If any of the titles garnered starred reviews in the four library journals, that is indicated after the plot summary of the title. Amazon does a good job of coming up with these monthly lists and especially its year-end best list.

This is a great list this month. I have already read seven of the titles listed below and am currently reading three more of them. In my opinion, LEO by Deon Meyer is the best of them all, but there are a lot of other good titles to read. There are a lot more titles that garnered starred reviews this month than last month.

Disclaimer: this is not intended to advertise amazon.com or encourage you to buy books from that site. It is for information purposes only.

Amazon Editor’s Picks: Best Mystery, Thriller & Suspense – New and Continuing Series –February, 2025

THE GHOSTS OF ROME, Joseph O’Connor (Europa, $28.00, January). In the final months of World War II, a clandestine group known as The Choir successfully smuggles thousands of escapees out of Nazi-occupied Rome via a secret route known as the Escape Line. When an unidentified airman falls wounded from the sky, The Choir is plunged into danger and the survival of the Escape Line itself is threatened. The Escape Line’s collapse would leave thousands stranded. Monsignor Hugh O’Flaherty, its architect and the acknowledged leader of The Choir, broods inside the Vatican, paralyzed by the perils of keeping his Roman underground railroad functioning. Meanwhile, SS Commander Paul Hauptmann has been tasked with destroying the entire operation, and the price of failure is high—his wife and children are under Gestapo lock-and-key in Berlin. Publishers Weekly, Booklist and Kirkus Starred Reviews

HEAD CASES, John McMahon (Minotaur, $28.00, January). Head Cases follows an enigmatic group of FBI agents as they hunt down a murderer seeking his own justice. Gardner Camden is a walking analytical brain with an affinity for riddles, puzzles, and codes. It makes him the perfect fit for the Patterns and Recognition (PAR) unit of the FBI, a team of five brilliant but misfit agents tasked with solving cold cases. Gardner’s smart, but he’s all business–except for his seven-year-old daughter and occasional visits to his elderly mother, he prioritizes his work and justice over everything else, no matter the cost. With rumors of PAR about to be disbanded, the team can’t afford to make any mistakes. A serial killer from one of Gardner’s solved cases, presumed to be dead for over a decade, is found murdered, and then soon after, another body with a similar story. The mastermind murderer has left clues and riddles for Gardner and his team–a mathematician, a sniper and weapons expert, a computer analytics specialist, and their leader, a career agent–as they track him across the country. Publishers Weekly Starred Review

CHAIN REACTION, James Byrne (Minotaur, $29.00, January). Knocking around the country, picking up the occasional gig as a guitarist, Dez is contacted by a friend in urgent need of his musical skills. At his behest, Dez flies to the East Coast to a gig at the brand new massive complex, the Liberty Center. But he’s barely landed before he finds himself in the midst of a terrorist attack, a group has taken over the whole center and thousands of hostage lives are in danger. With the semi-willing help of a talented thief, Dez takes on the impossible task of outfighting and outwitting a literal army.

BEEN WRONG SO LONG IT FEELS LIKE RIGHT, Walter Mosley (Mulholland, $29.00, January). Joe King Oliver’s beloved Grandma B has found a tumor, and at her age, treatment is high-risk. She’s lived life fully and without regrets, and now has only a single, dying wish: to see her long-lost son. King has been estranged from his father, Chief Odin Oliver, since he was a young boy. He swore to never speak to the man again when he was taken away in handcuffs. But now, Grandma B’s pure ask has opened King’s heart, and through his hunt, he gains a deeper understanding of his father as a complicated, righteous man—a man defined by women, a man protected by women, a man he wants to know. Although Chief was released from prison years ago, he’s been living underground ever since. Library Journal Starred Review

A LONG TIME GONE, Joshua Moehling (Poisoned Pen Press, $27.99, February). Ben Packard was just a boy when his older brother disappeared. His brother was never seen again. Decades later, Deputy Packard finds himself with too much time on his hands. A shooting has him on leave and under investigation, and all he can do is dwell on the past. For the first time in years, new information about his brother has surfaced that may lead them to the location of a body.

BEAST OF THE NORTH WOODS, Annelise Ryan (Berkley, $28.00, January). An ice fisherman is savagely mauled to death in Rhinelander, Wisconsin, and an eyewitness claims the man was attacked by a hodag. There’s just one problem with that: it’s well known that the creature is not real and was created by a local hoaxer. So how could an imaginary creature be chomping on local sportsmen?

