Here are 25 of the best novels to come out in paperback over the past three months, as selected by the CrimeReads editors.
Alaina Urquhart, The Butcher and the Wren
(Zando)
“Dark, twisty, full of authentic detail, it’ll have you listening to the night in an entirely different way.” –Neil Nyren, Booktrib
Deanna Raybourn, Killers of a Certain Age
(Berkley)
“This Golden Girls meets James Bond thriller is a journey you want to be part of.” –Buzzfeed
Winnie M. Li, Complicit
(Atria)
“Writer, producer, and activist Li draws on her experience in the film industry to bring authenticity and raw honesty to her second novel, a timely page-turner that explores the emotional impact of sexual assault.” –Booklist
Gabino Iglesias, The Devil Takes You Home
(Mulholland)
“[THE DEVIL TAKES YOU HOME] cycles between pulse-pounding thriller, diabolical horror, and violent narcoliterature…. Readers captivated by the characters’ motivations and the occult pyrotechnics will quickly devour it whole.”–Kirkus Reviews
Jason Mosberg, My Dirty California
(Simon & Schuster)
“Jody is thrilled when younger brother Marty arrives to visit him and their father in Pennsylvania, then horrified to find them both murdered the next day. His search for their killer sends him to Marty’s Los Angeles home, where a stash of disturbing videos reveals the city’s uglier aspects and leads him to more mysteries—e.g., a documentary filmmaker who thinks humanity is living in a simulation—that might help solve his.” –Library Journal
Lisa Unger, Secluded Cabin Sleeps Six
(Park Row)
“Secrets abound in Lisa Unger’s latest thriller, which is so well crafted, you’ll be tempted to read all 400 pages in one go.” –BookPage
Cherie Priest, Flight Risk
(Atria)
“This lighthearted mystery with its travel agent/psychic and her occasional, unofficial partner is a good choice for cozy mystery lovers, animal lovers, and fans of the author. Recommended.” —Library Journal
Tom Bradby, Yesterday’s Spy
(Atlantic Monthly)
“Atmospheric, informative and flawlessly plotted.” ―Sunday
Ava Berry, Double Exposure
(Pegasus)
“An intoxicating throwback. This highly cinematic modern-day mystery, which revolves around a 70-year-old unsolved murder, is a sparkling homage to Hollywood’s Golden Age.”–Shelf Awareness
Tyrell Johnson, The Lost Kings
(Vintage)
“Absence and loss permeate Tyrell Johnson’s THE LOST KINGS in a way that surprised and moved me multiple times over the course of the novel. . . . I loved how the twists felt psychologically true, a reflection of the way buried trauma always resurfaces, inflicting damage and then lancing the wounds.” –Sarah Weinman, The New York Times
Carolyne Topdijian, The Hitman’s Daughter
(Agora)
“Topdjian’s debut thriller is intense with foreboding and an eerie sense of place. The past and present perspectives captivate the reader and connect brilliantly to reveal a shocking conclusion.”–Booklist
Hank Phillippi Ryan, The House Guest
(Forge)
“Binge-worthy…. This cat-and-mouse story will have readers wondering who is the cat and who is the mouse.” –Library Journal
Robert Lloyd, The Poison Machine
(Melville House)
“A deliciously preposterous adventure…” –The New York Times Book Review
Conner Habib, Hawk Mountain
(Norton)
“Habib brings rich psychological insight to his characters, expertly observing how the conflicts of youth persist into Todd and Jack’s present. …[T]his dramatic tale soars.”–Publishers Weekly
Janice Hallett, The Twyford Code
(Atria)
“Every page is a joy, with laugh-out-loud moments even as the plot becomes more outlandish, and the startling final reveal crowns Hallett as the queen of unreliable narrators.”–Sunday Times
Kotaro Isaka, Three Assassins
(Abrams)
Three Assassins feels like a fever dream that makes sense when you’re in it, but whose strange contours linger long after you wake up.” –The New York Times Book Review, Editors Choice Pick
Dwyer Murphy, An Honest Living
(Penguin Books)
“Set amid New York’s rare-book trade, this slow-burning début crime novel is also an atmospheric homage to the film Chinatown.” –The New Yorker, Best Books of 2022
Alice Feeney, Daisy Darker
(Flatiron)
“A sinisterly satisfying play on Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None…Readers will be intrigued by the setting, the action, and the question of whether or not they can trust narrator Daisy.”–Booklist, starred review
Riley Sager, The House Across the Lake
(Dutton)
“It’s a familiar psychological thriller structure–until everything changes. . . . A page-turning climax.” –USA Today
Michael Connelly, Desert Star
(Grand Central)
“Thrilling… Both cases require deep dives into the past; both lead to great action scenes; and, as always, Connelly displays his encyclopedic knowledge of the latest forensics… Ranks up there with Connelly’s best.”–Publishers Weekly
Catherine Ryan Howard, Run Time
(Blackstone)
“If you’re just dipping your toe into horror, Run Time is a good place to start.” –Washington Independent Review of Books
Sarah Pearse, The Retreat
(Penguin Books)
“This thriller novel is so dark and tense, it’s the perfect read for anyone lounging in the sun this summer, grateful that your holiday isn’t so chaotic.”–Cosmopolitan (London)
Katharine Schellman, Last Call at the Nightingale
(Minotaur)
“Fizzy . . . Vivian is a terrific character, plucky and resourceful, determined to choreograph a different life for herself.”–New York Times Book Review
Kaoru Takamura, Lady Joker, Vol. 2
(Soho)
“A sprawling, absorbing saga . . . Examines a vast web of characters affected by a kidnapping and sabotage case in Tokyo. The action moves fluidly from news desks to corporate offices, as the police and press track a shadowy crime group calling itself Lady Joker.” –The Washington Post
***
Catherine Steadman, The Family Game
(Ballantine)
“[A] tricky psychological puzzle . . . It’s a joy to encounter a suspenseful book whose turns lurk, rather than lumber, around the corner.”–The New York Times Book Review
