Endless Summer Thrills and Chills

By Ashly Moore Sheldon • June 17, 2026

Summer is almost here! Whether lounging in a backyard hammock, spending long days at the beach, or vacationing, summertime calls for an abundance of good reading material. No matter what genres you prefer, ThriftBooks has got you covered. Here are 28 great mystery, thriller, horror, and true crime reads to get your blood racing this summer.

Mystery

• 26 Beauties by James Patterson—SFPD's Sergeant Lindsay Boxer's best friend, Claire Washburn, is named medical examiner of the year. But an uninvited guest crashes the Women's Murder Club's party: a concerned father seeking investigative reporter Cindy Thomas's help in locating his missing daughter. And she's not the only one.
• The Keeper by Tana French—When a local girl is killed in the remote Irish village of Ardnakelty, retired Chicago detective Cal Hooper feels compelled to investigate, despite the strident objections of his fiancé Leah. This is the finale in an unputdownable trilogy from the crime writer called "incandescent" by Stephen King.
• Murder at the Spirit Lounge by Jess Kidd—When Dolores Chimes, a famous medium, arrives in Gore-on-Sea, even surly Detective Inspector Rideout is intrigued. But the séance ends with Dolores dead and now the other attendees are dying one by one. Former nun-turned-sleuth Nora Breen returns in another charming cozy mystery.
• The Last Mandarin by Louise Penny and Mellissa Fung—Alice Li, a first-generation Chinese American, has long lived in the shadow of her mother, Vivien, a world-renowned human rights activist. When an international attack is traced to China, mother and daughter are called upon to overcome their estrangement to prevent a global catastrophe.
• Red Sheet by James Ellroy—Troubled LAPD lieutenant Freddy Otash leads this gritty, fast-paced historical neo-noir from the author of The Black Dahlia. Set in 1962 Los Angeles during the aftermath of the Cuban Missile Crisis, Freddy is appointed as lead investigator into local Communist activity. It's chaos. And Freddy thrives on chaos.
• An Artful Dodge by Karen Odden—She's stolen gems, purses, and hearts—but can she steal her life back? Victorian London comes to vivid life in this riveting heist novel about an all-female thieving gang and one young woman's heroic plan to escape a life of crime, from the bestselling author of Down a Dark River.
• Green City Wars by Adrian Tchaikovsky—In the solar cities of the future, the humans relax in the sun and the animals are genetically engineered workers, serving humanity from the shadows. Skotch is a raccoon and a PI: yours for a few buttons as long as the job isn't too illegal. Philip Marlowe meets Redwall in this genre-defying novel.

Thriller

• Judge Stone by James Patterson and Viola Davis—The most respected citizen in tiny Union Springs, Alabama, is Judge Mary Stone. She holds two responsibilities sacred: running her family farm and presiding over her courtroom. It's there she draws the most controversial case in the history of the South. This celeb collab delivers first-class courtroom drama.
• Bloodlust by Sandra Brown—Two years ago, Detective Mitch Haskell lost his wife to a vicious act of retribution. While obsessively vowing to avenge his late wife's murder, Mitch has been on a downward spiral. After going a step too far, Mitch is forced to seek help from psychotherapist Dylan Reede, while fighting an undeniable attraction to her.
• The Divorce by Freida McFadden—Naomi was living the quintessential love story. Boy meets girl. They fall in love, get married, buy a dream house, start a family. It's perfect... until he kicks her out, hires the city's best divorce lawyers, drains their accounts, and takes up with a twenty-something. But Naomi's not about to go down without a fight.
• The Fourth Option by Jack Carr and M. P. Woodward—Disillusioned by the government and institutions he dedicated his life to serving, former Navy SEAL and CIA ground branch operative Chris Walker is about to end his life when he receives a call that saves it. The widow of a teammate he lost in Afghanistan needs his help.
• Ironwood by Michael Connelly—Detective Stilwell knows that his posting on Catalina Island is no paradise, but to most residents, it seems blissfully separated from the troubles of Los Angeles County, twenty-two miles across the ocean. But after a tip from a confidential informant, Stilwell feels a threat closing in on his safe haven.
• Nasty Little Secrets by Gabbie Hanks—A decade after her brother was convicted of murdering his high school sweetheart, Rose is still convinced he didn't do it. Meanwhile, her bestselling book about the case has transformed her life. Then Rose gets a call that shatters her world for a second time: her younger sister has gone missing.
• The Final Target by Nora Roberts—He showed up at Arden Bowie's debut author appearance with a copy of her novel and an eager smile. He showered her with compliments and got her autograph. Then he came to her next event. And the one after that. A young author becomes the object of a fan's desire—and rage—in this gripping thriller.