LEO, Deon Meyer (Atlantic Monthly, $28.00, February). Detectives Benny Griessel and Vaughn Cupido remain on duty in beautiful Stellenbosch, but run-of-the-mill police work in a leafy university town famed for its vineyards is a far cry from their previous life in Cape Town fighting crime at the highest level. For now, Benny has more pressing things to worry about – it’s the countdown to his wedding day on 12 June.
When a student is found dead on a mountain trail, and the key suspect, a local businessman, is found murdered in what looks like a professional hit delivering a message – suffocated by fast-action filler foam sprayed down his throat — Griessel and Cupido both know this the work of professionals.
Benny also knows he needs a cool head to untangle this web of deceit, and to manage the incessant pressure. He needs to stay calm, focused – and sober. And it all needs to be wrapped up by 12 June. Publishers Weekly Starred Review

THE MAILMAN, Andrew Welsh-Huggins (Mysterious Press, $26.95, January). Mercury Carter is a deliveryman and he takes his job very seriously. When a parcel is under his care, he will stop at nothing to deliver it directly to its intended recipient. Not even, as in the current case, when he finds a crew of violent men at the indicated address that threaten his life and take the woman who lives there hostage. That’s because Carter has special skills from his former life as a federal agent with the postal inspection service, skills that make him particularly useful for delivering items in circumstances as dangerous as these.
After Carter dispatches the goons sent to kill him, he enters a home besieged by criminals – but the leader of the gang escapes with attorney Rachel Stanfield before the mailman can complete his assignment. With Rachel’s husband Glenn in tow, Carter takes off in pursuit of the kidnapper and his quarry, hunting them across Indiana, up to Chicago, and into small-town Illinois. Along the way, he slowly picks off members of the crew and uncovers a far-reaching conspiracy and a powerful crime syndicate, all in service of his main objective: to hand the package over to Rachel. Carter has never missed a delivery and isn’t about to start now. Library Journal Starred Review

NEMESIS, Gregg Hurwitz (Minotaur, $30.00, February). Tommy Stojack might be Evan Smoak’s best friend in the world. He’s a gifted gunsmith who has created much of Evan’s own weapons and combat gear. But now, he has apparently crossed one of Evan’s hardest lines and their argument explodes into open warfare. Now Evan has no choice but to track and face down his only friend.

MRS HUDSON AND THE CAPRICORN INCIDENT, Martin Davies (Allison & Busby, $28.00, February). It is spring in Baker Street, and London is preparing itself for the wedding of the year. It will be an international spectacle in which the young and popular Count Rudolph Absberg, a political exile from his native land, will take the hand of the beautiful and accomplished Princess Sophia Kubinova. A lot depends on the marriage, for it is hoped that the union will ensure the security and independence of their homeland.
When the princess subsequently disappears in dramatic circumstances, members of the British establishment are quick to call on Mr Sherlock Holmes. He, in turn, needs the gifts of long-standing housekeeper Mrs Hudson and her able assistant, housemaid Flotsam, to solve this puzzling case on which rests the fate of nations.

Amazon Editor’s Picks: Best Mystery, Thriller & Suspense – Standalones –February, 2025

DEAD MONEY, Jakob Kerr (Bantam, $30.00, January). In her job as unofficial “problem solver” for Silicon Valley’s most ruthless venture capitalist, Mackenzie Clyde’s gotten used to playing for high stakes. Even if none of those tech-bro millions she’s so good at wrangling ever make it into her pockets. But this time, she’s in way over her head—or so it seems. The lightning-rod CEO of tech’s hottest startup has just been murdered, leaving behind billions in “dead money” frozen in his will. As the company’s chief investor, Mackenzie’s boss has a fortune on the line—and with the police treading water, it’s up to Mackenzie to step up and resolve things, fast. Mackenzie’s a lawyer, not a detective. Cracking this fiendishly clever killing, with its list of suspects that reads like a who’s-who of Valley power players, should be way out of her league. Except that Mackenzie’s used to being underestimated. In fact, she’s counting on it. Kirkus & Publishers Weekly Starred Reviews

THE OLIGARCH’S DAUGHTER, Joseph Finder (Harper, $30.00, January). Paul Brightman is a man on the run, living under an assumed name in a small New England town with a million-dollar bounty on his head. When his security is breached, Paul is forced to flee into the New Hampshire wilderness to evade Russian operatives who can seemingly predict his every move.
Six years ago, Paul was a rising star on Wall Street who fell in love with a beautiful photographer named Tatyana—unaware that her father was a Russian oligarch and the object of considerable interest from several U.S. intelligence agencies. Now, to save his own life, Paul must unravel a decades-old conspiracy that extends to the highest reaches of the government. Booklist and Library Journal Starred Reviews

SAINT OF THE NARROWS STREET, William Boyle (Soho Crime, $28.95, February).
Gravesend, Brooklyn, 1986: Risa Franzone lives in a ground-floor apartment on Saint of the Narrows Street with her bad-seed husband, Saverio, and their eight-month-old baby, Fabrizio. On the night Risa’s younger sister, Giulia, moves in to recover from a bad breakup, a fateful accident occurs: Risa, boiled over with anger and fear, strikes a drunk, erratic Sav with a cast-iron pan, killing him on the spot. The sisters are left with a choice: notify the authorities and make a case for self-defense, or bury the man’s body and go on with their lives as best they can. In a moment of panic, in the late hours of the night, they call upon Sav’s childhood friend—the sweet, loyal Christopher “Chooch” Gardini—to help them, hoping they can trust him to carry a secret like this. Kirkus & Publishers Weekly Starred Reviews

