Goodreads' Top 15 Most Read Mystery & Thriller Books Of 2026 (So Far), Ranked By Reviews

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Mystery and thriller books are a big deal in 2026. With Freida McFadden's edge of your seat stories regularly dominating the charts, closely followed by the likes of Alice Feeney and Clare Leslie Hall, whodunnits and heart pounding page-turners have readers around the world gripped. There are so many new and older stories gaining popularity though, it's easy to lose track of what everyone's reading. But save the sleuthing, because there's no need to make your search for your next mystery or thriller as complicated as a whodunnit.

We analyzed the most read mystery and thriller books on Goodreads (according to Goodreads' Most Read Books This Year list) and ranked each one according to its average user-given rating out of 5.0. That way, you can be sure that the next twisty book you grab from the bookshelf or download to your e-reader will hold your attention through every page until the final shocking reveal.

In "The Tenant" by Freida McFadden, we find Blake Porter down on his luck and struggling to pay for the home he shares with his fiancée. In at attempt to make ends meet, he rents a room to a woman called Whitney. But she may just be too good to be true. He soon hears seems as odd noises and smells some less than appetizing scents seeping out of her room. And it soon becomes apparent Whitney knows far more about Blake than she's been letting on. The book has a 3.84 score on Goodreads based on 729,000 ratings at the time of writing.

"I was stressed, gasping, suspicious of everyone, and living for the chaos," one Goodreads user wrote of the suspense-filled novel. "This book is sharp, suspenseful, and so entertaining I literally laughed out loud during the tenant interviews! The twists are pitch-perfect—clever, unexpected, and oh-so-satisfying," wrote another.

"The Housemaid is Watching" by Freida McFadden just bests "The Tenant" with an average 3.85 Goodreads rating at the time of writing from over one million ratings. It's the third of three books in McFadden's "The Housemaid" series and brings back Millie, who fans of the first two books will already be familiar with. She finally has a place to call her own where she and her husband can raise their daughter. But while everything seems perfect on the surface, something doesn't seem right with her next-door neighbor's maid — and Millie can't shake the feeling her family is being watched either.

In one five-star review on Goodreads, a user stated, "'The Housemaid Is Watching' is an addictive, riveting, tense, and thrilling page tuner in the Housemaid series!" Another positive review read, "There are several story-lines going on that are addictive, page turning and riveting. The twists appear rapidly at the end and some surprises along the way."

With a 3.88 Goodreads score at the time of writing based on approximately 489,0000 ratings, Freida McFadden's third straight entry on our ranking is "The Intruder." We're transported to Casey's woodland cabin in the middle of a major storm that no one would want to be out in if they can help it. But, amid the chaos raging outside, Casey spots an ominous, blood-soaked, knife wielding stranger lurking outside her window. Something's clearly wrong with the woman, but she refuses to tell Casey what it is, who she is, or why she's there. And that puts Casey in grave danger.

One Goodreads reviewer noted the mystery/thriller was one of McFadden's darker stories, but noted, "It was fast-paced, addictive, and the perfect cure for a reading slump." A second praised the way the ending wrapped up the story, but in an unexpected way. "My mind was blown... like three times in 50 pages," they said.

Cementing Freida McFadden's status as queen of the mystery thriller (and it's not even the final McFadden book on our rundown) is "Dear Debbie." The novel, one of McFadden's best books when ranked by reviews, has a 3.94 score at the time of writing and shows the downfall of Dear Debbie columnist Debbie Mullen. The woman who once had it all has been ousted from her beloved job and notices some strange behavior from her teen daughters and her husband. Suddenly, the woman who spent decades helping countless women get their lives back on track finds there's no amount of advice that could help her see straight as she rights the wrongs she believes have been done to her.

"The writing is addictive, sharp, and relentless[.] Debbie as a character is completely unhinged but somehow grounded enough to feel disturbingly real," wrote one Goodreads user. "As ever, the pace was fast, there was a twist that I actually found interesting and justice was served," another reader wrote, giving the novel five stars.

Caro Claire Burke's "Yesteryear" has a 3.91 score on Goodreads based on approximately 726,000 ratings at the time of writing. The first book on our ranking not by BookTok queen Freida McFadden gets fans juices flowing when successful tradwife influencer Natalie suddenly wakes up in a time before electricity. Though her husband and children are still the same people as in the modern day, they're not the primped and polished versions she likes to show off to her millions of followers. Nor do they seem to have any idea she's not in the right timeline. It's up to Natalie to find out if she's dreaming, if it's all a prank, or if it's all something even more sinister as she tries to escape the confusing nightmare of her new life.

One Goodreads user highlighted the mind-bending twists and complexity of the protagonist, writing, "It was entertaining, addictive, original, and so sharp it felt dangerous. Extremely impressive. Very disturbing." Another reader wrote wrote of the book, which also made it onto our ranking of Goodreads' top 15 most read books of 2026 of any genre, "Toxic and mesmerizing–I'll be thinking about this one for a long time."

