Best Mysteries and Thrillers of 2021

by Flynn Berry

A poignant and lyrical novel that asks what is worth sacrificing for peace—and provides some answers. Full review >

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by S.A. Cosby

Violence and love go hand in hand in this tale of two rough men seeking vengeance for their murdered sons. Full review >

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by Brian Freeman

This cockeyed, suspenseful exploration of roads not taken is a dizzying delight. Full review >

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by Anne Mette Hancock ; translated by Tara Chace

Scandinavian noir at its noirest. It’s hard, maybe unthinkable, to imagine how Hancock will follow it up. Full review >

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by Zakiya Dalila Harris

A biting social satire–cum-thriller; dark, playful, and brimming with life. Full review >

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by Stephen King

Murder most foul and mayhem most entertaining. Another worthy page-turner from a protean master. Full review >

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by Sergei Lebedev

A darkly absorbing intellectual thriller by one of Russia's boldest young novelists. Full review >

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by Richard Osman

A clever, funny mystery peopled with captivating characters that enhance the story at every quirky turn. Full review >

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by Brad Parks

A textbook one-sitting read whose fiendishly inventive details only intensify its remorseless momentum. Full review >

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by Chris Power

An entertaining literary thriller that traces intrigue from the writer’s mind to the latest headlines. Full review >

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by Karin Slaughter

Combines disarming sensitivity to the nuances of the tangled relations among the characters with sledgehammer plotting. Full review >

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by Kaoru Takamura ; translated by Allison Markin Powell & Marie Iida

Takamura’s challenging, genre-confounding epic offers a sweeping view of contemporary Japan in all its complexity. Full review >

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by Colson Whitehead

As one of Whitehead’s characters might say of their creator, When you’re hot, you’re hot. Full review >

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