The best books out this month

August sees the arrival of a new crop of thrillers, mysteries and twisty tales – perfect for late-summer reading. From chilling domestic suspense to high-stakes heists and cold-case investigations, these new releases each contain buried secrets, tightly woven plots, and characters pushed to their limits. Whether you’re after slow-burn suspense or page-turning action, the following are the best books out this month that are guaranteed to keep you hooked.

New crime books out this month:

Wolf Hour by Jo Nesbø

When a small-time crook is gunned down in Minneapolis, all signs point to a lone wolf sniper with a shadowy past – and he’s only just getting started. As the bodies pile up, disgraced detective Bob Oz is pulled back in, haunted by a killer who feels all too familiar. Years later, a Norwegian writer arrives, determined to tell the story – but his motives may be murkier than they seem. Pacy, dark, and razor-sharp, Wolf Hour is Nesbø at his twistiest best.

The Lucky Winners by K. L. Slater

When Merri and Dev win their dream home in the Lake District, it feels like a fresh start. But while Dev basks in their luck, Merri is haunted by a tragedy she’s spent years trying to outrun. Then unsettling things begin to happen – figures in the garden, a constant sense of being watched – and when a body is found in the lake, Merri’s worst fears come crashing in. Tense, eerie, and impossible to put down, this is domestic suspense at its finest.

Kiss Her Goodbye by Lisa Gardner

When Afghan refugee Sabera Ahmadi vanishes, Frankie Elkin – an expert in finding the missing – is drawn into a case where danger runs deep and no one seems to care that she’s gone. As Frankie digs into Sabera’s haunting past, she uncovers secrets that threaten them both. Set against a blistering desert backdrop, Kiss Her Goodbye is a gripping, emotionally charged thriller that explores trauma, resilience, and the hidden costs of survival.

The Picasso Heist by James Patterson

When art student Halston Graham learns a rare Picasso is about to hit auction, she hatches an audacious plan: steal it to fund her future, and free her wrongly imprisoned father. To pull it off, she’ll need a forger, a mob boss, and a fashion designer. What could go wrong? The Picasso Heist is a high-octane, twist-filled caper with brains, boldness, and flair to spare. Slick, sharp, and cinematic, it’s pure page-turning fun.

The Mysterious Case of the Missing Crime Writer by Ragnar Jónasson

When bestselling crime writer Elín S. Jónsdóttir vanishes one snowy evening in Iceland, rookie detective Helgi is tasked with quietly solving the case. But as he questions those closest to her, it becomes clear Elín’s life was as enigmatic as her novels. With each interview, long-buried secrets come to light. Quietly gripping and atmospheric, The Mysterious Case of the Missing Crime Writer is a reflective, slow-burn mystery with a haunting emotional undercurrent.

Evil in High Places by Rory Clements

As Nazi Germany prepares to dazzle the world at the 1936 Olympics, Detective Sebastian Wolff is tasked with finding a missing actress who happens to be Goebbels’ mistress. But in Munich, where appearances matter more than truth, Wolff’s search soon uncovers a web of corruption, danger, and vanishing people. Evil in High Places is a tense, morally complex historical thriller that explores justice under tyranny in a way that is haunting, thought-provoking, and impossible to forget.

The Game is Murder by Hazell Ward

You’ve been invited to a glamorous London mansion to solve a decades-old murder. The Game is Murder casts you as the detective in a twisty, metafictional mystery where you need to figure out which of the 13 suspects is the culprit. With shifting roles, sly narration, and classic whodunnit flair, this playful novel keeps you guessing as nothing is quite what it seems. Inventive, theatrical, and wickedly clever, it’s a mystery with a mind of its own.

The Quiet Mother by Arnaldur Indridason

Retired detective Konráð investigates the murder of a woman who, just days before her death, had begged him to find the child she gave up decades ago. But as he uncovers secrets linking her death to an old murder, Konráð also finds connections to his own dark family history. This mystery blends personal tragedy with slow-burn suspense as it builds to a gripping, emotional conclusion.

Too Old for This by Samantha Downing

Retired serial killer Lottie Jones has lived quietly under a new identity for decades, enjoying simple pleasures like bingo and gossip. When investigative journalist Plum Dixon arrives, probing into Lottie’s connection to unsolved murders, she must resort to desperate measures to protect her secret… Too Old for This balances suspense and dark humour, making it the perfect crime novel for fans of Bella Mackie and Richard Osman.

The pick of the paperbacks

The following titles have already hit the shelves in hardback and are newly available in paperback this month.

In case you missed it: The best books of July