The Best New Thriller Books of 2026

Caution: The best new thriller books are so addicting you’ll find yourself glued to the page. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

A new season brings new books, and the list of new thrillers in 2025 is particularly long.

Of course, my 2026 reading list is full of all the best new thriller books I could find.

If you are a fan of page-turning mysteries, you’ll love this list of all the best new thrillers of 2026. In my search for the best thrillers books of the year, I’ve included all the best thriller books out there.

Whether you are looking for the best new psychological thriller books or prefer a good domestic mystery, there’s something for everyone!

In a sequel to The Last Thing He Told Me, Hannah Hall and her stepdaughter Bailey have settled into a new life five years after Owen disappeared. When Owen suddenly reappears at one of Hannah’s exhibits, she knows that she and Bailey are in danger. Forced to run, Hannah must do everything she can to protect Bailey from Owen’s past while realizing there might be only one way out for the three of them.

Publication Date: 6 January 2026
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St. Medard’s Bay, Alabama, is known for its hurricanes, its historic Rosalie Inn, and its local girl Lo Bailey who was suspected of the the murder of politician Landon Fitzroy during Hurricane Marie in 1984. When Geneva Corliss hears a true crime writer is researching Fitzroy’s murder, she sees an opportunity to bring more business to the struggling Rosalie Inn. When the writer arrives with Lo Bailey, Geneva wonders if Lo is there not to clear her name but to settle old scores. With another hurricane making its way toward town, Geneva suspects Lo’s secrets might be even more destructive than any hurricane.

Publication Date: 6 January 2026
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Petra Rose used to ride high as an acclaimed author but after a disastrous film adaptation, the internet has turned against her. Ever since, she’s struggled to write, missing deadlines and getting behind on her mortgage. In a last ditch effort to save her career, Petra retreats to a remote lakeside cabin to finish her novel with the help of Detective Nathaniel Saint. When Petra’s fictional detective and Nathaniel start to blur together, she learns that inspiration comes at a cost.

Publication Date: 13 January 2026
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For years, Debbie has been the voice of reason in her advice column to the wives of New England, helping them overcome being belittled and abused by their husbands. When Debbie loses her job and suspects her husband is cheating, she decides she is done being reasonable. Now Debbie is ready for payback against all the people who have wronged her.

Publication Date: 27 January 2026
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Although they have been drifting apart since high school, Tess finally agrees to go caving with her self-made travel influencer friend Allie. In the depths, Tess and Allie run into a strange man who starts harassing them. When Allie insults him, he retaliates and Tess finds herself trapped underground in a desperate fight for survival. As she recounts the events to a detective, Tess learns that Allie has been lying and the encounter wasn’t as random as she thought.

Publication Date: 17 February 2026
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V. E. Schwab and Cat Clarke team up to pen a locked-room mystery satirizing the publishing industry. Six authors have been invited to the private Scottish island of bestselling author Arthur Fletch. At arrival, they learn that Arthur is dead and his agent wants them each to take a shot at writing the last chapter of his unfinished mystery novel. Whoever can write a successful ending will also have their career revived. With only 72 hours, all they need to do is write a killer ending.

Publication Date: 7 April 2026
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Hope, Ash and Caro met in an online book club and have been close friends ever since even though they’ve never met in real life. When each woman hits a crossroads in her life, they decide to plan a girls trip to a national park. Hope needs to get away from her recent fame as an actress, Ash has watching her marriage struggle as she’s grown her business, and Caro has been hit hard by the loss of a patient. Together, they hope to escape life for a few days but when one woman vanishes they learn that know of them have been telling the whole truth.

Publication Date: 7 April 2026
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Natalie Heller Mills has build a growing brand as a tradwife, raising six children with her cowboy husband in a rustic farmhouse. A brand that conveniently overlooks all the nannies, producers and modern-day behind-the-scenes amenities. When Natalie wakes up to find her family living in 1855, she must figure out if it’s time travel or a new reality show. Because what she portrays as a charming traditional lifestyle is a nightmare in real life.

Publication Date: 7 April 2026
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Trapped in the dark running low on food and water, Stranger decides to attempt one last escape from her prison. Meanwhile, Audrey is a search and rescue expert who has never giving up searching for her best friend who disappeared as a teenager. When she finds evidence that a teenage runaway might have been held on land owned by one of the town’s most prominent families, Audrey begins to search through decades of girls who have disappeared before.

Publication Date: 24 February 2026
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Twin sisters Penny and Nix were inseparable all their life until Nix dies in a tragic accident leaving Penny a cryptic voicemail that still haunts her. Five years later, Penny has found a purpose in becoming a police officer. At her first murder scene, she finds the victim is Danny Bowery, one of the men Penny blames for Nix’s death. When Penny stumbles on the murderer, a blond woman claming a larger story about sisters, Penny becomes obsessed with catching her and learning the truth.

Publication Date: 3 March 2026
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Detective Mitch Haskell has been on a downward spiral ever since the death of his wife two years earlier. Mitch knows who killed her: Roland Malone, a restauraunt owner acting as the executioner for the mysterious drug kingpin Oz. In mandated therapy, Mitch meets Dr. Dylan Reede and the two fight against an obvious attraction. As Mitch gets closer to cracking Oz and Malone’s operation, his attraction to Dylan might put them in harm’s way even as her past might hold the final key he needs.

