This is a list of The Best (Anticipated) Mystery Books of 2021. There will probably be more new releases announced in the coming months and through the years, but here’s the best of what’s been announced far to be published in 2021.
Will you be reading any of these books when they come out? I’ll be updating this list as new titles get released, so stay tuned!
For more books coming soon, see the list of Upcoming New Release Books.
The Maidens
What It's About: Edward Fosca is a murderer. Of this Mariana is certain. But Fosca is untouchable. A handsome and charismatic Greek Tragedy professor at Cambridge University, Fosca is adored by staff and students alike—particularly by the members of a secret society of female students known as The Maidens.
Mariana Andros is a brilliant but troubled group therapist who becomes fixated on The Maidens when one member, a friend of Mariana’s niece Zoe, is found murdered in Cambridge...Publication Date: June 15, 2021
What It's About: Edward Fosca is a murderer. Of this Mariana is certain. But Fosca is untouchable. A handsome and charismatic Greek Tragedy professor at Cambridge University, Fosca is adored by staff and students alike—particularly by the members of a secret society of female students known as The Maidens.
Mariana Andros is a brilliant but troubled group therapist who becomes fixated on The Maidens when one member, a friend of Mariana’s niece Zoe, is found murdered in Cambridge...Publication Date: June 15, 2021
Survive the Night
What It's About: It's November 1991. George H. W. Bush is in the White House, Nirvana's in the tape deck, and movie-obsessed college student Charlie Jordan is in a car with a man who might be a serial killer.
Josh Baxter, the man behind the wheel, is a virtual stranger to Charlie. They met at the campus ride board, each looking to share the long drive home to Ohio...Publication Date: July 6, 2021
What It's About: It's November 1991. George H. W. Bush is in the White House, Nirvana's in the tape deck, and movie-obsessed college student Charlie Jordan is in a car with a man who might be a serial killer.
Josh Baxter, the man behind the wheel, is a virtual stranger to Charlie. They met at the campus ride board, each looking to share the long drive home to Ohio...Publication Date: July 6, 2021
The Wife Upstairs
What It's About: A delicious twist on a Gothic classic, Rachel Hawkins's The Wife Upstairs pairs Southern charm with atmospheric domestic suspense, perfect for fans of B.A. Paris and Megan Miranda.
Meet Jane. Newly arrived to Birmingham, Alabama, Jane is a broke dog-walker in Thornfield Estates––a gated community full of McMansions, shiny SUVs, and bored housewives...Publication Date: January 5, 2021
What It's About: A delicious twist on a Gothic classic, Rachel Hawkins's The Wife Upstairs pairs Southern charm with atmospheric domestic suspense, perfect for fans of B.A. Paris and Megan Miranda.
Meet Jane. Newly arrived to Birmingham, Alabama, Jane is a broke dog-walker in Thornfield Estates––a gated community full of McMansions, shiny SUVs, and bored housewives...Publication Date: January 5, 2021
Too Good to Be True
What It's About: ONE LOVE STORY. TWO MARRIAGES. THREE VERSIONS OF THE TRUTH.
Skye Starling is overjoyed when her boyfriend, Burke Michaels, proposes after a whirlwind courtship. Though Skye seems to have the world at her fingertips―she’s smart, beautiful, and from a well-off family―she’s also battled crippling OCD ever since her mother’s death when she was eleven, and her romantic relationships have suffered as a result...Publication Date: March 2, 2021
What It's About: ONE LOVE STORY. TWO MARRIAGES. THREE VERSIONS OF THE TRUTH.
Skye Starling is overjoyed when her boyfriend, Burke Michaels, proposes after a whirlwind courtship. Though Skye seems to have the world at her fingertips―she’s smart, beautiful, and from a well-off family―she’s also battled crippling OCD ever since her mother’s death when she was eleven, and her romantic relationships have suffered as a result...Publication Date: March 2, 2021
Every Last Fear
What It's About: “They found the bodies on a Tuesday.”
So begins this twisty and breathtaking novel that traces the fate of the Pine family, a thriller that will both leave you on the edge of your seat and move you to tears.
After a late night of partying, NYU student Matt Pine returns to his dorm room to devastating news: nearly his entire family—his mom, his dad, his little brother and sister—have been found dead from an apparent gas leak while vacationing in Mexico...Publication Date: March 2, 2021
What It's About: “They found the bodies on a Tuesday.”
So begins this twisty and breathtaking novel that traces the fate of the Pine family, a thriller that will both leave you on the edge of your seat and move you to tears.
After a late night of partying, NYU student Matt Pine returns to his dorm room to devastating news: nearly his entire family—his mom, his dad, his little brother and sister—have been found dead from an apparent gas leak while vacationing in Mexico...Publication Date: March 2, 2021
Every Vow You Break
What It's About: A bride’s dream honeymoon becomes a nightmare when a man with whom she’s had a regrettable one-night stand shows up in this electrifying psychological thriller from the acclaimed author of Eight Perfect Murders.
