New releases of thrillers coming in 2021 continue to be announced, but I wanted to go ahead and around up some of the notable titles that are scheduled for release so far.
So, here’s a list of the Best (Anticipated) Thriller Books of 2021! I’ll be updating this list as year progresses and as new titles are announced, more reviews are written and more books are released!
Feel free to drop me a line if you think there’s something missing that belongs on this list.
For more books coming soon, see the list of Upcoming New Release Books.
You Love Me (You #3)
What It's About: Joe is done with the cities. He’s done with the muck and the posers, done with Love. Now, he’s saying hello to nature, to simple pleasures on a cozy island in the Pacific Northwest. For the first time in a long time, he can just breathe.
He gets a job at the local library—he does know a thing or two about books—and that’s where he meets her: Mary Kay DiMarco...Publication Date: April 6, 2021
What It's About: Joe is done with the cities. He’s done with the muck and the posers, done with Love. Now, he’s saying hello to nature, to simple pleasures on a cozy island in the Pacific Northwest. For the first time in a long time, he can just breathe.
He gets a job at the local library—he does know a thing or two about books—and that’s where he meets her: Mary Kay DiMarco...Publication Date: April 6, 2021
The Survivors
What It's About: Coming home dredges up deeply buried secrets...
Kieran Elliott's life changed forever on the day a reckless mistake led to devastating consequences.
The guilt that still haunts him resurfaces during a visit with his young family to the small coastal community he once called home...Publication Date: September 22, 2020
What It's About: Coming home dredges up deeply buried secrets...
Kieran Elliott's life changed forever on the day a reckless mistake led to devastating consequences.
The guilt that still haunts him resurfaces during a visit with his young family to the small coastal community he once called home...Publication Date: September 22, 2020
Project Hail Mary
What It's About: Ryland Grace is the sole survivor on a desperate, last-chance mission—and if he fails, humanity and the earth itself will perish.
Except that right now, he doesn’t know that. He can’t even remember his own name, let alone the nature of his assignment or how to complete it.
All he knows is that he’s been asleep for a very, very long time...Publication Date: May 4, 2021
What It's About: Ryland Grace is the sole survivor on a desperate, last-chance mission—and if he fails, humanity and the earth itself will perish.
Except that right now, he doesn’t know that. He can’t even remember his own name, let alone the nature of his assignment or how to complete it.
All he knows is that he’s been asleep for a very, very long time...Publication Date: May 4, 2021
The Echo Wife
What It's About: I’m embarrassed, still, by how long it took me to notice. Everything was right there in the open, right there in front of me, but it still took me so long to see the person I had married.
It took me so long to hate him.
Martine is a genetically cloned replica made from Evelyn Caldwell’s award-winning research...Publication Date: February 16, 2021
What It's About: I’m embarrassed, still, by how long it took me to notice. Everything was right there in the open, right there in front of me, but it still took me so long to see the person I had married.
It took me so long to hate him.
Martine is a genetically cloned replica made from Evelyn Caldwell’s award-winning research...Publication Date: February 16, 2021
Mother May I: A Novel
What It's About: A novel of domestic suspense in which a mother must decide how far she is willing to go to protect her child and the life she loves -- a tale of power, privilege, lies, revenge, and the choices we make, ones that transform our lives in unforeseen ways.
Revenge doesn't wait for permission...Publication Date: April 6, 2021
What It's About: A novel of domestic suspense in which a mother must decide how far she is willing to go to protect her child and the life she loves -- a tale of power, privilege, lies, revenge, and the choices we make, ones that transform our lives in unforeseen ways.
Revenge doesn't wait for permission...Publication Date: April 6, 2021
The Good Sister
What It's About: An alternate cover edition of ASIN B08BYCWK6T can be found here.
Sally Hepworth, the author of The Mother-In-Law delivers a knock-out of a novel about the lies that bind two sisters in The Good Sister.
There's only been one time that Rose couldn't stop me from doing the wrong thing and that was a mistake that will haunt me for the rest of my life...Publication Date: October 27, 2020
What It's About: An alternate cover edition of ASIN B08BYCWK6T can be found here.
Sally Hepworth, the author of The Mother-In-Law delivers a knock-out of a novel about the lies that bind two sisters in The Good Sister.
