2022 Young Adult Mystery & Thriller Books To Add To Your TBR!

Let’s solve a mystery! 2022 looks to be yet another great year for releases that will leave you guessing till the very end.

At The Booked Shelf, today we’re highlighting mystery and thriller books heading to shelves this year, to celebrate the March release of THE RUMOR GAME by Dhonielle Clayton and Sona Charaipotra!

1. The Rumor Game by Dhonielle Clayton and Sona Charaipotra
Release Date: March 1, 2022
Summary: All it takes is one spark to start a blaze. At Foxham Prep, a posh private school for the children of DC’s elite, a single rumor has the power to ruin a life.

Nobody knows that better than Bryn. She used to have it all—the perfect boyfriend, a bright future in politics, and even popularity, thanks to her best friend, cheer captain Cora. Then one mistake sparked a scandal that burned it all to the ground.

Now it’s the start of a new school year and the spotlight has shifted: It’s geeky Georgie, newly hot after a summer makeover, whose name is on everyone’s lips. When a rumor ignites, Georgie rockets up the school’s social hierarchy, pitting her and Cora against each other. It grants her Foxham stardom . . . but it also makes her a target.

As the rumors grow and morph, blazing like wildfire through the school’s social media, all three girls’ lives begin to unravel. But one person close to the drama has the power to stop the gossip in its tracks. The question is—do they even want to?

2. Queen Of The Tiles by Hanna Alkaf
Release Date: April 19, 2022

Summary: They Wish They Were Us meets The Queen’s Gambit in the world of competitive Scrabble when a teen girl is forced to investigate the mysterious death of her best friend a year after the fact when her Instagram comes back to life with cryptic posts and messages.

CATALYST
13 points
noun: a person or thing that precipitates an event or change

When Najwa Bakri walks into her first Scrabble competition since her best friend’s death, it’s with the intention to heal and move on with her life. Perhaps it wasn’t the best idea to choose the very same competition where said best friend, Trina Low, died. It might be even though Najwa’s trying to change, she’s not ready to give up Trina just yet.

But the same can’t be said for all the other competitors. With Trina, the Scrabble Queen herself, gone, the throne is empty, and her friends are eager to be the next reigning champion. All’s fair in love and Scrabble, but all bets are off when Trina’s formerly inactive Instagram starts posting again, with cryptic messages suggesting that maybe Trina’s death wasn’t as straightforward as everyone thought. And maybe someone at the competition had something to do with it.

As secrets are revealed and the true colors of her friends are shown, it’s up to Najwa to find out who’s behind these mysterious posts—not just to save Trina’s memory, but to save herself.

3. The Monsters Club by Lotté Jean Elliott
Release Date: April 21, 2022

Summary: A model student at an exclusive private school, Junie Han is popular, bright and destined for Oxford University. Or so everyone believes.

Unbeknownst to her wealthy friends and family, Junie is a gifted hacker, and is using her talents to make money as a means of escaping the life they have planned for her. As long as she can maintain her image of perfection, nothing will stop her.

Whilst exploring the dark web, Junie and her fellow hacker, Yamazaki, discover a site called the Monsters Club, a place where murderers post pictures of their victims. After investigating the site, Yamazaki disappears. And Junie begins to receive alarming messages from an anonymous stranger…

As Junie’s two lives begin to unravel, she finds herself cracking under the pressure of keeping her secrets and her safety. Will she, or someone she loves, become the next victim posted on the Monsters Club’s website?

4. Perfect Score by Angelica Monai (A.M. Ellis)
Release Date: May 3, 2022

Summary: It’s time to HUNT A KILLER in this YA mystery series based on the bestselling subscription game!

In the world of Hunt A Killer, players help PI Michelle Gray solve murders through a variety of games using clues from autopsy reports to police records, and more.

Now, Hunt A Killer is making the leap to the page in this YA mystery series! Follow an original character as she investigates a brand-new case. Can she solve the crime before the killer strikes again?

5. Burn Down, Rise Up by Vincent Tirado
Release Date: May 3, 2022

Summary: Stranger Things meets Get Out in this Sapphic Horror debut from nonbinary, Afro-Latine author Vincent Tirado.

