Thrillers

New and recommended thrilling reads

Updated October 7, 2025
Rochester Public Library RPL Staff
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Thrillers

New and recommended thrilling reads

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Beware the woman : a novel
Abbott, Megan
Paper Book
An NPR Best Book of the Year By the "master of thinly veiled secrets often kept by women who rage underneath their delicate exteriors" (Kirkus Reviews), Beware the Woman is Megan Abbott at the height of her game. Honey, I just want you to have...
Those people next door
Abdullah, Kia
Paper Book
'A gripping page-turner about nightmare neighbours' Platinum 'A small act of malice between suburban neighbours snowballs, bringing tension and terror. Terrific and hugely thought-provoking' Ian Rankin 'One of my ten best reads of the year. Easy...
While justice sleeps : a novel
Abrams, Stacey
Paper Book
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BEST SELLER * A gripping, complexly plotted thriller set within the halls of the U.S. Supreme Court, where a young law clerk finds herself embroiled in a shocking mystery crafted by one of the most preeminent judges in America--from celebrated national...
Glass houses
Ashby, Madeline
Paper Book
A group of employees and their CEO, celebrating the sale of their remarkable emotion-mapping-AI-algorithm, crash onto a not-quite-deserted tropical island. Luckily, those who survived have found a beautiful, fully-stocked private palace, with all the latest technological...
The whispers
Audrain, Ashley
Paper Book
"Expertly, subtly and powerfully rendered....[The Whispers] delivers a sucker-punch ending you'll have to read twice to believe."--The New York Times Book Review "[An] electrifying...razor-sharp page-turner." --Carley Fortune, #1 New York Times bestselling...
A calamity of souls
Baldacci, David
Paper Book
Set in the tumultuous year of 1968 in southern Virginia, a racially charged murder case sets a duo of white and Black lawyers against a deeply unfair system as they work to defend their wrongfully accused Black defendants in this courtroom drama from #1 New York Times ...
Madwoman
Bieker, Chelsea
Paper Book
"The rare kind of book that lives in your bones" (Ashley Audrain), this novel tells a gripping story of motherhood and motherloss and the brutal, mighty things women do to keep themselves and each other alive, marking Chelsea Bieker as a major fiction talent.   ...
The princess of Las Vegas : a novel
Bohjalian, Chris
Paper Book
One of Elle's Best and Most Anticipated Mysteries of 2024 * THE PRINCESS IS FAKE. THE MURDERS ARE REAL * From the New York Times bestselling author of The Flight Attendant and The Lioness, a Princess Diana impersonator and her estranged sister find themselves...
Small game : a novel
Braverman, Blair
Ebook
Society of lies : a novel
Brown, Lauren
Paper Book
NATIONAL BESTSELLER * REESE'S BOOK CLUB PICK * "A dark and haunting debut that explores secret societies, the bonds of sisterhood, and the intricacies of privilege at an elite college . . . I couldn't put this twisty tale down."--Julia Bartz, author of The Writing Retreat ...
Kill for me kill for you
Cavanagh, Steve
Paper Book
***THE INSTANT TOP FIVE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER*** SHE WILL KILL YOUR WORST ENEMY. ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS KILL HERS. 'Dazzling' SUNDAY TIMES Best Thriller Books of 2023 'Steve Cavanagh's twists hit you between the eyes. You never see them...
One of us knows : a thriller
Cole, Alyssa
Paper Book
From the critically acclaimed and New York Times bestselling author of When No One Is Watching comes a riveting thriller about the new caretaker of a historic estate who finds herself trapped on an island with a murderer--and the ghosts of her past.  Years...
Love letters to a serial killer
Coryell, Tasha
Paper Book
An aimless young woman starts writing to an accused serial killer while he awaits trial and then, once he's acquitted, decides to move in with him and take the investigation into her own hands in this dark and irresistibly compelling debut thriller. Recently ghosted and sick of...
The ferryman : a novel
Cronin, Justin
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * "Next to impossible to put down . . . exciting, mysterious, and totally satisfying."--STEPHEN KING   From the author of The Passage comes a riveting standalone novel about a group of survivors on a hidden island utopia--where...
