Listicle: 10 mystery books you won’t be able to put down

This YA debut novel by Codie Crowley is a fast-paced thriller about a girl on the hunt for justice. Between her careless mom, cheating ex-boyfriend, and terrible reputation, Annie Lane is used to being left behind. But she’s never been left for dead before. She she wakes up to find her body’s been dumped on a mountain rumoured to raise the dead. She can’t remember who killed her. But she plans to make them pay. Out August 2024.

Amanda Jayatissa, the author of My Sweet Girl (which won the International Thriller Writer’s Award for Best First Novel in 2021) and You’re Invited (2022) sets Island Witch in 19th century Sri Lanka. Inspired by local folklore, the daughter of a demon-priest (who is bullied and accused of witchcraft herself) tries to find out who’s behind the attacks that have been terrorising her village. Early reviews called the book raw, brutal, tense and twisty. Out February 2024.

Fans of former investigative journalist S Hussain Zaidi’s true-crime writing will love this one. The book follows an underworld don in Bangkok, Shakti Pillai, who’s being targeted by a police inspector, his former mentor and more. All the players converge in Bangkok and of course, there’s a fun game of cat and mouse. The book releases (tentatively) in December but promises to be worth the wait.

Imran Mahmood’s next novel is told from the alternating perspectives of parents Harry and Zara, whose lives have revolved around their daughter Sophie for 17 years. One day Sophie heads out and never comes back home. Six weeks on, the police are still stumped. Harry and Zara have questioned everyone too, except one house on their block whose occupant refuses to break his silence. Out March 2024.

The Japanese book by Hisashi Kashiwai (translated into English by Jesse Kirkwood) was already a bestseller. The setting is a diner run by Koishi Kamogawa and her father Nagare, where they serve delish meals. But the real reason customers stop by is because the father-daughter duo are ‘food detectives’. Through unique investigations, they recreate dishes from a person’s most treasured memories. How much would you give to eat that one special meal again? Available to order on Amazon now.

The debut novel by Arsh Verma, a 2017-batch Haryana cadre IPS officer, will be on shelves soon. It follows a well-meaning primary-school teacher who volunteers at a suicide hotline centre, but over time, realises she simply can’t save everyone. Then, one of the phones in her cubicle begins to ring without being plugged in...

Set in Memphis, Tennessee, Sara Koffi’s first novel is a thriller that explores contemporary race and class issues in the US. When Elizabeth Smith finds the body of her coworker and friend in what is deemed a suicide – perhaps too quickly – she starts to spiral, coming up with her own theories. Both her husband and her therapist think she’s unhinged. Is she? Out April 2024.

Film biographer Yasser Usman’s first work of fiction will be released in the second half of 2024. The book is (tentatively) called The Silent Scream and follows a Delhi policeman who arrives at a remote hill town where he discovers a trail of mutilated bodies. He also comes across a face he never thought he’d see again. This one should be worth the wait.

In 1985, a private jet carrying four partners of a law firm crashed outside New York City. Everyone aboard is killed. Four widows are convinced it’s not an accident. As they adjust to grief and a changed life, a covert investigation begins. The book was originally an Audible Original but if audiobooks aren’t your thing, it’s out in paperback April 2024. Did we mention it’s been written by four authors? Reviews are calling it the most original thriller of the year.

If you read Only One Left (2022) or Home Before Dark (2020) by American author Riley Sager, you’re going to want to pick this one up too. Ethan returns to his childhood home 30 years after his best friend Billy was kidnapped. Battling bad dreams and insomnia, Ethan begins noticing strange things: someone roaming around the cul de sac at odd hours, signs of Billy that keep appearing in his backyard. Most curious. Out June 2024.