Mysterious disappearances.
An urban legend rumored to be responsible.
And one group of teens determined to save their city at any cost.

For over a year, the Bronx has been plagued by sudden disappearances that no one can explain. Sixteen-year-old Raquel does her best to ignore it. After all, the police only look for the white kids. But when her crush Charlize’s cousin goes missing, Raquel starts to pay attention—especially when her own mom comes down with a mysterious illness that seems linked to the disappearances.

Raquel and Charlize team up to investigate, but they soon discover that everything is tied to a terrifying urban legend called the Echo Game. The game is rumored to trap people in a sinister world underneath the city, and the rules are based on a particularly dark chapter in New York’s past. And if the friends want to save their home and everyone they love, they will have to play the game and destroy the evil at its heart—or die trying.

6. The Agathas by Kathleen Glasgow and Liz Lawson
Release Date: May 3, 2022
– Pre Order Campaign

Summary: Last summer, Alice Ogilve’s basketball-star boyfriend Steve dumped her. Then she disappeared for five days. Where she went and what happened to her is the biggest mystery in Castle Cove, because she’s not talking. Or it was, at least. But now, another one of Steve’s girlfriends has vanished: Brooke Donovan, Alice’s ex–best friend. And it doesn’t look like Brooke will be coming back. . .

Enter Iris Adams, Alice’s tutor. Iris has her own reasons for wanting to disappear, though unlike Alice, she doesn’t have the money or the means. That could be changed by the hefty reward Brooke’s grandmother is offering to anyone who can share information about her granddaughter’s whereabouts. The police are convinced Steve is the culprit, but Alice isn’t so sure, and with Iris on her side, she just might be able to prove her theory.

In order to get the reward and prove Steve’s innocence, they need to figure out who killed Brooke Donovan. And luckily Alice has exactly what they need—the complete works of Agatha Christie. If there’s anyone that can teach the girls how to solve a mystery it’s the master herself. But the town of Castle Cove holds many secrets, and Alice and Iris have no idea how much danger they’re about to walk into.

7. The Lies We Tell by Katie Zhao
Release Date: August 9, 2022

Summary: From the author of How We Fall Apart comes a tense and thrilling YA about what it means not to feel safe in the places we call home.

Anna Xu moves across town and onto campus to start freshman year at prestigious Brookings University. Her family’s struggling Chinese bakery, Sweetea, isn’t far from campus or mind, but at Brookings Anna wants to keep up her stellar academics and… investigate the unsolved campus murder of her former babysitter. She also finds a familiar face–her middle-school rival, Chris Lu. The Lus are also the Xu’s business rivals, who just opened Sunny’s, a trendy bakery on Sweetea’s block. Chris is cute but still someone to be wary of—until a vandal hits Sunny’s and Anna matches the racist tag with a clue from her investigation. Is there a secret society carrying out hate crimes? She and Chris team up to take on a dangerous search into the attacks. Can they root out the ugly history and take on the current threat?

8. Pretty Dead Queens by Alexa Donne
Release Date: October 4, 2022

Summary: Seaview High’s homecoming queen is dead . . . and she’s not the first. From the critically acclaimed author of The Ivies comes a nonstop thriller about a deacades-old mystery, a copycat killing, and the teen who won’t stop until she discovers the truth.

After the death of her mom (screw cancer), seventeen-year-old Cecelia Ellis goes to live with her estranged grandmother, a celebrated author whose Victorian mansion is as creepy as the murder mysteries she writes. On the surface, life is utterly ordinary in the California coastal town . . . until the homecoming queen is murdered. And she’s not Seaview’s first pretty dead queen.

With a copycat killer on the loose, Cecelia throws herself into the investigation, determined to crack the case like the heroines in her grandmother’s books. But the more Cecelia digs into the town’s secrets, the more she worries that her own mystery might not have a storybook ending.

‘The Lies We Tell’ by Katie Zhao Cover Reveal

On November 18 Katie Zhao, debut author of How We Fall Apart, revealed the cover to her second dark academia novel through a book trailer. Slated for a 2022 release, it will be titled The Lies We Tell!

