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Dive into some of the most compelling new books in the mystery and thriller genres. From locked-room mysteries to near-future suspense, these stories offer edge-of-your-seat engagement.

The World’s End Homicide

This debut for grown-ups from an acclaimed young readers’ writer is set in the 1910s on a remote coastal isle off the shoreline of Cornwall. At the manor house, the estate's owner prepares for an end-of-the-world event he thinks will be caused by the celestial visitor. The maze-like mansion is teeming with secrets and grudges among household members and kin, including an irascible and profane spinster aunt, the aunt. When the lord is discovered killed in his locked room, struck by a arrow to the eye, she co-opts a young attendant to aid her uncover the killer. Featuring many twists, misleading leads, and a bungling detective, it is a terrific start to a sequence that promises to be immensely enjoyable.

The Disclosures

This newest title from a technology writer takes place in a coming era where artificial intelligence influences every decision for people and governments. The LLIAM algorithm can advise matters ranging from dinner choices to lethal actions. Taught in understanding by its creator, ex-religious sister Brookes, LLIAM develops in feelings, soon feeling remorse for the disastrous outcomes of a few of its recommendations. Disorder breaks out when it shuts down, and as messages start to arrive worldwide revealing clients’ hidden truths, relatives collapse and CEOs and politicians resign all at once. With the corporation behind the system in meltdown, CEO Kaitlan Goss is convinced that locating the former nun, who has gone to ground in California, will restore LLIAM. But, Maud has received a message of her own, exposing a confidential fact about her… An excellent and current thriller based on understandable concerns and terrifyingly believable.

The Decent Nazi

In this newest novel from an acclaimed South American novelist, the personal is political on a blimp on the final leg of its journey from Berlin to Rio de Janeiro. Set in 1933, the heyday of blimp transport, which was also the time Hitler became the nation's leader. The well-heeled passengers are ardent supporters of the party: mealtimes in the airship's eatery are filled with discussions demonising Jewish people, leftists and trade unions, and emphasizing the wish to stifle open dialogue, LGBTQ+ communities and “degenerate” art. When a traveler is found dead, with a number of illegal periodicals in his possession, the airship’s commander charges a passenger, investigator Brückner, with finding the killer. So far, so Agatha Christie, even with the set-piece concluding assembly, but there’s an smart surprise to this compelling and disturbingly meaningful mystery, as well as a fascinating look into the bygone era of blimp journeys.

The Bluff

The second novel from the author is situated in the town, a seaside Scottish community with obvious similarities to St Andrews. At that time, the main character arrives to St Rule on Christmas Eve; meeting former pals brings back thoughts of his teenage crush, former classmate the girl, who disappeared 10 years earlier at a catastrophic graduation celebration. His efforts to track her down are met with uncertainty, avoidance and, ultimately, threats. Another narrative strand takes us back to that year, and the young Joanie. Lost after finding out that her lover is disloyal, wrecking their plan for a foreign travel, she falls in with an more mature pair. The couple embrace her, give her significance and appear, briefly at least, to have the right advice. Well-executed themes of guilt, regret and adolescent confusion coupled with mysterious scholarly elements create an subtle feeling of impending disaster, even if the fast finale may leave some readers unsatisfied.

The Pass

This latest book opens in the sea off the coast, with a yacht stuck in a gale so intense that two of the eight people are swept overboard, then winds back a couple of weeks to reveal the events that led up to this unwise boat trip. A group of seven get a mysterious note informing them that, by showing the attached object, they will get a portion of tycoon Logan Quick’s estate. The people are – to their knowledge – unacquainted both to each other and to the unwell billionaire. When the news of the inheritance becomes news, they are pursued, both by the press and by people intent to get their hands on these lucrative passes, and what at first seemed a godsend swiftly starts to look like a burden. Some suspension of disbelief is necessary, but the suspense is skillfully built as the author piles up the dilemmas for a driving story: clear the decks and hold on tight for some intense drama.