The most recommended new thrillers books

Who picked these books? Meet our 162 experts.

162 authors created a book list connected to new thrillers, and here are their favorite new thrillers books.
When you buy books, we may earn a commission that helps keep our lights on (or join the rebellion as a member).

What type of new thrillers book?

Loading...

Book cover of Snowglobe

Jeanne Boyarsky Author Of OCP Oracle Certified Professional Java SE 17 Developer Study Guide: Exam 1Z0-829

From Jeanne's 3 favorite reads in 2024.

Why am I passionate about this?

Author

Jeanne's 3 favorite reads in 2024

Jeanne Boyarsky Why did Jeanne love this book?

Great book! The premise is that the world is inhospitable with an average temperature of -50F and highs of -17F. There are two domed cities that are better. One is SnowGlobe where almost everyone is on reality tv. The other is for retirees of SnowGlobe. Well some retirees. I say almost everyone as the directors of the reality shows and the ruling family are exempt from being on camera all the time.

Everyone dreams of being in SnowGlobe where it is a good temperature. They want to give up their privacy. Everyone in the world watches. There are stars. People stay in SnowGlobe as long as they are watchable. They all aspire to be stars as the best actor of the year gets a job as the "weather presenter" and stay in SnowGlobe forever.

The weather presenter job idea is cool. Since all weather is artificially it is generated with…

By Soyoung Park, Joungmin Lee Comfort (translator),

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Snowglobe as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 12, 13, 14, and 15.

What is this book about?

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The groundbreaking Korean phenomenon that Entertainment Weekly called “The Hunger Games meets Squid Game”—now in English for the first time!

“An immersive and utterly addictive dark dystopian thriller . . . with the eerie, desperate, and exhilarating vibes of Snowpiercer and The Hunger Games.” —Susan Lee, author of Seoulmates

In a world of constant winter, only the citizens of the climate-controlled city of Snowglobe can escape the bitter cold—but this perfect society is hiding dark and dangerous secrets within its frozen heart.

**The gorgeous first edition hardcover of Snowglobe features two covers in one (a…


Book cover of Looking for Smoke

Vanessa L. Torres Author Of On the Wings of la Noche

From Vanessa's 3 favorite reads in 2024.

Why am I passionate about this?

Author

Vanessa's 3 favorite reads in 2024

Vanessa L. Torres Why did Vanessa love this book?

Looking for Smoke is a thriller, set on the Blackfeet reservation. It is no wonder why this book was chosen as the Fall YA pick for the Reese Book Club. Looking for Smoke is told in five different points of view, one of which is a mystery voice. Cobell's writing is exceptional in it's depth of character and the ability to make each POV distinct and palpable. I was drawn into a world I know so little about. There simply are not enough books out there from indigenous authors. We certainly need more like this one. I was captured until the very end.

By K.A. Cobell,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Looking for Smoke as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 12, 13, 14, and 15.

What is this book about?

THE REESE WITHERSPOON BOOK CLUB PICK - A literary-thriller murder mystery, set within a Native American community for fans of Firekeeper's Daughter, Sadie and the One of Us Is Lying series by a debut own voices author

Since moving to the Blackfeet Reservation with her parents, Mara Racette has felt like an outsider, taunted by her tight-knit classmates for growing up far away. So, when a local girl includes Mara in a traditional Blackfeet Giveaway to honor her missing sister, Mara thinks she'll finally make some friends.

Instead, a girl from the Giveaway, Samantha White Tail, is found murdered.
Because…


Book cover of She Is a Haunting

Nicole M. Wolverton Author Of A Misfortune of Lake Monsters

From my list on YA books to launch you into the autumn spooky season.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m a Pushcart-nominated writer of (mostly) young adult and adult horror and suspense. I primarily write about the fear of isolated and sparsely populated places, which makes sense: I grew up in the rural hinterlands of northeast Pennsylvania, steeped in dark cornfields, eerie quiet, and weird characters. I now live in the Philadelphia area with my husband and rescue dog in a creaky, century-old house, giving myself agita about the creepy crawlspace in the basement. I’m the author of two novels: A Misfortune of Lake Monsters (YA horror, July 2024) and The Trajectory of Dreams (adult psychological suspense, 2013).

Nicole's book list on YA books to launch you into the autumn spooky season

Nicole M. Wolverton Why did Nicole love this book?

Jade, the protagonist, is just about to start college, so the “What I did on my summer vacation” essay assignments are likely far behind her, yet I found myself wondering how she would describe her summer trip to Vietnam to stay with her estranged father in his haunted and haunting French colonial villa restoration project.

Come for the colonialism and generational trauma; stay for the ghosts and the bugs and the excellent world-building around food culture (all of which are intertwined.) What makes this book so visceral for me personally is Jade’s anger at her father, so intense that it seems to permeate every inch of the house and the words on the page, and the sense of being Other in so many ways. 

This is the perfect book to read on one of those stormy, sweltering summer nights when each bolt of lightning highlights the shadows lurking in the…

By Trang Thanh Tran,

Why should I read it?

