11 Best Mystery and Thriller Books of April 2021

If you were a fan of The X-Files, then Instinct by Jason M. Hough is sure to give you major Mulder and Scully vibes. Set in the small town of Silvertown, Washington, where conspiracy theories reign supreme, a series of baffling deaths suggest the townsfolk are losing their survival instinct. Now, it's up to local police officer Mary Whittaker to unravel this strange mystery before she becomes a victim of whatever is affecting the rest of the town.

Out April 6

Mother May I by Joshilyn Jackson will leave you breathless. This nail-biter focuses on a mother whose baby is stolen by a mysterious woman who wants her to complete a seemingly simple task in order to get her son back. However, the situation she has found herself in is far more dangerous than she ever could have imagined.

Out April 6

The IRA comes between two sisters in Flynn Berry's intense and moving Northern Spy. Tessa and Marian have always opposed the violence of the IRA, but when Tessa sees her sister on television helping the group during a robbery, she'll begin to wonder if she knows her sister as well as she thought.

Out April 6

In Whisper Down the Lane, Clay McLeod Chapman deftly transports readers to 1980s suburbia where Satanic panic has parents fearing for their children's safety. When a new teacher's life is turned upside down due to the appearance of a ritually murdered rabbit and one student's lie, the fallout will haunt him for the rest of his life.

Out April 6

Joe returns in the third installment of Caroline Kepnes' You series, You Love Me. This time around, Joe has moved to the Pacific Northwest where he's starting over as a librarian. However, it doesn't take long for him to give in to his worst impulses when he becomes fixated on his co-worker, Mary Kay DiMarco.

Out April 6

Sally Hepworth weaves an unsettling tale of sisterly love and dark secrets in The Good Sister. Fern knows she owes everything to her twin sister Rose, so when Rose discovers she can't get pregnant, Fern decides to give her sister a baby - but her seemingly kind act will lead to a shocking turn of events.

Out April 13

We Are Watching Eliza Bright by A.E. Osworth isn't your average thriller. The story is grounded in the dangerous internet practice of doxing, or exposing a person's private information on the internet with the intention of doing them harm. In the book, Eliza is a video game coder who takes a stand against the misogyny in her workplace only to find herself under attack from the male gaming community. When the gamers take their threats offline, Eliza is taken in by a collective known as the Sixsterhood, but even they may not be as altruistic as they seem.

Out April 13

Craving a domestic thriller you can get lost in this month? Then look no further than Her Three Lives by Cate Holahan. This story of a marriage crumbling in real time takes place after a home invasion leaves the husband housebound and obsessed with uncovering his wife's secrets.

Out April 20

There's an undeniable gothic flair to Carole Johnstone's Mirrorland. The story follows twin sisters El and Cat who grew up in a rambling, old house where they invented a dark underworld that existed in the cupboard under the stairs. As an adult, El rarely thinks about her estranged sister or their childhood invention, but when Cat goes missing, El finds a series of clues leading her straight to Mirrorland and a dark truth.

Out April 20

The End of Men by debut author Christina Sweeney-Baird feels all too relevant in our pandemic reality. Set in 2025, Dr. Amanda MacLean realizes a new mystery illness is killing off the world's male population, but by the time anyone will listen to her, the virus is already spiraling out of a control. With men dying at a rapid rate, the story follows a trio of women who are working to find a cure, rebuild society, and document the shocking events that are reshaping the world.

Out April 27

A missing persons detective returns to the beloved town of her childhood to grieve a personal loss in Paula McLain's When the Stars Go Dark. But what Anna Hart doesn't expect is for the small town she's seeking refuge in to be gripped by the disappearance of a teenage girl. Now Anna has no choice but to confront her past in order to solve the case and process her own trauma.

Out April 27