If You Love Thrillers And Mysteries, Check Out These 20 Highly Anticipated Thrillers Of 2022

A complete list of thrillers we are excited for next year!

If I were to make a New Year's resolution for 2022, it would be to read all 20 thrillers on this list. I've been a bit overwhelmed with all the changes from the pandemic, and as a result HEA (Happily Ever After) romance books were just not cutting it for me. Thankfully, reading thriller books, filled with murder, mystery, and betrayal, actually cheered me up. Because, hey, at least my life is not that bad! It’s an escape from a single life to a scary one, and I am glad for the distraction. Below you'll find a list of thrillers we're highly anticipating in 2022. In the meantime, I'm off to watch a true crime series on Hulu.

1. Hide by Kiersten White

Del Rey

Release date: May 24

What it's about: Remember how excited you felt the night before you went to an amusement park? Ever since the Witty Writer Queen of Twitter Kiersten White announced her upcoming adult thriller, I've been on the edge of my seat. Pitched as The Hunger Games meets Something Wicked This Way Comes, this will not disappoint. It's scary, exciting, and thought-provoking, and White provides some biting boomer versus Gen Z dialogue.

Preorder here.

2. Hollow Fires by Samira Ahmed

Little, Brown Books

Release date: May 10

What it's about: Samira Ahmed combines a tearjerker with a thriller in this powerful YA murder mystery. You'll be clenching one hand into a fist as high school heroine Safiya searches for the racist bad guys, while wiping a tear with the other hand at her noble quest to avenge Jawad, an innocent Muslim kid.

Preorder here.

3. Maw by Jude Ellison S. Doyle

BOOM! Studios

Release date: July 27

What it's about: Ever read a thriller in graphic novel form? Turns out the killer illustrations make it even more terrifying. Maw, written by Jude Ellison S. Doyle and illustrated by A.L. Kaplan, has a fierce female lead, Marion, and the fiercest graphics. Marion visits a feminist island retreat with her sister Wendy, but her past and present assaults become too much to ignore, and she becomes hell-bent on retaliation.

Preorder here.  

4. The New Girl by Jesse Q. Sutanto

Sourcebooks Fire

Release date: February 1

What it's about: Hilarious author Jesse Q. Sutanto's debut thriller The Obsession was my favorite of 2021, so I have to read her upcoming sophomore YA thriller The New Girl. This competitive athlete/student murder mystery set in an elite high school sounds like a fun read, like both of Sutanto's previous hits. Track star Lia is excited to start at preppy Draycott Academy, but she soon regrets it after the posh athletes and teachers threaten her presence. 

Preorder here.

5. Cold by Mariko Tamaki

Roaring Brook Press / Via bookshop.org

Release date: February 8

What it's about: I love reading thrillers set in a snowy area, where the characters are shivering from the low temperature as well as terror. I guess it's because I live in Southern California, where it has rained about twice this whole year. Anyway, YA thriller Cold is next on my list because of its stunningly stark and sarcastic writing. Awkward high school student Georgia can't get the recent homicide of outsider Todd out of her mind, even though she technically didn't know him. Her sinking suspicion will drive her toward the uncomfortable truth, an effort Todd's spirit appreciates, so he can finally rest.  

Preorder here.  

6. The Birthday Party by Wendy Dranfield

Bookouture

Release date: January 7

What it's about: The Birthday Party by Wendy Dranfield caught my eye because the red balloon on the cover reminded me of It. This Kindle book centers around a little kids' birthday party, but the story is anything but childish. If you enjoyed Mare of Easttown like I did, you'll like this book.

Preorder here.  

7. It Will End Like This by Kyra Leigh

Delacorte Press

Release date: January 4

What it's about: Anyone else fascinated by the Lizzie Borden story? Then check out Kyra Leigh's It Will End Like This. The YA thriller is loosely based on the centuries-old true crime story. Teen sisters Charlotte and Maddi struggle to keep it together at school, in relationships, and at home with their distant dad and the shady personal assistant after their beloved mom is suddenly found dead. 

Preorder here.  

8. Dark Blood, Vol. 1 by LaToya Morgan

BOOM! Studios

Release date: June 14

What it's about: Former The Walking Dead screenwriter and NAACP Image award winner LaToya Morgan presents a 1950s-based thriller graphic novel, illustrated by Walt Barna. War vet Avery navigates his newfound abilities in a racist world.

Preorder here.  

9. Our Crooked Hearts by Melissa Albert

Flatiron Books

Release date: June 22

What it's about: Melissa Albert, New York Times bestselling author of The Hazel Wood, is back with another must-read YA novel. Who is Ivy's mother Dana? Why are Ivy and her friends so scared of her? This page-turner is a mother-daughter story meets The Craft. 

