The staff at NPR has thrown everything but the kitchen sink into this list, including a number of horror novels (Vampires of the North — come on!) , which obviously don’t belong. Perhaps they have stretched the term “thriller” even more than it has been stretched in recent years. But the list also contains some of the consensus best mysteries of the year so it has value in doing that.

NPR Best Mysteries & Thrillers 2023
npr.org

SMALL MERCIES, Dennis Lehane
SYMPHONY OF SECRETS, Brendan Slocumb
KALA, Colin Walsh
I HAVE SOME QUESTIONS FOR YOU, Rebecca Makkai
THE PEACOCK AND THE SPARROW, I. S. Berry
CROOK MANIFESTO, Colson Whitehead
WARRIOR GIRL UNEARTHED, Angeline Boulley
THE SECRET HOURS, Mick Herron
BEWARE THE WOMAN, Megan Abbott
HOLLY, Stephen King
ALL THE SINNERS BLEED, S. A. Cosby
THERE’S NO WAY I’D DIE FIRST, Lisa Springer
BROOKLYN CRIME NOVEL, Jonathan Lethem
THE LAST DEVIL TO DIE, Richard Osman
THE ENCHANTERS, James Ellroy
VERA WONG’S UNSOLICITED ADVICE FOR MURDERERS, Jesse Q. Sutanto
VAMPIRES OF EL NORTE, Isabel Canas
EDITH HOLLER, Edward Carey
THE END OF DRUM-TIME, Hanna Pylvainen
BRUTES, Dizz Tate
THE STOLEN COAST, Dwyer Murphy
THE GOLDEN SPOON, Jessa Maxwell
A HAUNTING IN HIALEAH GARDENS, Raul Palma
THE REFORMATORY, Tananarive Due
HOUSE OF COTTON, Monica Brashears
MY MURDER, Katie Williams
THE FROZEN RIVER, Ariel Lawhon
OUR SHARE OF NIGHT, Mariana Enriquez
SING HER DOWN, Ivy Pochoda
THE CENTRE, Ayesha Manazir Siddiqi
AGE OF VICE, Deepti Kapoor
BIRNAM WOOD, Eleanor Catton
STOLEN, Ann-Helen Laestadius
NONE OF THIS IS TRUE, Lisa Jewell
THE MONA LISA VANISHES, Nicholas Day
PROM MOM, Laura Lippman
THE CUBAN HEIRESS, Chanel Cleeton
OLD GOD’S TIME, Sebastian Barry
BETTER THE BLOOD, Michael Bennett
HOW TO SELL A HAUNTED HOUSE, Grady Hendrix
BRIGHT YOUNG WOMEN, Jessica Knoll
WHALEFALL, Daniel Kraus