According to artwork she posted on her Twitter as of July 22, the novel’s summary pitch is stated as “A Chinese American college freshman investigates an unsolved murder case on campus – putting her life in danger, with a social media stalker determined to stop her, & crimes happening again on campus..”

Zhao also mentioned the novel is fitting for those who enjoy “college campus murder mysteries, rivals-to-lovers, & academic banter.”

Cover designers are the Bloomsbury design team.

From the author of How We Fall Apart comes a tense and thrilling YA about what it means not to feel safe in the places we call home.

Anna Xu moves across town and onto campus to start freshman year at prestigious Brookings University. Her family’s struggling Chinese bakery, Sweetea, isn’t far from campus or mind, but at Brookings Anna wants to keep up her stellar academics and… investigate the unsolved campus murder of her former babysitter. She also finds a familiar face–her middle-school rival, Chris Lu. The Lus are also the Xu’s business rivals, who just opened Sunny’s, a trendy bakery on Sweetea’s block. Chris is cute but still someone to be wary of—until a vandal hits Sunny’s and Anna matches the racist tag with a clue from her investigation. Is there a secret society carrying out hate crimes? She and Chris team up to take on a dangerous search into the attacks. Can they root out the ugly history and take on the current threat?

The Lies We Tell by Katie Zhao is set to be released August 9, 2022!

The Red Palace by June Hur Cover Reveal

On March 22, June Hur revealed the cover to her upcoming Historical Fiction Mystery novel titled The Red Palace through Twitter, which is being released early 2022!

Hur has pitched her novel as a “romantic YA historical mystery about a palace nurse and a royal investigator teaming up to look into a pattern of grisly murders when the Crown Prince becomes the prime suspect.”

The Red Palace will feature “a tragic crown prince, slow-burn romance, and a killer on the loose,” according to her cover reveal tweet.

Cover artist is Sunga Park and designer is Liz Dresner. Hur is an author of historical mystery novels and began writing after “obsessing over books about Joseon Korea.” Novels include The Silence Of Bones and The Forest Of Stolen Girls.

June Hur, critically acclaimed author of The Silence of Bones and The Forest of Stolen Girls, returns with The Red Palace—a third evocative, atmospheric historical mystery perfect for fans of Courtney Summers and Kerri Maniscalco.

To enter the palace means to walk a path stained in blood…

Joseon (Korea), 1758. There are few options available to illegitimate daughters in the capital city, but through hard work and study, eighteen-year-old Hyeon has earned a position as a palace nurse. All she wants is to keep her head down, do a good job, and perhaps finally win her estranged father’s approval.

But Hyeon is suddenly thrust into the dark and dangerous world of court politics when someone murders four women in a single night, and the prime suspect is Hyeon’s closest friend and mentor. Determined to prove her beloved teacher’s innocence, Hyeon launches her own secret investigation.

In her hunt for the truth, she encounters Eojin, a young police inspector also searching for the killer. When evidence begins to point to the Crown Prince himself as the murderer, Hyeon and Eojin must work together to search the darkest corners of the palace to uncover the deadly secrets behind the bloodshed.

The Red Palace by June Hur is set to be released January 25, 2022!

Firekeeper’s Daughter Optioned As A Television Series

On February 5, it was announced through Deadline that Angeline Boulley’s forthcoming debut Firekeeper’s Daughter was optioned as a television series for Netflix.

Through Higher Ground Productions, this adaptation was part of a slate featuring two TV series and four films. Screenwriter Mickey Fisher, who created series such as Extant and Reverie, is set to be adapting Boulley’s thriller debut featuring a Native teen of the Ojibwe community.

Fisher will not only be adapting, but also taking part as showrunner. Co-writer will be Wenonah Wilms who is part of the Ojibwe tribe and will serve as executive producer.

Publisher’s Weekly Starred Review called it a debut with “sharp turns and charming characters.” The review also stated that it hits hard when it comes to “issues such as citizenship, language revitalization, and the corrosive presence of drugs on Native communities…”

As a biracial, unenrolled tribal member and the product of a scandal, eighteen-year-old Daunis Fontaine has never quite fit in, both in her hometown and on the nearby Ojibwe reservation. Daunis dreams of studying medicine, but when her family is struck by tragedy, she puts her future on hold to care for her fragile mother.

