Our 2024 picks: International crime and thriller novels
One of the most popular genres - so many of us like to curl up with a good thriller or mystery. Have a browse of our picks of the genre for 2024.
We had to have quite a think about this one! Crime and thriller books cover such a broad spectrum of writing possibilities - from Scandi noir to cosy crime, featuring sleuthing cats and all points in-between - that choosing the "best" in this wide-ranging genre is a bit of an exercise in comparing apples with oranges. Instead, we've opted for a broader list of "suspects", aiming for a wider overall view of this year’s releases and also to make sure all tastes are catered for. Which is not to say we won’t feature some of the best received books and bestsellers, but we also hope to have added in some equally enjoyable less high-profile picks. In short, we hope to present you with some great crime and thriller reads below - enjoy!
Our Top 20 are...
What a way to go / Mackie, Bella
"Anthony Wistern is wealthy beyond imagination. Fragrant wife, gaggle of photogenic children, French chateau, Cotswold manor, plethora of mistresses, penchant for cutting moral corners, tick tick tick tick tick tick. Unfortunately for him, he’s also dead. Suddenly poised to inherit his fortune, each member of the family falls under suspicion. And that’s when everything comes crashing down…" (Catalogue)
The Kellerby code / Sweet, Jonny
"Edward is living in a world he can't afford and to which he doesn't belong. To camouflage himself, he has catered to his friends' needs: fetching drycleaning, sorting flowers for premieres. It's a noble effort, really - anything to keep his best pals Robert and Stanza happy. In return, his proximity to them might sponge the shame of his birth and violent past cleanly away. But the chink in his armour is his painfully unrequited love for Stanza. When he realises Stanza and Robert are an item, Edward is pushed too far. His little acts of kindness take a sinister turn, giving way to the unspeakable brutality Edward fears is at his core. Are there limits to what he will do for his friends? Are there limits to what he will do to them?" (Catalogue)
The list of suspicious things / Godfrey, Jennie
"Maggie Thatcher is prime minister, drainpipe jeans are in, and Miv is convinced that her dad wants to move their family Down South. Because of the murders. Leaving Yorkshire and her best friend Sharon simply isn't an option, no matter the dangers lurking round their way; or the strangeness at home that started the day Miv's mum stopped talking. Perhaps if she could solve the case of the disappearing women, they could stay after all? So, Miv and Sharon decide to make a list: a list of all the suspicious people and things down their street. People they know. People they don't. But their search for the truth reveals more secrets in their neighbourhood, within their families - and between each other - than they ever thought possible. What if the real mystery Miv needs to solve is the one that lies much closer to home?" (Catalogue)
"Home alone with her young children during a blizzard, a mother tucks her son back into bed in the middle of the night. She hears a noise--old houses are always making some kind of noise. But this sound is disturbingly familiar: it's the tread of footsteps, unusually heavy and slow, coming up the stairs. She sees the figure of a man appear down the hallway, shrouded in the shadows. Terrified, she quietly wakes her children and hustles them into the oldest part of the house, a tiny, secret room concealed behind a wall. There they hide as the man searches for them, trying to tempt the children out with promises and scare the mother into surrender. In the suffocating darkness, the mother struggles to remain calm, to plan. Should she search for a weapon or attempt escape? But then she catches another glimpse of him. That face. That voice. And at once she knows her situation is even more dire than she'd feared, because she knows exactly who he is--and what he wants. " (Catalogue)
The peacock and the sparrow : a novel / Berry, I. S
"During the Arab Spring, an American spy's final mission goes dangerously awry in this explosive, bold, and eerily realistic debut from a former CIA officer who brings a fresh spin to the classic espionage novel. Shane Collins, a world-weary CIA spy, is ready to come in from the cold. Stationed in Bahrain off the coast of Saudi Arabia for his final tour, he has little use for his mission -- uncovering Iranian support for the insurgency against the monarchy. He certainly has no use for his naïve and ambitious twenty-eight-year-old station chief. Then Collins meets Almaisa, a beautiful and enigmatic artist, and his eyes are opened to a side of Bahrain most expats never experience, to questions he never thought to ask. When his trusted informant inside the opposition becomes embroiled in a murder, Collins finds himself drawn deep into the conflict, his growing romance with Almaisa -- and his loyalties -- upended. In an instant, he's caught in the crosswinds of a revolution. Drawing on all his skills as a spymaster, he must navigate a bloody uprising, earn Almaisa's love, and uncover the murky border where Bahrain's secrets end and America's begin..." (Catalogue)
Karla's choice : a John le Carré novel / Harkaway, Nick
