Update Consent

Best New Mystery and Thriller Books of 2021

Pull Up a Cosy Chair! Here Are the 22 Greatest Mystery and Thrillers of 2021

As POPSUGAR editors, we independently select and write about stuff we love and think you'll like too. If you buy a product we have recommended, we may receive affiliate commission, which in turn supports our work.

If your form of self-care is taking a few hours to immerse yourself in a twisty thriller, you're in the right place. We're compiling the year's best new mysteries, from The Wife Upstairs by Rachel Hawkins to Sleep Well My Lady by Kwei Quartey. January and February have brought a number of slow-burning psychological thrillers, and we're not even coming the ones within the YA umbrella. Before you put all of March's new releases on your loan list, make sure you've caught all the buzziest titles ahead. And if you want to switch up the genre a bit, check out our running list of 2021's best books overall. Happy reading!

— Additional reporting by Sabienna Bowman

Image Source: amazon.com

1. The Push by Ashley Audrain

The Push by Ashley Audrain forces readers to reexamine what they think they know about motherhood through the lens of a woman dealing with her own parental trauma. When Blythe welcomes her daughter into the world, she makes a vow to be nothing like her cold and distant mother, but soon she finds herself convinced something is amiss with her child in this psychological thriller designed to make you squirm.

Image Source: Amazon.com

2. The Wife Upstairs by Rachel Hawkins

Rachel Hawkins's The Wife Upstairs updates Jane Eyre for modern readers by bringing the tale into the 21st century. In this version, Jane is a dog walker with her own secrets who falls for the wealthy Eddie Rochester, a man who may be harboring a dark truth about his late first wife.

Image Source: Amazon.com

3. Before the Ruins by Victoria Gosling

Before the Ruins by Victoria Gosling is a fast-paced debut about four friends and one life-changing night spent in an abandoned manor. Set in part during the summer of 1996, the book follows the friends as teens whose search for a missing diamond necklace will leave them haunted by secrets for decades to come.

Image Source: Amazon.com

4. The Last Exit by Michael Kaufman

If you like your thrillers with a side of sci-fi, The Last Exit by Michael Kaufman might be the book for you. Set in the not-so-distant future, the book follows police detective Jen B. Lu and her partner, who is a literal chip inside her head that grants her access to records, the internet, and a steady stream of tough-guy banter. However, when Jen and her partner get too involved in a case that could involve people at the highest levels of the government, she'll be forced to solve a dangerous mystery on her own.

Image Source: Amazon.com

Watch This!

Pop Quiz

Watch the Cast of Fear Street Play a Creepy Game of Horror Movie "Would You Rather"

5. People Like Her by Ellery Lloyd

The world of social media becomes the stage for a story of obsession in People Like Her by Ellery Lloyd. Mommy blogger and Instagram influencer Emmy Jackson carefully cultivates her image online, but her real life is far from picture-perfect. However, at least one of her fans can see past the filters Emmy uses to hide the truth and sets out to strip the influencer of her supposedly perfect family life for good.

Image Source: Amazon.com

6. Sleep Well, My Lady by Kwei Quartey

Private investigator Emma Djan returns in Kwei Quartey's Sleep Well, My Lady, the second book in the Emma Djan Investigation series. This time around, Emma must go undercover to investigate the murder of a famous Ghanaian talk-show host's girlfriend and confront her own past traumas in the process.

Image Source: Amazon.com

7. Aftershock by Judy Melinek and T.J. Mitchell

Bestselling authors Judy Melinek and T.J. Mitchell have teamed up for another addictive mystery novel. Set after an earthquake leaves the people of San Francisco on edge, Aftershock follows Dr. Jessie Teska as she investigates a murder that someone went to great lengths to make look like an accident.

Image Source: Amazon.com

8. Before She Disappeared by Lisa Gardner

Recovering alcoholic Frankie Elkin's drive to solve the missing-person cases that no one else will take on is at the centre of Lisa Gardner's novel Before She Disappeared. Frankie has devoted her life to finding people the cops have written off, and her latest case, which involves the disappearance of a Haitian teen, may be her toughest one yet.

Image Source: Amazon.com

9. Shiver by Allie Reynolds

In the grand tradition of Agatha Christie, Allie Reynolds's debut Shiver is a locked-room mystery. The story begins with five friends meeting for a reunion, but things turn deadly when it becomes clear someone arranged for them to be stranded during a snowstorm.

Image Source: Amazon.com

10. If I Disappear by Eliza Jane Brazier

A true-crime podcaster goes missing in Eliza Jane Brazier's deliciously eerie If I Disappear. Sera is obsessed with true-crime podcasts — maybe a little too obsessed. When her favourite podcaster goes missing, she launches her own investigation, which leads her into a dangerous situation that even her love of true crime couldn't prepare her for.

