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: The highly anticipated new thriller in Caroline Kepnes's hit You series, now a blockbuster Netflix show...
Joe Goldberg is back. And he's going to start a family - even if it kills him.
Joe Goldberg is done with cities, 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...Publication Date: April 6, 2021
What It's About: The highly anticipated new thriller in Caroline Kepnes's hit You series, now a blockbuster Netflix show...
Joe Goldberg is back. And he's going to start a family - even if it kills him.
Joe Goldberg is done with cities, 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...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: A lone astronaut must save the earth from disaster in this incredible new science-based thriller from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Martian.
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...Publication Date: May 4, 2021
What It's About: A lone astronaut must save the earth from disaster in this incredible new science-based thriller from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Martian.
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...Publication Date: May 4, 2021
The Echo Wife
What It's About: The Echo Wife is a non-stop thrill ride, perfect for readers of Big Little Lies and enthusiasts of "Killing Eve" and "Westworld"
Martine is a genetically cloned replica made from Evelyn Caldwell’s award-winning research. She’s patient and gentle and obedient. She’s everything Evelyn swore she’d never be...Publication Date: February 16, 2021
What It's About: The Echo Wife is a non-stop thrill ride, perfect for readers of Big Little Lies and enthusiasts of "Killing Eve" and "Westworld"
Martine is a genetically cloned replica made from Evelyn Caldwell’s award-winning research. She’s patient and gentle and obedient. She’s everything Evelyn swore she’d never be...Publication Date: February 16, 2021
Mother May I: A Novel
What It's About: Revenge doesn’t wait for permission.
Growing up poor in rural Georgia, Bree Cabbat was warned by her single mother that the world was a dark and scary place. Bree rejected her mother’s fearful outlook, and life has proved her right. Having married into a family with wealth, power, and connections, Bree now has all a woman could ever dream of: a loving lawyer husband, two talented teenage daughters, a new baby boy, a gorgeous home, and every opportunity in the world...Publication Date: April 6, 2021
What It's About: Revenge doesn’t wait for permission.
Growing up poor in rural Georgia, Bree Cabbat was warned by her single mother that the world was a dark and scary place. Bree rejected her mother’s fearful outlook, and life has proved her right. Having married into a family with wealth, power, and connections, Bree now has all a woman could ever dream of: a loving lawyer husband, two talented teenage daughters, a new baby boy, a gorgeous home, and every opportunity in the world...Publication Date: April 6, 2021
The Good Sister
What It's About: From the outside, everyone might think Fern and Rose are as close as twin sisters can be: Rose is the responsible one and Fern is the quirky one. But the sisters are devoted to one another and Rose has always been Fern's protector from the time they were small.
Fern needed protecting because their mother was a true sociopath who hid her true nature from the world, and only Rose could see it...Publication Date: April 13, 2021
What It's About: From the outside, everyone might think Fern and Rose are as close as twin sisters can be: Rose is the responsible one and Fern is the quirky one. But the sisters are devoted to one another and Rose has always been Fern's protector from the time they were small.
Fern needed protecting because their mother was a true sociopath who hid her true nature from the world, and only Rose could see it...Publication Date: April 13, 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: February 9, 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: February 9, 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: March 23, 2021
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: March 23, 2021
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: April 20, 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: April 20, 2021
Version Zero
What It's About: A lightning fast and scorchingly observant novel of the moment, Version Zero is a thrilling, humorous adult debut from the brilliant mind of New York Times bestselling author David Yoon.
Reboot the present. Save the future.
Max, a data whiz at the Facebook-like 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: A lightning fast and scorchingly observant novel of the moment, Version Zero is a thrilling, humorous adult debut from the brilliant mind of New York Times bestselling author David Yoon.
Reboot the present. Save the future.
Max, a data whiz at the Facebook-like 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.