10 Energizing New Mystery and Thriller Books for May 2025

Dan Garvie barely escaped a serial killer when he was a child. It was an experience that shaped him. And it still haunts him. He has since dedicated his life to becoming a criminal profiler.

But when his father dies and the circumstances are murky, Dan can’t help but come home to investigate. Especially if there is any chance the monster from his childhood has returned.

Dash is a reporter investigating the possibility that a long-dormant serial killer is back. Desperate to escape his past, he ends up embroiled with a criminal cult.

They say they have a pill that will erase his traumatic memories. But as he starts to lose his memories, his sense of self goes with them.

And when he discovers a secret about the cult, he finds himself in a race against time to find a killer and reconcile his past before his memories disappear forever.

Curtis Wilson has a rare gift. As a music prodigy, he’s been able to rise to the top of the classical world to solo with the New York Philharmonic. But when his drug-dealing father crosses a kingpin, suddenly the entire family is in danger.

They have no choice but to enter witness protection, effectively ending their former lives. Only, the police seem incapable of bringing the kingpin down.

And eventually, the family realizes if they want their old lives back, they’re going to have to take the cartel down themselves.

Pam dreamed of nothing more than retiring with her three best friends and their husbands. But when the men pool their funds and lose it, all her dreams go up in smoke.

Even worse, one of the husbands dies. Only, instead of tragedy, the widow ends up with a huge life insurance payout. Turns out, they all have the exact same policy with the exact same seven-figure payout.

Maybe their dreams are possible, after all. Except their husbands had their own dream retirement plan, one that may not have included their wives.

As things start to wrong, it becomes a deadly game of cat and mouse, where the men may not be able to outmaneuver the wives they underestimated.

Nicole “Nic” Monroe is floundering at life. She lives alone, works a dead-end job, and just got a DWI. She gets by on the pity her town has given her ever since her older sister, Kasey, disappeared seven years ago.

With little evidence, her case went cold and has haunted Nic. She wants to move on, but then the sister of another girl who went missing around the same time comes into her life.

Desperate for answers, Nic begins down a path that finally offers her hope. But when it comes to the truth, she just might have to destroy everything first.

Dale Figgo is an incompetent racist. And his life is about to get even messier and more complicated.

When Figgo’s roommate and a man with an anger problem get tangled in a mystery involving dark money and motives, they find themselves facing some powerful right-wing opponents.

But nothing will stop the pair from seeking justice, not even Figgo’s very backwards perspectives.

When freelance editor Susan Ryeland accepts a new client, she’s surprised to learn that he’s the grandson of legendary children’s author, Marian Crace.

Even more shocking, Eliot claims that his grandmother was poisoned. His new book revolves around what he claims is the truth behind her death.

It’s a far-fetched story, but when he is killed in a hit-and-run, Susan is the main suspect. With only the manuscript to guide her, she has to uncover a killer before she becomes the next victim.

Grace and Amber both escaped the same psychopath. Despite attempting to put their lives together and move on, they both find themselves veering towards the darker sides of life.

When a mutual friend gets married in Vegas, the two friends find themselves reluctant allies once more. A killer is targeting the wedding’s inner circle.

But they’ve outsmarted a murderer before. Only this time, the stakes are much higher, and their opponent is smarter.

This time, they might have finally met their match.

Murder seems to follow Eleanor Dash. But that doesn’t mean she’s going to miss her best friend Emma’s wedding. Especially when it’s to the leading man for the movie adaptation of Eleanor’s first novel.

As filming wraps, the entire cast and crew head to Catalina Island for the wedding. Everything is perfect, until Emma receives a note warning her that someone is going to die. Eleanor has uncovered a murderer before, and she’ll do it again.

But if she doesn’t want to ruin Emma’s big day, she needs to find the killer before they say I do.

It’s been more than two decades since former child star Jarrod Jarvis solved a string of Hollywood murders. He’s never told his daughter about his sleuthing past, despite her just earning a degree in criminal justice.

When her boyfriend is found bludgeoned to death, he rushes to her side for comfort. But she handles herself like a modern-day Columbo.

As they work through the shockingly long list of suspects, the rift between father and daughter begins to shrink.

Unfortunately, with a killer on their tail, they need to solve her boyfriend’s murder before their reunion is cut short—permanently.