Forsyth County Public Library: Thrillers and Suspense: December 2025

Recent Releases

The Sunshine Man
by Emma Stonex

Birdie Keller wakes one freezing January morning to the news she's been waiting eighteen years to hear: Jimmy Maguire, the man who killed her sister, has been freed from jail. She leaves for London with a pistol and a plan: to find this man and make him pay. But every story has two sides. Jimmy can sense he's being hunted. He knew Birdie a long time ago, in a life she'd sooner forget, and he isn't the only one with something to hide. As the two circle each other in a heart-stopping game of cat and mouse, they plunge into a murky world of family secrets, betrayals, and unsolved mysteries.

The Place Where They Buried Your Heart
by Christina Henry

A woman confronts a malevolent force that has haunted her Chicago street since childhood in this gripping haunted house novel. An abandoned house, where terrible events occurred, is off-limits for local children, but Jessie Campanelli's dare to her younger brother Paul leads to his disappearance. While adults dismiss the children's claims about the house consuming Paul, Jessie's family is irrevocably fractured. Years later, as a mother herself, Jessie still lives near the ominous house, which seems to emanate a menacing, insatiable darkness.

Her One Regret
by Donna Freitas

When real estate agent Lucy Mendoza disappears from a Rhode Island supermarket, leaving her infant daughter behind, questions spiral: was she kidnapped -- or did she choose to escape the life of motherhood she secretly resented? Donna Freitas weaves multiple perspectives into a tense story exploring societal pressures on women, maternal ambivalence, and the bonds between friends.

The Perfect Hosts
by Heather Gudenkauf

A gender reveal party at the Drakes’ sprawling ranch takes a tragic turn when an accident leaves one of the 200 guests dead. As ATF Agent Jamie Saldano investigates, hidden rivalries, family secrets, and mysterious visitors surface, revealing that beneath the celebration’s glitter lies a dangerous web of deceit and a killer among the guests.

Simultaneous
by Eric Heisserer

A federal agent and a past-life regression therapist team up to track a killer across states, timelines, and consciousness in this mind-bending debut thriller. As psychic connections reveal crimes before they happen, the pair race to prevent disaster, uncovering a chilling conspiracy that challenges the boundaries of reality, time, and memory. For fans of: Blake Crouch.

With Friends Like These
by Alissa Lee

A deadly game from their Harvard days resurfaces when five alumni gather for the annual “Circus,” a playful elimination contest turned high-stakes gamble. With a fortune on the line, old rivalries and hidden betrayals come to light, forcing the friends to confront decades of secrets, ambition, and the shadow of a lost sixth roommate.

The Burning Library
by Gilly Macmillan

In remote St. Andrews, Scotland, a sudden death ignites a perilous struggle between two clandestine female organizations seeking a centuries-old manuscript. Scholar Anya Brown becomes entangled while deciphering cryptic documents, and Detective Clio Spicer uncovers a trail of intrigue and deadly rivalries that could consume anyone who gets too close. For fans of: Kate Morton and Elizabeth Kostova.

The Intruder
by Freida Mcfadden

When a bloodied girl appears on Casey’s doorstep during a violent storm, her quiet cabin in the New Hampshire woods becomes a trap. The girl’s mysterious past and deadly secrets soon put Casey in mortal danger. Alternating perspectives heighten the suspense as survival, trust, and hidden truths collide in this tense, pulse-pounding thriller.

Sharp Force
by Patricia Cornwell

During the early hours of Christmas morning, chief medical examiner Dr. Kay Scarpetta receives/a chilling call. The Phantom Slasher/has struck again. The serial killer has terrorized Northern Virginia for months. His pattern is to stalk with a sophisticated technology that enables him to invade his victims' homes and watch their every move. They wake up to/a ghost-like hologram before being murdered/ in their beds. Scarpetta is summoned to/Mercy Island, the site of a notorious/psychiatric hospital where two people have been brutalized, one of them from Scarpetta's past. It soon becomes apparent that she could be next.

Keep This for Me
by Jennifer Fawcett

The acclaimed author of the chilling, mesmerizing debut Beneath the Stairs returns with a gripping, atmospheric suspense novel about a woman investigating a serial killer's connection to her mother's disappearance--for fans of I Have Some Questions for You and Notes on an Execution.

Contact your librarian for more great books!