Image Source: Amazon.com

11. The Shadow Box by Luanne Rice

Fans of HBO's The Undoing will love Luanne Rice's The Shadow Box, a twisty story that finds a wife going to great lengths to expose her husband's misdeeds. After artist Claire Beaudry Chase is attacked in her home, she suspects her powerful husband is trying to send her a message, but despite the danger, she's determined to show the world what kind of man he truly is.

Image Source: Amazon.com

12. The Family by Louise Jensen

The Family by Louise Jensen is a thoroughly unsettling tale of a mother and daughter who are lured into a cult. After the death of her husband, Laura is looking for somewhere she and her daughter Tilly can belong, and she finds it in the community at Oak Leaf Organics. Unfortunately, Oak Leaf isn't what it seems, and soon Laura is in a race against time to escape the dangerous commune.

Image Source: Amazon.com

13. Girls With Bright Futures by Tracy Dobmeier and Wendy Katzman

Tracy Dobmeier and Wendy Katzman's Girls With Bright Futures is reminiscent of the real-life college admissions scandal. The only difference is that the mothers in the novel may be willing to commit murder if it means ensuring their daughters will be given a top spot at the elite school of their choice.

Image Source: Amazon.com

14. Killer Content by Olivia Blacke

Killer Content by Olivia Blacke is the perfect cosy mystery to shake you out of the winter blahs. Set against the backdrop of Brooklyn, the story follows New York newcomer Odessa Dean as she investigates the suspicious death of one of her coworkers while trying to settle into one of the world's most bustling cities.

Image Source: Amazon.com

15. The Survivors by Jane Harper

Bestselling author Jane Harper's latest book The Survivors transports readers to a small seaside town that's haunted by a long unsolved mystery. There's a reason it's been years since Kieran Elliott returned home, and when that reason resurfaces in the form of a sunken boat while he's visiting his parents, he'll have no choice but to confront his past.

Image Source: Amazon.com

16. This Is Not the Jess Show by Anna Carey

Part Black Mirror, part The Truman Show, This Is Not the Jess Show by Anna Carey is a '90s-fuelled thriller about a teen who comes to realise there's something not quite right about her small town. In 1998, Jess Flynn is living her normal teenage life until the discovery of a device sporting an apple logo turns her world upside down.

Image Source: Amazon.com

17. Black Widows by Cate Quinn

Cate Quinn puts a fresh spin on the domestic thriller with Black Widows. When Blake Nelson ends up dead, everyone is convinced his wife killed him. The only trouble is, no one can decide which one of his three wives is the murderer, least of all the wives themselves.

Image Source: Amazon.com

18. The Burning Girls by C.J. Tudor

The Burning Girls by C.J. Tudor is the kind of novel that's so creepy, it might just seep into your dreams. Set in the potentially haunted village of Chapel Croft, a reverend and his young daughter come to the town in hopes of a fresh start. Instead, they find an exorcism kit and a warning that no secret stays buried forever.

Image Source: Amazon.com

19. The Power Couple by Alex Berenson

Rebecca and Brian Unsworth's marriage is in a rut when they decide to whisk their family away on a European holiday in The Power Couple by Alex Berenson. But while the trip seems to be bringing them closer together, they'll be forced to set everything aside when their teenage daughter is abducted, leaving them to work together to bring her home safely.

Image Source: Amazon.com

20. Do No Harm by Christina McDonald

Do No Harm by Christina McDonald asks the question how far would you go to save your child? When her son is diagnosed with a rare form of cancer, Emma turns to selling opioids to make the cash needed to pay for his treatment. However, when one of her clients ends up dead, Emma is forced to go on the run, and her police detective husband is the one leading the chase.

Image Source: Amazon.com

21. The Echo Wife by Sarah Gailey

The Echo Wife by Sarah Gailey is a thriller with a sci-fi twist. Evelyn Caldwell's husband is having an affair with her creation: Martine, a clone who was made to be docile and accommodating. But when Evelyn's husband turns up dead, she'll have to work with Martine to keep them both safe from the law.

Image Source: Amazon.com

22. Quiet in Her Bones by Nalini Singh

Set in a picturesque New Zealand town, Quiet in Her Bones by Nalini Singh pulls back the curtain on the community to expose the secrets of the wealthy residents who live there. It's been 10 years since Aarav's mother disappeared, and now that her remains have been found, he'll stop at nothing to discover what happened to her and the role her neighbours may have played in her death.

Image Source: Amazon.com

Want More?

POPSUGAR Would Like To Send You Push Notifications.