Christmas is a lovely time of year, but sadly, it is over. We’re headed into the middle of winter, which is a PERFECT time to cuddle up with a gripping thriller or a deviously clever mystery. Need some suggestions? Have holiday gift cards to spend? Check out my list of the Best Mysteries and Thrillers to Read in January 2022!
Looking for the best mysteries and thrillers to read in January 2022? Here’s my list of the best (non-series) mysteries and thrillers for January. I’ve read them all, I’ll help you pick the best one(s) for you, AND best of all once you read them, you can go to my SPOILER DISCUSSION posts and talk about theories, questions, and plot holes.
Here’s my List of the Best Mysteries and Thrillers to Read in January 2022!
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The Maid by Nita Prose
To be published on January 4, 2022 by Ballentine Books.
Synopsis: Molly is not like everyone else. She struggles with social skills and misreads the intentions of others. Her gran used to interpret the world for her, codifying it into simple rules that Molly could live by. Since Gran died, Molly has been throwing herself into her work as a hotel maid. Her obsessive love of cleaning and proper etiquette, make her an ideal fit for the job. But Molly’s orderly life is upended the day she enters the suite of the infamous and wealthy Charles Black, only to find Mr. Black dead in his bed. Before she knows what’s happening, Molly’s unusual demeanor has the police targeting her as their lead suspect. She quickly finds herself caught in a web of deception, one she has no idea how to untangle. Fortunately for Molly, friends she never knew she had unite with her in a search for clues to what really happened to Mr. Black—but will they be able to find the real killer before it’s too late?
Should You Read The Maid by Nita Prose?
Did you love The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon? The Maid definitely has a similar feel (and a similar cover!)
Are you looking for a cozy mystery with minimal gore? Do you love mysteries with a classic feel? The Maid is like a game of Clue in a hotel. Is the culprit Mrs. Black in the Presidential Suite with the revolver?
The Maid has been optioned as a movie, starring (and produced by) Florence Pugh!
Have you read this? Check out my SPOILER DISCUSSION POST FOR THE MAID HERE.
Reckless Girls by Rachel Hawkins
To be published on January 4, 2022 by St. Martins Press
Synopsis: When Lux and her boyfriend, Nico, are hired to sail two women to a remote island in the South Pacific, it seems like the opportunity of a lifetime. Longing to travel the world after a family tragedy, Lux is eager to set out on an adventure. She’s also quick to bond with their passengers, college best friends Brittany and Amma. The two women say they want to travel off the beaten path. Meroe Island is every bit the paradise the foursome expects, despite a mysterious history and even rumors of murder. But what they don’t expect is another boat already anchored off Meroe’s sandy beaches. Jake and Eliza, are a true golden couple: gorgeous, laidback, and rich. The new friends settle in to experience life on an exotic island, and the serenity of being completely off the grid. But with the arrival of a stranger in pursuit of a darker kind of good time, the balance of the group is disrupted. Soon, cracks begin to emerge: Brittany and Amma haven’t been completely honest about their pasts. And though Jake and Eliza seem like the perfect pair, their reasons for sailing to Meroe might not be as innocent as they first appeared.
Should You Read Reckless Girls by Rachel Hawkins?
Reckless Girls has a different vibe than The Wife Upstairs, Rachel Hawkins’s debut adult thriller. While The Wife Upstairs was more of a domestic thriller, Reckless Girls has more of a locked room feel, with a small group of people trapped on a remote island. If you loved One by One by Ruth Ware, Reckless Girls has a similar feel.
Are you dying for a vacation? Like me, are you obsessed with Below Deck on Bravo? Are you okay with a cast of unlikeable characters? Then you’ll love sailing around the Pacific with this murderous crew!
HAVE YOU READ THIS? WANT TO JOIN OUR SPOILER DISCUSSION? YOU CAN FIND MY SPOILER REVIEW AND DISCUSSION FOR RECKLESS GIRLS HERE!
A Flicker in the Dark by Stacy Willingham
To be published on January 11, 2022 by Minotaur Books
Synopsis: When Chloe Davis was twelve, six teenage girls went missing in her small Louisiana town. By the end of the summer, Chloe’s father had been arrested as a serial killer and put in prison. Chloe and the rest of her family were left to grapple with the truth while dealing with the aftermath. Twenty years later, Chloe is a psychologist in private practice in Baton Rouge and getting ready for her wedding. She finally has a fragile grasp on the happiness she’s worked so hard to get. Sometimes, though, she feels as out of control of her own life as the troubled teens who are her patients. And then a local teenage girl goes missing, and then another, and that terrifying summer comes crashing back. Is she paranoid, and seeing parallels that aren’t really there, or for the second time in her life, is she about to unmask a killer?