The only bright spot is meeting Jamie, the charming new recruit on her brother Levi’s hockey team. Yet even as Daunis falls for Jamie, certain details don’t add up and she senses the dashing hockey star is hiding something. Everything comes to light when Daunis witnesses a shocking murder, thrusting her into the heart of a criminal investigation.

Reluctantly, Daunis agrees to go undercover, but secretly pursues her own investigation, tracking down the criminals with her knowledge of chemistry and traditional medicine. But the deceptions—and deaths—keep piling up and soon the threat strikes too close to home.

Now, Daunis must learn what it means to be a strong Anishinaabe kwe (Ojibwe woman) and how far she’ll go to protect her community, even if it tears apart the only world she’s ever known. 

Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley is set to be released March 16, 2021!

Tiny Pretty Things Netflix Trailer Gets Released!

On November 16, Netflix officially revealed the trailer to Tiny Pretty Things, the upcoming television series based on Sona Charaipotra and Dhonielle Clayton’s YA novel which is set to stream on December 14.

The series is set to follow Neveah (Kylie Jefferson), a ballerina who gets her chance in being part of Chicago’s elite academy, Archer School of Ballet. However, after learning she’s taking the place of a previous classmate who fell to her death, Cassie Shore, Nevah learns just how cutthroat and secretive the school really is.

In the vein of ‘Pretty Little Liars’ and ‘Bunheads,’ this 10-episode series looks to be filled with intrigue and mystery!

Other students of the academy will include Brennan Clost (Shane), Barton Cowperthwaite (Oren), Damon J. Gillespie (Caleb), Casimere Jollette (Bette), and Daniela Norman (June).

Kylie Jefferson, set to play the main character of Neveah, is a contemporary ballet dancer, choreographer, and now actress. ‘Tiny Pretty Things’ is her debut role.

Tiny Pretty Things is coming to Netflix on December 14!

Gigi, Bette, and June, three top students at an exclusive Manhattan ballet school, have seen their fair share of drama. Free-spirited new girl Gigi just wants to dance—but the very act might kill her.

Privileged New Yorker Bette’s desire to escape the shadow of her ballet-star sister brings out a dangerous edge in her. And perfectionist June needs to land a lead role this year or her controlling mother will put an end to her dancing dreams forever.

When every dancer is both friend and foe, the girls will sacrifice, manipulate, and backstab to be the best of the best.

One Of Us Is Lying Picked Up As A Series With NBC’s Peacock

On August 12, it was announced through Deadline that One Of Us Is Lying was ordered as a eight-episode television series, with the pilot already having been picked up last year through NBC’s Peacock.

McManus’s Mystery novel is pitched as The Breakfast Club meets Pretty Little Liars which follows the story of five teens who walk into detention and only four come out alive. Everyone is a suspect and all of them have something to hide.

Main characters of the series include Brownyn, Addy, Nate, Cooper and Simon, who will be played by Marianly Tejeda, Annalisa Cochrane, Cooper Van Grootel, Chibuikem Uche and Mark McKenna.

The cast was already confirmed last year in October. Darío Madrona will serve as showrunner and Erica Saleh wrote the pilot and will be executive producer. Additional executive producers include John Sacchi and Matt Groesch.

Madrona is well known in Spanish television and also co-created and executively produced Netflix’s Elite.

Additional cast members were confirmed through McManus’s Instagram post. She stated, “Since we are living in such uncertain times, I can’t yet tell you when the show will air, or how/where international viewers will be able to watch…” No additional details were announced.

Pay close attention and you might solve this.

On Monday afternoon, five students at Bayview High walk into detention.
Bronwyn, the brain, is Yale-bound and never breaks a rule.
Addy, the beauty, is the picture-perfect homecoming princess.
Nate, the criminal, is already on probation for dealing.
Cooper, the athlete, is the all-star baseball pitcher.
AndSimon, the outcast, is the creator of Bayview High’s notorious gossip app.

