Loading
The best mystery, thriller, and crime books of 2023
Eerily prescient tech thrillers, domestic dramas, and slow-burn murder mysteries all made the cut for our picks for best mystery, thriller, and crime books of the year.
Published on December 13, 2023
None of This is True: A Novel
Lisa JewellA friendly meet-cute transforms into a twisted nightmare in Jewell’s 2023 thriller, which became an instant bestseller. Alix Summers and Josie Fair share a birthday, and they meet by chance (or so it seems) while celebrating at the pub. Alix agrees to interview Josie for her podcast, but Josie isn’t the meek, mousy housewife she appears to be. Before long, Alix is the subject of her own true crime investigation.
The Manor House: A Novel
Gilly MacmillanMore money, more problems. That’s what Nicole quickly realizes after she and her husband, Tom, win the lottery and become millionaires overnight. Their rags-to-riches story makes them the envy of all who know them, causing the suspect list to shoot sky high when Tom is found murdered. Macmillan’s twisty-turny whodunnit will draw you in with hidden agendas and unreliable narrators and keep you guessing until the last page.
Zero Days
Ruth WareWare, a modern-day Agatha Christie, follows up her propulsive 2022 novel “The It Girl” with this thriller about corporate espionage and the hunt for a killer. Jack and her husband Gabe run a security firm, usually tasked with testing security systems (both physical and cyber). When Gabe is murdered and Jack becomes the main suspect, she goes on the run to solve the mystery herself. Ware amps up her signature psychological thrills with action, adventure, and high stakes.
All the Sinners Bleed: A Novel
S. A. CosbyThe acclaimed crime writer who brought us propulsive hits like “Blacktop Wasteland” and “Razorblade Tears” returns with a new noir Publishers Weekly calls “easily the author’s strongest work to date.” A fatal school shooting leads Sheriff Titus Crowne into a complex web of racially motivated crime, forcing him to reckon with his role as a Black law enforcement officer in the American South. Narrator Adam Lazarre-White brings Cosby’s work to life once again, building tension in all the right ways.
The Villa: A Novel
Rachel HawkinsHawkins (“Reckless Girls,” “The Wife Upstairs”) adds a new title to her gothic thriller repertoire: a loose retelling of the true events that inspired Mary Shelley’s seminal “Frankenstein.” Childhood friends but recently estranged, Emily and Chess plan to reconnect over a vacation at an Italian villa, but the manor’s dark past comes back to haunt them. Moving between the 1970s and modern day, “The Villa” is an eerie story of betrayal and the lengths we go to for our art.
Bad Summer People: A Novel
Emma RosenblumLeave all the drama to the characters in this darkly comedic and unputdownable thriller. It’s business as usual in Salcombe, a summer haven for a close-knit community of upper-crusters who aren’t afraid to lie, cheat, and manipulate to get what they want. But when a body turns up on the boardwalk, everyone from the socialites to the tennis coaches become suspects.
All the Dangerous Things: A Novel
Stacy WillinghamAfter proving herself to be a master of suspense with her bestselling debut “A Flicker in the Dark,” Willingham returns with an equally intense slow-burn mystery. Isabelle Drake’s worst nightmare comes to life when her son, Mason, goes missing in the dead of the night. Unable to move on and plagued by insomnia, the grieving mother refuses to give up hope of reuniting with Mason. A dual timeline slowly unfolds to reveal long-buried secrets and the dark side of motherhood.
A Disappearance in Fiji
Nilima RaoThe brutality of colonialism and indentured servitude belie the lush, tropical paradise of 1914 Fiji in Rao’s captivating debut. The case of a missing local woman gets caught up in a tug-of-war between politics and justice. It’s up to disgraced police sergeant Akal Singh to look the other way — or ignore his superiors and seek out the truth. An intriguing premise and location make this a promising start to a thrilling historical mystery series.
