28 Dec 2025
Mystery & Thriller Reads for Fans of Big Plot Twists
If you love a shocking reveal, this list delivers. These books are built around smart twists, unreliable characters, and high-stakes consequences.

Diners, Dives, & Drive-Bys (Reality Show Cozy Mystery Series Book 1)
by David Korson & Nicole Korson
Release Date: December 16, 2025
Holly Harkins finds herself at the center of a dangerous murder plot when a reality show comes to her small town of Walnut Falls, Ohio. Can she unravel the mystery and identify the would-be killer before it’s too late? Blending humor, suspense, and light romance, this story is perfect for fans of cozy mysteries and reality television.
Buy on Amazon


Robert B. Parker’s Showdown (Spenser Book 53)
by Mike Lupica
Release Date: November 25, 2025
Vic Hale isn’t anyone’s idea of a father figure. He is one of the biggest – and loudest — podcasters in the nation and got there by spewing overheated rhetoric that’s reviled by some but loved by even more. His particular brand of “entertainment” is so successful, he’s about to sign the biggest contract in the history of online broadcasting.
Buy on Amazon


The Midnight Memory (Jack Widow Book 21)
by Scott Blade
Release Date: December 5, 2025
Jack Widow, a drifter with a violent past, doesn’t look for trouble. But trouble finds him on a desolate Nebraska road at midnight when an elderly man in pajamas appears in the darkness—barefoot, confused, and firing a shotgun at ghosts only he can see.
Buy on Amazon


Dark Humor (A Nils Shapiro Novel Book 5)
by Matt Goldman
Release Date: December 2, 2025
Nils is on a mission to hunt down Sammy Sykes, the drug kingpin responsible for the ambush that led to his wife’s death two years ago. Despite the efforts of local law enforcement and the FBI, Sammy is still on the loose.
Buy on Amazon


Tinsel, Trees And Treachery (Smiley and McBlythe Mystery Series Book 15)
by Bruce Hammack
Release Date: December 11, 2025
Blind private investigator Steve Smiley expects a quiet Christmas—until Branson entertainer Candy Caine arrives with an unusual problem. Someone claiming to be Krampus, the demonic folklore figure who punishes the wicked, is demanding money.
Buy on Amazon


The Kill Code
by William Sauro
Release Date: December 13, 2025
When seventeen-year-old Jamie Rodriguez witnesses a billionaire’s sudden death at an upscale art gallery, she thinks it’s a tragic accident. But her instincts—and the evidence—tell her otherwise. Teaming up with Sam Liu, daughter of a missing AI researcher, Jamie uncovers a conspiracy that reaches far beyond one man’s murder. At its center: Horizon, a predictive AI system powerful enough to identify threats to global stability and eliminate them before they act.
Buy on Amazon
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