Only, Simon never makes it out of that classroom. Before the end of detention, Simon’s dead. And according to investigators, his death wasn’t an accident. On Monday, he died. But on Tuesday, he’d planned to post juicy reveals about all four of his high-profile classmates, which makes all four of them suspects in his murder. Or are they the perfect patsies for a killer who’s still on the loose? Everyone has secrets, right? What really matters is how far you would go to protect them.

One Of Us Is Lying by Karen M. McManus is out now!

They Wish They Were Us by Jessica Goodman Optioned For TV

On July 31, it was announced through Deadline that Jessica Goodman’s debut They Wish They Were Us was optioned for a television series!

Picked up by Sydney Sweeney’s recently launched production company Fifty-Fifty Films, Annabelle Attanasio has signed on as the writer, director, and executive producer for the adaptation. Sweeney and Goodman will also take part as executive producers.

Director Jean-Marc Vallée and producer Nathan Ross are also attached to the project via Endeavor Entertainment, which is the company that originally formed the option.

“When I read They Wish They Were Us I was instantly drawn to the specificity of the world and the struggles of the characters — and I knew it was the first project I wanted to produce. I’m really honored that Jean-Marc Vallée and Nathan Ross wanted to partner on this series. I’m getting to learn from the best. We are really thrilled to be working alongside an empowering filmmaker like Annabelle,” stated Sweeney.

Sweeney is known for her breakout role on Euphoria. She’s also been part of the Emmy-nominated series Sharp Objects for HBO, alongside Vallée and Ross who were producers.

It was mentioned that Sweeney is set to play the main character Jill Newman. Jonathan Davino and Meghan Oliver will also be be producing. No other details were announced.

In Gold Coast, Long Island, everything from the expensive downtown shops to the manicured beaches, to the pressed uniforms of Jill Newman and her friends, looks perfect. But as Jill found out three years ago, nothing is as it seems.

Freshman year Jill’s best friend, the brilliant, dazzling Shaila Arnold, was killed by her boyfriend. After that dark night on the beach, Graham confessed, the case was closed, and Jill tried to move on.

Now, it’s Jill’s senior year and she’s determined to make it her best yet. After all, she’s a senior and a Player–a member of Gold Coast Prep’s exclusive, not-so-secret secret society. Senior Players have the best parties, highest grades and the admiration of the entire school. This is going to be Jill’s year. She’s sure of it.

But when Jill starts getting texts proclaiming Graham’s innocence, her dreams of the perfect senior year start to crumble. If Graham didn’t kill Shaila, who did? Jill vows to find out, but digging deeper could mean putting her friendships, and her future, in jeopardy.

They Wish They Were Us by Jessica Goodman is out now!

The Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley Cover Reveal

On July 17, Entertainment Weekly revealed the cover to Angeline Boulley’s thriller debut titled The Firekeeper’s Daughter, which explores Native American identity.

The Firekeeper’s Daughter follows Daunis Fontaine who gets thrust into a criminal investigation and goes undercover, trying to piece together the mystery.

The article mentioned that “Boulley spent 10 years crafting the story about corruption that threatens her Ojibwe community…” The author’s novel has been pitched as being in the vein of the adult literary fiction novel, There There by Tommy Orange.

Alongside the cover reveal was also an excerpt of the prologue an chapter one. Boulley is a member of the Chippewa tribe, according to a Publisher’s Weekly article. The cover was originally revealed through a Crowdcast with the author on July 16.

The cover artists are Moses Lunham and Rich Deas, who is also the designer.

As a biracial, unenrolled tribal member and the product of a scandal, eighteen-year-old Daunis Fontaine has never quite fit in, both in her hometown and on the nearby Ojibwe reservation. Daunis dreams of studying medicine, but when her family is struck by tragedy, she puts her future on hold to care for her fragile mother.

The only bright spot is meeting Jamie, the charming new recruit on her brother Levi’s hockey team. Yet even as Daunis falls for Jamie, certain details don’t add up and she senses the dashing hockey star is hiding something. Everything comes to light when Daunis witnesses a shocking murder, thrusting her into the heart of a criminal investigation.

Reluctantly, Daunis agrees to go undercover, but secretly pursues her own investigation, tracking down the criminals with her knowledge of chemistry and traditional medicine. But the deceptions—and deaths—keep piling up and soon the threat strikes too close to home.