The night we lost him : a novel
Dave, Laura
Paper Book
An instant New York Times bestseller from the author of The Last Thing He Told Me "Dave's signature blend of twisty mystery, family drama, and moving love story is top-notch" (The Boston Globe) in this instant New York Times bestseller where...
The violence : a novel
Dawson, Delilah S.
Paper Book
How far would you go to be free? Three generations of women forge a new path through an America torn by a mysterious wave of violence in this "chilling [and] dizzyingly effective" (The New York Times Book Review) novel of revenge, liberation, and triumph. "A...
The block party : a novel
Day, Jamie
Paper Book
Raves for the hottest thriller of 2023! "This is wicked fun." --Publishers Weekly "Absolutely amazing. Readers are going to flip!" --Lisa Gardner, New York Times bestselling author of ONE STEP TOO FAR "Like a firecracker on a hot summer...
Girls with bright futures : a novel
Dobmeier, Tracy
Paper Book
Three women, three daughters, and a promise that they'll each get what they deserve... College admissions season at Seattle's Elliott Bay Academy is marked by glowing acceptances from top-tier institutions and students as impressive as their parents are ambitious. But when Stanford...
For your own good
Downing, Samantha
Paper Book
SOME LESSONS CAN BE DEADLY... The unputdownable new thriller from the author of international sensation and Richard & Judy pick, MY LOVELY WIFE 'Dark, sly and delicious . . . totally original - and totally compelling' JP DELANEY, bestselling author of PLAYING...
A twisted love story
Downing, Samantha
Paper Book
From the bestselling author of My Lovely Wife comes a reckless, delicious thriller that gives a whole new meaning to the dangers of modern dating. Wes and Ivy are madly in love. They've never felt anything like it. It's the type of romance people write stories about. ...
First lie wins
Elston, Ashley
Paper Book
REESE'S BOOK CLUB PICK | #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER "This fast-paced read has everything you could want in a thriller: secret identities, a mysterious boss and a cat & mouse game that kept me guessing the whole way through." --Reese Witherspoon Evie Porter has...
Shutter
Emerson, Ramona
Paper Book
Rita Todacheene is a forensic photographer. Her excellent photography skills have cracked many cases - she is almost supernaturally good at capturing details. In fact, Rita has been hiding a secret: she sees the ghosts of crime victims who point her toward clues other investigators overlook. Rita's...
Little rot
Emezi, Akwaeke
Paper Book
"A masterwork...mesmerizing...We come away troubled, unsettled -- and in some subtle way changed."-The New York Times "The perfect steamy read for those hot summer nights." -People A thrilling new novel from the bestselling, award-winning, visionary...
The other mothers
Faulkner, Katherine
Paper Book
'This is The Undoing meets Big Little Lies. A fast-paced, decadent skewering of upper-middle-class motherhood' ABIGAIL DEAN 'The Other Mothers is the elevated, devourable thriller you've been looking for' ASHLEY AUDRAIN 'I...
If something happens to me : a novel
Finlay, Alex
Paper Book
A USA Today Bestseller! From "one of the genre's most exciting voices" (E! News) comes one of the year's most-anticipated thrillers. For the past five years, Ryan Richardson has relived that terrible night. The car door ripping open. The crushing blow to the...
What have we done
Finlay, Alex
Paper Book
In this "top-notch mystery thriller" (Publishers Weekly, starred review) from Alex Finlay, What Have We Done is a tale about the lives we leave behind and the secrets we carry with us forever. One of the Most Anticipated Books of 2023:* BookPage...
The midnight feast
Foley, Lucy (Novelist)
Paper Book
🔥 TAKE YOUR PLACE AT THE TABLE FOR THE THRILLER OF THE YEAR🔥 __________________________________________________________ Midsummer, the Dorset coast In the shadows of an ancient wood, guests gather for the opening weekend of The Manor: a...
Heartwood : a novel
Gaige, Amity
Paper Book
"The best thriller of 2025." --The Boston Globe * "Genius." --The Washington Post "A literary thriller of the highest order" (Elin Hilderbrand, New York Times bestselling author of The Perfect Couple), Heartwood takes you on a gripping journey as a...
