6 New Young Adult Mystery, Thriller, and Horror Books To Read This Summer
By Erin Roll
Every age group appreciates a frighteningly good story, and YA readers are no exception. As summer arrives and the weather heats up, are you looking for thrills and chills to add to your reading list? Put some of these delightfully scary new reads into your beach bag, backpack, or suitcase. Read them by the light of the campfire, under a full moon at the beach, or under the covers with a flashlight…if you dare.
Willow, an aspiring photographer, has a good volunteer gig at the local animal shelter, where it’s her job to take pictures of the animals. One day, though, she finds a discarded memory chip. When she loads it into her camera, she finds hundreds of pictures of girls and young women, including herself. The police aren’t inclined to take it seriously, so Willow decided to take matters into her own hands. She soon discovers that several of the girls in the photos have gone missing. Furthermore, a lot of people around her, including some of the people she’s closest to, appear to have something they want to hide.
This item is a preorder. Your payment method will be charged immediately, and the product is expected to ship on or around May 13, 2025. This date is subject to change due to shipping delays beyond our control.
Isaac Holland is one of the most brilliant and clever students at Oxford’s All Souls College. But Isaac has a secret: “he” is actually Irene Adler, the daughter of the dean of the college. So far, Irene’s managed to keep it a secret from the other students, including her roommate: a certain Sherlock Holmes. But when students start dying under mysterious circumstances, and the evidence seems to point to “Isaac”, Irene has to team up with Sherlock–putting her life, freedom, and academic career at risk–to unmask the true villain.
This item is a preorder. Your payment method will be charged immediately, and the product is expected to ship on or around August 5, 2025. This date is subject to change due to shipping delays beyond our control.
Ilse Odenwald is not afraid of anything, and that just may be her undoing. In Heulensee, the little Bavarian village where Ilse lives with her sister Dorothea, the women are required to feed their terror to the Saint of Fear. In return, the Saint guards the village from the horrors and monsters that lurk in the Hexenwald: the forest just beyond the village. The Saint hears about Ilse’s fearlessness and gives her an ultimatum: find her fear, or the Saint will devour Dorothea. Ilse flees to the forest in an attempt to unearth her fear and save her sister. It is in Hexenwald that she learns about the darkest forces of all: those that lurk in the hearts of people. And time is running out to save not just Dorothea but all the other women in the village.
This item is a preorder. Your payment method will be charged immediately, and the product is expected to ship on or around September 2, 2025. This date is subject to change due to shipping delays beyond our control.
When Nora and Mazzy, two best friends living in the same Cape Cod beachfront town, sneak down to the beach one night, they’ve got magic on their minds. But any plans to cast a spell under the moon go completely awry when they find a woman’s body–missing both hands and teeth–on the beach. The smart thing to do would be to let the police take over, but Mazzy and Nora decide to do their own investigation, using decidedly mystical methods. But Mazzy soon wonders if she and Nora are putting themselves in grave danger, after they experience some frightening visions and learn about several other women going missing. And soon, a second woman’s body turns up, and there just might be others out there.
Format
Hardcover
This item is a preorder. Your payment method will be charged immediately, and the product is expected to ship on or around August 26, 2025. This date is subject to change due to shipping delays beyond our control.
It’s the summer job of Lara’s dreams: working aboard the luxury train Banebury. She gets to travel in style, and she gets a much-needed escape from some unpleasant drama in her life. Even if she has a complicated relationship with fellow crew member Rhys. But one night, two cars, both filled with beautiful and exotic flowers and plants, are added to the train. The two siblings traveling with the plants claim that it’s all for research purposes. But Lara can’t help but feel that there’s something very sinister about the greenhouses on wheels: something that will endanger the train and all aboard if she can’t get to the root of the matter.
Format
Hardcover
This item is a preorder. Your payment method will be charged immediately, and the product is expected to ship on or around July 8, 2025. This date is subject to change due to shipping delays beyond our control.
Evander has lived at the mysterious estate of Hazelthorn since he can remember, as the ward of Hazelthorn’s reclusive master Byron Lennox-Hall. There are three rules Evander has to follow: never leave Hazelthorn, stay out of the estate gardens, and never spend any time alone with Laurie, Byron’s charming (and possibly murderous) grandson. But when Byron unexpectedly dies, Evander inherits Hazelthorn, and he thinks his guardian’s death was by decidedly unnatural causes. So Evander breaks the three long-standing rules and works with Laurie to find out what really happened. And what he finds is a house full of family secrets that will not stay buried, and a garden whose deadly plants have a mind of their own.
Format
Hardcover
This item is a preorder. Your payment method will be charged immediately, and the product is expected to ship on or around October 28, 2025. This date is subject to change due to shipping delays beyond our control.
Erin Roll is a freelance writer, editor, and proofreader. Her favorite genres to read are mystery, science fiction, and fantasy, and her TBR pile is likely to be visible on Google Maps. Before becoming an editor, Erin worked as a journalist and photographer, and she has won far too many awards from the New Jersey Press Association. Erin lives at the top floor of a haunted house in Montclair, NJ. She enjoys reading (of course), writing, hiking, kayaking, music, and video games.
