In collating the 89 “Best” lists by experts in the field of mystery, crime and thriller fiction, I’ve also kept track as to how many “mentions” debut novels got on those lists. (I’ve read six of them.) Here are the results:

15
FAIR PLAY, Louise Hegarty

9
ALL THE OTHER MOTHERS HATE ME, Sarah Harman
DEAD MONEY, Jakob Kerr

7
STILLWATER, Tanya Scott
THE DENTIST, Tim Sullivan (previously published in U.K.) first published in U.S. in 2025
DETECTIVE AUNTY, Uzma Jalaluddin
WE DON’T TALK ABOUT CAROL, Kristen L. Berry
GUILTY BY DEFINITION, Susie Dent

6
THE VANISHING PLACE, Zoe Rankin
JULIE CHAN IS DEAD, Liann Zhang
THE MAN WHO DIED SEVEN TIMES, Yasuhiko Nishizawa
BEST OFFER WINS, Marisa Kashino

4
HOLLOW SPACES, Victor Suthammanont
THE MURDER AT WORLD’S END, Ross Montgomery – 2025 in U.K.; 2026 in U.S.
HISTORY LESSONS, Zoe B. Wallbrook

3
LEVERAGE, Amran Gowani
LISTEN, Sacha Bronwasser

2
DEATH AT THE WHITE HART, Chris Chibnall
FLORIDA PALMS, Joe Pan
THE MUSEUM DETECTIVE, Maha Khan Phillips