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Scorching Summer Thrillers and Sun-Soaked Cosy Crime

Posted on 4th June 2024 by Anna Orhanen

Rain or shine, no summer is complete without a sizzling thriller. From sun-drenched cosy crime to scorching Outback Noir, we've put together a selection of irresistible summer thrillers, perfect for reading at the beach.

 

 

Alongside sunscreen, shades and swimming costume, there is nothing more essential to pack for the beach this summer than a rattling good, sun-soaked thriller. If you're unsure just what to go for then check out our selection below, from glamorous classics to heat-hazed modern page-turners.

The Talented Mr Ripley
The Talented Mr Ripley - A Ripley Novel (Paperback)
Patricia Highsmith
£9.99
Paperback
10+ in stock
Usually dispatched within 1-2 days
Tom Ripley, charming yet petulant, reckless yet calculating, is one of the great literary anti-heroes, and his shocking actions across the jet-set Europe of the 1950s have thrilled and appalled millions of voracious readers.
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The Dry
The Dry (Paperback)
Jane Harper
£9.99
Paperback
10+ in stock
Usually dispatched within 1-2 days
Burning with heat on every page and tacitly involving the reader in the emotional lives of the suspects, Harper’s stunningly atmospheric crime thriller sees a small Australian town, parched by endless drought, stagger through the trauma of a mass murder.
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The Guest
The Guest (Paperback)
Emma Cline
£9.99 £8.49
Paperback
10+ in stock
Usually dispatched within 1-2 days
Shimmering with danger and strange beauty and following a young drifter on sun-drenched Long Island, The Guest is an extraordinary dissection of desire, deception and risky choices that might cause you to sink or swim.
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Heatwave
Heatwave (Paperback)
Victor Jestin
£8.99
Paperback
10+ in stock
Usually dispatched within 1-2 days
Following the struggles of an adolescent who witnesses a suicide when camping in the South of France, Heatwave is an award-winning psychological thriller fuelled by searing tension.
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The Castaways
The Castaways (Paperback)
Lucy Clarke
£9.99
Paperback
10+ in stock
Usually dispatched within 1-2 days
Brimming with spine-chilling suspense and high drama, The Castaways places a wrecked plane and handful of survivors on a faraway island that is about to bring closely-guarded secrets to the surface.
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Our Holiday
Our Holiday (Paperback)
Louise Candlish
£9.99
Paperback
10+ in stock
Usually dispatched within 1-2 days
The author of the megaselling Our House and The Only Suspect delivers another dark, scalpel-sharp thriller that peels away the veneer of middle-class propriety, when two privileged city couples enjoying their second homes in the countryside are challenged by a group of embittered locals.
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Uncle Paul
Uncle Paul (Paperback)
Celia Fremlin
£9.99
Paperback
10+ in stock
Usually dispatched within 1-2 days
Originally published in 1959, Fremlin's irresistible seaside-set psychological thriller finds three sisters fearing for their lives as the eponymous murderer threatens to return after his release from prison.
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The Guests
The Guests (Paperback)
Nikki Smith
£8.99
Paperback
10+ in stock
Usually dispatched within 1-2 days
A deliciously indulgent, sun-soaked crime thriller built for the beach, The Guests peels back the veneer of a seemingly idyllic Maldives resort to uncover a wealth of sinister secrets.
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The Girls of Summer
The Girls of Summer (Paperback)
Katie Bishop
£8.99
Paperback
10+ in stock
Usually dispatched within 1-2 days
A captivating, sinister read perfect for fans of My Dark Vanessa, Bishop's deft psychological thriller sees a woman re-evaluate the romance she enjoyed one golden summer with a much older man.
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Sunburn
Sunburn (Paperback)
Laura Lippman
£8.99
Paperback
10+ in stock
Usually dispatched within 1-2 days
Crackling with sun-kissed suspense and twisted eroticism, Lippman’s unputdownable noir thriller sends two mysterious drifters - both harbouring dark secrets - into a steamy, sensuous affair in small town America.
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Little Deaths
Little Deaths (Paperback)
Emma Flint
£9.99
Paperback
In stock
Usually dispatched within 1-2 days
Based on true events, Flint’s shimmering account of the murder of two young children during a New York heatwave combines the taut storytelling of a police procedural with a study of the stifling expectations placed upon women in the 1960s.
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Tangerine
Tangerine (Paperback)
Christine Mangan
£8.99
Paperback
5+ in stock
Usually dispatched within 1-2 days
Sticky with suspense and psychological power games, Tangerine channels Highsmith and du Maurier with a serpentine story of obsession and control played out in the medinas and backstreets of 1950s Tangier.
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Nine Perfect Strangers
Nine Perfect Strangers (Paperback)
Liane Moriarty
£9.99
Paperback
10+ in stock
Usually dispatched within 1-2 days
Tightly-plotted, impossibly twisty and wickedly funny, this sundrenched page-turner from the creator of Big Little Lies sees nine stressed out city dwellers descend upon an island paradise to recuperate, little suspecting what sinister goings-on await them there.
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Scrublands
Scrublands - A Martin Scarsden Thriller (Paperback)
Chris Hammer
£10.99
Paperback
5+ in stock
Usually dispatched within 1-2 days
A deeply atmospheric and consistently suspenseful slice of ‘drought-noir’ takes a small outback community feverish with heat and thirst and places a chilling mass murder in its midst.
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And for those of us who prefer a more genteel mystery to while away the sun-dappled summer months, explore our pick of great cosy crime set in exotic locales and idyllic English villages. 