Bright Young Women: A Novel
Jessica Knoll“Bright Young Women” is a fictionalized account of Ted Bundy’s deadly attack on a sorority house in 1970s Florida. Knoll, author of “Luckiest Girl Alive,” which inspired a Netflix Original movie starring Mila Kunis, never names the killer. Instead, she focuses on the women who are most affected by his perverse actions and how they use their trauma to seek justice. Kirkus calls this thriller “a stunning, engaging subversion of the Bundy myth — and the true-crime genre.”
Exiles: A Novel
Jane HarperHarper closes out the brilliant “Aaron Falk” trilogy with one last irresistible mystery, this time deep in the heart of Aussie wine country. A charming tight-knit community is rocked when one of their own disappears, leaving behind two daughters and more questions than answers. Tension builds as Falk, unofficially tasked with discovering the truth a year later, peels back layer upon layer of family drama and old resentments in an intense character-driven crime procedural.
Good Bad Girl: A Novel
Alice FeeneyThe queen of twists-you-never-saw-coming returns with a deeply thought-provoking mystery revolving around a fraught mother-daughter relationship. Edith and her estranged daughter, Clio, must put the past behind them when a twenty-year-old cold case resurfaces and someone is murdered at Edith’s nursing home. According to Publisher’s Weekly, Feeney’s (“His & Hers,” “Rock Paper Scissors”) slow-burn domestic thriller “will touch readers’ hearts as much as it bends their minds.”
Going Zero: A Novel
Anthony McCartenFrighteningly timely, McCarten’s high-octane tech thriller about a CIA mass surveillance program reads like a blockbuster action movie. (Which makes sense, as the New Zealand native has written and produced several critically acclaimed films, like “Darkest Hour,” “The Theory of Everything,” and “Bohemian Rhapsody.”) Ten beta testers are given 30 days to elude the most sophisticated piece of spyware ever created. As the clock ticks on, heated questions arise over the battle between public safety and citizens’ right to privacy.
The Woman Inside: A Novel
M. T. EdvardssonEdvardsson follows up on the 2018 success of “A Nearly Normal Family” with another bingeable thriller that pushes everyday folks to extreme measures. Don’t be fooled by Edvardsson’s simplistic writing style; mystery shrouds the murders of a wealthy couple and the three suspects, each of whom proves to be an unreliable narrator. Plan to question reality as you sort through multiple points of view and police interrogations.
The Plinko Bounce
Martin ClarkWe have to agree with Entertainment Weekly, who declared that Clark is “hands down, the finest legal-thriller writer.” Readers get an inside look at the legal system through the eyes of Andy Hughes, a public defender tasked with representing a confessed murderer. Andy must navigate life and death choices not just for his client, but him and his loved ones as he wrestles over his duty to the justice system and his own personal ethics. Courtroom drama and quickly paced plotting will leave you waiting with bated breath to see where the chips may fall.
The Soulmate: A Novel
Sally HepworthHepworth (“The Good Sister,” “The Mother-in-Law”) delivers yet another supremely satisfying domestic thriller rife with tragedy, hidden pasts, and betrayal. Pippa and Gabe’s dreamy cliffside home would be perfect if it didn’t attract would-be jumpers. Gabe, himself suffering from mental health struggles, talks many suffering souls out of ending their lives. Except one. A woman whose past interlaces with Gabe and Pippa’s is dead, and Hepworth slowly and cleverly reveals each character’s motivations and secrets, all leading up to a gasp-worthy ending.
The Secret Hours
Mick HerronBritish spy lit extraordinaire Herron gives “Slough House” fans a fantastic prequel to the bestselling series that follows the pursuits of disgraced MI5 agents. A government inquiry into potential Secret Service misconduct unearths the cover up of a botched classified operation. Acerbic humor, cryptic innuendo, and a fair bit of skulduggery keep readers laughing while on the edges of their seats. Although it’s a standalone novel, those familiar with the source material for Apple TV’s “Slow Horses” will spot links to many of the same beloved, foul-mouthed characters.