I've checked out a little over one hundred and twenty-five 2025 crime books to date and would love some recommendations for any overlooked gems.
To date, I have had zero luck with the following categories:
– domestic thrillers
– legal thrillers
– espionage
– meta thrillers
– cross-genre mysteries
– Victorian era mysteries
– mysteries in which the main character is an actual historical figure (ie. Amelia Earhart solves a murder)
– female detectives returning to their hometowns to solve a mystery and unearth long-buried secrets
– anything involving influencers, celebrities, or wealthy families
– ham-fisted social commentary
– any follow-up books in a series
So let's avoid those! Whaddya got?
Some of my favorites this year have included: Belinda Bauer's The Impossible Thing, Adrian McKinty's Hang on St. Christopher, Jakob Kerr's Dead Money, Peter Swanson's Kill Your Darlings, Patrick Hoffman's Friends Helping Friends, Hayley Scrivener's Girl Falling, Deon Meyer's Leo, and Jo Nesbo's Blood Ties.
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by JosephMallozzi
1 Comment
I’d recommend The Drowned City by Stuart Neville. it’s gritty, set in a coastal town, and feels very fresh compared to the endless return to hometown tropes. No influencers, no meta twists, just a solid, tense crime novel.