We love a good plot-twist as much as the next person, but it can be difficult to find a new, well-written thriller that will genuinely keep a reader rapt from the first page to the last. Thrillers rarely attract the attention of newspaper book critics, so even very good novels can fly under the radar. Over the years we have come to trust the judgement of the experts of the International Thriller Writers, an organisation of professional novelists from around the world who meet to celebrate the genre at their ‘Thrillerfest’ conference every year. The ITW Awards are the highlight of that event, and were created to reward excellence in many categories, from short stories to audiobooks—but the most prestigious prize of all is that awarded to ‘the best new standalone novel.’ Find below a summary of the five new thrillers up for this book award in 2026.
Cross My Heart by Megan Collins
This tempestuous psychological thriller follows Rosie Lachlan, a bridal shop manager with a literal broken heart. Unlucky in love and suffering increasingly from ill health, she undergoes a transplant—after which she develops an obsession with the husband of the dead donor. He’s certainly intriguing: a celebrity author with an exciting online presence. When an anonymous commenter claims he might be implicated in his wife’s tragic death, the plot thickens…
The New York Times described it as “a curious book: part (possible) murder mystery, part deep dive into out-of-control social media addiction and part sleight-of-hand trick by the author.” It has the observational humour of a romantic comedy, but it’s “freighted in darkness” and violence too: look out for a “terrific” plot twist mid-way through.
ZigZag Girl by Ruth Knafo Setton
A story of magic, mystery and murder set in 1950s Atlantic City, New Jersey. When Lucy Moon, a fêted female stage illusionist discovers a dead body, she is drawn into a murder investigation and towards the enigmatic Elvis Jones, both prime suspect and ill-advised love interest. This moody, noir-ish novel is perfect for readers who want to feel immersed in an atmospheric era.
As the author has written: “In Atlantic City, past and present bump into each other on the legendary boardwalk that stretches between glittering casinos and the indifferent Atlantic Ocean… It’s a town that exists in the space between dreams and disappointment. She’s been battered by bankruptcies and hurricanes, yet every dawn the Atlantic still crashes against her pilings, and the wheel still spins at Steel Pier.” Full of trickery and intrigue.
The Burning Library by Gilly Macmillan
Macmillan—best known for more conventional thrillers like What She Knew and The Nanny—has swerved into dark academia territory for this scholarly suspense novel about a medieval manuscript that has earned comparisons with Dan Brown’s international blockbuster The Da Vinci Code.
Dr Anya Brown, a brilliant young scholar, has been recruited by St Andrews University, Scotland, to continue her groundbreaking work translating a rare and mysterious ancient text. Soon she will come to realise that she is only a pawn in a far greater game being played between shadowy secret societies—as she is drawn into a vast global conspiracy. Ambitious, sprawling and—yes, okay—perhaps a little bit silly, The Burning Library offers its readers a complex, quirky treasure hunt with a feminist twist.
The Locked Ward by Sarah Pekkanen
This intriguing multi-perspective thriller from the author of House of Glass features two twins, separated at birth: one seeking to uncover the truth about why they other is currently being held in a psychiatric unit, accused of murder.
Georgia, the detained sister, presents as a very unreliable narrator of her own story. As she tells herself, and therefore the reader:
You are supposedly in a dissociative state, which you learned about years ago because you wrote a twenty-page paper on it for a college psychology class… It turned out to be the most important thing you learned in college.
That paper may have saved your life.
Georgia was adopted by a wealthy family and has grown up to be a glamorous wedding planner and socialite. Mandy, her twin, has lived a harder life until now. She’d seen the headlines about this very Southern scandal but had no idea she would soon be sucked in. “Escapist and entertaining,” declares the Southern Review of Books.
So Happy Together by Olivia Worley
When Jane, a young playwright, falls for Colin, a friendly software developer, she thinks she might finally have found the one. But Colin doesn’t think so. He breaks it off after only six dates and quickly moves on. Struggling to accept the truth, Jane stalks and then befriends his new girlfriend, then breaks into his apartment—only to make a startling discovery.
And there’s plenty more plot still to come in this twisting rollercoaster ride. Perfect for fans of dramas about all-consuming relationships—both romantic and parasocial—like You and Promising Young Woman. “I’ve never had more fun writing a character than I did with Jane. She’s delusional, obsessive, and a little unhinged—but also, I think, deeply relatable,” the author explained in an interview. “I worked on So Happy Together obsessively, finishing the first draft in just a few months. It was such a cathartic experience: through Jane, I was not only voicing so many of my own fears and frustrations, but taking them to the extreme.”
Have you read a brilliant thriller recently that you think we should know about? Get in touch with us on social media to let us know.
Five Books aims to keep its book recommendations and interviews up to date. If you are the interviewee and would like to update your choice of books (or even just what you say about them) please email us at [email protected]
Five Books interviews are expensive to produce. If you've enjoyed this interview, please support us by donating a small amount.
