Have a Killer Summer!

17 hair-raising new thrillers paired with a cheaper read-alike

This summer's new releases are just packed with electrifying new thrillers. For whatever reason, high-octane suspense and chilling mysteries make the perfect reading material for your summer travel or even just your everyday backyard hang. Here are seventeen of the best new thrillers of the summer. But if you'd prefer something more affordable, we've also included a read-alike that's available for less. 

The Woman in Suite 11 by Ruth Ware

Three years after the birth of her youngest child, travel journalist Lo Blacklock is eager to reestablish her career. When she receives an invitation to cover the press opening of a luxury Swiss hotel, it's like the answer to a prayer. But shortly after arriving, Lee finds herself in a white-knuckled race across Europe.

Read-alike: The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware

King of Ashes by S. A. Cosby

Eldest son Roman Carruthers returns home after his father is critically injured in a car crash to find his family in peril. The award-winning, bestselling author of Razorblade Tears and Blacktop Wasteland returns with a Godfather-inspired Southern crime epic and dazzling family drama.

Read-alike: Winter's Bone by Daniel Woodrell

A Murder for Miss Hortense by Mel Pennant

Retired nurse Miss Hortense has lived in a Birmingham suburb since emigrating from Jamaica in 1960. Her career has left her afraid of nobody and an expert in deciphering secrets. When an unidentified man is found murdered in her quiet community, Miss Hortense must call on these qualities to solve the crime.  

Read-alike: The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman

Our Last Resort by Clémence Michallon

Fifteen years ago, Frida and her brother, Gabriel, escaped a cult. Once so close they were able to finish each other's sentences, they've grown apart in recent years after a sudden, unspeakable tragedy. Now Gabriel is the prime suspect in a murder investigation—and it isn't the first time.

Read-alike: Luckiest Girl Alive by Jessica Knoll

Rush Week by Michelle Brandon

An irresistible, juicy contemporary novel based on the TikTok phenomenon #BamaRushTok. It's been five years since they said goodbye. Now four sorority sisters find themselves back at the University of Alabama Rush Week, where the dark secrets they'd thought long buried threaten to resurface.

Read-alike: The Sorority by Nancy Bush

The Dark Maestro by Brendan Slocumb

Despite growing up in the D.C. projects with a drug dealer for a father, cello prodigy Curtis Wilson has become a rising star in the classical music world. But when his father turns state's evidence, Curtis and his family find themselves in serious danger and drawing on their unique talents to survive.

Read-alike: The Violin Conspiracy by Brendan Slocumb

The Missing Half by Ashley Flowers

Since her sister's disappearance seven years ago, Nic has been spinning her wheels. Then she meets Jenna, the sister of a woman who vanished in similar circumstances and the two band together. What follows is a gripping tale of two sisters who will do anything to find their missing halves. 

Read-alike: Listen for the Lie by Amy Tintera

The Man Made of Smoke by Alex North

Haunted by his childhood encounter with a notorious serial killer, Dan Garvie has dedicated his life to becoming a criminal profiler. So when his father passes away under suspicious circumstances, Dan returns to his small island community. Is it possible that the monster from his childhood nightmares has returned?

Read-alike: Mystic River by Dennis Lehane

We Are All Guilty Here by Karin Slaughter

Welcome to North Falls, a small town where everyone knows everyone. Or so they think. Until the night of the fireworks. When two teenage girls vanish, and the town ignites. For Officer Emmy Clifton, it's personal. But as she traces the clues the girls left behind, she realizes she never really knew them. Nobody did.

Read-alike: Blind Sighted by Karin Slaughter

Dead in the Frame by Stephen Spotswood

New York City 1947: Wealthy financier and connoisseur of crime, Jessup Quincannon, is dead, and famed detective Lillian Pentecost is under arrest for his murder. Will scrambles to solve the murder before Lillian takes the fall in the fifth installment in the Nero Award-winning Pentecost and Parker series.

Read-alike: Murder in E Minor: A Nero Wolfe Mystery by Robert Goldsborough

The Last Illusion of Paige White by Vanessa McCausland

Paige White, a social media influencer, is discovered drowned in the very lake that often served as a picturesque background for her seemingly idyllic life. When Paige's childhood best friend, journalist Jane Masters, returns for the funeral, she begins to discover that darker things lurk beneath the sparkle of the lake. 

Read-alike: Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty

The End of the World As We Know it: New Tales of Stephen King's The Stand by Stephen King, Christopher Golden, and Brian Keene, et al. 

Since its publication in 1978, The Stand has been considered a seminal piece of apocalyptic fiction. Now the King of Horror has authorized a return to the harrowing world he imagined with this original short story anthology bringing together some of today's greatest and most visionary writers.

Read-alike: The Stand by Stephen King

A Shipwreck in Fiji by Nilima Rao

Fiji, 1915: Sergeant Akal Singh, an unwilling transplant to Fiji, is just starting to settle into his life in the capital city of Suva. But when a purported sighting of Germans on the run from WWI turns deadly, the curmudgeonly Indian officer must (reluctantly) take up the investigation in this vibrant sequel.

Read-alike: A Disappearance in Fiji by Nilima Rao

Dissolution by Nicholas Binge

Maggie Webb has lived the last decade caring for elderly husband, Stanley, as memory loss gradually erases all the beautiful moments they created together. It's the loneliest she's ever felt in her life. But then a mysterious stranger appears at her door with a shocking claim about Stanley's condition.

Read-alike: Recursion by Blake Crouch

Glory Daze by Danielle Arceneaux

After her life was turned upside down by solving the murder of her best friend, Sister Amity Gay, all Glory Broussard wanted was a little peace and quiet. But there's no rest for the hilariously uncensored Louisiana lady, who soon finds herself enmeshed in the mystery of her ex-husband's death.

Read-alike: Glory Be by Danielle Arceneaux

The Doorman by Chris Pavone

Chicky Diaz is everyone's favorite doorman at the Bohemia, home of celebrities, financiers, and New York's cultural elite. And tonight, Chicky knows that there's more going on in his patch of sidewalk than anyone's aware of. Enemies will clash, loyalties will be tested, secrets will be revealed—and lives will be lost.

Read-alike: The Bonfire of the Vanities by Tom Wolfe

A Twist of Fate by Se-Ah Jang

After killing her abusive boyfriend, Jae-Young is on the run. On the train, she meets a woman fleeing with her infant son from an unfaithful husband and hoping to find refuge with in-laws she's never met. When the young mother disappears leaving her baby behind, Jae-Young decides to take her place.

Read-alike: Strangers on a Train by Patricia Highsmith

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Read more by Ashly Moore Sheldon