14 Captivating YA Thrillers To Read This Summer
by Dena McMurdie
Young adult thrillers are my latest addiction and I can’t get enough of them. Whether they’re exploring deep space, experimenting with monsters, or navigating private school politics, YA thrillers inevitably keep me turning pages well past my bedtime. Here are a few action-packed thrillers I’m obsessing over this summer.
-
Such Charming Liars
Preorder from:A jewel heist, a murder, and several serial scammers collide at a billionaire’s birthday party in this novel from the author of One of Us Is Lying. When a body is found at the party, ex-step-siblings Kat and Liam team up to solve the murder and avoid becoming the next victims. This fast-paced heist thriller will keep YA readers glued to the page.
(On sale: 7/30/2024)
Preorder from: -
The Reappearance of Rachel Price
Available from:If you loved A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder, don’t miss this #1 New York Times bestselling novel by the same author. It’s about a girl named Bel whose mother vanished when she was a toddler. Now, her family is filming a true crime documentary about the disappearance when her mother suddenly reappears — alive. As Bel digs into her mother’s story, she makes a shocking discovery that changes everything.
RELATED: YA Reads Trending on BookTok
Also available from: -
The Dare
Available from:The queen of YA thrillers returns with a chilling twist on a teenage rite of passage: the senior prank. The dares start simple but quickly escalate from toilet paper and eggs to something far more dangerous. If you love this book, watch for Natasha Preston’s next novel, The Party, coming in December 2024!
Also available from: -
Invisible Son
Available from:This social justice thriller is set during the COVID-19 pandemic. After serving time in juvie, Andre Jackson wants his life back. But with everything shut down, the neighborhood changing, and his crush’s brother missing, Andre’s life is anything but ordinary. As he sets out to find the missing boy, Andre makes unsettling discoveries about the world he inhabits and the people who run it.
Also available from: -
Liar’s Beach
Available from:Agatha Christie fans will love this modern YA reimagining of The Mysterious Affair at Styles. Linden isn’t rich but does his best to fit in when his boarding school friends invite him to spend the summer in Martha’s Vineyard. When someone drowns in the pool, Linden’s childhood friend, Holiday Proctor, decides to investigate. As she pieces together the clues, she peels back the layers of their friend group to reveal a deadly secret.
Also available from: -
Kill Her Twice
Available from:Travel back in time to the 1930s in Los Angeles’s Chinatown in this murder mystery from the bestselling author of The Downstairs Girl. Three sisters find the body of their famous former classmate and suspect foul play. But with the police unwilling to investigate, the sisters risk everything to discover what happened to their friend.
Also available from: -
Ride or Die
Available from:Loli is an adrenaline-seeking teen who never turns down a dare. So when a mysterious boy named X challenges her to a series of dares, she doesn’t hesitate to say yes. But each dare gets riskier than the last, and soon, their game of one-upping each other turns perilous. This fast-paced summer read is perfect for readers who want a fun, exhilarating thrill ride.
Also available from: -
One Last Breath
Available from:If you enjoy thrillers with a supernatural twist, this book is for you. Tru is obsessed with a double homicide that happened 20 years ago. So when new girl Rio shows up in town, wanting to investigate the crime, Tru eagerly jumps on board. As the girls dig into the case, they develop an other-worldly connection to the murder victims, gain a stalker, and realize that their foray into the past could have deadly consequences.
Also available from: -
The Black Queen
Available from:When the first Black homecoming queen gets murdered, her best friend, Duchess, is convinced she knows who the killer is: the beautiful and wealthy white girl, Tinsley. With the police reluctant to investigate, Duchess takes matters into her own hands. This small-town thriller is equal parts social commentary and murder mystery.
Also available from: -
The Night in Question
Available from:In this follow-up to the New York Times bestselling novel The Agathas, amateur sleuth Alice tackles a new murder mystery at the annual Sadie Hawkins dance. While looking for clues for a cold-case murder, Alice stumbles into a brand-new crime scene. With the help of her friend Iris and her collection of Agatha Christie novels, Alice sets out to solve the new mystery and expose the dark secrets of the past.
Also available from: -
A Crooked Mark
Available from:Ominous, thrilling, and supernatural. Rae Winter survives a car crash, miraculously. This puts Matt Watts on notice since his one mission has always been to hunt anyone who has the mark. But what is he to do when he gets to know Rae, a kind, sweet, person who is nothing like those who've had the mark before?
RELATED: 13 Outstanding Sci-Fi and Fantasy Books Teen Boys Will Love
Also available from: -
The Counselors
Available from:Secrets, lies, and murder collide at a summer camp where Goldie works as a counselor. Her best friend goes to the lake one night, and the following day, a dead body turns up in the water. Goldie gets caught between wanting the truth about that night and wanting to protect her friend. If you love this book, grab a copy of Jessica Goodman’s other YA thriller, They’ll Never Catch Us.
Also available from: -
Lies You Never Told Me
Available from:A high school drama with a twist, this novel follows four teens through breakups, new love, and dark secrets. With plenty of surprises and disturbing elements, this book will keep you flying through the pages.
Also available from: -
Killer Content
Available from:These six TikTok influencers are living the perfect life. They live together in a beachfront mansion in Malibu, and their sponsorship deals having given them more money than they could ever dream of. But when one of the teenagers ends up dead in the infinity pool the police will need to discover what happened. Which is easier said than done, because everyone in the house had reasons to get rid of Sydney Reynolds. But only one is a killer…
Also available from:
You might also like:
- 13 Frightfully Good YA Horror Novels
- 15 Masterful Teen Mysteries
- 11 YA Survival Stories Worth Obsessing Over
Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in 2018 and updated in 2024.