End of Summer Sleuthing: 10 New Mystery & Thrillers for August 2025

For fans of author MCs, twins, and train settings in murder mysteries!

You might recognize the Orient Express as a real-life luxury train in Europe and part of the title of an Agatha Christie novel, the latter of course being the inspiration for this novel. Joe Penvale is a crime author taking a trip on the Orient Express with his twin sister, Meredith. But rest and relaxation aren’t in the cards when they wake up to discover the cabin next to theirs is a crime scene covered in blood. Joe and Meredith team up with a group of passengers to find the missing passenger from the bloody room.

For fans of graphic novels, prep school settings in YA murder mysteries, and theater groups!

The WTS is the elite theater society at Wilberton Academy and their current production is Romeo & Juliet, starring the beloved Elizabeth Woodward. But the morning after the play’s opening night, she’s found dead, her death ruled a suicide. Abby Kita is a transfer student who was one of the last people to see Woodward alive and she’s not buying the suicide ruling by authorities, especially after some digging that uncovered Woodward had secrets…

For fans of fictional serial killers!

Lottie Jones has killed a fair amount of people in her life. All deserving of course, at least in her opinion. Now she lives a quiet life, socializing with her church friends, and putting off a hip replacement surgery she’s afraid of. But when a young woman shows up on her doorstep with plans for a docuseries focused on proving that Jones should have never been accused of murder—well, Jones finds herself having to kill again. And when you have to cover up one murder, there is a need to kill more to protect your secrets.

For fans of PI series, family drama, and cases that involve possible wrongful murder convictions!

First, a note on the series: the plot of this book spoils previous plots in the series. If you care about that, go pick up Gone for Good! If you’re already reading this series, or don’t care, feel free to continue.

Detective Annalisa Vega doesn’t have easy family relationships, especially since her brother is in prison because of her—well, because of his own actions, but she turned him in. Neither has forgiven the other, but he wants her assistance as a PI when a fellow inmate, John Green, is charged with killing his ex-wife’s lawyer. Except the witness lied. The problem with Vega being on this case? Her husband is the officer who arrested Green. Awkward!

For fans of family drama, dual timelines, and the fallout of a criminal case!

Thirty years ago, John Lo was having an affair with a coworker at a prestigious law firm. When she was murdered, he was charged. Even though he was acquitted, the fallout has lasted for decades, including how it affected and changed his family. Now his estranged children—one who thinks their father was innocent, the other believing he was not—are forced to come together due to their mother’s health issues. Readers are taken into Lo’s life at the time of the murder, and the present day as his children wrestle with what really happened.

For fans of art theft, history, and themes of reparations!

With the idea of bringing awareness to Africa’s stolen art, Gus Dixon—who has a PhD in West African history— plans to steal a Benin mask. But plans have a tendency of going awry in crime novels. That’s when the book opens up to multiple characters, including a mercenary, the wealthy Dr. Akinye Okigbo, and a former Nigerian army officer, and explores themes of British Colonialism, reparations, and looted art.

For fans of procedural series, small towns, and missing person cases!

Officer Emmy Clifton has a new case in the small town of North Falls, and it’s personal: on the 4th of July, two teen girls disappeared, one being Clifton’s best friend’s daughter. As she looks for the girls and what might have happened, she uncovers more and more secrets the town residents hold…

For fans of missing person cold cases, sisters, and southern thrillers!

Natalie Campbell disappeared after her 18th birthday. When her blood was discovered in a car, she was presumed murdered and a man’s arrest closed the case. Now, more than two decades later, her younger sister Claire is an investigative journalist returning home to help care for her mother after an accident. On a whim, she takes a job at a vineyard/farm on the South Carolina coast—the same place her sister worked at right before she disappeared.

For fans of amateur sleuths teaming up with small town detectives, murder mysteries, and dual POV!

The series started with Jo Jones, a neurodivergent NY book editor, moving to the countryside when she inherited an English estate. Amateur sleuthing ensued! And now she’s back again, still trying to learn about her family history, managing the crumbling estate, and trying to navigate small-town politics and all the gossip. Plus, a murder: detective James MacAdams finds the dead body of a man who stayed at Jones’ AirBnB room, so once again they are teaming up to solve a murder!

If you want to start at the beginning, pick up The Framed Women of Ardemore House.

For fans of thrillers and dark humor!

Thea Woods’ job at a publishing house is hanging by a thread, and that’s not her only stress at the moment. So it’s a total surprise to many that celebrity chef Maria Cappello has a clause in the sale of her memoir: instead of going with a big house for seven figures, she picks a small press and selects Woods specifically to edit her memoir. Woods is certainly curious if Cappello is ready to finally tell the story of her husband’s mysterious disappearance decades ago. But as Woods settles in to work at Cappello’s home, things start to seem off…