YA Thriller and Horror Books Summer 2025

The young adult debut from the award-winning author of Arsenic and Adobo! When a high school tarot reader’s latest client goes missing after a troubling reading, she must apply everything she’s learned from her private investigator mother to solve a case of her own.

“Delightfully layered. The tarot readings bring a fresh and bright angle to this modern mystery. Mia P. Manansala has created an endearing voice in Danika—an intuitive, intelligent, and emotionally sharp amateur sleuth.” —Elle Cosimano, New York Times bestselling author of Finlay Donovan is Killing It

Last year, Nan’s three best friends ventured into the canyons near their small town and never returned. Now one of them is back, and Nan can’t believe it…because she’s the one who killed them. From the New York Times bestselling author of Wilder Girls comes another dark thriller about friendship, jealousy, desire, and revenge, with a twist ending that needs to be talked about.

A working-class young woman would kill to become assistant to Paris’s top modiste, but she must first seek vengeance against those responsible for the death of her family, in this thrilling historical horror from New York Times bestselling author Erica Ridley!

A fresh and darkly funny 90s murder mystery about one high school’s net of lies that begin to unravel when a star lacrosse player winds up dead.

A teen girl’s attempt at social reinvention takes a deadly turn when a co-worker disappears—and she learns she may have been the last person to see the missing girl—in this razor-sharp, murderously funny thriller debut.

A teen girl’s dream job aboard a luxury train derails when she discovers the strange cargo being transported—a mysterious and beautiful greenhouse—but its flowering façade may hide deadly thorns beneath, in this atmospheric and lush novel from the author of Those We Drown.

From the author of Escape Room comes a new pulse-quickening read! How do you outrun danger when you’re trapped at sea?

Welcome to No Exit.

The place for you, so that others are safe.

COMING SOON AS THE ORIGINAL STREAMING SERIES WE WERE LIARS

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The modern, sophisticated suspense novel that became a runaway smash hit on TikTok and introduced the world to a family hiding a jaw-dropping secret—with gorgeous sprayed edges and all-new in-depth exclusive content by E. Lockhart.

“Thrilling, beautiful, and blisteringly smart, We Were Liars is utterly unforgettable.” —John Green, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Fault in Our Stars

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The addictive prequel to the TikTok phenomenon We Were Liars: the story of another summer, another generation, and the secrets that will haunt them for decades to come—with gorgeous sprayed edges and all-new in-depth exclusive content by E. Lockhart.

“I anticipated that at some point a shocking twist would come. And, wow, does it ever.” —The New York Times

“A perfect beach read.” —The Boston Globe

“Hits like a lightning strike.” —Melissa Albert, New York Times bestselling author of The Hazel Wood

From the author of the New York Times bestseller Wilder Girls comes a feverishly twisty thriller about a girl whose past has always been a mystery—until she decides to return to her mother’s hometown . . . where history has a tendency to repeat itself.

In 1955, a Black family passes for white and moves to a “Whites Only” town in the suburbs. Caught between two worlds, a teen boy puts his family at risk as he uncovers racist secrets about his suburb. A new social justice thriller from the acclaimed author of This Is My America!

WINNER OF THE LOS ANGELES TIMES BOOK PRIZE FOR YOUNG ADULT LITERATURE • A SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL AND KIRKUS REVIEWS BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR

There’s a killer on board a luxury yacht, and two former friends must team up to figure out which of their privileged classmates has a penchant for murder before they become victims themselves. Don’t miss out on this gripping thriller from New York Times bestselling authors Kristin Cast and Pintip Dunn!

“A clever, fast-paced and wildly delicious maritime mystery that will keep readers guessing until the very end.” —Kathleen Glasgow, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Girl in Pieces and coauthor of the Agathas series

“A shocking thriller with so much heart and a whole lot of grit. This propulsive story will keep you guessing (and swooning!)” —Jessica Goodman, New York Times bestselling author of The Counselors

Don’t miss the special edition of the the global phenomenon, featuring sprayed edges and exclusive content from mutimillion copy bestselling author Holly Jackson!

Sixteen years ago, six girls were born on the same day—and now, on their birthday, one of them is missing. From the author of Starlings comes a story about small-towns, friendships, and the terrifying things your parents don’t tell you, perfect for fans of Yellowjackets and now in paperback!

A teen girl’s attempt to make amends with her former friend group takes a sinister turn during a weekend getaway at an ancestral Irish estate in this atmospheric, literary horror from the author of Those We Drown.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The newest mystery from the author One of Us Is Lying, the Queen of thrillers, Karen M. McManus! When mother-daughter grifters set out on their final job, the heist gets deadly and dangerously personal.

Last summer there was a murder on Martha’s Vineyard. Now a killer’s on campus in Cambridge.

The follow-up to the New York Times bestselling Liar’s Beach.

The must-read suspense novel of the summer about a mysterious sister’s disappearance, her biggest betrayal and a deadly truth screaming to come out.