THE QUIET LIBRARIAN, Allen Eskens (Mulholland, $26.00, February). Hana Babic is a quiet, middle-aged librarian in Minnesota who wants nothing more than to be left alone. But when a detective arrives with the news that her best friend has been murdered, Hana knows that something evil has come for her, a dark remnant of the past she and her friend had shared.
Thirty years before, Hana was someone else: Nura Divjak, a teenager growing up in the mountains of war-torn Bosnia—until Serbian soldiers arrived to slaughter her entire family before her eyes. The events of that day thrust Nura into the war, leading her to join a band of militia fighters, where she became not only a fierce warrior but a legend—the deadly Night Mora. But a shattering final act forced Nura to flee to the United States with a bounty on her head. Booklist Starred Review

VICTORIAN PSYCHO, Virginia Feito (Liverright, $24.99, February). Grim Wolds, England: Winifred Notty arrives at Ensor House prepared to play the perfect governess?she’ll dutifully tutor her charges, Drusilla and Andrew, tell them bedtime stories, and only joke about eating children. But long, listless days spent within the estate’s dreary confines come with an intimate knowledge of the perversions and pathetic preoccupations of the Pounds family?Mr. Pounds can’t keep his eyes off Winifred’s chest, and Mrs. Pounds takes a sickly pleasure in punishing Winifred for her husband’s wandering gaze. Compounded with her disdain for the entitled Pounds children, Winifred finds herself struggling at every turn to stifle the violent compulsions of her past. French tutoring and needlework are one way to pass the time, as is admiring the ugly portraits in the gallery . . . and creeping across the moonlit lawns. . . .Library Journal Starred Review

A KILLING COLD, Kate Alice Marshall (Flatiron, $28.99, February). When Theodora Scott met Connor?wealthy, charming, and a member of the powerful Dalton family?she fell in love in an instant. Six months later, he’s brought her to Idlewood, his family’s isolated winter retreat, to win over his skeptical relatives. Theo has tried to ignore the threatening messages on her phone, but she can’t ignore the footprints in the snow outside the cabin window or the strange sense of familiarity she has about this place. Then, in a disused cabin, Theo finds something impossible: a photo of herself as a child. A photo taken at Idlewood. Kirkus and Booklist Starred Reviews

GLAMOROUS NOTIONS, Megan Chance (Lake Union, $16.99, February). Hollywood, 1955. As head costume designer for Lux Pictures, Lena Taylor hears startling confessions from the biggest movie stars. She knows how to keep their secrets?after all, none of their scandals can match her own. Lena was once Elsie Gruner, the daughter of an Ohio dressmaker. Her gift for fashion design helped her win a coveted spot at an art academy in Rome. While in Italy, she became enthralled by the charismatic Julia, who drew her into a shadowy world of jazz clubs, code words, and mysterious deliveries. When one of Julia’s intrigues ended in murder, Elsie found herself in the middle of a bewildering sinister international plot. So she ran. After fleeing to LA, Elsie became Lena?but she’s never stopped looking over her shoulder. Now, as her engagement to a screenwriter throws her into the spotlight, she’s terrified her façade won’t hold up. Will she figure out the truth about her past before everything falls apart?

THE ENIGMA GIRL, Henry Porter (Atlantic Monthly, $27.00, January). Slim Parsons is all but burned. When her last deep-cover job for MI5 ended with a life-and-death struggle on a private jet, she went on the run from her deadly target – a conniving businessman and money launderer codenamed “Hagfish.” Now she’s back at home, in hiding from her angry bosses in the Security Service, who have accused her of being overly violent and unsuitable for the role of an MI5 operative. But after several months off the grid, Slim is called back to another job – Operation Linesman – where she is asked to infiltrate a news website Middle Kingdom whose explosive articles clearly show that they’ve hacked into the most high-security government databases.

THE KILLING PLAINS, Sherry Rankin (Thomas & Mercer, $16.99, February). Crescent Bluff, West Texas. Everybody knows everybody. And everybody has a secret. When a boy is found dead with the skin of a hare’s head in his hand, everyone knows who killed him – Willis Newland, just released from prison after serving twenty years for an identical murder. But what if everyone’s wrong? Detective Colly Newland reluctantly agrees to investigate a case that seems to involve the whole town, including her dead husband’s extended family. But the deeper she digs, the more secrets she unearths. And as threats against her escalate, Colly realizes someone is willing to kill to keep theirs. CWA Debut Dagger

JOHNNY CARELESS, Kevin Wade (Celadon, $27.99, January). Police Chief Jeep Mullane has been bounced back home to Long Island’s North Shore by a heartbreaking case that both earned him his NYPD detective’s shield and burned him out of the Job. Now heading up a small local police department, he finds himself navigating the same geography he did growing up there as the son of an NYPD cop. Jeep is a “have-not” among the glittering “haves,” a sharp-witted, down-to-earth man in a territory defined and ruled by multigenerational wealth and power and the daunting tribal codes and customs that come with it.
When the corpse of Jeep’s childhood friend Johnny Chambliss – born into privilege and known as “Johnny Careless” for his reckless, golden-boy antics – surfaces in the Bayville waters, past collides with present, and Jeep is pulled into a treacherous web. Publishers Weekly Starred Review