"My Husband's Wife" by Alice Feeney is a mystery/thriller book that made a splash in 2026, and it's 3.98 Goodreads rating from 424,757 users at the time of writing confirms it's been a hit with readers. When Eden Fox returns to her new house after a work trip, she finds her key no longer fits in the lock. Even stranger? Her husband still lives there, but he claims the strange woman who just opened the door to Eden is his wife. Ouch. What's going on could lie in the fact that, six months before that, a woman named Birdy inherited the home. She then found herself a clinic that predicts a person's death date, which sent her into a spiral — and Eden may now be on the receiving end of it.

"Phenomenal. My brain feels like it's twisted into a million knots this was SO GOOD," one five-star Goodreads review stated of the short mystery/thriller book you could read in one day. Another also shared praise for Feeney's repeated, unexpected twists by writing, "Alice Feeney had me guessing the ENTIRE TIME. Had literally no idea what was going on (in the best way)." They added, "This made me feel anxious, it creeped me out, the setting was eerie, it had all the elements of a good psychological thriller."

Back to Freida McFadden and the first mystery/thriller to surpass a score of 4.0 on our countdown; "The Boyfriend." At the time of writing, it has a 4.03 score on Goodreads. Sydney Shaw is a single woman who's not having much luck dating until she finally meets the man of her dreams: a handsome doctor who can give her the life she's always dreamed of in New York City. Naturally, Sydney quickly falls head over heels. Only, her bubble bursts when she hears about a string of homicides against women by the men, or man, they were dating. She then realizes her new boyfriend may not be as perfect as he seems. But it may be too late.

Plenty of Goodreads users were enthralled by McFadden's unexpected twists, with one writing, "The smart twist left me speechless—even the sharpest reader wouldn't see it coming." Another gushed, "This book is juicy and fun in all the best ways, and I did get tricked with one of the twists, so I was pleasantly surprised at some of the developments."

Charlotte McConaghy enters our countdown with her 4.06 Goodreads rated story, based on 585,000 ratings (at the time of writing), "Wild Dark Shore." We visit a small island inhabited only by Dominic Salt and his children as a major storm hits. But as everyone else flees the island, Rowan gets washed up there. Suspiciously, she's not keen on divulging why or how either. But she's not the only one acting suspiciously. Rowan soon realized the Salt family have some secrets they'd prefer to stay buried too.

One Goodreads user gave the novel five stars and wrote, "As a thriller, the pacing, tension, climax, and gut-wrenching twist were flawlessly executed." Another highlighted how the gripping novel held their attention through all the twists and turns. "As we got more pieces to the mystery of it all, I literally couldn't put the book down I needed to know the answers," they said.

"Never Lie" by Freida McFadden sees the hugely popular mystery thriller author claim another spot on our ranking. The novel, which ranked amongst McFadden's best books according to reviews, focuses on Tricia and Ethan. The couple find themselves trapped in a lavish home that used to be owned by psychiatrist Dr. Adrienne Hale who, four years earlier, she went missing. Tricia stumbles upon Dr. Adrienne's patient recordings from years of therapy sessions, but gets much more than she bargained for after listening to them. Before she knows it, she's uncovering the chilling mystery of the doctor's disappearance, and the truth is far darker than anything she could have imagined. The book has a Goodreads score of 4.08 at the time of writing based on over 1.7 million ratings.

One reader complimented the way McFadden developed her characters, as well as highlighting a shocking surprise they didn't see coming. "When the twist happened, I gasped, put my hands to my face and gave a bark of laughter," they wrote. "Wow! That was totally twisted, and I loved every creepy minute of it," another gushed. "I thought I had completely guessed the twist, but the actual twists were unexpected even though the author provided subtle clues throughout the fast paced plot," they added.

"The God of the Woods" by Liz Moore has a 4.09 Goodreads score at the time of writing. In the 1970s set mystery thriller, 13-year-old Barbara Van Laar mysteriously goes missing from camp in the middle of the night. Even spookier? It happens 14 years after her brother went missing; the two siblings are part of a well to do family who own the camp Barbara was last seen sleeping at. All hands are on deck amid the frantic search to find the teen, but it quickly becomes clear that the Van Laar family have some very deep, dark secrets.

"'The God of the Woods' has to be among the smartest, surprising, most literate mysteries I've read in a while," wrote one Goodreads reviewer who gave the book five stars. "I lost hours of sleep because of 'The God of the Woods,'" another fan said. They added, "Liz Moore's latest mystery is so gripping, so absorbing that no matter how tired I was at night, I chose the book over my bed whenever I picked it up to read."

