12 Most Popular Mystery & Thriller Books of 2023
I can’t be the only one who loves a good, intense, mystery, thriller book that will keep you on the edge of your seat aggressively flipping through the pages to get answers. I read a lot of Nancy Drew when I was younger, so my interest in solving mysteries has always been there apparently.
Along with fantasy, mystery is another popular genre in the book world.
These were some of the top trending mystery and thriller books of 2023. *Book summaries from Barnes and Noble – Check out some of my favorite books that I read in February 2024!
Table of Contents
Popular Mystery & Thriller Books of 2023
The Only One Left
Riley Sager
Set on the remote Maine coast, The Only One Left straddles the line between suspense and horror while excavating deep family histories perpetuated by myth and rumor. It’s a tantalizing mystery with layers to peel back.
Stabbed her father with a knife
Took her mother’s happy life
“It wasn’t me,” Lenora said
But she’s the only one not dead
The Raging Storm
Anne Cleeves – Matthew Venn Series
When Jem Rosco blows into town in the middle of an autumn gale, the residents of Greystone, Devon, are delighted to have a celebrity in their midst. But just as abruptly as he arrived, Rosco disappears again, and soon his lifeless body is discovered in a dinghy, anchored off Scully Cove, a place with legends of its own. Superstition and rumor mix with fact as another body is found, and Venn finds his judgment clouded. As the winds howl, and Venn and his team investigate, he realizes that no one, including himself, is safe.
Zero Days
Ruth Ware – Zero Days
Hired by companies to break into buildings and hack security systems, Jack and her husband, Gabe, are the best penetration specialists in the business. But after a routine assignment goes horribly wrong, Jack arrives home to find her husband dead. To add to her horror, the police are closing in on their suspect—her.
Suddenly on the run and quickly running out of options, Jack must decide who she can trust as she circles closer to the real killer in this unputdownable and heart-pounding mystery from an author whose
The Housemaid’s Secret
Freida McFadden – The Housemaid Series
The follow-up to The Housemaid, The Housemaid’s Secret is just as thrilling and also belongs in the upper echelon of domestic thrillers. To anyone that says lightning doesn’t strike twice, show them Freida McFadden.
As he continues showing me their incredible penthouse apartment, I have a terrible feeling about the woman behind closed doors. But I can’t risk losing this job – not if I want to keep my darkest secret safe . . .
None of This Is True
Lisa Jewell
Alix Summer crosses paths with an unassuming woman called Josie Fair. Slowly she starts to realize that Josie has been hiding some very dark secrets, and before she knows it, Josie has inveigled her way into Alix’s life—and into her home. But, as quickly as she arrived, Josie disappears. Only then does Alix discover that Josie has left a terrible and terrifying legacy in her wake, and that Alix has become the subject of her own true crime podcast, with her life and her family’s lives under mortal threat. Who is Josie Fair? And what has she done?
You Shouldn’t Have Come Here
Jeneva Rose
A cat and mouse thriller set in Wyoming at an Airbnb ranch, and written by Jeneva Rose? This dynamic combination makes for a riveting read full of enough twists and turns to keep you burning through pages en route to elusive answers.
You’ve opened up your house and your heart to a total stranger … What could possibly go wrong?
The Last Devil To Die
Richard Osman – The Thursday Murder Club
Shocking news reaches them—an old friend has been killed, and a dangerous package he was protecting has gone missing.
The gang’s search leads them into the antiques business, where the tricks of the trade are as old as the objects themselves. As they encounter drug dealers, art forgers, and online fraudsters—as well as heartache close to home—Elizabeth, Joyce, Ron, and Ibrahim have no idea whom to trust.
With the body count rising, the clock ticking down, and trouble firmly on their tail, has their luck finally run out?
And who will be the last devil to die?
Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice For Murders
Jesse Q. Sutanto
Vera Wong is a lonely little old lady—ah, lady of a certain age—who lives above her forgotten tea shop in the middle of San Francisco’s Chinatown.
Then one morning, Vera trudges downstairs to find a curious thing—a dead man in the middle of her tea shop. In his outstretched hand, a flash drive. Vera doesn’t know what comes over her, but after calling the cops like any good citizen would, she sort of . . . swipes the flash drive from the body and tucks it safely into the pocket of her apron. Vera knows the killer will be back for the flash drive; all she has to do is watch the increasing number of customers at her shop and figure out which one among them is the killer.
Murder Your Employee: Masters Guide To Homicide
Rupert Holmes
We’ve all dreamed of exacting revenge on our mortal enemies — whether it be your boss, neighbor, or that one guy who always cuts you in line at the deli — and this is a world where those dreams become reality. Perfect for fans of The Thursday Murder Club and Anthony Horowitz.