Abigail Baskin never thought she’d fall in love with a millionaire. Then she met Bruce Lamb...Publication Date: March 23, 2021
What It's About: A bride’s dream honeymoon becomes a nightmare when a man with whom she’s had a regrettable one-night stand shows up in this electrifying psychological thriller from the acclaimed author of Eight Perfect Murders.
Abigail Baskin never thought she’d fall in love with a millionaire. Then she met Bruce Lamb...Publication Date: March 23, 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
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 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 Girls Are All So Nice Here
What It's About: Two former best friends return to their college reunion to find that they’re being circled by someone who wants revenge for what they did ten years before—and will stop at nothing to get it—in this shocking psychological thriller about ambition, toxic friendship, and deadly desire.
A lot has changed in the years since Ambrosia Wellington graduated from college, and she’s worked hard to create a new life for herself...Publication Date: March 9, 2021
What It's About: Two former best friends return to their college reunion to find that they’re being circled by someone who wants revenge for what they did ten years before—and will stop at nothing to get it—in this shocking psychological thriller about ambition, toxic friendship, and deadly desire.
A lot has changed in the years since Ambrosia Wellington graduated from college, and she’s worked hard to create a new life for herself...Publication Date: March 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: 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
Find Me: A Novel
What It's About: The disappearance of a young woman leaves her closest friend reeling and an NYPD homicide detective digging into her own past in this thrilling mystery full of twists from the New York Times bestselling author of The Better Sister and The Wife.
Some pasts won’t stay forgotten . . .
She calls herself Hope Miller, but she has no idea who she actually is...Publication Date: April 7, 2020
What It's About: The disappearance of a young woman leaves her closest friend reeling and an NYPD homicide detective digging into her own past in this thrilling mystery full of twists from the New York Times bestselling author of The Better Sister and The Wife.
Some pasts won’t stay forgotten . . .
She calls herself Hope Miller, but she has no idea who she actually is...Publication Date: April 7, 2020
Do No Harm
What It's About: Emma loves her life. She’s the mother of a precocious kindergartener, married to her soulmate—a loyal and loving police detective—and has a rewarding career as a doctor at the local hospital.
But everything comes crashing down when her son, Josh, is diagnosed with a rare form of cancer...Publication Date: February 16, 2021
What It's About: Emma loves her life. She’s the mother of a precocious kindergartener, married to her soulmate—a loyal and loving police detective—and has a rewarding career as a doctor at the local hospital.
But everything comes crashing down when her son, Josh, is diagnosed with a rare form of cancer...Publication Date: February 16, 2021
Finlay Donovan Is Killing It
What It's About: Finlay Donovan is killing it . . . except, she’s really not. She’s a stressed-out single-mom of two and struggling novelist, Finlay’s life is in chaos: the new book she promised her literary agent isn’t written, her ex-husband fired the nanny without telling her, and this morning she had to send her four-year-old to school with hair duct-taped to her head after an incident with scissors...Publication Date: February 2, 2021
What It's About: Finlay Donovan is killing it . . . except, she’s really not. She’s a stressed-out single-mom of two and struggling novelist, Finlay’s life is in chaos: the new book she promised her literary agent isn’t written, her ex-husband fired the nanny without telling her, and this morning she had to send her four-year-old to school with hair duct-taped to her head after an incident with scissors...Publication Date: February 2, 2021
You'll Be the Death of Me
What It's About: A YA murder mystery meets Ferris Bueller's Day Off, about three estranged friends who skip school and get caught up in a crime they can't solve without exposing their secrets. Publication Date: Not Available
What It's About: A YA murder mystery meets Ferris Bueller's Day Off, about three estranged friends who skip school and get caught up in a crime they can't solve without exposing their secrets. Publication Date: Not Available
She's Too Pretty to Burn
What It's About: An electric romance set against a rebel art scene sparks lethal danger for two girls in this expertly plotted YA thriller. For fans of E. Lockhart, Lauren Oliver and Kara Thomas.
The summer is winding down in San Diego. Veronica is bored, caustically charismatic, and uninspired in her photography...Publication Date: March 30, 2021
What It's About: An electric romance set against a rebel art scene sparks lethal danger for two girls in this expertly plotted YA thriller. For fans of E. Lockhart, Lauren Oliver and Kara Thomas.
The summer is winding down in San Diego. Veronica is bored, caustically charismatic, and uninspired in her photography...Publication Date: March 30, 2021
What a great list! It’s really hard to keep up with so many good books to read :)
haha I KNOW!! I can never seem to get ahead of my TBR, but ahh well. there are worse problems to have!
I do love a good mystery. I’m going to try to get my hands on a copy of Findlay Donovan is Killing it. It sounds like fun. Thanks for the heads up on these.
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.
Thumbs up to this list, has me looking forward to 2021! I think I am most excited for The Lost Village by Camilla Sten or The Burning Girls by CJ Tudor. I like a lot of Tudor’s works but was quite disappointed by her most recent release, The Other People and am eager to see if this new release has the same spice and intrigue as The Taking of Annie Thorne. Yikes, love me some mysteries!