Need a gripping read to keep you company now the days have cooled? Good news for crime fiction fans - there are some cracking murder mysteries, thriller and crime novels out now. Whether you like your crime cosy, clever or cutting (or all three!), here's our pick of the best books to read.
We Chase Shadows by Richard Osman
Possibly the most anticipated book of 2026 is here. Osman brings back the crime fighting team of former cop Steve, his daughter-in-law Amy and bestselling author Rosie from We Solve Murders for another crazy adventure. This time, they’re hired by a wealthy entrepreneur whose life has been threatened.
Murder At The Grand Alpine Hotel by Lucy Foley
What a treat it is to have a new Miss Marple novel – her first outing in 50 years! The plot is classic Christie: an isolated hotel in the Swiss Alps, a group of people trapped together by a snowstorm and a dead body within the first few pages. It’s a risk to take on such an iconic character, but Foley has pulled it off.
Murder at the Grand Alpine Hotel by Lucy Foley
Based On A True Story by Sarah Vaughan
This twisty thriller has so much I like: a grand house on a windswept Cornish cliff, an enigmatic writer celebrating her 70th birthday in style, a secret blackmailer and three daughters duking it out to be the favourite. Superbly plotted and engrossing from start to finish.
A Deadly Episode by Anthony Horowitz
This sixth book is the Detective Hawthorn series, which began with The Word Is Murder,is another slice of fiendish fun. This time we are on a film set where the first Hawthorne/Horowitz mystery novel is being turned into a film. The whole production has been chaos, with delays and a dwindling budget. Now the star actor David Caine, who was playing Ex-Detective Inspector Daniel Hawthorne, is dead and the real Hawthorne – joined by his sidekick Anthony Horowitz - has been called in to investigate.
Caller Unknown by Gillian McAllister
Simone arrives in Texas for a camping trip with her 18-year-old daughter, Lucy, but on the first night she wakes to find Lucy missing. From there, the story races at full tilt as Simone does all she can to get her back, even if it involves committing a terrible crime...
Witch Trial by Harriet Tyce
Two school girls accused of causing the death of their friend by witchcraft in this gripping thriller by The Traitors contestant. The story is told from the point of surgeon Matthew who is a member of the jury in their trial: as he finds out more and more about the case, he becomes obsessed. Harriet does a brilliant job of building the tension to an almost unbearable pitch, until the reader is just as invested as Matthew in whether the two girls actually are witches. The book explores how the truth is often ignored in favour of feelings and how a legal case is swiftly turned into a full-fledged ‘witch trial’ on the platform of social media, well before even a shred of evidence is presented.
Revenge Plot by Stephanie Wrobel
With hints of the film Misery, this Christmas-set thriller is the perfect book for a cold winter’s day. Literary agent Claudia Conley is settling down to a feast in the treehouse Airbnb she's rented for the holidays when a writer and his young son crash nearby. Reluctantly she takes them in only to discover the crash is not quite the accident it seems… I couldn’t put this down!
Murder On The Royal Crescent by Harriet F Townson
I love this series of Golden Age crime-style murder mysteries from Townson (aka Harriet Evans). In this follow up to D Is For Death, Nancy Mitford meets Miss Marple over Christmas in 1936 Bath - what's not to love!
Murder on the Royal Crescent by Harriet F Townson
