From psychological thrillers to fantasy crime novels, the best crime novels of 2025 bring the best of the genre. Complex plots, memorable characters and social tensions intertwine in these five must-read works.
A hike that goes terribly wrong in Heartwood
In Heartwood, Amity Gaige explores an unsolved mysterious disappearance in the heart of the Appalachians. Valerie Gillis, an experienced hiker, goes missing on the Appalachian Trail, triggering a massive search operation in a landscape both beautiful and unforgiving.
The investigation, conducted by a dedicated team, gradually reveals intimate truths buried deep within a forest that becomes a character in its own right. This crime novel’s strongest aspect lies in its constant psychological tension, fuelled by deeply human characters confronted with their choices, lies and the surrounding wilderness. The author weaves a subtle, almost organic air of suspense, where the writings of the missing woman reveal a parallel reality both disturbing and fascinating.
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A detective trapped in the 1940s with Dead in the Frame
Stephen Spotswood’s Dead in the Frame is the fifth instalment in the thrilling tales of Lillian Pentecost and Willowjean Parker. This time, it is Lillian herself who faces charges of following the death of a wealthy collector of ‘murder memorabilia,’ Jessup Quincannon, in a New York scarred by post-war upheaval.
As certainties begin to waver, the duo struggles with a biased judicial system, revealing the social and political tensions of the time. The retro atmosphere, combined with a fast-paced plot, gives this classic crime novel a unique charm, but with a welcome modern touch when it comes to the dialogue, relationships and themes.
Privilege and a disappearance in The God of the Woods
With The God of the Woods, Liz Moore delivered a novel as disturbing as it is captivating, set in a summer camp in the heart of the Adirondacks for children from wealthy families. When Barbara Van Laar, a teenager and heir to the camp, disappears, the orderly face of the camp begins to crack. The investigation slowly begins, revealing the underlying tensions of an elitist world wherein privilege is sometimes a shield behind which to hide the worst kind of behaviour.
Moore’s writing, careful and insightful, creates an almost oppressive atmosphere in which every detail counts. This atmospheric thriller captivates as much for its suspense as for its social commentary, and the double disappearance (Barbara and another child from previous years) gives the story a disturbing temporal dimension.
Murder and manipulation in The In Crowd
With The In Crowd, Charlotte Vassell weaves a complex and elegant crime novel, in which two unsolved cases resurface in a disturbing way. It all starts in London, when a body is found floating in the Thames, reopening the investigation into an executive suspected of embezzlement. That same day, a second victim is discovered in a theatre, also reactivating an old, twenty-year-old case: the disappearance of a student from a girls’ boarding school in Cornwall.
Inspector Caius Beauchamp is charged with solving these two cases, along with his colleagues Matt Chung and Amy Noakes. They start unravelling a network of influences in which truth clashes with the interests of an ambitious aristocrat. Combining social satire, multi-layered mysteries and psychological tension, Vassell has created a modern and sharp crime novel as entertaining as it is critical.
A strange and fascinating world in The Tainted Cup
With The Tainted Cup, Robert Jackson Bennett offers a totally atypical crime novel, set in a strange universe where reality seems strangely malleable. Two detectives, both rational and disturbed, investigate a murder with supernatural overtones: an officer whose chest turns into trees.
The atmosphere, inspired by stories such as Area X (by novelist Jeff VanderMeer), blends science fiction, psychological horror and detective mysteries in a dense and rich setting. Praised for its originality and rich world-building, this fantasy thriller redefines the boundaries of the genre by threading in an almost metaphysical dimension, captivating readers eager for something new.
