We’re all bestselling crime writers – here are our top books of 2025 | Books | Entertainment

‘World-class, cerebral entertainment’ … ‘a series that appeals so strongly to generations of readers’

Sir Ian Rankin, whose new standalone novel The Heights (Orion) will be published in October 2026, says: “Wild Thing by Sue Prideaux (Faber) is a brilliant biography of Paul Gauguin, packed with fascinating information and a helpful restoration of his personal reputation. He fought for the rights of Tahitians (at that time ruled by France) and limped for much of his adult life after taking a kicking by a gang who wore clogs. He once visited Aberdeen (as a seaman) and went on to help build the Panama Canal. Beat that, Cezanne! Kate Atkinson’s Death At The Sign of The Rook (Transworld) is a sly, ingenious, often hilarious and elegantly-written whodunnit that manages to poke fun at the genre while also celebrating it. Readers never know what they’ll get from a new Kate Atkinson, except that it will be world-class, cerebral entertainment. A perfect winter fireside indulgence.”

Outback noir star Jane Harper, whose forthcoming novel, The Last One Out (Macmillan), is due in April, says: “A new Liane Moriarty book always zooms to the top of my must-buy list and she delivered yet again with Here One Moment (Penguin). Funny, gritty and moving, Moriarty once more tackles big subjects – this time the fragility and precious value of life – with her trademark wry humour. I will happily follow Suzanne Collins wherever she leads me through the Hunger Games universe, so I was among the millions of fans delighted to be drawn back in with her latest installment, Sunrise on the Reaping (Scholastic). The prequel had been highly anticipated and did not disappoint. It’s wonderful to see a book series that appeals so strongly to generations of readers, with my mother, myself and my nieces all fans.”

‘A busy, rumbunctious, moving tale’ … ‘brilliant and exciting’

Kate Atkinson, whose latest Jackson Brodie book, Death At The Sign Of The Rook (Transworld), says: “My perfect holiday read was Mick Herron‘s latest Slow Horses novel, Clown Town (John Murray). Herron’s writing never lets you down and this is no exception. Drayton and Mackenzie by Alexander Sterritt (Swift Press) is a busy, rumbunctious, moving tale about a relationship between two very different men that takes in ambition and love, success and failure, friendship and rivalry, not to mention the 2008 financial crisis. A deeply satisfying read. The title of Peter Brannen’s The Story Of CO2 Is the Story of Everything (Penguin) says it all. Terrifying in the end it is heading too but brilliant and exciting in describing the many previous evolutions that the Earth has gone through – scorpions as big as cats! And last but not least the latest Natalie Haynes novel based on classical myth retold from the women’s point of view. No Friend To This House (Mantle) is about the destruction left in the wake of Jason – he of the Argos – on his epic voyage. I love all her books.

Charlie Parker creator John Connolly, whose latest deliciously creepy thriller is The Children of Eve (Hodder), says: “I once sat beside Geoff Dyer at dinner and didn’t quite know what to make of him. Now, after reading any number of his books, I still don’t quite know what to make of him, but I’m a bit closer following the publication of Homework (Canongate), his account of coming of age in the England of the 1970s. Dyer’s a bit older than I am but many of the references resonated, even for an Irishman, and the memoir made me smile. Meanwhile, the publication of Hotel Ukraine (Simon & Schuster) was both timely and sad, representing Martin Cruz Smith’s farewell to his Russian investigator Arkady Renko, to writing, and ultimately, to life. Smith was diagnosed with Parkinson’s back in the 1990s, but continued to write until shortly before his death earlier this year, with no diminution of the quality of his work. I’m sorry I never got to meet him.”

‘The master has not lost his touch’ … ‘an astonishing end to an astonishing trilogy’

Royal favourite Peter James, whose latest Roy Grace novel, The Hawk Is Dead (Macmillan) features guest appearances from both the King and Queen, and a satisfying chase through the halls of Buckingham Palace for the Brighton-based DS, says: “Oddly enough my two picks have almost identical titles, but they are very different books! Pascal Engman iEngman is considered the hottest young Swedish writer, and I was hooked and engrossed with The Widows (Legend Press) from the very start to the brilliant end. Terrorist themes generally don’t grab me but Engman has so chillingly entered the minds of his they are utterly compelling. The Widow by John Grisham (Hodder) shows the master has not lost his touch with this brilliantly and refreshingly different story of a lawyer, down on his cups who is approached by an and seemingly very rich elderly widow. She could be the answer to his prayers. But soon the best client of his life turns into his worst nightmare…”

Cumbria-based bestseller M W Craven, whose new breathtakingly brilliant Washington Poe thriller The Final Vow (Little, Brown) is out now, says: “Pagans by James Alistair Henry (Moonflower) – tagline, ‘Two cops. One killer. Hundreds of gods’ – is an alternative history crime novel set in 21st century London in which the Norman conquest never happened. It’s grimly authentic, a great book from start to finish. Empire of the Dawn by Jay Kristoff (HarperCollins) is an astonishing end to an astonishing trilogy. Kristoff paints his vast apocalyptic canvas unflinchingly with the blood of good and evil alike as the Last Silversaint (a man with a human mother and a vampire father) and the Grail race to save their world from everlasting darkness and the depravity of the Forever King. It’s brutal, bloody and jolly good fun.”

‘Pacey and nerve-shredding, the perfect thriller’ … ‘so timely and relevent’

Janice Hallett, whose pub quiz whodunnit The Killer Question (Profile) is out now, says: “Burn After Reading by Catherine Ryan Howard (Transworld) introduces a troubled ghostwriter trapped in the home of a celebrity whose wife’s death is shrouded in mystery. Pacey and nerve-shredding, it’s a perfect thriller! In A Trial in Three Acts by Guy Morpuss (Profile), an actress is beheaded on stage when a prop malfunctions… is her estranged husband as guilty as he seems? A gripping, twisty mystery that’s funny and ingenious.”

Former policeman G D Wright, whose new book is Into The Fire (Avon), says: “To Love a Liar by L V Matthews (Penguin) is so timely and relevant. It’s a character-driven thriller that dives deep into the world of undercover policing. It’s not your typical psych thriller – it’s so much more than that. Drama, the ties that bind us, betrayal and the lengths that those undercover cops went to in the past. Just fantastic. The plot of The Woman In Ward 9 (Headline) by Naomi Williams is wonderful – so well researched and full of suspense as you try to piece together what the truth behind it all is. The pieces of the puzzle are all there, but they’re delivered deftly so that, just when you think you’ve got it worked out, something else comes along and blasts your theory out of the water!”

‘A riveting, shocking and enthralling read’ … ‘her characterisation is as awesome as ever’

Luca Veste, whose new novel Liar Liar is due out in June via Avon, says: “I’m a huge fan of the Tom Thorne series – since Sleepyhead influenced me to be a crime writer – and Mark Billingham’s latest instalment, What The Night Brings (Little, Brown), delivers a riveting, shocking, and enthralling read. The emotional heart that runs through this book is what puts it above the rest. Fantastic. C L Taylor never disappoints and It’s Always the Husband (Avon) is no exception. I love a book in which every character is suspicious and we have to question everything we learn. Her characterisation is as awesome as ever. I couldn’t read this quickly enough.”