Edge-Of-Your-Seat Mystery & Thriller Books To Add To Your Fall 2025 TBR

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As we move closer to closing the page on our last summer vacation read, it's time to turn our heads toward stacking our fall TBR. The crisp and color-changing weather of the end-of-year months is best met with snuggly sweaters, pumpkin-flavored pastries, and crackling fires. For those planning to get into fall 2025 with some cozy fiction books, there are plenty of options to peruse. At the same time, autumn's warmth and coziness is balanced with the atmospheric and spooky vibes associated with the transitional, Halloween season. So, while we'll definitely be cuddling up with some feel-good titles in the latter half of 2025, fall is also a great time to pick up some gripping thrillers and intriguing mysteries.

The combined genres ranges from comfy whodunits to slow-burn suspense novels, but there's nothing quite as enthralling as edge-of-your-seat thrillers that can't be put down. These titles are typically characterized by engaging mysteries, fast-paced plots, and twists that keep readers guessing. Our list of mysteries and thrillers feature gothic-infused titles and dark academia novels, each of which will add great autumnal vibes to your fall 2025 to-be-read pile. Since thrillers and mysteries often contain violence and dark themes that may be triggering, reader discretion is advised.

The first title on our list is also the most popular, with Riley Sager being a staple author of the thriller genre while his books have been very hit-or-miss among readers. His 2023 publication "The Only One Left" centers around health aide Kit McDeere, who travels to a crumbling estate on the coast of Maine in 1983 to care for the aging survivor of an infamous family murder. Now wheelchair-bound and mute, the seventy-year-old Lenora Hope is suspected to have massacred her family back in 1929, becoming the stuff of urban legends in the decades since. Though Kit helps the aging woman document her long-secret account, she begins to suspect that there's more sinister truths to the story than are being shared.

"Sager got me with this one and usually it's quite difficult to throw me off with thrillers and mysteries," YouTube creator Bookishrealm wrote on Goodreads. "This was clearly a culmination of great writing, plotting, and character development." In addition to an eerie mystery that kept readers guessing, the gothic setting and creepy atmosphere of "The Only One Left" make it a great autumn read. With an average rating of 4.13 stars on Goodreads, this is definitely a Sager title to add to your TBR this fall.

The next fall-ready novel comes from another notable author, with "All the Sinners Bleed" by S. A. Cosby being a crime fiction novel with gritty, small-town vibes. A year after former FBI agent Titus Crown is elected the first Black sheriff of his small Virginia town, an active shooter incident that results in the death of a teacher leads him to uncover dark truths about his hometown. Titus is tasked with tracking down an unearthed serial killer before it's too late, all while navigating divisive small-town politics and carrying a secret of his own.

"Loved this book," author Roxane Gay said via Goodreads. "An excellent, gritty novel about how eventually, all sins must be reckoned with, one way or another." Boasting a 4.21 rating on the reading platform, other reviewers similarly praise "All the Sinner Bleed" for deftly combining a fast-paced mystery with a gripping, emotionally-charged narrative. At the same time, the partial school setting and a fall festival give the 2023 release an autumnal touch. Exploring issues of trauma, racism, and justice through the lens of a small town, we think this dark and gritty novel is worth picking up this fall.

While Holly Jackson has written titles that rank among the best YA mystery and thriller books for adults to enjoy, the "A Good Girl's Guide to Murder" author has also gripped readers with her July 2025 release "Not Quite Dead Yet." The adult novel follows twenty-seven-year-old Jet Mason, who's given one week to live after surviving a violent attack on Halloween night. With the help of her childhood friend Billy, Jet sets out to identify the intruder that left her for dead, determined to solve her own murder before her time runs out.

"Highly recommend for anyone who likes a clever mystery and likable characters," author Ellery Adams wrote about the thriller on Goodreads. "I loved the race against time pacing, the relationship between the MC (Jet Mason) and Billy...and the red herrings throughout." Other reviewers highlight how Jackson sprinkles clues throughout the novel, allowing readers to puzzle out the mystery alongside the protagonist. Plus, with the inciting incident happening on Halloween night, the novel as an explicitly seasonal settings that adds a layer of autumn to the novel. With an average rating of 4.23 stars on Goodreads, "Not Quite Dead Yet" is definitely a page-turning mystery to consider for your end-of-year TBR.

Just as there are dark academia novels that double as great book club picks, the genre also offers plenty of thrilling titles that make for great autumn reads. "Ace of Spades" by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé is a young adult novel set at Niveus Private Academy, a wealthy, primarily white high school. When an anonymous texter known as Aces begins revealing student secrets, Devon and Chiamaka both find their personal information exposed, catapulting them into a mystery that may be even darker than they initially thought.

"I could not put this book down!" said author Alice Oseman on Goodreads. "Sex, lies, and fighting back against racism – this book is a wild ride, with an incredibly powerful message. A heart-racing and twisty thriller that grapples so much more than a simple mystery." With an average rating of 4.13 stars on Goodreads, other reviewers similarly praise the YA thriller for its intriguing, slow-burn mystery and well-developed, character-driven exploration of real-world issues. So, if you're looking to channel atmospheric, dark academia vibes for autumn, "Ace of Spades" is a mystery novel to keep on your radar.

"Little Secrets" by Jennifer Hillier rounds out our list of thrillers, with the psychological suspense novel centering around married couple Marin and Derek. Less than a year after their young son's disappearance, Marin hires a private detective to continue investigating what has become a cold case. Instead of finding her child, she discovers that her husband is having an affair with a younger woman, a revelation that jolts her back to life. Determined to save her marriage, Marin decides to take the matter into her own hands, but there's more secrets at play than initially thought.

"This is one of the fastest reads I've finished lately because this soul-haunting, gripping, nerve-wracking page-turner captivates you from the very beginning," Goodreads reviewer and Medium writer Nilufer Ozmekik wrote about the 2020 release. This sentiment is echoed across additional reviews, with readers highlighting the book's dark tone, heartbreaking storytelling, and gripping mystery as standout elements. If these weren't tempting enough, "Little Secrets" also boasts a fall setting that adds a seasonal touch to the novel. With a 4.21 star rating on Goodreads, this edge-of-your-seat mystery is certainly one we'll be cracking open this autumn.

With this list, we aimed to curate a selection of mystery and thriller titles that are twisty and suspenseful while also having an atmosphere or setting that fits the vibes of fall. While not all of the featured novels are explicitly set in autumn, they contain elements like academic aesthetics or gothic settings that are often associated with the season. We also used recommendation lists and Goodreads tags to identify titles that readers relate to fall. Reader reviews and recommendations across Goodreads and social media were similarly used to identify mystery and thriller novels that featured engaging, edge-of-your-seat plotlines. Beyond this, we limited our selections to titles with a 3.8 rating or higher on Goodreads and strove to curate a list diverse in authors, perspectives, and stories.