13 Best Summer 2025 Thrillers That Bring the Heat (and the Twists)
If your idea of a perfect summer includes sun, suspense, and secrets unraveling in tropical resorts or glamorous vacation spots, you’re in the right place. These new mystery and thriller releases for summer 2025 have that bingeable, beach-ready vibe and just enough murder to keep things interesting. From billionaire yachts to soul food cafés and murder-tinged honeymoons, these are the books you won’t be able to put down.
Whether you’re into locked room thrillers, messy marriages, or cozy sleuths with sass, this list of summer 2025 thrillers brings the full range of vibes. Let’s dive in.
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Happy Wife by Meredith Lavender and Kendall Shores
A missing husband, an ultrawealthy Florida enclave, and a marriage built on secrets. Nora’s whirlwind romance ends in a nightmare when her husband vanishes after his birthday party. Now she’s the main suspect in a high-society scandal where wealth covers more than just bad behavior.
Key themes: trophy wife trope, missing persons, Florida wealth, secrets behind closed doors
Murder Takes a Vacation by Laura Lippman
Mrs. Blossom wanted a peaceful cruise through France, not a dead body and suspicious art theft. Now she’s in the middle of a murder mystery with a flirtatious cast, an international conspiracy, and no clue who to trust. A sharp, warm, and delightfully twisty whodunnit.
Key themes: cozy sleuthing, river cruise, art theft, unexpected heroines
Grab Murder Takes a Vacation on Amazon
The Woman in Suite 11 by Ruth Ware
Lo Blacklock is back and trying to reboot her career when a hotel invite leads to a woman in danger, a shady billionaire, and a chase across Europe. A high-stakes sequel to The Woman in Cabin 10 that blends glam locations with breakneck suspense.
Key themes: journalist heroine, European thrill ride, high society secrets
Grab The Woman in Suite 11 on Amazon
Mrs. Plansky Goes Rogue by Spencer Quinn
Senior sleuth Mrs. Plansky returns for another Florida-based mystery when her tennis partner goes missing, his yacht explodes, and her wayward son disappears too. A lighthearted but twisty mystery with heart and humor.
Key themes: older heroine, family secrets, Florida mystery
Grab Mrs. Plansky Goes Rogue on Amazon
Savvy Summer and the Sweet Potato Crimes by Sandra Jackson Opoku
When a local womanizer dies over pie, soul food café owner Savvy Summers becomes the center of a murder scandal. With her assistant manager and ex-husband in tow, she sets out to clear her name.
Key themes: culinary cozy mystery, family drama, South Side Chicago setting
Grab Savvy Summer and the Sweet Potato Crimes on Amazon
I Did Warn Her by Sian Gilbert
Think Below Deck meets And Then There Were None. A crew of model-gorgeous stewardesses on a billionaire’s yacht. A body, a jewel thief, and dark secrets that keep surfacing. Deliciously claustrophobic and full of high-seas tension.
Key themes: locked room mystery, luxury yacht, secret identities
The Last Ferry Out by Andrea Bartz
A grief-soaked tropical trip turns into a nightmare when Abby realizes her fiancée’s death might not have been an accident. With a vanishing local and a growing list of suspicious expats, she starts to wonder who she can trust.
Key themes: tropical island setting, queer protagonist, grief and obsession
Grab The Last Ferry Out on Amazon
Jill Is Not Happy by Kaira Rouda
A couple’s road trip to reconnect quickly spirals into a deadly game of manipulation and secrets. Jill isn’t about to lose her husband—not without a fight. A suburban psychological thriller with serious bite.
Key themes: cat-and-mouse marriage, road trip thriller, dark comedy vibes
Grab Jill Is Not Happy on Amazon
The Grand Paloma Resort by Cleyvis Natera
A luxurious Dominican resort becomes the backdrop for a story about class, corruption, and missing girls. When a babysitter takes hush money from a shady guest, everything spirals in a terrifying direction.
Key themes: tropical noir, resort staff POV, class tension
Grab The Grand Paloma Resort on Amazon
The Safari by Jaclyn Goldis
A fashion mogul’s family safari in South Africa turns deadly on the eve of her wedding. With secrets buried in the sand and multiple suspects under the same tent, it’s a family vacation no one will forget.
Key themes: destination thriller, family drama, luxury gone wrong
Lime Juice Money by Jo Morey
Laelia escapes her old life in London for the Belizean jungle—but paradise has claws. A haunting debut about love, manipulation, and how far you’ll go to protect your kids when no one else is coming to save you.
Key themes: expat thriller, motherhood, tropical isolation
Grab Lime Juice Money on Amazon
The Retirement Plan by Sue Hincenbergs
Four lifelong friends, their terrible husbands, and a hitman walk into a retirement fantasy gone rogue. This dark comedy of murderous matrimony flips the script on midlife revenge.
Key themes: murder for hire, midlife reinvention, found family chaos
Grab The Retirement Plan on Amazon
In Deadly Company by L.S. Stratton
A corporate assistant gets tangled in murder, media frenzy, and movie deals after a high-profile party ends in bloodshed. Now she’s consulting on the film adaptation—but the danger isn’t over.
Key themes: workplace suspense, unreliable narrator, true crime commentary
Grab In Deadly Company on Amazon
Final Thoughts
Whether you’re lounging on the beach or curled up inside avoiding the heat, these summer 2025 thrillers are the perfect companions. Sun, secrets, suspicious characters? Check, check, and check.
Let us know which of these you’re reading this summer in the comments.
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