the International Thriller Writers Awards's Reading List

"Cross My Heart by Megan Collins This tempestuous psychological thriller follows Rosie Lachlan, a bridal shop manager with a literal broken heart. Unlucky in love and suffering increasingly from ill health, she undergoes a transplant—after which she develops an obsession with the husband of the dead donor. He’s certainly intriguing: a celebrity author with an exciting online presence. When an anonymous commenter claims he might be implicated in his wife’s tragic death, the plot thickens… The New York Times described it as “a curious book: part (possible) murder mystery, part deep dive into out-of-control social media addiction and part sleight-of-hand trick by the author.” It has the observational humour of a romantic comedy, but it’s “freighted in darkness” and violence too: look out for a “terrific” plot twist mid-way through."

"A story of magic, mystery and murder set in 1950s Atlantic City, New Jersey. When Lucy Moon, a fêted female stage illusionist discovers a dead body, she is drawn into a murder investigation and towards the enigmatic Elvis Jones, both prime suspect and ill-advised love interest. This moody, noir-ish novel is perfect for readers who want to feel immersed in an atmospheric era. As the author has written: “In Atlantic City, past and present bump into each other on the legendary boardwalk that stretches between glittering casinos and the indifferent Atlantic Ocean… It’s a town that exists in the space between dreams and disappointment. She’s been battered by bankruptcies and hurricanes, yet every dawn the Atlantic still crashes against her pilings, and the wheel still spins at Steel Pier.” Full of trickery and intrigue."

"The Burning Library by Gilly Macmillan Macmillan—best known for more conventional thrillers like What She Knew and The Nanny —has swerved into dark academia territory for this scholarly suspense novel about a medieval manuscript that has earned comparisons with Dan Brown’s international blockbuster The Da Vinci Code . Dr Anya Brown, a brilliant young scholar, has been recruited by St Andrews University, Scotland, to continue her groundbreaking work translating a rare and mysterious ancient text. Soon she will come to realise that she is only a pawn in a far greater game being played between shadowy secret societies—as she is drawn into a vast global conspiracy. Ambitious, sprawling and—yes, okay—perhaps a little bit silly, The Burning Library offers its readers a complex, quirky treasure hunt with a feminist twist."

"The Locked Ward by Sarah Pekkanen This intriguing multi-perspective thriller from the author of House of Glass features two twins, separated at birth: one seeking to uncover the truth about why they other is currently being held in a psychiatric unit, accused of murder. Georgia, the detained sister, presents as a very unreliable narrator of her own story. As she tells herself, and therefore the reader: You are supposedly in a dissociative state, which you learned about years ago because you wrote a twenty-page paper on it for a college psychology class… It turned out to be the most important thing you learned in college. That paper may have saved your life. Georgia was adopted by a wealthy family and has grown up to be a glamorous wedding planner and socialite. Mandy, her twin, has lived a harder life until now. She’d seen the headlines about this very Southern scandal but had no idea she would soon be sucked in. “Escapist and entertaining,” declares the Southern Review of Books."

"So Happy Together by Olivia Worley When Jane, a young playwright, falls for Colin, a friendly software developer, she thinks she might finally have found the one. But Colin doesn’t think so. He breaks it off after only six dates and quickly moves on. Struggling to accept the truth, Jane stalks and then befriends his new girlfriend, then breaks into his apartment—only to make a startling discovery. And there’s plenty more plot still to come in this twisting rollercoaster ride. Perfect for fans of dramas about all-consuming relationships—both romantic and parasocial—like You and Promising Young Woman . “I’ve never had more fun writing a character than I did with Jane. She’s delusional, obsessive, and a little unhinged—but also, I think, deeply relatable,” the author explained in an interview. “I worked on So Happy Together obsessively, finishing the first draft in just a few months. It was such a cathartic experience: through Jane, I was not only voicing so many of my own fears and frustrations, but taking them to the extreme.” Have you read a brilliant thriller recently that you think we should know about? Get in touch with us on social media to let us know."

