Criminal Summer: 18 New Mystery & Thrillers For June 2023
Publishing wants to make sure whatever your summer plans are — from pool side to sofa city in air conditioning — you have a great mystery in hand, so there are a ton of new releases for June. And there is something for all the mystery flavors — including three yummy cozies for foodies!
There are a bunch of historical mysteries: one centered around a will, one set in Fiji in 1914, one following a secret organization in London in the 1960s, one set in a NY speakeasy, and a new Jane Austen murder mystery. YA fans have a mystery exploring our injustice system and thriller fans have a few options including a young woman working as an FBI consultant and another doing search and rescue at Yosemite.
There’s a transgender woman fighting for her community, best friend con artists, a cultish religion with a character returning home looking for answers, friends uniting after years surrounding a fictional serial killer case, and a neighborhood filled with secrets!
Plus, S.A. Cosby and Ruth Ware have new releases this month: a crime procedural and a thriller about a woman on the run to prove she didn’t murder her husband. So much to choose from!
Unnatural Ends by Christopher Huang
For fans of historical murder mysteries!
Three siblings return to their childhood home in Yorkshire in 1921 after their father, Sir Lawrence Linwood, is murdered. Upon the reading of the will, the siblings are made aware that he left a provision in his will in case of unnatural death: whoever solves the murder will inherit everything!
Misfortune Cookie (Noodle Shop Mystery #9) by Vivien Chien
For fans of cozies with delicious food!
Lana is now the manager of Ho-Lee Noodle House, her family’s Chinese restaurant in Cleveland, OH. And she’s on her way to a food convention in California with her sister Anna May. Staying with their aunt is a great escape from life, even if they’re technically working. But things take a turn after a cookie vendor and journalist get into a fight, followed by the journalist plummeting to their death…
If you want to start at the beginning of the series, pick up Death by Dumpling — have a Chinese takeout menu on hand!
All the Sinners Bleed by S.A. Cosby
For fans of crime novels and procedurals.
Titus Crowne was an FBI agent who returned home to care for his father and younger brother. Now he’s been sheriff for a year when a school shooting kills a beloved teacher and the shooter, a former student, is killed by police. The tragic situation doesn’t end with the shooting, it is soon is revealed the student had been abused, there are secrets, buried bodies, and a killer to find…
Invisible Son by Kim Johnson
For fans of YA mysteries that explore our injustice system!
Andre Jackson has been released from juvie for a crime he didn’t commit. As he tries to rebuild his life he ends up looking into a missing person’s case: Eric Whitaker is missing, his sister Sierra (Andre’s crush) is worried, and their adoptive parents are not. Dre was planning on confronting Eric — who was responsible for the crime and let Dre take the fall — but instead he ends up having to figure out why he’s missing and no one but his sister is concerned…
A Disappearance in Fiji by Nilima Rao
For fans of historical mysteries.
Akal Singh had a promising career in Hong Kong until an incident led to him being transferred. Now he’s a 25-year-old police sergeant in Fiji in 1914 and isn’t on the best of terms with his new supervisor. His first case involves a missing indentured worker from a sugar plantation which leads Singh to discover that the plantations overseer is also missing. Clearly something is going on…
Lay Your Body Down by Amy Suiter Clarke
For fans of the trope where the MC returns home to small town to solve a murder and past stories are revealed with blog and diary entries!
Del Walker left her small religious town and has spent the last six years trying to undo all the harmful teachings from her pastor. She also left behind the love of her life, Lars, who ended up marrying her friend Eve instead of her. Now Lars has been killed in a hunting accident and Del has returned home to face the town, her upbringing, family, and Eve. Except immediately she’s hit with the something-is-wrong vibe because no one seems concerned in finding out who shot Lars or how this accident happened. So Del takes it upon herself, starting by accusing Eve of having an affair, and then Eve is arrested.
Some Shall Break (None Shall Sleep #2) by Ellie Marney
For fans of FBI procedurals, fictional serial killers, the consultant trope, and thrillers.
Emma Lewis and Travis Bell were recruited as junior consultants for the FBI because of their own separate past connections to serial killers. After their first case, Emma rejected her offer and Travis went to work for the FBI. Now Emma is brought in to consult again, going so far as to make her a serial killer’s bait…
If you want to start at the beginning of the series, pick up None Shall Sleep.
BeatNikki’s Café by Renee James
For fans of crime novels.
Cafe owner and mother Nikki Finch is a transgender woman who sees her thriving life and community put in danger the summer of Trump’s first year as president. When a neo-nazi attacks her business partner, her family, community, and self are put at even more risk leaving Nikki to decide: if after all avenues are exhausted, is getting away with murder her only option?
You Can Trust Me by Wendy Heard
For fans of best friends, con-artists, and missing person mystery!
