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Discover some of the most compelling new releases in the crime and thriller categories. From isolated setting whodunits to near-future suspense, these narratives offer edge-of-your-seat excitement.

A Killing at World’s End

This first adult novel from an acclaimed kids’ book writer takes place in the 1910s on a remote island cut off by tides off the coast of Cornwall. In the estate, the estate's owner gets ready for an end-of-the-world event he is convinced will be caused by the celestial visitor. The convoluted home is teeming with secrets and resentments among household members and kin, including an cantankerous and foul-mouthed spinster aunt, the relative. When the nobleman is discovered murdered in his private office, struck by a crossbow bolt to the head, Decima recruits a recent servant to aid her solve the crime. Featuring plenty of turns, red herrings, and a inept law enforcer, this is a superb opening to a set of books that vows to be immensely enjoyable.

The Revelations

This second novel from a technology writer is set in a not-so-distant time where artificial intelligence directs each selection for people and governments. This advanced system can suggest everything from what to eat to homicide decisions. Educated in understanding by its guardian, ex-religious sister the woman, the AI evolves in feelings, soon having guilt for the harmful consequences of some of its choices. Disorder erupts when it goes offline, and as notes are delivered around the planet exposing clients’ hidden truths, families implode and business leaders and politicians quit en masse. With the corporation behind the system in meltdown, CEO the leader is certain that finding Maud, who has gone to ground in California, will revive the system. Yet, Maud has gotten a letter of her own, exposing a hidden truth about Kaitlin… A superb and current suspense novel rooted in familiar themes and horrifyingly plausible.

The Noble Nazi

In this most recent novel from an award-winning Brazilian author, individual actions have public consequences on a zeppelin on the concluding part of its trip from Berlin to the Brazilian city. Set in 1933, the peak of blimp transport, which was also the year the leader rose to German chancellor. The wealthy passengers are enthusiastic Nazis of the government: mealtimes in the vessel’s dining room are filled with discussions vilifying the Jewish community, radicals and labor groups, and highlighting the desire to stifle expression, gay culture and unacceptable creativity. When one passenger is found dead, with multiple prohibited publications in his possession, the vessel's leader assigns a rider, investigator the detective, with solving the mystery. So far, so whodunit, including the traditional concluding assembly, but there’s an ingenious turn to this engrossing and uncomfortably relevant suspense story, as well as a captivating insight into the forgotten time of airship voyages.

Deception

The newest work from the novelist is set in the town, a Scottish coastal town with clear parallels to St Andrews. In 2023, the protagonist arrives to his hometown on the festive night; encountering past acquaintances rekindles recollections of his youthful infatuation, former classmate the girl, last seen previously at a catastrophic end-of-schooldays party. His trials to track her down are met with uncertainty, dodging and, ultimately, threats. A second storyline takes us back to 2013, and the young the character. Lost after her discovery that her boyfriend is unfaithful, wrecking their scheme for a overseas trip, she encounters an elder duo. The couple welcome her, make her feel important and seem, temporarily at least, to have the solutions. Skilfully handled topics of shame, regret and teenage uncertainty alongside dark academia create an slow-building sense of doom, although the hurried finale may leave certain audiences disappointed.

The Token

The most recent book starts in the ocean off the shoreline, with a vessel trapped in a gale so violent that two individuals of the group of eight passengers are thrown into the sea, then winds back a couple of weeks to reveal the incidents that caused this unwise boat trip. A group of seven get a strange message informing them that, by showing the attached object, they will inherit a portion of tycoon the magnate's fortune. The people are – as they know – strangers mutually and to the ailing billionaire. When the news of the bequest becomes news, they are pursued, both by the press and by people set to get their hands on these lucrative passes, and what at first seemed a windfall rapidly starts to look like a liability. A degree of suspension of disbelief is needed, but the excitement is masterfully crafted as the writer piles up the challenges for a fast-paced story: get ready and fasten your seatbelt for some intense excitement.