"An extraordinary new novel set in the world of John le Carré's most iconic spy, George Smiley, written by acclaimed novelist Nick Harkaway. It is spring in 1963 and George Smiley has left the Circus. With the wreckage of the West's spy war against the Soviets strewn across Europe, he has eyes only for a more peaceful life. And indeed, with his marriage more secure than ever, there is a rumor that George Smiley might almost be happy. But Control has other plans. A Russian agent has defected in the most unusual of circumstances, and the man he was sent to kill in London is nowhere to be found [...] Smiley soon finds himself entangled in a perilous mystery that will define the battles to come and set him on a collision course with the greatest enemy he will ever make. Set in the missing decade between two iconic instalments in John le Carré's George Smiley saga, The Spy Who Came in from the Cold and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Karla's Choice marks a momentous return to the world of spy fiction's greatest writer." (Catalogue)
"Alex Mullins knows she is one of the lucky ones. When a fatal coach crash at her school reunion killed several of her classmates, she was saved from a grisly fate. She is haunted by what she thinks she saw that night - a vision of a skeletal woman, known by the locals as the Bonehead - a woman who brings bad luck to all that see her. Now a police officer in Gloucestershire, Alex fights to overcome the past by helping other people. But when her path crosses with someone who was there that fateful night, her new life begins to unravel at the seams. What really happened the night of the crash? And what does she have to do for the petrifying Bonehead to finally leave her be?" (Catalogue)
"It’s a week before the presidential elections when a bomb goes off in an LA shopping mall. In London, armed police storm Heathrow Airport and arrest Sajid Khan. His daughter, Aliyah, entered the USA with the suicide bomber, and now she’s missing, potentially plotting another attack. But then a mysterious woman called Carrie turns up at Sajid’s door after travelling halfway across the world. She claims Aliyah is with her son and she knows where they are. Back in the US, Agent Shreya Mistry is closing in on the two fugitives. But the more she investigates, the more she realises there is more to this case than meets the eye. Hunted by the authorities, the two parents are thrown together in a race against time to find their kids before the FBI does and stop a catastrophe that will bring the country to its knees.." (Catalogue)
All the colours of the dark / Whitaker, Chris
"A missing persons mystery, a serial killer thriller, and an epic love story - with a unique twist on each. Late one summer, the town of Monta Clare is shattered by the abduction of teenager Joseph 'Patch' Macauley. Nobody more so than Saint Brown, who will risk everything to find her best friend. But when she does: it will break her heart. Patch lies alone in a pitch-black room - until he feels a hand in his. Her name is Grace and, though they cannot see each other, she lights their world with her words. But when he escapes: there is no sign she ever even existed. Left with only her voice and her name, he paints her from broken memories - and charts an epic search to find her. As years turn to decades, and hope becomes obsession, Saint will shadow his journey - on a darker path to hunt down the man who took them - and set free the only boy she ever loved. Even if finding the truth means losing each other forever." (Catalogue)
Midnight and blue / Rankin, Ian
"John Rebus spent his life as a detective putting Edinburgh's most deadly criminals behind bars. Now, he's joined them... As new allies and old enemies circle, and the days and nights bleed into each other, even the legendary detective struggles to keep his head. That is, until a murder at midnight in a locked cell presents a new mystery. They say old habits die hard... However, this is a case where the prisoners and the guards are all suspects, and everyone has something to hide. With no badge, no authority and no safety net, Rebus walks a tightrope - with his life on the line. But how do you find a killer in a place full of them?" (Catalogue)
Missing Person: Alice (The Finder Mysteries, No. 2) / Mason, Simon
"July 2015, Sevenoaks. 12-year-old schoolgirl Alice Johnson went missing while doing her paper round, her bag found discarded on the pavement. At 08.00, she was spotted standing in heavy rain at the side of the busy by-pass. At 11.00, she was seen talking to the driver of a black car in Tonbridge. After that, nothing. Alice was never found. Nine years later the body of another schoolgirl, Joleen Price, is pulled from a nearby lake and a local man named Vince Burns detained. Convinced that Burns is guilty in both cases, SIO Dave Armstrong calls in the Finder to investigate the earlier disappearance. Interviewing those who thought they knew her, the Finder gradually reveals a hidden Alice, a girl of surprising contradictions. Seeking answers from her divorced parents - an over-protective mother, a negligent father - the Finder is forced to consider violently opposing narratives. Was the timid 12-year-old a victim of the predator Burns, as he himself hints? Or was she carrying out a plan of her own?" (Catalogue)
