Mystery 
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Bestseller Bohjalian reaches new heights with his 25th novel, the stunning saga of an 18-year-old female golfer who accidentally kills a caddy in 1970s Westchester, N.Y. The ensuing investigation unearths the young woman’s entanglement with a much-older man, nudging the story in rich new directions as Bohjalian brilliantly considers questions of trauma, memory, and familial legacy.
This swan song for Drive author Sallis, who died in January, highlights everything that made him such a singular voice. The tale of a small-town cop who’s pulled back to the force when the local chief disappears, it’s more concerned with life in a village and the spiritual dimensions of work than with blood, guts, or the question of whodunit—and it’s all the better for it.
Sweeping, epic, and psychologically complex, this historical thriller spins the real-life story of Maine outlaw Al Brady into the tragic tale of a family torn apart by crime during the Great Depression. It spans decades and hinges on an emotionally pummeling love story, and yet it’s difficult to imagine not racing through its 400-odd pages in a day or two.
A majority-Black community in the Hudson Valley is rattled when a white couple falsely accused of murder returns home from prison in this deliciously subversive novel inspired by Winslow’s experiences as a minority in Upstate New York. With a climax that’s nigh impossible to forget, it flips the script on familiar stories of injustice in endlessly clever—and ultimately devastating—ways.
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In a rare turn of events, this year’s buzziest (forgive the pun) thriller also turned out to be one of its best. Silver’s bruising satire of a publishing industry hungry for trauma porn is boosted by the former YA author’s deep empathy for his two antiheroes: a struggling author and a smart gay junkie. Crucially, however, the novel maintains its bite through to the final sentence.
Mind-melting in the best way, this Möbius strip of a thriller follows a true crime writer who’s writing a book about a mom-obsessed serial killer while living in the shadow of her own mother, a famous poet. When the writer receives anonymous threats from someone claiming to be her child, her—and the reader’s—grip on reality starts to slip, plunging the narrative into pleasurable chaos.
It’s not easy to pull off a memorable cozy, but Innocence Project attorney Gunasekera nails it on her first try. Set in a recognizably gritty New York City, the book follows a cab driver who seeks assistance from a public defender after she’s accused of killing a passenger. The result is sweet, surprising, and endlessly entertaining.
WNYC host Hanssen makes a seamless transition to the page with this story of a radio host and hit man whose murder sparks a crisis of faith in his best friend and sets his daughter on a bloody quest for revenge. Indelible characters and Hanssen’s well-honed message about the futility of escaping the past would be enough to make this one of the year’s best—that it’s funny is just a bonus.
Taff’s incendiary debut knits together several topical themes—cults, female rage, the pitfalls of maintaining a public persona—without once feeling like it’s chasing trends. Nearly 20 years after the murder trial that made cult escapee Lucy Golden a feminist icon, she considers telling the truth about that long-ago disaster. Lucky for readers, the truth is a doozy.
Ames, a literary shape-shifter, does a lot with a little in this spare story of an LAPD detective who returns to Alabama after the murder of her unsavory father. There, she finds the type of surreal criminal underworld Ames explored in 2013’s You Were Never Really Here; this time, the tone is even stranger and more tragic.
The latest from Harper, the reigning king of L.A. neo-noir, is a neon-soaked nightmare of serial killers, conspiracy theories, and livestreamers, with a few direct links to the author’s 2023 hit Everybody Knows. Employing a wider scope than in his previous books and prose that’s more stylish and dazzling than ever, Harper handily defends his crown.
This kaleidoscopic satirical thriller filters the story of Damon Midnight, who disappears after he’s acquitted of a string of grisly murders, through the perspectives of his self-righteous wife, the DA tasked with finding him, and the actor hired to play him. Goffard, a Pulitzer-winning journalist, brings a reporter’s eye for detail to the proceedings, resulting in an incisive and unpredictable ride.
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