Should you read A Flicker in the Dark by Stacy Willingham?
Do you love stop-a-serial-killer-before-he-kills again books by authors like Dean Koontz, Chelsea Cain or Patricia Cornwell? Then A Flicker in the Dark is for you. Chloe is the only one who can figure out who is copycatting her father’s notorious crimes from the early 2000s. Can she stop a killer in time?
HAVE YOU READ THIS? WANT TO JOIN OUR SPOILER DISCUSSION? YOU CAN FIND MY SPOILER REVIEW AND DISCUSSION FOR A FLICKER IN THE DARK HERE!
The Fields by Erin Young
To be published on January 25, 2022 by Flatiron Books
Synopsis: Some things don’t stay buried. It starts with a body—a young woman found dead in an Iowa cornfield, on one of the few family farms still managing to compete with the giants of Big Agriculture. When Sergeant Riley Fisher, newly promoted to head of investigations for the Black Hawk County Sheriff’s Office, arrives on the scene, an already horrific crime becomes personal when she discovers the victim was a childhood friend, connected to a dark past she thought she’d left behind. The investigation grows complicated as more victims are found. Drawn deeper in, Riley soon discovers implications far beyond her Midwest town.
Should You Read The Fields by Erin Young?
Do you like mysteries and thrillers with a political bent? A big part of The Fields is an explanation of how Big Agriculture is affecting American farming, including things like genetic engineering.
Do you like police procedurals with strong female characters and a higher gore level, like those written by Karin Slaughter or Tana French?
The Appeal by Janice Hallett
To be published in the US on January 25, 2022 by Atria Books.
Synopsis: A local theatre group is in the midst of rehearsals when tragedy strikes the family of director Martin Haywood and his wife Helen, the play’s star. Their young granddaughter has been diagnosed with cancer, and with an experimental treatment costing a tremendous sum, their fellow castmates rally to raise the money to give her a chance at survival. But not everybody is convinced of the experimental treatment’s efficacy—nor of the good intentions of those involved. New actress Sam, a former NGO worker, raises doubts. But are her suspicions justified? Or does she have a history with the doctor involved? As tension grows within the community, things come to a shocking head the night of the dress rehearsal. The next day, a dead body is found, and soon, an arrest is made. In the run-up to the trial, two young lawyers sift through the material—emails, messages, letters—with a growing suspicion that a killer may still be on the loose.
Should You Read The Appeal by Janice Hallett?
Do you like epistolary fiction (books made up of letters, emails, texts, and other non-prose types of writing)? I do NOT (lol) and was a bit horrified when I started reading this. But I adjusted. I’m not sure I’ve ever read an epistolary mystery before, but I didn’t hate it. Maybe that works for me!
Looking for a cozy mystery with a small town setting, a book with characters who all know each other, like those in Big Little Lies? Then definitely try The Appeal!
Read any of my Best Mysteries and Thrillers to Read in January 2022?
Have any other winter thrillers that you think I should read? Talk to me in comments!
Also, if you love thrillers, please subscribe to my new monthly Thriller and Spoiler Discussion Newsletter!
Definitely adding the Maid. “Clue in a hotel”? That’s enough for me. 🙂
Rckless Girls too. Hoping to read that next!
I hope you enjoy it. The Maid and Reckless Girls are complete opposites but both fun in different ways!
Definitely adding Reckless Girls to my TBR list! I also just finished Alice Feeney’s His and Hers and it was fantastic! I’d love to see an Armchair Book Club post on that one!
There is a post! It is here: Spoiler Discussion of His & Hers!
Just finished The Maid and I give it 5 stars. I loved it. Thanks for your suggestions. Can’t wait for the Spoilers for this one.
Thanks so much! Yes there is a spoiler discussion post!
Do you feel sad for Molly, and that her character is too sad and upsetting to continue?
I didn’t feel that way! I listened to an interview with the author who said she intended the book to be uplifting. I didn’t find it uplifting but I did grow to like Molly and appreciate the way she saw the world.