"Mysteries and thrillers are enjoyable no matter the season, but there's something extra satisfying about curling up in the winter with a warm drink and an all-engrossing read. The 13 (spooked already?) books in this list, recommended by NPR staff and critics, fit the bill: stalkers, witchcraft, missing persons, suburban horror there's something here for every thrill-seeker. And for more nail-biters, check out Books We Love, our annual year-end reading guide."
"An actress meets up with a man who is convinced she's his mother. It turns out she's not. I think? Maybe she is? Or, maybe she's not but actually kind of is? What is a mother? The most impressive thing about this Booker Prize finalist is how Katie Kitamura plays with the narrative and toys with the reader without being overly clever about it all. She's stingy with details and answers, but generous with intrigue and depth."
"The Buffalo Hunter Hunter is many things: a clever nesting doll of narratives, a sanguine revenge thriller stitched inside the corpse of an old vampire yarn, and a fearsome accounting of America's murderous past. Lucky for us, Stephen Graham Jones has bound it all together with a hero (antihero?) for the ages a man from the Blackfeet tribe, aptly named Good Stab, who is determined to right the wrongs of the past, even if it takes him a few lifetimes."
Thirteen mystery and thriller novels collectively offer winter-appropriate, engrossing reads across varied subgenres. Selections include stalkers, witchcraft, missing persons, suburban horror, revenge thrillers, and nested narratives that blend folklore and historical reckoning. Prose ranges from plot-driven page-turners to restrained, ambiguous storytelling with psychological depth. Central figures include a struggling mother investigating a classmate's disappearance, an actress confronting identity ambiguity, and an Indigenous antihero seeking to redress historic violence. The works emphasize twists, character surprises, cultural resonance, and atmosphere suitable for readers seeking both nail-biting suspense and reflective, haunting narratives.
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