Thank you Libro.fm and Macmillan Audio for the ALCs and Poisoned Pen Press, Minotaur Books, Flatiron Books/Pine & Cedar and Atria Books #partner for the physical copies in exchange for my honest reviews.
Thrillers will always be my go-to and these all hit the mark for me!
FINDERS KEEPERS by Natalie Barelli
Published: February 24, 2026, Poisoned Pen Press
Summary:
Dear Diary. Today I’m going to kill her. Love, Rose.
When Rose discovers her troubled past splashed across the pages of a bestselling book, she knows her carefully constructed life is about to unravel.
The author, Emily Harper, claims the story is fiction, but Rose knows better. Desperate to find out how Emily discovered her deepest secrets, Rose ingratiates herself into the author’s life, posing as an eager assistant and adoring fan.
But as Rose gets closer to the truth, long-buried memories resurface. Slowly, the horrifying events of her teenage years come into focus, revealing that sometimes, the people you trust the most are the ones you should be most afraid of.
My thoughts:
My 1st experience reading Natalie Barelli, but it certainly will not be my last. This popcorn thriller is dark, addictive and totally binge-worthy…once I started it, I couldn’t put it down! Full of unlikeable characters, including one that thinks she’s a psychopath! While it is a bit over the top at times, there’s also something deliciously unhinged about these characters that keeps you flipping the pages. Don’t get me wrong – they are as unhinged as they come but written in a way that you just need to keep at it to see how it all resolves.
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HOW TO GET AWAY WITH MURDER by Rebecca Philipson
Published: February 24, 2026, Minotaur Books / Macmillan Audio
Summary:
This fresh debut thriller finds a Scotland Yard detective trying to find the author of a self-help book that promises quite literally to teach readers how to get away with murder, which seems to have inspired London’s newest murderer.
Detective Inspector Samantha Hansen has been on leave for six months, recovering from a breakdown she suffered at work, but when a fourteen-year-old girl is murdered in a local park, Sam jumps at the chance to return to the job and prove that she’s still got what it takes to be the Yard’s most successful homicide detective. One of the cases only leads is a copy of a self-help book found in the victim’s backpack called How To Get Away With Murder by a man named Denver Brady.
Brady claims to be the most successful serial killer of our time, which is why no one’s ever heard of him. Chapter by chapter, he details his methodology and his past victims, and as Sam’s investigation progresses and the details of the book go viral, Sam begins to suspect that there’s more to the author than what he’s revealed. But in order to find a killer and get justice for young Charlotte, Sam must learn to trust her instincts once again, before Denver Brady–or someone else–really does get away with murder.
My thoughts:
I loved this one & the fact that it was a debut blows my mind! This book is incredibly clever and unique. I was sold on the concept from the get-go, and it delivered in every way possible!
A murder investigation where the main clue is a guide to murder written by a self-proclaimed serial killer. And we get snippets of this guide throughout, which are equally eerie and snarky. The detective is a deeply flawed woman that I loved. She’s determined to solve this case, while dealing with her own issues. I want more of her!!
I loved that this book moves fast and that there were such dark vibes underlying everything. And the twists…oh my! Every single time I thought I had something figured out, I was proved wrong…time and time again! It was just so clever and well plotted and that ending was so smart!!
Audio thoughts:
This was great on audio, with Michael Geary and Tamsin Kennard doing an amazing job with the narration. It was perfectly done and I was completely immersed in the story.
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PINKY SWEAR by Danielle Girard
Published: February 24, 2026, Atria Books
Summary:
From Danielle Girard, the USA TODAY bestselling author who “effortlessly ratchets up the tension” (J.T. Ellison, New York Times bestselling author), comes a pulse-pounding thriller about a young woman whose surrogate disappears just days before the baby’s due date, leading to a frantic search that uncovers dark truths and the power of a mother’s love.
Lexi thought she knew everything about Mara Vannatta. Best friends since middle school, they drifted apart after a tragedy derailed their senior year. But when Mara shows up on Lexi’s doorstep sixteen years later fleeing an abusive husband, Lexi takes her in without question. Lexi’s own marriage has been strained by her desire to have a baby, and when Mara offers to become her surrogate, their friendship feels stronger than ever.
But four days before the due date, Mara disappears.
Lexi is shocked but certain there must be something wrong—Mara would never willingly leave with her unborn child. Or would she? As she embarks on a perilous cross-country hunt for the truth, Lexi is forced to reconsider a friendship she thought she knew—and what really happened that terrible night their senior year. How many secrets lie in their shared past, waiting to be uncovered? And just how far will Lexi go to bring her child safely home?
My thoughts:
A gripping, tense read that is as unsettling as it is emotionally resonate. This one had my emotions all over the place–my anxiety was through the roof, the fear I felt was palpable, the empathy I felt…it was such a visceral reading experience. But at the same time, I loved the way the revelations were made about the characters — it really had me constantly questioning what I thought I knew. I love books about friendship, secrets, betrayal and a mother’s love, and this one totally delivers.
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THE GIRLS BEFORE by Kate Alice Marshall
Published: February 24, 2026, Flatiron Books/Pine & Cedar / Macmillan Audio
Summary:
A search & rescue expert. A kidnapped woman. The lost girls who haunt them both.
There is a girl in a basement.
The door has stopped opening.
The light is gone.
Stranger is trapped in the dark, with only her imagination and the scribbles on the wall left by long-dead girls to keep her company. Nearly out of food and water, she makes one last attempt to escape. But if the door opens at last, will it mean salvation, or only the beginning of her fight to survive?
Audrey is a search and rescue expert who never stopped looking for her ex-best friend, Janie, who disappeared when they were teenagers. Janie used to love the local legend of a forest witch who saves girls from bad men, but Audrey knows now that for every one saved, there’s always another one lost. When she stumbles upon evidence in the forest that a teenage runaway might have actually been kidnapped from land belonging to the town’s most prominent family, she will have to dig through decades of secrets to reveal the biggest one of all: what happened to the girls before.
My thoughts:
This author never fails to deliver a dark, twisted thriller, and that opening line alone hooked me. The missing person trope is one I love but when you add in urban legends, it adds a completely new, creepy layer to it. This had such a strong sense of place, adding to the claustrophobic, unsettling vibe, creating a sense of unease unlike anything I’ve read lately. What really sets this one apart, though is the way the book is structured, with the different parts mirroring what is happening in the story. It just added to an already tense, unsettling read that managed to pull me in even deeper. The twists hit harder, the atmosphere seems heavier and I just can’t seem to shake the unease. Definitely a new favorite!
Audio thoughts:
Karissa Vacker and Ina Barron do an amazing job with the narration of this one, infusing just the right amount of tension and emotion into the voices as needed. The way they shifted tone and nuance just amplified the listening experience.
Have you read any of these books or do you plan to? Are you a fan of thrillers?
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