My Favorite Books Published in 2025

 

My Favorite Books Published in 2025   With the end of 2025 dangling on the horizon, it is time to look at the best of the best of all the terrific mystery fiction published during the year. My survey of the genre, of course, is limited to what I read with my own eyes. And truthfully my reading faltered not long after mid-year for a couple reasons I’ve explained in earlier posts. So this is a favorites list rather than a best list. And I tell you, I read some dandy tales in 2025. My only regret: I wish I had read more! So… without anymore wrangling, here are my five favorite mystery books published in 2025. The list is ordered by publication date.
THE MAILMAN – Andrew Welsh-Huggins (Mysterious Press / Jan. 28). This first installment in a new series by the author of the Andy Hayes, P.I. books, is a full-throttled thriller with action, violence, and plotting so good it is a shame it had to end. In my review I wrote: “The Mailman is a nail-biting escapist thriller with twists and whirls and everything else the genre promises. It’s damn fun, too.”   Read the review here.
GALWAY’S EDGE – Ken Bruen (Mysterious Press / Mar. 4). Bruen’s final novel, and the eighteenth entry in his Jack Taylor series, is a moody gash of humanity—the beauty and ugliness are rendered with an expert hand and a melancholy sort of acceptance. As I wrote in my review: “Galway’s Edge is, as is Ken Bruen, the real deal—interesting, thought-provoking, and in equal parts ugly and redemptive.” Ken Bruen died on March 29, a few weeks after Galway’s Edge was released in the U.S. His voice will be sorely missed, but his work will resonate for decades more.   Read the review here.
SKIN AND BONES – Paul Doiron (Minotaur / May 13). This collection of eight tales is an entertaining foray into the world of Doiron’s series character, Maine Game Warden Mike Bowditch. Most are narrated by Bowditch, but a few are told from the perspective of Bowditch’s mentor, Charley Stevens. In my review I wrote: “Many of the stories are closer to novelette than short story length, which allows Doiron the room to paint his characters with a rich hue and his rural Maine setting with vivid color. Even better, he does all this without an unnecessary word or losing the mystery for the trees.” In a word, Skin and Bones is terrific!   Read the review here.
MARGUERITE BY THE LAKE – Mary Dixie Carter (Minotaur / May 20). This psychological thriller is a suspenseful novel in the mold of Daphne du Maurier’s gothic masterpiece, Rebecca. But it is more than simply an homage: it is original, clever, and spell-binding. As I wrote in my review: “[The] unreliable narration—made so by her own paranoia and guilt—is taut with suspense and infused with a teetering madness that makes it both terrifying and fascinating…. Marguerite by the Lake is a splendid and inventive thriller, and it is hands down the best book I’ve read so far this year.” And it still just may be my favorite book from 2025.   Read the review here.
PHOTOGRAPH – Brian Freeman (Blackstone / Oct. 7). Freeman is a master at weaving the supernatural into the mainstream thriller form, and Photograph—which features a Daytona Beach P.I., Shannon Wells—is no exception. As I wrote in my review: “The action is lively: there are gunfights, tightly ratcheted tension, and surprise after twisty surprise. While the concept is big and (some might say) over-the-top, Freeman’s clever plotting, his attention to detail, and his likable heroine smooth Photograph into a nail-biting, exciting, and caffeinated literary treat.”   Read the review here.
HONORABLE MENTIONS: Ceylon Sapphires, by Mailan Doquang (Mysterious Press / June 3); and a special shout-out for two novelettes—“BAE-I” and “Room E-36”—written by Douglas Corleone.