"Ultimately, the ITW judges declared Jason Rekulak’s The Last One at the Wedding to be the best thriller of 2025. It follows Frank Szatowski, a widowed war veteran and UPS delivery guy who discovers that his estranged daughter is shortly to marry the son of a tech billionaire. Out of the blue, she asks him to walk her down the aisle and he happily agrees. But when he arrives at the event—hosted at a luxurious private estate in New Hampshire—Szatowski soon realises that all is not as it seems and he must race to uncover the truth about his daughter’s fiancé before it’s too late. If you enjoyed Rekulak’s last book, the very creepy Hidden Pictures , then you will appreciate the plot twists in the tightly-plotted The Last One at the Wedding too—but this time expect family drama and conspiracy, not a supernatural thriller. Think Taken meets White Lotus . The Last One at the Wedding was also recommended for a Goodreads Readers’ Choice Award last year."

"There were four runners-up, including Kimberly Belle’s The Paris Widow , a story in which an American man is tragically killed in a gas explosion during a European holiday. But who was he, really? Soon his wife Stella is reeling from the news that her new husband was, apparently, an internationally notorious dealer of stolen art—and finds herself under surveillance. The Paris Widow book leads us in a cat-and-mouse game through the streets of the French capital, as its fast-paced plot unfolds. This is a binge-worthy, escapist thriller that should be read in a rush. (And if you too are heading to France this summer, you may be interested in other novels set in Paris .)"

"The third of the books shortlisted for the title of best 2025 thriller was Will Dean’s claustrophobic The Chamber (published in the UK as One at a Time ). It has a brilliant concept: six deep-sea divers are locked together inside a diving bell, or an underwater hyperbaric chamber. When one of their number is found dead in his bunk, it’s clear that the murderer is among them—but there’s no escape: it will take four uncomfortable days of decompression before they can leave the room. Until then, they must stay alert—or risk being unalived. We love a high-concept plot here at Five Books , and what a great idea: perhaps the highest pressure locked-room mystery yet? As a reader, you will also learn a great deal about the technicalities of saturation diving, a fascinating and extremely hazardous profession ."

"Okay, the title gives you a good steer: in the fourth thriller on the 2025 ITW shortlist, an aeroplane crashes directly into a nuclear plant in Minnesota. It’s a terrifying notion, and after the initial, white-knuckle set piece, the action unfolds as fast and as furiously as you might assume. Newman herself is a former flight attendant who now specialises in air disaster novels. Her bestselling debut Falling portrayed a plane hijacking, and her sophomore outing Drowning featured an aircraft crash at sea. James Patterson described this latest book as “the best thriller I’ve read so far this year. It’s a chilling idea with great characters and near-perfect execution.”"

"Which brings us to the final book on the ITW shortlist for the best standalone thriller of 2025: Lisa Scottoline’s The Truth About the Devlins. It features a Philadelphia clan of elite, high-achieving lawyers—and one drop-out son, T.J., who has struggled with alcoholism and spent time in prison. But when his more ambitious brother accidentally kills a client during a charged confrontation, T.J.’s criminal past proves surprisingly useful. This is a long (400 pp.) but fast-moving story that rattles along, and will keep you happily occupied for a good few days while you top up your tan or wait in departure lounges. If you fancy a character-driven story featuring sibling rivalry, a sobriety journey and white collar crime, this could be the book for you. If none of these catch your eye, you might be interested in the winners of several other categories. Kellye Garrett won the award for ‘best standalone mystery of 2025’ for her novel Missing White Woman , which flips the cultural and media obsession with a certain kind of victim on its head. Jaime deBlanc won the ‘best first novel’ category for her debut After Image , a suspense novel about a high-profile cold case, which might finally be on the verge of being solved. And David Baldacci won the award for the best new novel in a series for To Die For , the latest book in his Travis Devine sequence. What new thrillers have you enjoyed best so far in 2025? Let us know on social media or by email."