4 authors picked She Is a Haunting as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 12, 13, 14, and 15.

What is this book about?

This house eats and is eaten . . . "A riveting debut from a remarkable new voice! Trang Thanh Tran weaves an impressive gothic mystery in which Jade's father is determined to restore a decrepit home to its former glory and Jade is the only person who feels the soul-crushing devastation of colonialism lingering within its walls." --Angeline Boulley, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Firekeeper's Daughter A House with a terrifying appetite haunts a broken family in this atmospheric horror, perfect for fans of Mexican Gothic. When Jade Nguyen arrives in Vietnam for a visit with her…


Book cover of The Invocations

Stacy Stokes Author Of The Darkness Rises

From my list on thrillers with a dash of magic.

Why am I passionate about this?

I was in fifth grade when I brought home my first paranormal thriller from the library. It was love at first read. Since then, I’ve broadened my reading horizons to many fiction genres, but fast-paced stories grounded in our world with a dash of magic continue to be my favorite. The same can be said of my viewing habits—give me shows like Severance or Black Mirror, and I’ll be glued to the screen all day long. It probably doesn’t surprise anyone that it is my favorite entertainment genre and writing genre. Many of the books on this list have served as inspiration—I hope you love them too!

Stacy's book list on thrillers with a dash of magic

Stacy Stokes Why did Stacy love this book?

I love witches and serial killers as much as the next paranormal thriller fan, so I was truly delighted to learn that a book featured both.

Not only that, but the way the witches in this book get their power is truly unique and—sorry, not sorry for the pun—spellbinding. The only thing I didn’t like about this book was that it ended.   

By Krystal Sutherland,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Invocations as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 12, 13, 14, and 15.

What is this book about?

From the author of New York Times bestseller House of Hollow comes a darkly seductive witchy thriller where, though both men and demons lurk in shadows, girls refuse to go quietly into the night.

AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

Three girls, one supernatural killer on the loose . . .

Zara Jones believes in magic because the alternative is too painful to consider-that her murdered sister is gone forever and there is nothing she can do about it. Rather than grieving and moving on, Zara decides she will do whatever it takes to claw her sister back from the…


Book cover of Where Wolves Don't Die

Mara White

From Mara's 3 favorite reads in 2024.

Mara White Why did Mara love this book?

I read this first to myself and the second time to my thirteen year old son. It was a page turning thriller steeped in culture and history, family, tradition, and community. It's a bildungsroman within a murder mystery within a wilderness survival story. It was a joy to read with my son and a beautiful reminder of what's truly important in life.

By Anton Treuer,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Where Wolves Don't Die as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 12, 13, 14, and 15.

What is this book about?

Ezra Cloud hates living in Northeast Minneapolis. His father is a professor of their language, Ojibwe, at a local college, so they have to be there. But Ezra hates the dirty, polluted snow around them. He hates being away from the rez at Nigigoonsiminikaaning First Nation. And he hates the local bully in his neighborhood, Matt Schroeder, who terrorizes Ezra and his friend Nora George.

Ezra gets into a terrible fight with Matt at school defending Nora, and that same night, Matt’s house burns down. Instantly, Ezra becomes a prime suspect. Knowing he won’t get a fair deal, and knowing…


Book cover of There Goes the Neighborhood

Talia Tucker Author Of Rules for Rule Breaking

From my list on characters that break all the rules.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m a Jamaican and Korean American author of young adult romance, and when crafting my stories, I love to create characters who go against the expectations thrust upon them, whether they’re based on race, ethnicity, sex, gender, sexuality, ability, etc. As a woman, as someone with multiple ethnic identities, as someone who isn’t neurotypical, and someone who doesn’t subscribe to the norms of gender and sexuality, navigating intersectionality has been a large part of my life and, therefore, my work. Rules should be broken when they're the ones telling us we can’t do something based on who we are.

Talia's book list on characters that break all the rules

Talia Tucker Why did Talia love this book?

This book is full of rule-breakers, but not in the way you’d think. Rhea and her friends try to combat gentrification in their South L.A. neighborhood in the most unconventional way imaginable by inventing a fake gang; however, they are soon blamed for a very real murder.

I lived in West Baltimore for a time and saw the effects of gentrification taking over my neighborhood even in the short two years that I was there, so this book really resonated with me on a personal level. The premise reminded me of those memes of people claiming to shoot out the windows every few months to keep the rent low. While it’s a joke, there is a very real fear behind it, and this is a complex issue that Adia tackles with such a fresh voice and nuanced approach.

By Jade Adia,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked There Goes the Neighborhood as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 12, 13, 14, and 15.

What is this book about?

Winner of the 2024 Coretta Scott King John Steptoe New Talent Award

A raised fist against the destructive forces of gentrification and a love letter to communities of color everywhere, Jade Adia's unforgettable debut tells the darkly hilarious story of three best friends willing to do whatever it takes to stay together.

The gang is fake, but the fear is real.

