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10 Sharp and Suspenseful Crime & Mystery Novels to Read This Spring (2025)
From slow-burn psychological suspense to cleverly plotted investigations — these novels dig deep, twist smart, and leave a mark.
Crime and mystery fiction has always thrived in the space between what’s said and what’s left unsaid. The novels in this list move beyond the procedural — each one built with narrative precision, emotional tension, and a kind of suspense that hums beneath the surface.
Some are newly released and quietly gathering acclaim; others are on the cusp of arrival, already generating a quiet buzz. All are sharp, smart, and carefully chosen — for readers who value craft as much as the crime itself.
Presumed Guilty
Scott Turow
Turow returns to the world of Presumed Innocent with a story steeped in legacy, regret, and the ambiguity of truth. Now retired, Rusty Sabich finds himself drawn back into the courtroom when a murder strikes close to home — forcing him to confront not just the case, but the unresolved fractures of his own past.
Goodreads: 4.43 | Amazon UK: 4.6
Death At The White Hart
Chris Chibnall
In the quiet coastal village of Fleetcombe, the landlord of a local pub is found murdered — and nearly everyone has something to hide. Chibnall’s debut is a tightly constructed, character-rich mystery that balances classic English whodunnit tradition with a fresh, contemporary eye.
Goodreads: 4.02 | Amazon UK: 4.3
The Gatsby Gambit
Claire Anderson-Wheeler
This inventive spin on a literary icon follows Greta, sister to Jay Gatsby, as she unpicks the lies and legends around her brother’s life — and death. Sharp, atmospheric, and psychologically layered, it’s both homage and reinvention, offering a new mystery beneath the familiar facade.
Goodreads: 3.93 | Amazon UK: - Released on 3rd April 2025
The Seventh Body
Catherine Kirwan
Detective Garda Alice McCann is called to a construction site where six historical remains have been unearthed — alongside one body that definitely isn’t. Kirwan’s novel is an understated and psychologically grounded procedural that probes family silence, institutional mistrust, and the weight of modern consequence.
Goodreads: 4.38 | Amazon UK: 4.3
Formats: Paperback | Kindle | Audible
(Paperback released on 7th August 2025 - Kindle/Audible out now)
The Frozen People
Elly Griffiths
In the first of a new series, time-travelling cold case detective Ali Dawson must journey to Victorian London to clear the name of a man executed for murder. With eerie atmosphere, historical texture, and a speculative twist, Griffiths constructs a genre-bending mystery full of layered character work and quiet suspense.
Goodreads: 4.05 | Amazon UK: 4.4
The Cost
Morgan Cry
A Scottish expat’s quiet life on the Costa Blanca unravels after the suspicious death of a friend reveals deeper, darker entanglements. Gritty, sun-baked, and simmering with unease, this is noir in a new climate — and trust comes with a price.
Goodreads: 3.67 | Amazon UK: 4.3 (4 reviews) - (Released on 1st April 2025)
There Will Be Bodies
Lindsey Davies
Ten years after the eruption of Vesuvius, Flavia Albia and her husband are sent to a devastated villa near the Bay of Naples to oversee its restoration — and to identify what remains of the lives left behind. As they excavate the ruins, a deeply unsettling picture begins to emerge: one of careful arrangements, silent decisions, and the people Rome chose to forget. A slow-building historical mystery rich in unearthed tension and moral ambiguity.
Goodreads: 4.20 (5) | Amazon UK: 5.0 (2) - Released on 3rd April
Coming Soon
The Man Made of Smoke
Alex North
After the death of his father, a troubled writer returns to the town where his nightmares began — and where an old story about a supernatural figure called the Smoke Man still haunts the edges of local memory. North’s latest is a dark, emotionally complex mystery that blurs the boundary between myth and madness.
Released on 8th May 2025
Marble Hall Murders
Anthony Horowitz
When editor Susan Ryeland receives a manuscript with eerie parallels to a real-life case, she and fictional detective Atticus Pünd are drawn into a mystery that plays with both narrative and reality. Metatextual, clever, and richly satisfying, Horowitz delivers another precision-built puzzle for fans of golden age structure and modern wit.
Released on 10th April 2025
The Missing Half
Ashley Flowers
Two women, each grieving a sister who disappeared under strange circumstances, begin to see unsettling parallels between their stories. What starts as shared sorrow deepens into suspicion, obsession, and a dangerous need for answers. Atmospheric and emotionally charged, Flowers offers a tightly wound mystery with psychological depth.
Released on 6th May 2025
Whether you favour the slow creep of psychological suspense or the satisfying click of a locked-room reveal, these books offer more than clever resolutions. They linger in the questions they raise — about motive, memory, and the stories we tell ourselves to feel safe.
Read them for the tension, yes. But stay for the subtle turns of character, the fractured truths, and the elegant ways they leave just enough unresolved.
Until next time, happy reading.
— The Page Sage
Prefer stories with a sharper edge? Our recent thriller list explores equally tense territory — from deception and dread to deeply human consequences.
Thumbnail Photo by alexey turenkov on Unsplash
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