"It's a blazing summer when two men arrive in a small village in the West of Ireland. One of them is coming home. Both of them are coming to get rich. One of them is coming to die. Cal Hooper took early retirement from Chicago PD and moved to rural Ireland looking for peace. He's found it, more or less: he's built a relationship with a local woman, Lena, and he's gradually turning Trey Reddy from a half-feral teenager into a good kid going good places. But then Trey's long-absent father reappears, bringing along an English millionaire and a scheme to find gold in the townland, and suddenly everything the three of them have been building is under threat. Cal and Lena are both ready to do whatever it takes to protect Trey, but Trey doesn't want protecting. What she wants is revenge." (Catalogue)
Black wolf / Gómez-Jurado, Juan
"Antonia Scott has an unusually gifted mind, able to see what others miss, able to solve the crimes that baffle all others. The only thing she fears is herself. Antonia is the lynchpin of the Red Queen project, created to work behind the scenes to solve the most devious and dangerous crimes. But she is unwilling to move past the last case, convinced it's related to a personal tragedy, until a series of deadly events pulls her back in. In southern Spain, in the Costa del Sol, a key mafia figure is found brutally murdered in his villa, his pregnant wife, Lola Moreno, barely escapes an attempt to kill her in a shopping mall and is on the run. A shipping container from St. Petersburg arrives in port in Spain containing the corpses of nine women, all who suffocated. Now Antonia, with the help of her helper and protector, Jon Gutierrez, must track down this missing Lola. But they aren't the only ones on Lola's trail - a dangerous contract killer, known as the Black Wolf, is also on her trail. And Antonia Scott, still plagued by her personal demons, must outwit, out-maneuver, and, ultimately, face this terrible, mysterious rival..." (Catalogue)
We solve murders / Osman, Richard
"Steve Wheeler is enjoying retired life. He does the odd bit of investigation work, but he prefers his familiar habits and routines: the pub quiz, his favorite bench, his cat waiting for him when he comes home. His days of adventure are over: adrenaline is daughter-in-law Amy's business now. Amy Wheeler thinks adrenaline is good for the soul. As a private security officer, she doesn't stay still long enough for habits or routines. She's currently on a remote island keeping world-famous author Rosie D'Antonio alive. Which was meant to be an easy job... Then a dead body, a bag of money, and a killer with their sights on Amy have her sending an SOS to the only person she trusts. A breakneck race around the world begins, but can Amy and Steve stay one step ahead of a lethal enemy?" (Catalogue)
"The man's body is found in the early morning light by a local dog walker in the park outside Rosebank, a home for troubled teens in the coastal village of Longwater. The victim is Josh, a staff member, who was due to work the previous night but never showed up. DI Vera Stanhope is called out to investigate the death, with her only clue being the disappearance of one of the home's residents, fourteen-year-old Chloe Spence. Vera can't bring herself to believe that a teenager is responsible for the murder, but even she can't dismiss the possibility. Vera, Joe and new team member Rosie Bell, are soon embroiled in the case, and when a second connected body is found near the Three Dark Wives monument in the wilds of the Northumberland countryside, superstition and folklore begin to collide with fact. Vera knows she has to find Chloe to get to the truth, and the dark secrets in their community that may be far more dangerous than she could have ever believed possible..." (Catalogue)
Death at the sign of the rook / Atkinson, Kate
"Welcome to Rook Hall. The stage is set. The players are ready. By night's end, a murderer will be revealed. Ex-detective Jackson Brodie is staving off a bad case of midlife malaise when he is called to a sleepy Yorkshire town, and the seemingly tedious matter of a stolen painting. But one theft leads to another, including the disappearance of a valuable Turner from Burton Makepeace, home to Lady Milton and her family. Once a magnificent country house, Burton Makepeace has now been partially converted into a hotel, hosting Murder Mystery weekends. As paying guests, a vicar, an ex-army officer, impecunious aristocrats and old friends converge, we are treated to a fiendishly clever mystery - one that pays homage to the masters of the genre, from Agatha Christie to Dorothy Sayers." (Catalogue)
The examiner / Hallett, Janice
"Gela Nathaniel, head of Royal Hastings University’s new Multimedia Art course, must find six students from all walks of life across the United Kingdom for her new master’s program before the university cuts her funding. The students are nothing but trouble from day one. [...] Finally, there is the examiner, the man hired to grade students’ final works—an art installation for a local cloud-based solutions company that may have an ulterior agenda—and who, in sifting through final essays, texts, and message boards, warns that someone is in danger…or already dead. And nothing about this course has been left up to chance..." (Catalogue)
Hotel Lucky Seven / Isaka, Kotaro/ Bergstrom, Brian
"Bullet Train's hapless underworld operative and his handler are back in this thrilling new novel from internationally bestselling author Kotaro Isaka. In Bullet Train, underworld operative Ladybug was tasked by his handler Maria with retrieving a suitcase from a high-speed train in Japan. The job did not go according to plan, to the delight of millions of readers and movie fans around the world. Will the unluckiest assassin in the world will find things easier this time around? All he has to do is deliver a painting to a hotel guest, a portrait made by his daughter. Easy enough, except when Ladybug makes the delivery, he realizes that the guest is clearly not the guy in the painting. Then he attacks Ladybug, they fight, and the guest ends up dead. How can such simple jobs always go wrong?" (Catalogue)
