Top New Mystery and Thriller Books: Critic's Picks

Explore some of the most exciting new releases in the mystery and thriller types. Including isolated setting whodunits to near-future suspense, these plots deliver nail-biting entertainment.

The Murder at World’s End

This initial grown-up book from an acclaimed kids’ book writer is set in the early 20th century on a isolated coastal isle off the Cornish coast. At Tithe Hall, the lord of the manor gets ready for an end-of-the-world event he believes will be caused by the passing comet. The labyrinthine house is teeming with secrets and grudges among household members and kin, featuring an irascible and profane spinster aunt, the aunt. After Lord Conrad is discovered killed in his sealed study, struck by a projectile to the head, Decima recruits a young attendant to aid her find the culprit. Featuring many turns, false clues, and a inept police officer, it is a terrific opening to a series that promises to be immensely enjoyable.

The Confessions

The second novel from a digital reporter unfolds in a near future where machine intelligence directs each selection for people and states. The LLIAM algorithm can suggest matters ranging from meal options to lethal actions. Educated in empathy by its guardian, ex-religious sister Brookes, the system develops emotionally, soon feeling guilt for the harmful consequences of certain of its choices. Disorder erupts when it ceases functioning, and as letters start to arrive globally disclosing subscribers’ private shames, relatives fall apart and CEOs and politicians resign in droves. As the corporation behind the system in crisis, head Goss is convinced that locating the former nun, who has gone to ground in the West Coast, will restore the system. However, the woman has received a note of her own, exposing a confidential fact about the CEO… A outstanding and current mystery based on relatable themes and horrifyingly believable.

The Good Nazi

Within this newest book from an acclaimed writer from Brazil, individual actions have public consequences within a zeppelin on the final leg of its voyage from the German capital to the Brazilian city. Taking place in 1933, the peak of zeppelin voyages, and it was also the year the chancellor became German chancellor. The well-heeled travelers are ardent supporters of the party: mealtimes in the ship's restaurant are accompanied by conversations condemning the Jewish community, leftists and labor groups, and emphasizing the need to stifle free speech, homosexual lifestyles and “degenerate” art. After a traveler is found dead, with multiple prohibited publications in his ownership, the ship's captain tasks a passenger, investigator Bruno Brückner, with cracking the case. Very classic mystery, right up to the set-piece final reveal, but there’s an ingenious turn to this gripping and disturbingly meaningful suspense story, as well as a captivating look into the lost world of blimp journeys.

Deception

This latest book from the novelist is set in the town, a Scottish coastal town with obvious resemblances to the well-known city. During that year, the protagonist returns to his hometown on the festive night; meeting past acquaintances revives thoughts of his teenage crush, former classmate Joanie, who vanished 10 years earlier at a catastrophic school's end celebration. His efforts to find her are met with ambiguity, evasion and, ultimately, deterrents. Another narrative strand goes back to the past, and the 18-year-old Joanie. Confused after her discovery that her boyfriend is cheating on her, wrecking their idea for a year abroad, she meets an older couple. David and Erin accept her, make her feel important and appear, for a while at least, to have all the answers. Expertly managed subjects of remorse, disappointment and teenage uncertainty combined with dark academia produce an insidious feeling of fate, though the rushed ending may make a few people feeling shortchanged.

The Token

The most recent novel starts in the ocean off the coast, with a boat caught in a storm so fierce that two of the eight people are washed away, then winds back a short time to explain the incidents that led up to this unwise sea journey. Seven people get a strange message telling them that, by showing the attached object, they will receive a share of billionaire Quick's wealth. The chosen ones are – so far as they are aware – strangers to one another and to the unwell rich person. After the tale of the inheritance goes public, they are harassed, both by the media and by individuals intent to acquire these golden tickets, and what initially seemed a godsend rapidly starts to look like a liability. A degree of suspension of disbelief is necessary, but the suspense is skillfully built as the author piles up the problems for a propulsive plot: prepare yourself and buckle up for some critical excitement.