Now, Daunis must learn what it means to be a strong Anishinaabe kwe (Ojibwe woman) and how far she’ll go to protect her community, even if it tears apart the only world she’s ever known.

The Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley is set to be released March 2, 2021!

5 Young Adult Books Featuring Podcasts

Recently, there’s been a rise in podcast or radio-based YA novels, many of which center around murder mystery.

After recently finishing A Good Girl’s Guide To Murder here on The Booked Shelf I’m recommending 5 contemporary novels that feature podcasts!

1.A Good Girl’s Guide To Murder by Holly Jackson (Good Girl’s Guide #1)
Release Date: May 2, 2019

The case is closed. Five years ago, schoolgirl Andie Bell was murdered by Sal Singh. The police know he did it. Everyone in town knows he did it.

But having grown up in the same small town that was consumed by the murder, Pippa Fitz-Amobi isn’t so sure. When she chooses the case as the topic for her final year project, she starts to uncover secrets that someone in town desperately wants to stay hidden. And if the real killer is still out there, how far will they go to keep Pip from the truth? 

(There’s no specific podcasts in this novel, but Jackson’s novel is inspired by the Serial Podcast)

2.Radio Silence by Alice Oseman
Release Date: March 28, 2017

You probably think that Aled Last and I are going to fall in love or something. Since he is a boy and I am a girl.

I just wanted to say—we don’t.

Frances Janvier spends most of her time studying. When she’s not studying, she’s up in her room making fan art for her favorite podcast, Universe City.

Everyone knows Aled Last as that quiet boy who gets straight As. But no one knows he’s the creator of Universe City, who goes by the name Radio Silence.

When Frances gets a message from Radio Silence asking if she’ll collaborate with him, everything changes. Frances and Aled spend an entire summer working together and becoming best friends. They get each other when no one else does.

But when Aled’s identity as Radio Silence is revealed, Frances fears that the future of Universe City—and their friendship—is at risk. Aled helped her find her voice. Without him, will she have the courage to show the world who she really is? Or will she be met with radio silence?

3. Sadie by Courtney Summers
Release Date: September 4, 2018

A missing girl on a journey of revenge. A Serial―like podcast following the clues she’s left behind. And an ending you won’t be able to stop talking about.

Sadie hasn’t had an easy life. Growing up on her own, she’s been raising her sister Mattie in an isolated small town, trying her best to provide a normal life and keep their heads above water.

But when Mattie is found dead, Sadie’s entire world crumbles. After a somewhat botched police investigation, Sadie is determined to bring her sister’s killer to justice and hits the road following a few meager clues to find him.

When West McCray―a radio personality working on a segment about small, forgotten towns in America―overhears Sadie’s story at a local gas station, he becomes obsessed with finding the missing girl. He starts his own podcast as he tracks Sadie’s journey, trying to figure out what happened, hoping to find her before it’s too late.

4.Good Girl, Bad Blood by Holly Jackson (Good Girl’s Guide #2)
Release Date: April 30, 2020

Pip Fitz-Amobi is not a detective any more.

With the help of Ravi Singh, she released a true-crime podcast about the murder case they solved together last year. The podcast has gone viral, yet Pip insists her investigating days are behind her.

But she will have to break that promise when someone she knows goes missing. Jamie Reynolds has disappeared but the police won’t do anything about it. And if they won’t look for Jamie then Pip will, uncovering more of her town’s dark secrets along the way… and this time EVERYONE is listening. But will she find him before it’s too late?

5. I Killed Zoe Spanos by Kit Frick
Release Date: June 30, 2020

Two teens lives become inextricably linked when one confesses to murder and the other becomes determined to uncover the real truth no matter the cost.

What happened to Zoe won’t stay buried…

When Anna Cicconi arrives to the small Hamptons village of Herron Mills for a summer nanny gig, she has high hopes for a fresh start. What she finds instead is a community on edge after the disappearance of Zoe Spanos, a local girl who has been missing since New Year’s Eve. Anna bears an eerie resemblance to Zoe, and her mere presence in town stirs up still-raw feelings about the unsolved case. As Anna delves deeper into the mystery, stepping further and further into Zoe’s life, she becomes increasingly convinced that she and Zoe are connected—and that she knows what happened to her.