Murder Before Evensong
Murder Before Evensong - Canon Clement Mystery (Paperback)
Reverend Richard Coles
£9.99 £7.99
Paperback
10+ in stock
Usually dispatched within 1-2 days
Perfect for fans of The Thursday Murder Club, this brilliant crime debut from The Reverend Richard Coles sees the sleepy parish of Champton descend into unexpected chaos, setting Canon Daniel Clement on a hunt for a murderer.
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Murder on Lake Garda
Murder on Lake Garda (Paperback)
Tom Hindle
£9.99 £7.99
Paperback
10+ in stock
Usually dispatched within 1-2 days
The bestselling author of A Fatal Crossing and The Murder Game returns with a delicious closed community thriller set on the shores of the Italian beauty spot, as a murderer strikes at a highly exclusive wedding.
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Death on the Nile
Death on the Nile - Poirot (Paperback)
Agatha Christie
£9.99
Paperback
10+ in stock
Usually dispatched within 1-2 days
One of the most flawlessly plotted Poirot novels, Death on the Nile follows a glorious cast of characters tormented by secrets and passions, as they embark on a luxury cruise, headed for tragedy.
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Every Time I Go on Vacation, Someone Dies
Every Time I Go on Vacation, Someone Dies - Vacation Mysteries series (Hardback)
Catherine Mack
£16.99
Hardback
10+ in stock
Usually dispatched within 1-2 days
Delightfully witty and escapist, Mack's debut crime thriller sees deadly chaos unleashed on an Italian book tour as a famous writer's ex-boyfriend becomes the target of a killer.
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The Three Dahlias
The Three Dahlias - Three Dahlias Mysteries (Paperback)
Katy Watson
£9.99
Paperback
10+ in stock
Usually dispatched within 1-2 days
A trio of actresses famous for portraying Golden Age sleuth Dahlia Lively must join forces to unmask a killer in this addictively readable cosy crime pastiche from a delightful new fictional voice.
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Murder by the Seaside
Murder by the Seaside: Classic Crime Stories for Summer (Paperback)
Cecily Gayford
£9.99
Paperback
10+ in stock
Usually dispatched within 1-2 days
From sinister goings-on at English resorts to deadly games on the continent, this irresistible anthology of sun-soaked whodunits from the Golden Age makes for perfect summer reading.
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August Heat
August Heat - Inspector Montalbano mysteries (Paperback)
Andrea Camilleri, Stephen Sartarelli
£8.99
Paperback
In stock
Usually dispatched within 1-2 days
A missing boy, a murdered Arab labourer and a mysterious femme fatale conspire to scupper Inspector Montalbano's sun-kissed holiday in this compelling entry in Camilleri's iconic series.
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