Publication Date: 17 March 2025
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In the third Cal Hooper mystery, a sweet local Irish girl engaged to a local big shot is found dead in the river. With the town split in two about the murder, retired Chicago detective Cal finds himself caught between loyalty to his friends and his fiancée Lena’s desire to be left out of the town politics. But when Cal stumbles on a scheme that throws the murder into a new light, he finds himself on the firing line amid a bitter town feud.

Publication Date: 31 March 2026
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Once a vibrant New South Wales town, Carralon Ridge has been bought up and abandoned by the local mine with only a few stubborn residents remaining. Ro used to scorn those who left but she to flees after her son’s disappearance. While home visiting from college, Sam was working on an oral history of the town when he vanished. On the one year anniversary, Ro returns to town and finds large gaps in the investigation. Somebody wants Carralon Ridge’s secrets to die with the town.

Publication Date: 14 April 2026
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Camille Bayliss suspects her husband Ben, a hotshot lawyer, has been hiding dirty secrets for years but she can’t prove it because he tracks her every move. Aubrey Price blames Ben for the worst night of her life a decade ago. Together, Aubrey and Camille hatch a plan to switch places for twelve hours so Camille can spy on Ben. When Ben is found murdered the next morning, only one of them as an airtight alibi.

Publication Date: 13 January 2026
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Eden Fox returns home from a run to find her key doesn’t fit in the lock at Spyglass, the enchanting old house she recently moved into with her husband. Stranger still, her husband is claiming a woman who looks a lot like Eden is his wife. Meanwhile, six months earlier, Birdy inherits Spyglass and moves to the seaside town where she discovers a clinic that can predict a person’s date of death. With a tangled web of deception, Alice Feeney will keep you guessing in her newest psychological thriller.

Publication Date: 20 January 2026
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Fell, New York, is known for bizarre occurences. A fact that hit home for the Esmie siblings when their little brother Ben disappeared during a game of hide and seek in their home. Haunted by the ghosts of their home, the siblings all left home to never look back. Until decades later when the ghost of Ben calls them home to finally find answers.

Publication Date: 20 January 2026
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In a Texas town in the 1980s, Nellie Anderson is the queen bee at school. She has the glossy life and her mother Charleigh will ruthlessly do anything to keep their family on top. When the Swifts move to town, they are the polar opposite of the Andersons: old-fashioned Southern vibes with Bibles and modest dresses. Suddenly Nellie and Charleigh find themselves in a vicious battle to stay on top in a thriller about mean moms and mean girls.

Publication Date: 20 January 2026
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After breaking up from her boyfriend Paul, Ana Blacksmith gathers her closest friends and sister Vera for a celebratory lunch. When the police arrive announcing Paul has been murdered, all eyes turn to Ana especially when her best friend falls deathly ill after the brunch. Yet, Ana was not the only one to wish Paul dead. As the investigation deepens, rumors emerge of a secret network using ancient magic to obtain justice in this suspenseful psychological thriller.

Publication Date: 10 March 2026
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The curmudgeonly old Elsie Fitzpatrick has lived on Kenny Lane for sixty years and mostly kept to herself until the nosy little girl across the street insists on becoming Elsie’s friend. When Elsie’s neighbor dies, the police are quick to suspect Elsie after they learn she is the notorious “Mad Mabel.” For the people around Elsie have a history of dying.

I completely adored Sally Hepworth’s latest domestic thriller, a cozy mystery that slowly peels back Mabel’s backstory while mixing in a little modern suspense. Mabel was the perfect blend of cranky and charming who melted your heart as her protective walls began to come down. With a focus on relationships and emotions, Mad Mabel would make a thought-provoking read for any book club looking for a heartwarming mystery with solid twists.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from St. Martin’s Press through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

My Rating:
Publication Date: 21 April 2026
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Caller Unknown by Gillian McAllister

May 5, 2026
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On a visit to Texas, a British woman’s daughter is kidnapped and the ransom demand instructs her to commit an unthinkable task.

The One Day You Were My Husband by Rosie Walsh

May 19, 2026
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A woman finally seeks answers to her first husband who she hasn’t seen since he was arrested on their wedding day in Thailand.

You First by Caroline Kepnes

June 9, 2026
Amazon | Goodreads

Prequel to You. The story of serial killer Joe Goldberg’s first love and his first kill.

It Could Have Been her by Lisa Jewell

June 23, 2026
Amazon | Goodreads

A woman returns to a lost dog to a house that holds secrets to her past and possibly to a missing teenager.

Getting Away with Murder by Shari Lapena

July 28, 2026
Amazon | Goodreads

To save their New York brownstone, a married couple plots to kill one of their wealthy relatives for the inheritance money.

Stay Buried by Jennifer McMahon

August 11, 2026
Amazon | Goodreads

Two sisters inherit property in Vermont where they must face the superstitions of the locals to learn the truth of their mother’s death.

Which of the Best New Thriller Books are You Most Excited to Read?

What do you think? What best new thriller books did I forget to add to my list? Did I include any overhyped authors? As always, let me know in the comments!

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