with what others are listening to in real time, is built around the pleasures of voyeurism. But what if the person you think you know has a hidden past? When an avalanche hits and confines these coworkers to a fancy chalet, they'll be picked off one by one as the killer fights to keep their secrets hidden from peering eyes.”

“I so wanted to read this slowly and savor every page since this may be the last time we get to venture into this world of magic and the Owens family. But as if entranced by Alice Hoffman’s magic, the pages were turning faster and faster and I devoured this book in two sittings. No one tells a story like Alice Hoffman, and I only hope she finds a way to bring this magical family back to us again in the future. I simply loved this book. It’s everything you want from Alice Hoffman — a great story of love and magic!”

“Peter Swanson is one of my favorite authors. His books just keep getting better. Eight Perfect Murders is my favorite so far. It opens introducing Malcolm, who is a widower and owner of a book store in Boston. An FBI agent enters one snowy day and introduces herself as Gwen and asks him if she can speak to him for a few minutes. Gwen says that she believes a recent murder is connected to a blog that Malcolm wrote several years ago. The post details eight mystery novels that stage the perfect murder. She hasn't read many and Mal is happy to give her a few from the list. They meet the next day and discuss each book and why the particular murder is perfect. They keep in touch and in days another murder happens. There is a multitude of hair-raising twists and turns. The story is well-crafted and oh so clever. Malcolm is the sole narrator and he is positively mesmerizing. I highly recommend this page-turner. The book narrator has a crisp voice and reads with his heart and soul.No doubt about it - Eight Perfect Murders will be on my top five best books of 2020.”

“Janina is an eccentric middle-aged woman who translates William Blake, studies astrology, and is acutely attuned to the wilderness around her in rural Poland. When hunters and poachers begin to be gruesomely murdered, Janina informs the police that the animals are responsible. As the bodies mount, so does her involvement with the mystery, although her status as a crank and possible madwoman ensures that she’s ignored. This is an extraordinary and disturbing tale — a mystery that becomes more complex as the story continues, accompanied by Janina’s often witty observations on man, nature, justice, and identity. The ending of this hard-to-categorize novel, a finalist for the 2019 Man Booker International Prize, will knock the breath out of you. Don’t miss this excellent translated work from an award-winning writer!”

“With just three books under his belt, Riley Sager has made a name for himself as a master of suspense. And it's undeniably true that every one of his books is an absolute page turner. But I do have to say that I think Lock Every Door is his best to date. The book is dedicated to Ira Levin, which, if you're literarily savvy is kind of a spoiler as far as a book about a mysterious apartment is concerned. But not really. All it did was set me up for what's pretty obvious from the start, there's something hinky going on at this apartment building! Even our heroine knows it. But Sager's made her so desperate and in dire straits that she's willing to overlook the odd rules and the cash under the table because it means a roof over her head and money in the bank. And not wearing out her welcome with her best and only friend. So while you can imagine that reading the first pages is akin to yelling at a character in a horror movie not to go up the stairs, you can also easily sympathize with Jules! Lock Every Door is twisted and suspenseful fun. I ripped through it as fast as I could, even delving into the audio so I could listen when I couldn't sit down and read. And Sager has some tricks up his sleeve as the story progresses. I'd almost guarantee you won't figure out what's really going on at the Bartholomew before Jules does. ”

“Caz Frear’s third installment of Cat Kinsella mysteries doesn’t disappoint! Kinsella is whip smart, takes no nonsense, and is a wry-one-liner machine. In their newest case, Kinsella and her partner, Luigi Parnell, find a connection to a serial killer. Christopher Masters was arrested for the kidnapping and murder of four women six years ago. His final victim wasn’t found until now, so Kinsella may finally have the evidence to close the case once and for all. But as they dive back into a cold case, they find some troubling issues. As they dig deeper, they head into a rabbit hole they may never be able to get out of. Wonderfully twisty and satisfyingly puzzling, the newest mystery by Frear is a must for all thriller fans.”

“Maggie Holt was the central character of the bestselling memoir her father wrote about their 14 days living in the supposedly haunted Baneberry Hall. Maggie has always hated the book and the notoriety that came from it. She was only 5 when they lived there and she remembers nothing about the time. But since the book was essentially about her she is constantly bombarded with questions and made fun of by non-believers. All that she really knows is that her father swore the house was haunted and that everything he wrote was true and that on his deathbed he begged Maggie never to return to the house. Since Maggie doesn’t believe in ghosts, and since her mother has refused to ever discuss what happened there. Maggie decides she must return to the house to find out for herself what caused them to run from the house twenty years ago with only the clothes on their backs, never to return. If, like Maggie, you don’t believe in ghosts and think there is a rational explanation for everything you will love trying to figure out what that explanation is. As you hear Maggie’s father read his book and at the same time follow what is now happening to Maggie and what is going on at Baneberry Hall you may begin to believe that the only explanation is that Baneberry Hall is truly haunted. The brilliant plotting was instrumental in making this one of the creepiest and most believable ghost stories I have ever read and the ending was beyond amazing. If listening to this doesn’t put you in another place and time to escape what is going on in the real world then nothing ever will.”

