Our Crime Fiction Picks

A creeping sense of dread, a complex and compelling mystery, an unexpected denouement… Crime fiction is a broad church and one full of treasures. If you’re looking for your next spine-tingling nail-biting mystery, look no further because we’ve compiled list of all the latest and upcoming crime fiction novels keeping readers at the edge of their seats.

Death Of A Bookseller by Alice Slater

With a title as compelling as this one, it’s hard not to gravitate towards this crime debut. This is a gripping tale of obsession between two booksellers that will have you reading late into the night. Perfect for fans of Netflix’s You.

Penance by Eliza Clark

A Good Housekeeping x Women’s Prize Futures author, Eliza Clark’s second novel is packed full of mysteries and malice all wound up in adolescent angst. Using witness accounts, interviews and correspondence, the novel delves into the shocking murder of a 16-year-old in a sleepy seaside town.

The Whispers by Ashley Audrain

Ashley Audrain’s second novel, after the bestselling The Push, proves the adage there’s no smoke without fire. In The Whispers, she revisits the dark side of motherhood and family, the ties that twist in community and the cracks that are papered over. Compelling stuff.

A Game of Lies by Clare Mackintosh

Reality TV makes for a chilling backdrop in the latest instalment in the Detective Ffion Morgan series by Clare Mackintosh. Seven contestants are stranded in the welsh mountains, each trying to figure out the others secrets. There’s a lot at stake, and even more when contestants start to go missing!

None Of This Is True by Lisa Jewell

This is another corker from Lisa Jewell who’s psychological thrillers just keep getting better and better. In None Of This Is True podcaster Alix Summer meets Josie Fair, and finds out they share a birthday. Intrigued by the story Josie has to tell, Alix gets drawn in deeper and deeper into Josie’s tale with calamitous consequences.

The Maid by Nita Prose

There’s something very Christie-esque in this heart-warming whodunit. Molly the Maid is the perfect protagonist, complete with access to behind-the-scenes areas of our crime scene, the Regency Grand Hotel. Clever plotting and an ingenius ending will leave readers feeling very satisfied.

Coming soon…

A Bird in Winter by Louise Doughty

We can’t wait to read the new novel from the author of the game-changing novel Apple Tree Yard. The novel follows the story of Bird, a woman on the run and deals with an age-old fear, to be hunted.

Do you like to read crime and thrillers? Do you have a favourite genre? Share your thoughts with us over on social media, we’re @womensprize on the platform of your choice.