Did You Read These in 2025?

Adding to the recent deluge of “best crime fiction” lists, CrimeReads has named its 20 favorite novels released over the last 12 months:

• We Are Watching, by Alison Gaylin (Morrow)
• King of Ashes, by S.A. Cosby (Flatiron/Pine & Cedar)
• The Search Committee, by José Skinner (Arte Publico)
• El Dorado Drive, by Megan Abbott (Putnam)
• Ruth Run, by Elizabeth Kaufman (Penguin)
• Kill Your Darlings, by Peter Swanson (Morrow)
• Best Offer Wins, by Marisa Kashino (Celadon)
• The Slip, by Lucas Schaefer (Simon and Schuster)
• Leverage, by Amran Gowani (Atria)
• Crooks, by Lou Berney (Morrow)
• With a Vengeance, by Riley Sager (Dutton)
• Friends Helping Friends, by Patrick Hoffman (Atlantic Monthly Press)
• Don’t Let Him In, by Lisa Jewell (Atria)
• The House on Buzzards Bay, by Dwyer Murphy (Viking)
• The Dark Maestro, by Brendan Slocumb (Doubleday)
• Murder Takes a Vacation, by Laura Lippman (Morrow)
• Darkenbloom, by Eva Menasse (Scribe)
• Mississippi Blue 42, by Eli Cranor (Soho Crime)
• Don’t Forget Me, Little Bessie, by James Lee Burke (Atlantic
Monthly Press)
• The Favorites, by Layne Fargo (Random House)

And if you think that 20 isn’t narrowing the options well enough, consider that the site’s “Notable Selections” roster runs to more than 50 titles! Something for everyone, I guess.

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The social cataloguing site Goodreads has revealed the winners of its 2025 Goodreads Choice Awards, in 15 categories.

Taking top honors in the Mystery and Thriller division is Not Quite Dead Yet, by Holly Jackson (Bantam). It triumphed over 19 other nominees: We Are All Guilty Here, by Karin Slaughter (Morrow); Don’t Let Him In, by Lisa Jewell (Atria); The Secret of Secrets, by Dan Brown (Doubleday); The Ghostwriter, by Julie Clark (Sourcebooks Landmark); King of Ashes, by S.A. Cosby (Flatiron/Pine & Cedar); The Intruder, by Freida McFadden (Poisoned Pen Press); Gone Before Goodbye, by Reese Witherspoon and Harlan Coben (Grand Central); The Tenant, by Freida McFadden (Poisoned Pen Press); Vera Wong’s Guide to Snooping (on a Dead Man), by Jesse Q. Sutanto (Berkley); Heartwood, by Amity Gaige (Simon & Schuster); The Crash, by Freida McFadden (Poisoned Pen Press); The Impossible Fortune, by Richard Osman (Pamela Dorman); The Missing Half, by Ashley Flowers (Bantam); Forget Me Not, by Stacy Willingham (Minotaur); You Killed Me First, by John Marrs (Thomas & Mercer); Famous Last Words, by Gilliam McAllister (Morrow); The Perfect Divorce, by Jeneva Rose (Blackstone); The Widow, by John Grisham (Doubleday); and Beautiful Ugly, by Alice Feeney (Flatiron).

To find the full array of 2025 Choice Award recipients, go here.

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Not to be outshone, Ayo Onatade of the British blog Shotmag Confidential has compiled her dozen favorites from this last year:

• Kings of Ashes, by S.A. Cosby (Headline)
• Quantum of Menace, by Vaseem Khan (Bonnier)
• The Midnight King, by Tariq Ashkanani (Profile)
• Clown Town, by Mick Herron (Baskerville)
• The Darkest Winter, by Carlo Lucarelli (Orenda)
• Midnight Streets, by Phil Lecomber (Titan)
• The Proving Ground, by Michael Connelly (Orion)
• Murder Takes a Vacation, by Laura Lippman (Faber & Faber)
• The Good Liar, by Denise Mina (Vintage)
• Strange Pictures, by Uketsu (Pushkin Vertigo)
• Moscow Underground, by Catherine Merridale (HarperCollins)
• The Art of a Lie, by Laura Shepherd Robinson (Pan Macmillan)

Beyond those, she names four Honourable Mentions:

• Hang on St. Christopher, by Adrian McKinty (Blackstone)
• Murder at Worlds End, by Ross Montgomery (Viking)
• The Good Nazi, by Samir Marchado de Machado (Pushkin Press)
• The Burning Ground, by Abir Mukherjee (Vintage)