The last murder at the end of the world / Turton, Stuart
"Solve the murder to save what's left of the world. Outside the island there is nothing: the world destroyed by a fog that swept the planet, killing anyone it touched. On the island: it is idyllic. 122 villagers and 3 scientists, living in peaceful harmony. The villagers are content to fish, farm and feast, to obey their nightly curfew, to do what they're told by the scientists. Until, to the horror of the islanders, one of their beloved scientists is found brutally stabbed to death. And they learn the murder has triggered a lowering of the security system around the island, the only thing that was keeping the fog at bay. If the murder isn't solved within 107 hours, the fog will smother the island, and everyone on it. But the security system has also wiped everyone's memories of exactly what happened the night before, which means that someone on the island is a murderer, and they don't even know it..." (Catalogue)
One perfect couple / Ware, Ruth
"Lyla is in a bit of a rut. Her post-doctoral research has fizzled out, she's pretty sure they won't extend her contract, and things with her boyfriend, Nico, an aspiring actor, aren't going great. When the opportunity arises for Nico to join the cast of a new reality TV show, One Perfect Couple, she decides to try out with him. A whirlwind audition process later, Lyla find herself whisked off to a tropical paradise with Nico, boating through the Indian Ocean towards Ever After Island, where the two of them will compete against four other couples [...] in order to win a cash prize. But not long after they arrive on the deserted island, things start to go wrong. [...] As tensions run high and fresh water runs low, Lyla finds that this game show is all too real--and the stakes are life or death." (Catalogue)
Still more...
Okay, it's well established by now -- librarians find it very hard to restrict ourselves to a set number of favourites! Here are a few more favourites from our librarians, that trickled in at the last moment - enjoy!
Shanghai : a novel / Kanon, Joseph
"After the violence of Kristallnacht (1938), European Jews, now desperate to emigrate, found the consular doors of the world closed to them. Only one port required no entry visa: Shanghai [...] As Daniel tries to navigate his way through his uncle's world in Shanghai's fabled nightlife, he finds himself increasingly ensnared in a maze where politics and crime are two sides of the same shiny coin. The trick, his uncle tells him, is to stay one step ahead. But how do you stay ahead of murder? How do you outrun your own past?" (Catalogue)
Murder at the monastery / Coles, Richard
Third in the Canon Clement mystery series:
"Canon Daniel Clement has suffered a secret humiliation and to recover takes respite at the monastery where he was a novice. But the monastery doesn't allow the break he needs, for tensions are building there too. There is a death at the monastery, and Daniel thinks it might be murder. Meanwhile back at Champton, Daniel is the subject of village gossip, his mother Audrey is up to something again, there's trouble at the dress shop, trouble up at the big house, and the puppies are running riot. As dark secrets unfold, can Daniel solve the mystery at the monastery without the help of Detective Sergeant Neil Vanloo?" (Catalogue)
Butter / Yuzuki, Asako
"Gourmet cook Manako Kajii sits in Tokyo Detention Centre convicted of the serial murders of lonely businessmen, who she is said to have seduced with her delicious home cooking. The case has captured the nation's imagination but Kajii refuses to speak with the press, entertaining no visitors. That is, until journalist Rika Machida writes a letter asking for her recipe for beef stew and Kajii can't resist writing back. [...] Rika hopes this gastronomic exchange will help her soften Kajii but it seems that she might be the one changing. With each meal she eats, something is awakening in her body, might she and Kaji have more in common than she once thought? Inspired by the real case of the convicted con woman and serial killer, The Konkatsu Killer, Asako Yuzuki's Butter is a vivid, unsettling exploration of misogyny, obsession, romance and the transgressive pleasures of food in Japan." (Catalogue)
The man in black & other stories / Griffiths, Elly
"Elly Griffiths has always written short stories to experiment with different voices and genres and to explore what some of her much-loved creations such as Dr Ruth Galloway might have done outside of the novels. This collection gathers them all together in one splendid volume. Here are bite-sized tales to please and entertain every thriller taste." (Catalogue)
What have you done / Lapena, Shari
"Nothing ever happens in sleepy little Fairhill, Vermont. But this morning that will change. And one innocent question could be deadly. What have you done? The teenagers get their kicks telling ghost stories in the old graveyard. The parents trust their kids will arrive home safe from school. Everyone knows everyone. Curtains rarely twitch. Front doors are left unlocked. But Diana Brewer isn't lying safely in her bed where she belongs. Instead she lies in a hayfield, circled by vultures, discovered by a local farmer..." (Catalogue)