Horror

• The Curse of Hester Gardens by Tamika Thompson—With her husband behind bars and her eldest son shot to death, Nona is desperate to protect her other two sons from these outcomes. But strange things are happening in her Michigan neighborhood and Nona fears that someone—or something—is seeking revenge for something she's done.
• Wolf Worm by T. Kingfisher—1899: After the death of her scientist father, Sonia, a talented scientific illustrator is left with no work, prospects, or hope. So she jumps at the chance to take a position illustrating insects for a reclusive scientist in the remote Carolina woods. But once there, she encounters dark happenings and even darker questions.
• Honeysuckle by Bar Fridman-Tell—In this reimagining of a tale from Welsh mythology, a lonely child's older sister, tired of entertaining him, has made him a playmate: a girl woven from flowers and words. The Bear and the Nightingale meets Weyward in this enchanting, deeply compelling debut about love and power, autonomy and consent.
• Muñeca by Cynthia Gómez—1968 Oakland: Working class witch Natalia Fuentes has been hearing rumors about Violeta Miramontes, a young heiress who has been left paralyzed by a mysterious illness. Armed with a plan to break the spell and earn a handsome reward, Nati works her way into the house as Violeta's caretaker.
• Headlights by C. J. Leede—Burnt out and defeated by the job, it's Special Agent Daniel Stansfield's last day with the FBI. But before he can turn in his badge, he's summoned back to Denver, the city he ran from four years ago, with a chilling message: it's happening again. This pulse-pounding tale is perfect for fans of The Shining and Longlegs.
• I Will Kill Your Imaginary Friend for $200 by Robert Brockway—Cursed with the ability to see the imaginary friends of others, middle-aged Ivan makes a living by killing problematic ones. But he meets his match in Eddie Video, the rowdy pretend pal of eight-year-old Kay. A balance of comedy and catharsis, this dual-narrative explores both adulthood angst and childhood scars.
• This House Will Feed by Maria Tureaud—County Clare, 1848: In the scant few years since the potato blight first cast its foul shadow over Ireland, Maggie O'Shaughnessy has lost everyone she loved. And she's certain she's next, when suddenly she's offered a mysterious position at a remote manor house. But the task ahead is daunting.

True Crime

• The Devil at His Elbow: Alex Murdaugh and the Fall of a Southern Dynasty by Valerie Bauerlein—With masterful research and cinematic writing, this is the definitive account of Alex Murdaugh's violent downfall. From a veteran reporter, a transporting journey through Murdaugh's troubled history, the night of the murders, and the investigation that culminated in a trial that captivated the world.
• I'll Never Call Him Dad Again by Caroline Darian—The author's world cracked in two when she learned that her father, Dominique Pelicot had spent years drugging and abusing her mother, Gisèle Pelicot. Together, mother and daughter reveal another side to the violence committed against women, as they bravely transform their private trauma into a collective fight.
• Brothers of the Gun: Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday, and a Reckoning in Tombstone by Mark Lee Gardner—In this illuminating dual biography, the first about Earp and Holliday, the lives of these two men, one a sometime lawman and the other a sometime dentist, are chronicled in a swirling tableau of saloons, brothels, gambling dens, stage holdups, arrests, manhunts, and revenge killings.
• The Idaho Four: An American Tragedy by James Patterson and Vicky Ward—The murders of four innocent college students attending the University of Idaho left us all with so many questions. Now, after more than 300 interviews, America's favorite storyteller and a prize-winning journalist present a definitive account of the murders, a disturbing portrait of the killer and his victims.
• True Crime: A Memoir by Patricia Cornwell—The bestselling author of the Kay Scarpetta novels finally tells the story that rivals all of the works that precede it: her own. Cornwell leaves no stone unturned in this deeply candid account of her life, offering inspiring insight into what made her into the international sensation she is today.
• American Reich: A Murder in Orange County, Neo-Nazis, and a New Age of Hate by Eric Lichtblau—In 2018, a gay, Jewish UPenn student was brutally murdered while visiting his parents in Orange County, California. This deeply reported account explores the violent resurgence of hatred and white supremacy in Orange County, a hotbed for the violent bigotry that is spreading through the country.
• Framed: Astonishing True Stories of Wrongful Convictions by John Grisham and Jim McCloskey—The author of legal thrillers like The Whistler teams up with a leader in the innocence movement, to share ten harrowing stories of Americans who were wrongfully convicted. Their dramatic hard-fought battles for exoneration shed light on injustices in our criminal justice system.

Hopefully this has given you some ideas for titles to add to your shelves this summer. For more ideas, you can browse our Top 25 Summer Thrills and Chills list. And shop our Endless Summer Reads page where you can get in on summer promos. Check out previous Endless Summer posts:

• Dive Into a New Series for Summer
• Endless Summer Beach Reads
• Endless Summer Special Editions
• Endless Summer Children's Books

Keep an eye out for upcoming Endless Summer roundups, including:

• Book-to-screen roundup
• Best new books for travel
• Summerween

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