There's only been one time that Rose couldn't stop me from doing the wrong thing and that was a mistake that will haunt me for the rest of my life...Publication Date: October 27, 2020
The Defender
What It's About: The astonishing true story of the most successful defense attorney ever—told with suspense that tops James Patterson's #1 nonfiction bestseller Filthy Rich. Everyone deserves the best defense.
Known for his sharp mind, sharp suits, and bold courtroom strategies, Bronx-native Bernard Slotnick is known as the best criminal lawyer in the US...Publication Date: December 20, 2021
What It's About: The astonishing true story of the most successful defense attorney ever—told with suspense that tops James Patterson's #1 nonfiction bestseller Filthy Rich. Everyone deserves the best defense.
Known for his sharp mind, sharp suits, and bold courtroom strategies, Bronx-native Bernard Slotnick is known as the best criminal lawyer in the US...Publication Date: December 20, 2021
The Burning Girls
What It's About: An unconventional vicar moves to a remote corner of the English countryside, only to discover a community haunted by death and disappearances both past and present--and intent on keeping its dark secrets--in this explosive, unsettling thriller from acclaimed author C. J. Tudor.
Welcome to Chapel Croft...Publication Date: January 21, 2021
What It's About: An unconventional vicar moves to a remote corner of the English countryside, only to discover a community haunted by death and disappearances both past and present--and intent on keeping its dark secrets--in this explosive, unsettling thriller from acclaimed author C. J. Tudor.
Welcome to Chapel Croft...Publication Date: January 21, 2021
The Lost Village
What It's About: The Blair Witch Project meets Midsommar in this brilliantly disturbing thriller from Camilla Sten, an electrifying new voice in suspense.
Documentary filmmaker Alice Lindstedt has been obsessed with the vanishing residents of the old mining town, dubbed “The Lost Village,” since she was a little girl...Publication Date: April 4, 2019
What It's About: The Blair Witch Project meets Midsommar in this brilliantly disturbing thriller from Camilla Sten, an electrifying new voice in suspense.
Documentary filmmaker Alice Lindstedt has been obsessed with the vanishing residents of the old mining town, dubbed “The Lost Village,” since she was a little girl...Publication Date: April 4, 2019
Hour of the Witch
What It's About: A young Puritan woman--faithful, resourceful, but afraid of the demons that dog her soul--plots her escape from a violent marriage in this riveting and propulsive historical thriller from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Flight Attendant.
Boston, 1662. Mary Deerfield is twenty-four years old...Publication Date: May 4, 2021
What It's About: A young Puritan woman--faithful, resourceful, but afraid of the demons that dog her soul--plots her escape from a violent marriage in this riveting and propulsive historical thriller from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Flight Attendant.
Boston, 1662. Mary Deerfield is twenty-four years old...Publication Date: May 4, 2021
Tell Me (Inland Empire #2)
What It's About: What really happened in the forest? Hidden crimes and secrets of the past converge in a riveting thriller by Anne Frasier, the New York Times bestselling author of Find Me.
No strangers to evil, criminal profiler Reni Fisher and detective Daniel Ellis both still grapple with traumatizing pasts...Publication Date: July 27, 2021
What It's About: What really happened in the forest? Hidden crimes and secrets of the past converge in a riveting thriller by Anne Frasier, the New York Times bestselling author of Find Me.
No strangers to evil, criminal profiler Reni Fisher and detective Daniel Ellis both still grapple with traumatizing pasts...Publication Date: July 27, 2021
Version Zero
What It's About: From the brilliant mind of New York Times best-selling author David Yoon comes a lightning-fast and scorchingly observant thriller about how we can save ourselves from the very real perils of a virtual world.
Max, a data whiz at the social media company Wren, has gotten a firsthand glimpse of the dark side of big tech...Publication Date: May 25, 2021
What It's About: From the brilliant mind of New York Times best-selling author David Yoon comes a lightning-fast and scorchingly observant thriller about how we can save ourselves from the very real perils of a virtual world.
Max, a data whiz at the social media company Wren, has gotten a firsthand glimpse of the dark side of big tech...Publication Date: May 25, 2021
This list is not complete without Saving Grace by Debbie Babitt
Included on this 2021 list should be Debbie Babitt’s debut novel Saving Grace. This book of psychological suspense has received 5 star praise from several NYT best selling authors and was named by shereads as one of the most anticipated thrillers of 2021. Pub date March 16, 2021 by Scarlet books.