Prepare for an education you’ll never forget. A “fiendishly funny” (Booklist) mix of witty wordplay, breathtaking twists and genuine intrigue, Murder Your Employer will gain you admission into a wholly original world, cocooned within the most entertaining book about well-intentioned would-be murderers you’ll ever read.
All The Sinners Bleed
S.A. Cosby
Titus Crown is the first Black sheriff in the history of Charon County, Virginia. In recent decades, quiet Charon has had only two murders. But after years of working as an FBI agent, Titus knows better than anyone that while his hometown might seem like a land of moonshine, cornbread, and honeysuckle, secrets always fester under the surface. Then a year to the day after Titus’s election, a school teacher is killed by a former student and the student is fatally shot by Titus’s deputies. As Titus investigates the shootings, he unearths terrible crimes and a serial killer who has been hiding in plain sight, haunting the dirt lanes and woodland clearings of Charon.
Charon is Titus’s home and his heart. But where faith and violence meet, there will be a reckoning.
The River We Remember
William Kent Krueger
On Memorial Day in Jewel, Minnesota, the body of wealthy landowner Jimmy Quinn is found floating in the Alabaster River, dead from a shotgun blast. The investigation falls to Sheriff Brody Dern, a highly decorated war hero who still carries the physical and emotional scars from his military service. Even before Dern has the results of the autopsy, vicious rumors begin to circulate that the killer must be Noah Bluestone, a Native American WWII veteran who has recently returned to Jewel with a Japanese wife. As suspicions and accusations mount and the town teeters on the edge of more violence, Dern struggles not only to find the truth of Quinn’s murder but also put to rest the demons from his own past.
After That Night
Karin Slaughter – Will Trent Series
Will Trent and Sara Linton are back in an electrifying thriller featuring GBI investigator Will Trent and medical examiner Sara Linton. After that night, everything changed . . .
Fifteen years ago, Sara Linton’s life changed forever when a celebratory night out ended in a violent attack that tore her world apart. Since then, Sara has remade her life. A successful doctor, engaged to a man she loves, she has finally managed to leave the past behind her.
Until one evening, on call in the ER, everything changes. Sara battles to save a broken young woman who’s been brutally attacked. But as the investigation progresses, led by GBI Special Agent Will Trent, it becomes clear that Dani Cooper’s assault is uncannily linked to Sara’s.
And the past isn’t going to stay buried forever . . .
Have you read any of these books? If so, what did you think? Let us know in the comments!!
ADMIN
Latest posts by ADMIN (see all)
- Stress Relief: List of 30 Ways To Reduce Stress & Improve Mental Health Now - June 29, 2024
- Top 12 Life-Changing Self-Help & Personal Growth Books of 2023 - June 26, 2024
- Ultimate List of Book Genres: Expand Your Reading Horizons Now - June 24, 2024
These books look like some good reads. Never heard of them, but I would indulge in a few of them. I particularly like “ZERO DAYS.” From your synopsis, it looks like my kinda read. Thanks for sharing.
The only one of these I am familiar with is the Housemaid’s Secret. This is a great list; I would love to read some mysteries this month.
That’s a great list of thriller books. My husband loves reading thriller books. I will share this list with him.
I love seeing Thriller movies, but really need to get into reading! Thank you for these recommendations. I haven’t read any of them.
I am always looking for new books to read and a few of these books sound like they are right up my alley. Thanks for sharing them!
I’ve not read any of these ones specifically but I have read the first Richard Osman book so I do need to get to reading the rest of that series. And I do have the housemaid to read, and now the third one has come out I can read all of those x
What a fabulous list! I would love to check some of these out! They all sounds so intriguing. I love a good thriller once in a while..thank you for sharing!
I am always on the lookout for a good book. I am going to have to give some of these a try. Thanks for the heads up!
I do love a good thriller. They can make for a really great read and can get you thinking too. I need to get some of these in for the summer.
I completely agree with your enthusiasm for intense mystery and thriller books! The excitement of uncovering secrets and solving puzzles keeps readers hooked from start to finish. It’s great to see how your early love for Nancy Drew evolved into a lasting passion for the genre. The list of top trending mystery and thriller books of 2023 sounds intriguing—I can’t wait to check out some of your recommendations for February 2024!
I am in need of a new book, so will definitely put some of these on my reading list. I found out recently I am friends with Anne Cleeves Daughter
Wow, thanks for this awesome list! Mystery and thriller books are my absolute favorite, and I’m always on the lookout for new reads. The Only One Left and The Raging Storm sound especially intriguing—I can’t wait to dive into those!
I haven’t read any of these books. I feel I’ve missed out a lot…I love a good thriller. I can’t wait to start catching up with these recos, thank you so so much.
I love a good thriller. These all sound great but the Housemaid’s Secret is definitely first on my list.