Rhea’s neighborhood is fading away—the mom-and-pop shops of her childhood forced out to make space for an artisanal kombucha brewery here, a hot yoga studio there. And everywhere, the feeling that this place is no longer meant for her.…


Book cover of Someone Is Always Watching

Mads Rafferty Author Of Deadly Occupants

From my list on spooky books for the season.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve been fascinated with the paranormal since I was a little girl and used to talk to the old lady on the edge of my bed. That old lady turned out to be my grandma, who had passed when I was in my mother’s womb. My entire family is touched by the curiosity and love that comes with the paranormal, so much so my mother is a working psychic medium. For years, I have spent every birthday attending haunted houses with a paranormal team to “investigate.” For some strange reason, I love to be terrified, and I fear I will never stop chasing the thrill. 

Mads' book list on spooky books for the season

Mads Rafferty Why did Mads love this book?

I felt like I was on the Truman Show reading this book. With every page turned I knew something was wrong, that something odd was happening but I couldn’t have ever thought in my wildest dreams that what was occurring was the plot twist.

As I found out what was happening along with the main characters, I was shocked.

This book truly made me feel like I was reading a YA version of Don’t Worry Darling, the movie. 

By Kelley Armstrong,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Someone Is Always Watching as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 12, 13, 14, and 15.

What is this book about?

Their lives are a lie. Their memories may not be real. A new young adult psychological thriller by #1 NYT bestselling author, Kelley Armstrong.

Blythe and her friends — Gabrielle, and brother and sister Tucker and Tanya — have always been a tight friend group, attending a local high school and falling in and out of love with each other. But an act of violence has caused a rift between Blythe and Tucker . . . and unexpected bursts of aggression and disturbing nightmares have started to become more frequent in their lives. 

The strange happenings culminate in a shocking…


Book cover of Girls Who Burn

Elena Taylor Author Of All We Buried: A Sheriff Bet Rivers Mystery

From my list on female sleuths in small, rural towns.

Why am I passionate about this?

I started reading crime fiction when I was a very young child. My granny introduced me to mysteries through authors like Tony Hillerman, who wrote books set in the Four Corners region of the American Southwest. That early introduction into mysteries set in small towns and rural areas stuck. My books also focus on smaller towns and rural areas, which I love to visit through fiction or in real life. I have often made my home in a small town and work as a crime fiction author and a developmental editor, so I have an eye for both solid mysteries and life in a rural community.

Elena's book list on female sleuths in small, rural towns

Elena Taylor Why did Elena love this book?

I loved the twisty way this debut author stayed ahead of me with her plot. This is a YA novel, but I found the characters, especially the protagonist Addie Blackwood, instantly accessible, even though my teen years are far behind me. The prose was tense and active, taking me on a nonstop rollercoaster ride.

The author deftly combined the very real danger to the characters with the complexity of teen love, which kept me guessing what would happen next. It made me nostalgic for my own teenage years while simultaneously glad I never had to face a terrifying situation like Addie does! 

By MK Pagano,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Girls Who Burn as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 12, 13, 14, and 15.

What is this book about?

Eighteen-year-old Addie Blackwood regrets nothing more than one horrible, mistake-filled night last summer. Hours after she hurled the worst words she could think of at her sister, Fiona was found dead at the bottom of a ravine. The police ruled her death an accident, but Addie's never bought it. Her ballet-prodigy sister didn't slip and fall; she was pushed. And Addie's number one suspect: Thatcher Montgomery, the rich kid down the street who always had a thing for Fiona.

But when Thatcher is found dead in the same ravine, Addie must admit she was wrong. And now her only ally…


Book cover of The Wicked Unseen

Maura Jortner Author Of 102 Days of Lying About Lauren

From Maura's 3 favorite reads in 2023.

Why am I passionate about this?

Author Professor Writer Reader Lover of all things having to do with cats Theater geek

Maura's 3 favorite reads in 2023

Plus, Maura's 12-year-old's favorite books.

Maura Jortner Why did Maura love this book?

I loved how this book used tropes from horror movies.

I enjoy watching horror movies... a little. Mostly, I’m just scared while they’re on, but I have been watching more lately because my youngest daughter loves them. Griffis does a great job of using her understanding of horror movies from beginning to end.

Also, Audre, the main character, has a loving and supportive family and I enjoyed reading that. So often in YA the main character’s family is absent or abusive and I liked seeing this family’s love clearly on the page.

By Gigi Griffis,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Wicked Unseen as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 12, 13, 14, and 15.

What is this book about?

The new girl in town is having trouble fitting into a community that believes there’s a secret Satanic cult conducting rituals in the woods. When her crush goes missing, she starts to wonder if the town’s obsession with evil isn’t covering up something far worse. Perfect for fans of Fear Street!

From the moment Audre arrives in rural Pennsylvania, it’s clear she won’t fit in. After all, her nose ring, her horror movie obsession, and her family’s Ouija board collection aren’t likely to endear her to a town convinced there’s a secret Satanic cult conducting rituals in the nearby woods.…


Book cover of Darkly
Book cover of Snowglobe
Book cover of Looking for Smoke

Share your top 3 reads of 2024!

And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.

1,847

readers submitted
so far, will you?