Leo and Summer travel around California escaping their pasts by living a free life with some pick-pocketing and conning to afford their lifestyle. When Leo meets a billionaire and gets invited to a private island, she thinks it’ll be a huge score for them: selling off jewelry and photos to the pap. Except Leo never returns. That’s how Summer finds herself infiltrating the island to search for Leo…
Murder is a Piece of Cake (Baker Street Mystery #2) by Valerie Burns
For fans of cozy mysteries, bakeries, and dogs!
Maddy is way over her head after inheriting her Great Aunt Octavia’s bakery since she doesn’t know how to cook. Making it even harder for her to make Baby Cakes a top bakery is that there is a new bakery competing, and the owner is now dead with a knife from Baby Cakes. Guess Maddy will have to solve a murder while learning to bake.
If you want to start at the beginning pick up Two Parts Sugar, One Part Murder.
Manslaughter Park (Jane Austen Murder Mystery #3) by Tirzah Price
If you’ve ever wanted Jane Austen but with murder and mystery, this is your series!
Fanny Price is having a difficult time in life staying in her uncle Sir Thomas Bertram’s estate. He wants here there but his children and wife absolutely do not. So when her uncle dies, and Fanny swears there is evidence of foul play, there’s nothing for her to do but put on her sleuthing cap and uncover the truth!
Each book is a standalone but all are fun and great, so if you want to start at the beginning, pick up Pride and Premeditation.
Hot Pot Murder (LA Night Market #2) by Jennifer J. Chow
For fans of foodie cozy mysteries!
Yale and Celine Yee are cousins who run a successful food stall business in the Eastwood Village Night Market. They’re opposites and Celine is visiting from Hong Kong, but that doesn’t stop them from having to solve murders. This time the Asian American Restaurant Owners Association is hosting an exclusive dinner and Yale and Celine are invited, which of course means there will be a murder they’ll have to solve — all while surrounded by delicious food!
If you want to start at the beginning pick up Death by Bubble Tea.
Zero Days by Ruth Ware
For fans of MCs on the run, falsely accused of murder thrillers!
Jack and Gabe have a business where they are hired to break into businesses to hack their systems in order to test their security. But during a job, Jack gets caught and detained by police, only to finally return home and discover that Gabe has been murdered. Immediately she becomes the suspect and flees during an interrogation determined to clear her name…
The Last Drop of Hemlock (Nightingale Mysteries #2) by Katharine Schellman
For fans of historical mystery series!
Vivian Kelly, living with her sister in a tenement in 1924 New York, has just gotten a job at a speakeasy, which just means she’ll be spending even more time at her favorite club, the Nightingale. And soon she’s embroiled in a mystery: Vivian’s best friend Bea is certain that her uncle, the club’s doorman, did not die by suicide. Vivian goes looking for clues.
If you want to start at the beginning, pick up Last Call at the Nightingale.
What the Neighbors Saw by Melissa Adelman
For fans of neighborhoods with secrets and murder mystery!
Alexis and Sam buy a home in an exclusive suburb in D.C. thinking they’re getting a dream life. They instead land smack in a neighborhood full of secrets — secrets that start to spill over as tensions rise following their family man neighbor being found dead…
Have You Seen Her by Catherine McKenzie
For fans of thrillers with a national park setting.
Three women’s lives intersect to create this thriller: Cassie Peters is running from something in New York and lands back in Mammoth Lakes, California to work search and rescue at Yosemite; Jada is traveling the country with her boyfriend and posting it all on Instagram; and Petal keeps detailed diary entries on everything she sees in the park.
Marion Lane and the Raven’s Revenge (Marion Lane #3) by T.A. Willberg
For fans of historical mystery series and secret organizations!
A secret organization, Miss Brickett’s Investigations & Inquiries, is where Marion Lane is working as an apprentice detective in 1960 London. Marion takes on a case involving a friend’s girlfriend that quickly takes a turn when the girlfriend disappears and the agency begins to receive packages that Marion thinks tie to her mother’s long ago mysterious death…
Start at the beginning with Marion Lane and the Midnight Murder.
Don’t Forget the Girl by Rebecca McKanna
For fans of fictional serial killers and podcasts!
Over a decade ago Abby Hartmann disappeared while a freshman at the University of Iowa. The man suspected of her murder is serial killer Jon Allan Blue who is about to be executed. Now a podcast is making a season about the killer’s crimes and Hartmann’s best friends, Bree and Chelsea — who are no longer friends — must come together to get to the truth of what happened.
If you can’t get enough mystery and thrillers, check out all the crime posts. You can also find a full list of new releases in the magical New Release Index, carefully curated by your favorite Book Riot editors, organized by genre and release date.