"The Housemaid's Secret" by Freida McFadden is the second in "The Housemaid" series and second from the gripping collection in our rundown. It has, at the time of writing, a 4.15 Goodreads score and brings protagonist Millie back into our lives. After the harrowing events of the first novel, Millie now works in a new home for a new family. Though all initially seems okay on the surface, as she settles in, she grows suspicious because she's never met hew new employee's wife. Or even seen her for that matter. When the inquisitive housemaid realizes the wife is recluse in the house and there's blood on her clothing, she takes it upon herself to find out why she's constantly locked away. And the truth shakes Millie to her very core.

"I found the execution of these twists to be incredibly clever, with certain aspects even surpassing those in the first book," one five-star Goodreads review read. While others noted the hugely popular books are best read in sequence to get the most of of Millie's story, another lamented, "Gripping, shocking and hard to put down, 'The Housemaid's Secret' kept me turning the tables and left me sitting with my mouth open at one of the reveals in the book."

Alex Michaelides' dark "The Silent Patient" begins with an insight into the picture-perfect life of famous artist Alicia Berenson. But one unsuspecting day changes everything when Alicia shoots and kills her husband before self-harming. She refuses to give a reason for the brutal act, and it all falls on criminal psychotherapist Theo Faber to get her to open up and share why she did what she did. But it becomes clear that mission will be much easier said than done, because trying to get inside her unexpectedly dark mind isn't for the faint of heart. With a plot like that, it's not surprising it's pulled in over 3 million ratings on Goodreads. At the time of writing, the book has a 4.16 score overall.

One Goodreads user was full of commendation for the book's big reveal and wrote in their detailed five-star review, "The story grabbed me from the very beginning with an intensity that didn't let go. Once I started, I couldn't put it down." "Nothing is as it seems in this novel," another impressed reader wrote. "This story is complex and multi-layered with a labyrinth of characters, each playing their part in the development of the plot," they added.

"Broken Country" by Clare Leslie Hall just made it inside the top three on our ranking thanks to its high 4.27 Goodreads rating at the time of writing. Things get dark in the romantic mystery thriller (if you prefer a read with more romantic elements, we've also ranked 2026's most read romance books based on reviews) when Beth realizes after a deadly incident that her ex-boyfriend once lived near her and her husband Frank. Beth and her ex have to find a way to get through their difficult past –  but there's more than just their history to deal with. Unfortunately, there's another action with fatal consequences that reluctantly brings everyone closer together and pushes Beth to make a major decision about her life.

One Goodreads user said, "You will want to untangle the entire thing and when you do – you will be shocked." A second reviewer wrote, "The different timelines kept me invested as the past was revealed in pieces, and as the current court room case unraveled. I had so many questions I wanted answered so i couldn't put it down!!!"

Freida McFadden's "The Housemaid" is the first in "The Housemaid" series and saw a bump in interest thanks to the late 2025 movie starring Sydney Sweeney and Amanda Seyfried. It has a Goodreads rating of 4.26 at the time of writing based on over 3 million ratings. The book introduces us to Millie, a green housemaid who starts working for Andrew and Nina, a well-to-do family. The more Millie takes care of their house, the more she becomes obsessed with Nina's life. But when she's caught trying on Nina's clothes and fantasizing about Andrew, the reality that her employer's life only looked perfect from the outside becomes far too real. Before long, Millie is trapped in the heart of it all.

"I loved all the little revelations that pop up here and there on top of an incredible story. Just when you think you have it figured out, this novel turns your world upside down," wrote one Goodreads reviewer, who also praised the satisfying ending. Another underscored how shocking the storyline is, writing, "The plot twist in this book got me good!! I never ever saw it coming."

Thanks to a seriously high 4.51 Goodreads score (based on over 1.8 million ratings) at the time of writing, "Project Hail Mary" by Andy Weir takes the top spot on our ranking. The book, which is far more thriller than mystery, is a sci-fi story that centers on astronaut Ryland Grace. He's drifting through space as the only survivor on a mission to save the earth, but a catastrophic event means he has no idea why he's there or what he needs to do next. The fate of the earth and everyone on it is in his hands, and Ryland needs to snap out of his haze fast if he has any chance of saving humanity. The book's boosted popularity in 2026 is likely due to the release of the movie of the same name starring Ryan Gosling.

"It's smart, complex, and entertaining, yet also thrilling and claustrophobic, with dark moments perfectly balanced by humor and wit," read one five-star Goodreads review. "The ride is full of danger, twists and excitement," another reader stated. "Of all the endings I could envision, I never thought of its fantastical conclusion which was most unexpected and satisfying for me," they added.

To make it onto our ranking, each book had to be included on Goodreads' Most Read Books This Year list (as of the July 26, 2026 update). We considered fiction and non-fiction books, but mystery and/or thriller needed to be listed as a primary genre on the book's Goodreads' landing page.