The most famous girl in the world /
Hariri-Kia, Iman,
Paper Book
Stars--they're just like us! Except much, much worse. Rose Aslani is mid-bikini wax when her phone lights up with a notification: Famed scam artist Poppy Hastings will be released from prison today. It's been two years since Rose--a first-generation Middle Eastern American,...
The other black girl
Harris, Zakiya Dalila
Paper Book
* THE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * 'One of the biggest reads of the summer, and for good reason' INDEPENDENT'Enormously fun . . . A joyous thrill ride of a book' VOX 'Candice Carty-Williams' Queenie crossed with Jordan Peele's...
The blue hour : a novel
Hawkins, Paula
Paper Book
A GOOD MORNING AMERICA BOOK CLUB PICK AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER "A taut, slow-burning thriller." -Boston Globe "Truly exceptional." - Liz Moore, New York Times bestselling author of The God of the Woods Welcome to Eris: an island with only one house,...
The wife upstairs
Hawkins, Rachel
Paper Book
Instant New York Times and USA Today Bestseller "Compulsively readable...a gothic thriller laced with arsenic." --EW One of the Most Anticipated Books of 2021: CNN * Newsweek * Vulture * PopSugar...
Darling girls
Hepworth, Sally
Paper Book
It's not just secrets buried at Wild Meadows. For as long as they can remember, Jessica, Norah and Alicia have been told how lucky they are. Rescued from family tragedies and raised by a loving foster mother on an idyllic farming estate, they were given an elusive second chance of a happy family...
Phantom orbit : a thriller
Ignatius, David
Paper Book
David Ignatius is known for his uncanny ability, in novel after novel, to predict the next great national security headline. In Phantom Orbit, he presents a story both searing and topical, with stakes as far-reaching as outer space. It follows Ivan Volkov, a Russian student in Beijing, who...
The return of Ellie Black : a novel
Jean, Emiko
Paper Book
A USA TODAY Bestseller | An NPR Best Book of 2024 | A Goodreads Best Thriller of 2024 In this "page-turning suspense novel, shrewd character study, and captivating mystery" (Stephen King) Detective Chelsey Calhoun's life is turned upside down when she gets the...
The night she disappeared
Jewell, Lisa
Paper Book
"I love all Lisa's books, but The Night She Disappeared is her best thriller yet." --Harlan Coben, New York Times bestselling author of Win From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Then She Was Gone and The Family Upstairs comes another...
Shanghai : a novel
Kanon, Joseph
Paper Book
Named a Best Mystery & Suspense Book of the Year by BookPage and CrimeReads "A steamy, thrilling crime story" (The Washington Post) from New York Times bestselling author Joseph Kanon set in pre-World War II Shanghai, where glamour and squalor exist side...
Holly : a novel
King, Stephen
Paper Book
#1 New York Times Bestseller * A New York Times Notable Book * An NPR Best Book of the Year Holly Gibney, one of Stephen King's most compelling and resourceful characters, returns in this chilling "exploration of grief and delusion, just pure undistilled evil" (...
The forest of lost souls
Koontz, Dean R.
Paper Book
A fearless woman, raised in the forest, fights against a group of powerful men in a novel about good versus evil, the enduring nature of myth, and the power of love by #1 New York Times bestselling author Dean Koontz. Raised in the wilderness by her late great-uncle, Vida is...
She's not sorry
Kubica, Mary
Paper Book
The instant New York Times bestseller that BookTok is calling "absolutely A-M-A-Z-I-N-G" (@hollylovesbooks1519) and "impossible to put down" (@kurryreads), from the author of Local Woman Missing and Just the Nicest Couple Everyone has secrets, but not everyone has...
A step past darkness
Kurian, Vera
Paper Book
SIX CLASSMATES. ONE TERRIFYING NIGHT. A MURDER TWENTY YEARS IN THE MAKING... There's something sinister under the surface of the idyllic, suburban town of Wesley Falls, and it's not just the abandoned coal mine that lies beneath it. The summer of 1995 kicks off with a...
