What makes a good thriller? We’d say a unique premise, flawed but fascinating characters, and a fast-paced plot that never lets up. But such books can be difficult to find, which is why we’ve asked ...

When you’re a child, Christmas is all about receiving presents. But as an adult, the festive period is more about spending time with loved ones – although the odd scarf or bottle of plonk is always ...

2. Outside (2022) Isolated but not alone, four friends seek refuge in an abandoned hunting lodge during a deadly snowstorm in the Icelandic highlands. Instead of safety, they stumble upon a shocking ...

We think of home as a safe place, but a good domestic thriller exposes the danger lurking behind happy family photos. They play on our greatest fear: that the scariest thing imaginable could be on ...

8 Months Left by James Patterson Following on from last year’s legal drama 12 Months to Live, this book continues the story of tough-as-nails criminal defence attorney Jane Smith, who is knee-deep in ...

A Simple Plan by Scott Smith This might be my all-time favourite crime novel. In rural Ohio, in the middle of a bitter winter, two brothers and a friend discover a downed plane in the middle of an ...

Lisa Jewell is a writer who needs no introduction. Her thrillers are constantly in the Sunday Times bestseller list, and we can see why they are so popular: each is brimming with page-turning suspense ...

Monk Netflix may be known for its original content, but the streaming service is also loved for its broad offering of old favourites. Fans of Monk – and there are plenty of them – will have been very ...

You can often tell if a novel is worth reading from the pace of its first page: it’s how we separate the slow-burners from the addictive page-turners. With that in mind, we’ve rounded up the crime ...

Claire Douglas, author of The Girls Who Disappeared “ The Only Suspect by Louise Candlish is the perfect summer read. Alex lives a quiet, unassuming life in a London suburb with his wife, Beth, but ...

The Family Upstairs by Lisa Jewell 25 years ago, in a large Chelsea house, a happy baby sat in her cot. Downstairs, three dead bodies had been decomposing in the kitchen for days. Who had been looking ...

Or the Bull Kills You by Jason Webster This first in Webster’s crime series is set against a beautiful Spanish backdrop and introduces Max Cámara, our series protagonist. In the city of Valencia, ...