Two months later, Zoe’s body is found in a nearby lake, and Anna is charged with manslaughter. But Anna’s confession is riddled with holes, and Martina Green, teen host of the Missing Zoe podcast, isn’t satisfied. Did Anna really kill Zoe? And if not, can Martina’s podcast uncover the truth?

5 Young Adult Mystery Books For Your 2019 TBR!

Who doesn’t love a good mystery book that sends a chill down down your spine or that keeps you guessing until the very end?

Today on The Booked Shelf I’m recommending 5 YA Mystery novels that have released or are soon to-be released in 2019!

1. Spin by Lamar Giles

Sixteen-year-old Paris Secord’s (aka DJ ParSec) career–and life–has come to an untimely end, and the local music scene is reeling. No one is feeling the pain more than her shunned pre-fame best friend, Kya, and Paris’s chief groupie, Fuse. But suspicion trumps grief, and since each suspects the other of Paris’s murder, they’re locked in a high-stakes game of public accusations and sabotage.

Everyone in the ParSec Nation (DJ ParSec’s local media base)–including the killer–is content to watch it play out, until Kya and Fuse discover a secret: Paris was on the verge of major deal that would’ve catapulted her to superstar status on a national level, leaving her old life (and old friends) behind. With the new info comes new motives. New suspects. And a fandom that shows its deadly side. As Kya and Fuse come closer to the twisted truth, the killer’s no longer amused. But murdering Paris was simple enough, so getting rid of her nobody-friends shouldn’t be an issue… 

2. Five Midnights by Ann Dávila Cardinal

Five friends cursed.

Five deadly fates.

Five nights of retribución.

If Lupe Dávila and Javier Utierre can survive each other’s company, together they can solve a series of grisly murders sweeping though Puerto Rico. But the clues lead them out of the real world and into the realm of myths and legends. And if they want to catch the killer, they’ll have to step into the shadows to see what’s lurking there—murderer, or monster?

3.  The Best Lies by Sarah Lyu

Remy Tsai used to know how her story would turn out. But now, she doesn’t even know what tomorrow will look like.

She was happy once. Remy had her boyfriend Jack, and Elise, her best friend—her soulmate—who understood her better than anyone else in the world.

But now Jack is dead, shot through the chest—

And it was Elise who pulled the trigger.

Was it self-defense? Or something deeper, darker than anything Remy could have imagined? As the police investigate, Remy does the same, sifting through her own memories, looking for a scrap of truth that could save the friendship that means everything to her.

4. The Tenth Girl by Sara Faring

At the very southern tip of South America looms an isolated finishing school. Legend has it that the land will curse those who settle there. But for Mavi—a bold Buenos Aires native fleeing the military regime that took her mother—it offers an escape to a new life as a young teacher to Argentina’s elite girls.

Mavi tries to embrace the strangeness of the imposing house—despite warnings not to roam at night, threats from an enigmatic young man, and rumors of mysterious Others. But one of Mavi’s ten students is missing, and when students and teachers alike begin to behave as if possessed, the forces haunting this unholy cliff will no longer be ignored.

One of these spirits holds a secret that could unravel Mavi’s existence. In order to survive she must solve a cosmic mystery—and then fight for her life.

5. Songs From The Deep by Kelly Powell

The sea holds many secrets.

Moira Alexander has always been fascinated by the deadly sirens who lurk along the shores of her island town. Even though their haunting songs can lure anyone to a swift and watery grave, she gets as close to them as she can, playing her violin on the edge of the enchanted sea. When a young boy is found dead on the beach, the islanders assume that he’s one of the sirens’ victims. Moira isn’t so sure.

Certain that someone has framed the boy’s death as a siren attack, Moira convinces her childhood friend, the lighthouse keeper Jude Osric, to help her find the real killer, rekindling their friendship in the process. With townspeople itching to hunt the sirens down, and their own secrets threatening to unravel their fragile new alliance, Moira and Jude must race against time to stop the killer before it’s too late—for humans and sirens alike.