A better world : a novel
Langan, Sarah
Paper Book
One of NPR's Best Books of 2024 For fans of Nightbitch and While No One Is Watching, comes "one of the best books this year, or any year" (Paul Tremblay, author of The Cabin at the End of the World)--a disturbing dystopian thrillfest about a woman moving...
What have you done?
Lapena, Shari
Paper Book
AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER! Dark · Addictive · Twisty · Chilling · Domestic Suspense "Lapena is a master of manipulation." --USA Today The new unputdownable novel from the "queen of the one-sit read," and New York Times...
Once more from the top : a novel
Layden, Emily
Paper Book
"A deliciously insider-y peek into the music industry and fame -- Layden has a gift for making the world and her characters feel wonderfully real. You won't be able to put it down." -- Rufi Thorpe, author of Margo's Got Money Troubles A propulsive, "immersive" (Washington Post) novel about...
Bye, baby : a novel
Lovering, Carola
Paper Book
NATIONAL BESTSELLER * A March 2024 Indie Next and LibraryReads Pick "Powerful, relatable and crazily addictive, Bye, Baby takes an unflinching look at the battling forces of toxicity and love which define so many female friendships. I couldn't put it...
A burning
Majumdar, Megha
Paper Book
NATIONAL BESTSELLER * A READ WITH JENNA BOOK CLUB PICK! * A "gripping thriller with compassionate social commentary"  (USA Today) about three unforgettable characters who seek to rise--to the middle class, to political power, to fame in the movies--and find...
Smoke Kings : a novel
Mayfield, Jahmal
Paper Book
Nate Evers, a young black political activist, struggles with rage as his people are still being killed in the streets 62 years after Emmett Till. When his little cousin is murdered, Nate shuns the graffiti murals, candlelight vigils, and Twitter hashtags that are commonplace after these senseless...
Going zero : a novel
McCarten, Anthony
Paper Book
TWO HOURS TO VANISH. ONE CHANCE TO ESCAPE. ZERO ALTERNATIVES. Ten Americans have been carefully selected to Beta test a ground-breaking piece of spyware. FUSION can track anyone on earth. But does it work? For one contestant, an unassuming Boston librarian named...
The boyfriend
McFadden, Freida
Paper Book
A new, twisting thriller from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Teacher and The Housemaid! She's looking for the perfect man. He's looking for the perfect victim. Sydney Shaw, like every single woman in New York, has terrible luck with dating. She's seen it all: men...
Highway 13
McFarlane, Fiona.
Paper Book
A gripping, provocative work by one of our finest writers, the internationally acclaimed author Fiona McFarlane. In overlapping stories, Highway 13 explores the reverberations of a serial killer's crimes in the lives of everyday people. A brilliant and illuminating account of loss and its...
What happened to Nina? a thriller
McTiernan, Dervla
Paper Book
A New York Times' best thriller of the year! From the #1 internationally bestselling author of The Murder Rule comes an emotional novel of suspense about two families at war. Nina and Simon are the perfect couple. Young, fun and deeply in love. Until they leave for a weekend at his...
The fury
Michaelides, Alex
Paper Book
This is a tale of murder. Or maybe that's not quite true. At its heart, it's a love story, isn't it? One spring morning, reclusive ex-movie star Lana Farrar invites a small group of her closest friends for a weekend away, on her small private island, just off the...
What you leave behind : a novel
Morris, Wanda M.
Paper Book
Award-winning author Wanda Morris returns with a powerful, haunting thriller following a lawyer who after the mysterious disappearance of a local landowner and the death of his sister just months before, uncovers a conspiracy that dates back to Reconstruction and persists in half the United...
Hunted
Mukherjee, Abir
Paper Book
It's less than a month till the US presidential elections. A bomb goes off in an LA mall. It's a suicide bombing, carried out by a British Muslim girl. The FBI trace her arrival on US soil, realise she wasn't alone, and that the LA attack is only the beginning. In Florida, a mother...
Drowning : the rescue of Flight 1421 : a novel
Newman, T. J.