“Rachel hosts a popular true crime podcast and finds herself in a small town reporting on a case that involves a rape of a teenage girl by a local college swimmer (the Brock Turner resemblance is made very clear). While in town, Rachel starts to receive letters from a podcast fan, Hannah, asking for Rachel to investigate the murder of her sister that happened 25 years ago. Told in alternating perspectives, and with some podcast episodes sprinkled in, this book was captivating. This is definitely more crime fiction than thriller, but I absolutely loved it! The audio production on this is brilliant. The way that the podcast chapters are read sound like real podcasts, complete with theme music and everything. Trigger warning for rape and sexual assault.”

“A good-looking couple from New York City move upstate for a slower lifestyle, but things quickly take a turn when the husband goes missing. When Sam Statler, a therapist with a range of diverse clients, doesn’t come home, his wife, Annie, is desperate to find him and begins to suspect one of his clients. As secrets unravel, Molloy keeps the reader excited and engaged in this intriguing thriller.”

“This is such a fun romp! It has everything you could possibly want in a book: field hockey, witches, and ’80s bangs that have literally taken on a life of their own. Set in Salem in the 1980s, we follow a group of high school field hockey players as they struggle with their new dark powers and attempt to end their losing streak. One of the strangest, most satisfying books I have read in a long time!”

“Getting into Catherine House is the key to success. Spend three years here completely removed from the outside world, separate yourself from your life before Catherine House, and when the three years are over, you’ll be unstoppable. That’s the premise for this evocative and gripping gothic novel. Elisabeth Thomas’ ability to create at once an elusive yet highly practical world makes her a stunning new literary voice. Inspired by secret societies, scientific experimentation, and the mysteriousness of finding ourselves, Catherine House is sure to haunt readers.”

“Private Detective Ivy Gamble is hired to investigate a gruesome death at Osthorne Academy for Young Mages. Ivy has no magic and has more experience investigating insurance fraud cases than she has in solving murders. Now she has the chance to show off her detective skills at the same school her estranged magical twin sister teaches at...but will her relationship with her sister cause problems for the case? What at first seems to be another teenage wizard school drama instantly becomes an intriguing mystery that combines the best of urban fantasy with classic noir elements. I was immediately pulled to the protagonist, Ivy Gamble, and her complicated history she has with the magical world (and her sister). Who is the killer, one of the victim's fellow teachers or one of her hormone-crazed students? Can Ivy solve the case without knowing any magic at all? And how is Ivy supposed to sift through the lies surrounding Osthorne Academy when she can't even be truthful to herself?”

“A family vacation to a Caribbean island goes terribly wrong and the tragedy casts a pall over the life of Claire, who is only seven years old when this mesmerizing novel begins. We follow Claire into adulthood and along her pursuit of truth and resolution, while her life becomes increasingly affected by her obsessive search for the answers to the mystery that occurred on Saint X. You will not be able to put down this startlingly accomplished novel, and it will sneak into your dreams! I envy anyone who has it to look forward to.”

“The perfect atmospheric thriller to curl up and listen to while the rain lashes the window and your tarot spread suggests you stay inside. Cold mansion, creepy maid, a surprise will, and long buried secrets clawing their way out of the grave will keep you glued to the seat, cup of tea trembling in your hand until the last word. ”

“While French's mysteries stand alone, a minor character from the previous book always becomes the main character in the next one. In this case, it is Antoinette Conway, the lone female detective in the 'Boys Club' that is the Murder Squad of the Dublin Police Department. Antoinette is desperate to get ahead in her career as well as fit in with her colleagues, but it is not going well. She is partnered with Stephen Moran, a young and inexperienced detective, and assigned nothing but domestic disturbance cases. The latest one appears to be no different: Aislinn Murray is found murdered in her flat with the table set for dinner, but there is no sign of anyone else on the scene. Is this a romantic evening that took an ugly turn, or is there something more sinister afoot?”

“Not since Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin have I so enjoyed the page-turning yarn of a New York private detective and a wisecracking sidekick! Stephen Spotswood simultaneously nails the tone of classic detective stories and stands them on their head — because the brilliant gumshoe is Lillian Pentecost, a middle-aged woman with a disability, and her sidekick Willowjean ‘Will’ Parker, a gender-bending young circus performer with a sweet spot for the ladies. A delight from start to finish. Dare I hope this is the beginning of a series?”

“Alice Hoffman, author of numerous novels—The Dovekeepers, The Marriage of Opposites, and The Museum of Extraordinary Things, among others—does her magic again with The World That We Knew. This is a story of great love and loss, a story of strong characters who, with heartfelt courage, save others by risking their own lives. The reader is taken on a journey of the world that once was—of memories of a past tainted by hatred during WWII. Alice Hoffman’s writing is passionate, poetic, and profound. This novel captivated me from the start and left me spellbound. A must-read!”

“There are very few books these days whose sole purpose is to remind you of the delight to be found in small-town America. Leif Enger, author of Peace Like a River, brings humor and keen insight to a charming set of characters, each of whom remind us of how we can find kindness, forgiveness, and second chances if we make time for each other. A true charmer of a book, perfect for fans of A Man Called Ove or Less.”

“Wen and her dads are taking a break from everything by visiting a remote cabin for vacation. Wen is studying grasshoppers in their yard when a man comes up and warns her that she and her dads are going to have to make a decision. And that’s about all I can tell you without spoiling the story. This book was so creepy, in a very good way. I’d classify this as horror, but very realistic.”