Are you ready to be captivated by twisted plots and compelling characters? From retirement schemes gone murderously wrong to espionage in 1960s London, our curated selection of mystery novels offers something for every thriller enthusiast. These six page-turners feature unlikely detectives, vengeful seniors, and dark secrets waiting to be uncovered. Prepare to lose yourself in these masterfully crafted mysteries that will keep you guessing until the final page.
Must Read Mysteries For July 2025
Death in the Air
9781805460022 | Atlantic Books | PB
Ram Murali
Murder. It’s terrible for your karma. Even worse for your holiday.
Ro Krishna has just arrived at Samsara, a world-class hotel-spa nestled in the Indian Himalayas. With his charm and Oxford education, he had it all – well, until he left his job under mysterious circumstances. At Samsara, he can relax and enjoy the hotel’s various health and wellness treatments, as well as a sparkling dose of mysticism.
Until one of the guests is found dead. As everyone scrambles to figure out what happened, Ro is pulled into an investigation that endangers them all. Because it turns out that it’s not just heiresses and Bollywood stars who have checked in – there’s a murderer in their midst . . .
The Serpent Dance
9781800752573 | Swift Press | PB
Sofia Slater
IN THE HEART OF CORNWALL, A MURDEROUS MIDSUMMER BEGINS …
At midsummer the Cornish villagers of Trevennick dance around bonfires and make offerings to the river. It’s not the sort of thing that appeals to Audrey Delaney, who is very much a city mouse. But when her (sort of) boyfriend Noah whisks her away on a surprise trip to the West Country, she’s determined to do the best she can to enjoy herself, if that’s what it takes to remove the question mark from their relationship.
Then their first night ends in tragedy, and Audrey finds herself embroiled in a police enquiry and unsure who to trust. She’ll have to untangle the mysteries of this insular community quickly, though, because people are dying fast.
THE RIVER WILL HAVE ITS DUE …
Holmes and Moriarty
9781398514560 | Simon & Schuster UK | PB
Gareth Rubin
A new Sherlock Holmes novel, endorsed by the Conan Doyle Estate.
‘A wonderfully entertaining, high-speed, high-stakes adventure with two, no FOUR and more, characters from classic detective fiction! Holmes and Moriarty by Gareth Rubin is the real deal: an accomplished tribute, true to the spirit of Conan-Doyle, but with a thrillingly original story and enough accomplished inventiveness to captivate and satisfy. The perfect fix for Holmes fans – thoroughly recommended!’ Janice Hallett
Two adversaries. One deadly alliance. Together, can they unlock the truth?
Sherlock Holmes and his faithful friend, Dr John Watson, have been hired by actor George Reynolds to help him solve a puzzle. George wants them to find out why the audience who comes to see him perform every night are the same people, only wearing disguises. Is something sinister going on and, if so, what?
Meanwhile, Holmes’ archenemy, Professor James Moriarty is having problems of his own. Implicated in the murder of a gang leader, Moriarty and his second, Moran, must go on the run from the police in order to find out who is behind the set-up.
But their investigation puts them in the way of Holmes and Watson and it’s not long before all four realise that they are being targeted by the same person. With lives on the line, not just their own, they must form an uneasy alliance in order to unmask the true villain. With clues leading them to a hotel in Switzerland and a conspiracy far greater than any of them expected, who can be trusted – and will anyone of them survive?
Actually, I’m a Murderer
9781408721674 | Constable | TPB
Terry Deary
A hilarious and whip-smart crime novel by the multimillion-copy bestselling author of the Horrible Histories. The perfect mystery for fans of Anthony Horowitz, Richard Osman and Janice Hallett.
Four strangers on a train. An unlikely introduction:
‘Actually, I’m a murderer.’
It is 1973 and the lives of four people are thrown into turmoil when sharing a carriage with an unremarkable little man with glasses, on the night train back to Newcastle.
By the end of the following day, one of them will be dead, one will turn blackmailer and another forced to commit a crime. And all of them will be under the astute observation of Aline, the local police officer with her own agenda to fulfil.
When the body count begins to rise, the question is: just how many murderers are out there… and who will be the next victim?
The Break-In
9781526675446 | Raven Books | PB
Katherine Faulkner
You know who.
You don’t know why.
Alice only meant to stop the intruder.
She didn’t mean to hit him so hard.
She didn’t mean to kill him.
The police conclude that she acted in self-defence, but wracked with guilt, Alice sets out to apologise to Linda, the mother of the young man she killed – only to find she is unable to come clean about who she really is.
Without meaning to, Alice finds herself drawn more and more into Linda’s world, struggling to balance her growing obsession with starting a prestigious new job, caring for her daughter and being there for her husband.
But as Alice learns more about Ezra – and finds herself uncomfortably enmeshed with his family – she begins to wonder whether she really has the full picture about why he came to her house that day.
This latest simmering suspense novel from the internationally bestselling Katherine Faulkner is an unputdownable must-read that will have you hooked from the first twist to the last.
The Getaway
9781526672445 | Raven Books | PB
Nicola Martin
Welcome to Keeper Island, the private Caribbean paradise where the cocktails are chilled, the guests are not, and new manager Lola is hoping nothing messes up her badly needed fresh start.
Her previous job in Hong Kong ended in tears – and quite a lot of blood – so she’s come to Keeper to lie low, as well as to provide the gold-star service the resort’s spoiled one-percenters expect. Her only connection to her previous life now is her old mentor and new boss, Mike Moxham.
But no secret is truly safe forever. When Moxham is found dead less than a day after her arrival on the island, the rules Lola uses for working with the super-rich quickly become rules for survival:
Be prepared for anything.
Trust no one.
Because she might be next.
Bella Mackie meets Below Deck in this twisty escapist thriller – as gulpable as rum punch and just as deadly
The Jealous One
9780571391295 | Faber & Faber | PB
Celia Fremlin
Lindy had a lovely voice. It rose into the summer darkness clear and true as a nightingale; or was it, rather, like a bird of prey?
Rosamund wakes up from her mid-morning nap to find, to her delight, that she is running a temperature. Surely that explains her blinding headache, and the weird, delirious dream in which she had murdered her overly seductive neighbour – the Other Woman – in a vengeful act of jealousy? A great relief, then, to find this was merely the nightmarish work of a fevered imagination. Until her husband exclaims, ‘Rosamund! Have you any idea what’s happened to Lindy? She’s disappeared!.’