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * SOON TO BE A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE FROM WARNER BROTHERS PICTURES * "Reads like Apollo 13 underwater." --Don Winslow * "Masterful." --Patricia Cornwell * "A stunningly vivid tour de force!" Gripping. Shocking." --Brad Thor Flight...
The guest
Paris, B. A.
Paper Book
New York Times bestselling author B. A. Paris captivated psychological thriller readers everywhere with Behind Closed Doors. Now she invites you into another home full of heart-pounding secrets, in The Guest. Some secrets never...
House of glass
Pekkanen, Sarah
Paper Book
"Wow, I loved this one so much! I didn't want it to be over because I was enjoying it so much, but I couldn't stop turning pages! House of Glass is a gripping thriller that was packed with surprises and compelling characters." -- Freida McFadden The next...
Hero
Perry, Thomas
Paper Book
Justine Poole provides security for wealthy and high-profile Hollywood stars, but that all changes when a job puts her in the limelight. When she prevents a brazen robbery at the Beverly Hills home of two of her clients--killing two of the five armed robbers in the process--she is initially lauded...
A lonely man
Power, Chris
Paper Book
"Elegant . . . A superb suspense novel, imbued with moral and narrative complexity and an omnipresent low cloud cover of dread." --Maureen Corrigan, The Washington Post Two British men meet by chance in Berlin. Robert is trying and failing to finish his next book while...
The clinic : a novel
Quinn, Cate
Paper Book
Her sister is dead. The clinic says suicide. She knows they're lying. From the author of Black Widows, The Clinic is a chilling psychological thriller where addiction, trauma, and sisterhood twist through a locked-room mystery. Perfect for fans of The Sanatorium, The Silent Patient, and...
The Briar Club : a novel
Quinn, Kate
Paper Book
"Quinn evocatively balances the outward cheerfulness of the 1950s with historical observations exploring racism, misogyny, homophobia and political persecution in this sharply drawn, gripping novel." - People Magazine The New York Times bestselling author of The Diamond...
The last one at the wedding : a novel
Rekulak, Jason
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER From the author of the runaway hit, Hidden Pictures, comes a stunning new work of domestic suspense "Part conspiracy thriller, part family drama, The Last One at the Wedding kept my heart racing and my mind...
Lilith : a novel
Rickstad, Eric
Paper Book
From the internationally bestselling author of I Am Not Who You Think I Am--a New York Times Thriller of the Year--comes Lilith, an incendiary powerhouse of a novel that strikes straight at the wounded heart of America. Mother. Hero. Villain. Killer. After her son, Lydan, suffers...
Home is where the bodies are
Rose, Jeneva
Paper Book
A New York Times and USA Today bestseller From New York Times bestselling author of The Perfect Marriage and You Shouldn't Have Come Here comes a chilling family thriller about the (sometimes literal) skeletons in the closet. After their mother passes, three estranged siblings...
Very bad company
Rosenblum, Emma
Paper Book
From the national bestselling author of Bad Summer People * "Another irresistible summer read." ―W Magazine * "A darkly funny mystery." --TIME * "Juicy and hilarious." ―Glamour * "Fun, page-turning." ―People * A high-stakes, high-drama novel...
The devil's playground : a novel
Russell, Craig
Paper Book
A riveting 1920s Hollywood thriller about the making of the most terrifying silent film ever made, and a deadly search for the single copy rumored still to exist, from the internationally acclaimed author of The Devil Aspect. "An excellent, engrossing historical...
The truth about the Devlins
Scottoline, Lisa
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER USA Today Bestseller Lisa Scottoline, the #1 bestselling author of What Happened to the Bennetts, presents another pulse-pounding domestic thriller about family, justice, and the lies that tear us apart. TJ...
Nightwatching
Sierra, Tracy
Paper Book
Unputdownable · Psychological Suspense · Horror · Tense · Gripping A FALLON BOOK CLUB PICK "Pulse-pounding locked-room suspense." --Elle "Nightwatching is like nothing I've read before. I wolfed it down in two sittings; it's...
Symphony of secrets
Slocumb, Brendan
Paper Book
A gripping page-turner from the celebrated author of book club favorite The Violin Conspiracy: Music professor Bern Hendricks discovers a shocking secret about the most famous American composer of all time--his music may have been stolen from a Black Jazz Age prodigy named Josephine Reed....