Preorder here.    

10. The Lies I Tell by Julie Clark

Sourcebooks Landmark

Release date: June 21

What it's about: Julie Clark's debut thriller, The Last Flight, was a New York Times bestseller and Target Club pick in 2021, so her second thriller, The Lies I Tell, is a must-read for 2022. The Lies I Tell also features two determined women battling difficult histories to find redemption and revenge. One of them, Kat, is determined to take down the other, Meg...but maybe neither is the bad guy?

Preorder here.    

11. The Rumor Game by Dhonielle Clayton and Sona Charaipotra

Disney-Hyperion

Release date: March 1

What it's about: Co-authors Clayton and Charaipotra create a fascinating yet terrifying look at high school under the lens of social media. Being popular seems so important to some students at Foxham Prep, even enough to gossip and bully. For three students: cheerleader captain Cora, class president Bryn, and new 'it' girl Georgie, it turns out that popularity may not be worth it after all when some students do far more dangerous things than spread rumors.

Preorder here.  

12. Dig Two Graves by Gretchen McNeil

Disney-Hyperion

Release date: March 29 

What it's about: Wow, Disney Books publishes murder mysteries! Seventeen-year-old Neve makes friends with Diane at camp after her only friend, Yasmin, ditches her. Neve and Diane each have someone in their life they want to kill, only Diane may actually be serious about going through with the deed. 

Preorder here.  

13. The Overnight Guest by Heather Gudenkauf

Park Row

Release date: January 25

What it's about: Another thriller set in a snowy location! There is only so much time before a cozy, remote location turns into a creepy one. That's what happens when true crime novelist Wylie isolates herself at a house in the snow, and then ends up surrounded in a real mystery.

Preorder here.  

14. Don't Fear the Reaper by Stephen Graham Jones

Gallery/Saga Press

Release date: August 2

What it's about: Indigenous protagonist Jade is back in the sequel to New York Times bestselling author Stephen Graham Jones' horror novel My Heart Is a Chainsaw. In Don't Fear the Reaper, assault survivor Jade returns to the wintry national forest park area of Idaho that she calls home. Unfortunately, a convicted escapee has also landed in Proofrock, leading to another landslide of murders. 

Preorder here.

15. The Storyteller's Death by Ana Davila Cardinal

Sourcebooks Landmark

Release date: October 4 

What it's about: The Storyteller's Death is Puerto Rican author Ana Davila Cardinal's debut adult thriller, set in the '70s. Isla investigates the mysterious murder of a family member after her vision of the victim's past suggests the death was not accidental.

Preorder links not yet available. Check back soon. 

16. Don't Let in the Cold by Keely Parrack

Sourcebooks Fire

Release date: September 6

What it's about: The last snowbound thriller on the list is author Keely Parrack's debut thriller. Stepsisters Lottie and Jade are snowbound in the tourist town of Tahoe. They join snowbound stranger Alex, but must avoid his potentially dangerous friends. 

Preorder here.    

17. What Happened to the Bennetts by Lisa Scottoline

G.P. Putnam's Sons

Release date: March 29

What it's about: Prolific New York Times bestselling author Lisa Scottoline's latest crime thriller follows the Bennett family, who are forced to go under witness protection after crossing paths with drug traffickers. Court-reporter dad Jason Bennett begins to protect his family, and avenge his daughter, when the witness protection program does not seem to add up. 

Preorder here.  

18. Four Came Back by Chelsea Sedoti

Sourcebooks Fire

Release date:  July 5

What it's about: Sourcebook Fire's biggest thriller of 2022 is Four Came Back by YA author Chelsea Sedoti. In this Breakfast Club twist set in the woods, four teen campers attempt to explain to the police why the fifth camper is missing. For some reason, none of their stories add up.

Preorder here.   

19. The Sleepless by Victor Manibo

Erewhon Books

Release date: June

What it's about: Needing less sleep would be great, right? As long as there were no strings attached. However, journalist Jamie Vega discovers there are serious consequences to this mysterious phenomenon taking over pandemic-ridden, near-future New York as he investigates his boss's recent death.

Preorder links not yet available. Check back soon. 

20. The Daughter of Doctor Moreau by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Buzzfeed

Release date: July 19

What it's about: Any book by Silvia Moreno-Garcia (her New York Times bestseller Mexican Gothic is in development as a Hulu limited series) is a must-read, no questions asked. Her upcoming horror/thriller The Daughter of Doctor Moreau focuses on Carlota, the privileged daughter of Doctor Moreau in 19th-century Mexico. When Carlota meets rich heir Edward Lizarde, the doctor's secret scientific experiments may no longer stay hidden.  

Preorder here.