New Twisty Suspense Reads You Won’t Be Able To Put Down
Hazel is struggling to keep her private investigation business afloat when Madeline Hemsley, a mysterious socialite, makes her an offer too enticing to resist. An orphan girl has disappeared from a children’s home, and Madeline wants Hazel to find her. At first glance, it appears to be a standard runaway case, but as Hazel plunges into the investigation, she finds signs of something more: unexplained blood stains, cryptic symbols, and sinister figures shadowing her every move. The more she digs, the more she realizes that The Orphanage by the Lake holds terrifying secrets…and so does Madeline.
Sometimes, the best way to take a break from your stress for a while is to get tangled up in a fictional character’s problems instead. Because suspense novels are so twisty and emotionally visceral, they make for great, if unorthodox, escapism. When you’re transported right into a narrator’s psyche — their confusion and terror, the dark secrets they may be hiding even from themselves — it’s hard not to get invested.
I’ve rounded up six of the best suspense novels published over the past year. From literary thrillers to dark comedies, there’s a suspense novel for every mood. After you’ve found them at your library or local bookstore, make sure to clear your schedule in case you’ve got to unravel the whole story in one sitting.
Got your to-read list ready? Let’s dive into it: six of the best new suspense reads!
Vanishing Daughters by Cynthia Pelayo
This dark Sleeping Beauty-inspired thriller stars Briar Thorne, a journalist who experiences surrealistic nightmares following her mother’s death. As her dreams seep into her waking life, she questions her grip on reality just as a serial killer strikes close to her Chicago neighborhood.
Claire, Darling by Callie Kazumi
Claire is shocked when, shortly after her boyfriend Noah proposes, he disappears and cuts off all contact with her. Desperate for answers, she calls his employer only to discover that he hasn’t worked there for months. As she investigates what happened to Noah, a distorted image of the life he promised her emerges, with unexpected ties to her traumatic past.
Killer Potential by Hannah Deitch
Evie Gordon hoped for a glamorous career after graduating college, but it’s tutoring spoiled, wealthy students that pays her bills. What begins as a routine lesson turns horrific when she discovers her employers’ mutilated bodies in the backyard and a stranger locked in a closet. Worse, she’s been framed for the crime and must go on the run to gather evidence…and to avoid becoming the next victim.
Serial Killer Support Group by Saratoga Schafer
Determined to solve her sister’s gruesome murder, Cyra Griffin follows the trail to a dark web support group for serial killers. But when she joins the group as an undercover spy, she not only risks her life but her humanity, too, for a chance at vengeance.
Listen to Your Sister by Neena Viel
After becoming the legal guardian of her teenage brother Jamie, 25-year-old Calla Williams is haunted by gruesome nightmares and burnout from a life spent caring for the rest of her family. When a protest Jamie attends turns dangerous, both siblings go on the run and hide out in a remote cabin.
Unfortunately, Calla’s nightmares follow them.
Death Takes Me by Cristina Rivera Garza
The heroine of this metafictional thriller is, like its Pulitzer Prize-winning author, an English professor named Cristina Rivera Garza. After discovering a dead body in an alley, she is horrified — and intrigued — by a poetic verse written in nail polish at the crime scene. Morbid curiosity leads her to investigate alongside a poetry-obsessed detective as both confront the growing suspicion that they’re facing a serial killer.
Interested in books with a mix of suspense and spice? Try these five queer romantic suspense novels, including Cover Story by Rachel Lacey.
To stay up-to-date on trends and new releases in the suspense genre, give the Read or Dead podcast a listen. Twice a month, hosts Katie McLain Horner and Kendra Winchester catch up on mystery/thriller publishing news and share themed recommendation lists. A few recent episode topics include Mystery/Thrillers for Black History Month, the Most Anticipated Books of 2025, and The New York Times‘s Best Books of the 21st Century.