A talent for murder : a novel
Swanson, Peter
Paper Book
"What a killer read! A Talent For Murder is the thrilling tale of a woman who suspects her husband is a serial killer. As the bodies stack up, so does the paranoid tension until I was feverishly turning pages in the dark, desperate to know what happens next. A fast,...
Bright objects : a novel
Todd, Ruby
Paper Book
One of The New York Times 10 Best Thrillers of 2024 One of The New Yorker's Best Books of 2024 One of Publishers Weekly's Best Books of 2024 A "luminous, unusual, unexpected" (The New York Times) debut novel blending...
The new couple in 5b
Unger, Lisa
Paper Book
"Spine-tingling fun." --People "Lisa Unger, you've done it again." --Sarah Michelle Gellar, Emmy Award-winning actress A couple inherits an apartment with a spine-tingling past in this unputdownable thriller from the New York Times ...
The butcher and the Wren
Urquhart, Alaina
Paper Book
INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER From the co-host of chart-topping true crime podcast Morbid, a thrilling debut novel told from the dueling perspectives of anotorious serial killer and the medical examiner following where his trail of victims leads ...
Blizzard : a novel
Vingtras, Marie
Paper Book
A runaway bestseller about a boy gone missing in the middle of an Alaskan blizzard, and the people desperate to find him--from multi-award-winning author Marie Vingtras.   Winner of the Prix Des Libraires, the French Booksellers' Prize for Best Novel of the...
One perfect couple
Ware, Ruth
Paper Book
Harkening to Agatha Christie's classic And Then There Were None, this high-tension thriller follows five couples trapped on a storm-swept island as a killer stalks among them--from Ruth Ware, the New York Times bestselling author who "is turning out to be as ingenious and...
The winner : a novel
Wayne, Teddy
Paper Book
A New York Times Book Review and Washington Post "Top-10 Thriller of the Year" A New Yorker, Vogue, Esquire, Elle, and Bookshop.org "Best Book of the Year' Conor O'Toole has never been anywhere like Cutters Neck, a gated community near Cape Cod. It...
All the Colours of the Dark
Whitaker, Chris.
Paper Book
A missing persons mystery, a serial killer thriller, and an epic love story - with a unique twist on each...* * * * *Late one summer, the town of Monta Clare is shattered by the abduction of local teenager Joseph 'Patch' Macauley. Nobody more so than Saint Brown, who is broken...
The beach at Summerly : a novel
Williams, Beatriz
Paper Book
"There are few more skilled practitioners of the craft of summer fiction than Beatriz Williams." -- The New York Times Book Review A ravishing summer read from New York Times bestseller Beatriz Williams, sweeping readers back to a mid-century New England rich with...
Only if you're lucky : a novel
Willingham, Stacy
Paper Book
A sharp and twisty exploration of female friendship from the New York Times bestselling author of A Flicker in the Dark and All the Dangerous Things. Lucy Sharpe is larger than life. Magnetic, addictive. Bold and dangerous. Especially for Margot, who meets...
City in ruins : a novel
Winslow, Don
Paper Book
Instant New York Times Bestseller! "The final shattering installment in a gangland trilogy to equal The Godfather. If you like Scarface and Goodfellas, this is where it's at." -- Stephen King "City in Ruins is Don Winslow showing the rest of us how it's done. Winslow has saved the...
The white lady : a novel
Winspear, Jacqueline
Paper Book
Instant New York Times and National Bestseller "A triumph. . . . Winspear creates in Elinor White (the 'White Lady'), a complex, endearing, achingly flawed hero. This is both fast-paced and thoughtful, bold and nuanced, a thriller that is thrillingly human. I loved it." --Louise Penny ...
One of our kind
Yoon, Nicola
Paper Book
'Your bookclub will be discussing this one for DAYS'-Jodi Picoult, author of SMALL GREAT THINGS Get Out meets The Stepford Wives in #1 New York Times best-selling author Nicola Yoon's first adult novel. When Jasmyn Williams and her husband King realise they...
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