Domestic noir to whodunits: 5 exciting thrillers to look forward to in 2026

As tensions mount in the village of Ardnakelty, Hooper tries to find out the reason and people behind Rachel’s death, even while trying to cope with disagreements with his fiancée and the beliefs and feuds of the local folk. The Keeper is expected to come with the beautiful prose and atmospheric tension that is a French trademark, as well as the conflict between duty and tradition which made The Searcher (2020) and The Hunter (2024) such runaway hits. We just hope she does not really retire Hooper.

The Keeper of the Camphor Tree by Keigo Higashino

The Keeper of the Camphor Tree by Keigo Higashino is sans detective Galileo.  9Source: amazon.in)

Expected in June 2026

There is no detective Galileo in legendary Japanese writer Keigo Higashino’s next book, but one can rest assured that it will keep readers on the edge of their seats. The Keeper of the Camphor Tree revolves around Reito Naoi, a young man who has been imprisoned for robbery. A lawyer offers to get him released if he follows the wishes of his client.

This is where it gets interesting—the client turns out to be Naoi’s aunt, and she wants him to guard a camphor tree near a shrine. He agrees and stands near the tree, observing people who visit it with their wishes. The tree appears to be sacred. Why does his aunt want him to undertake this task, and what is the secret of the tree that draws people to it? Expect Higashino to reveal all in his typically elegant, elaborate manner, with perhaps even some twists thrown in.

The Hadacol Boogie by James Lee Burke

The Hadacol Boogie by James Lee Burke is the 25th book to feature Robicheaux. (Source: amazon.in)

Expected in February 2026

James Lee Burke’s Dave Robicheaux is one of the most complex and yet compelling detectives in modern fiction. A former military man scarred by his experiences in Vietnam and a recovering alcoholic suffering from depressive disorder, he is not just a brilliant detective with the Iberia Parish Sheriff’s Office but also a sensitive person with a keen sense of justice and fair play.

The Hadacol Boogie is the 25th book to feature Robicheaux and gets off to a grisly start, with him finding a garbage bag on his property containing the body of a dead woman. As he investigates the crime, Robicheaux comes across information and people that could endanger not just him but also his family. Burke is expected to serve up his usual cocktail of gangsters, racism in the American South, violence, and brilliant detective work, narrated in his typically gritty prose, as Robicheaux fights to find the guilty—and to save his own life.

As always, the book has a wide canvas of characters, including Robicheaux’s inseparable and loyal associate, Clete Purcel, and with its description of social conditions, it is as much a serious novel as it is a thriller.

My Husband’s Wife by Alice Feeney

My Husband’s Wife by Alice Feeney wil come out in February. (Source: amazon.in)

Expected in February 2026

Alice Feeney is considered one of the finest writers in the genre of domestic noir, where suspense flows through the everyday lives of families. My Husband’s Wife is the story of Eden Fox, an artist who goes out for a run and returns to find that she cannot get into her house because her key no longer works.

She rings the bell and is shocked to see a woman resembling her open the door. It gets more disturbing—her husband insists that the woman is his wife. Meanwhile, a few months earlier, a girl called Birdy comes across a clinic that claims to be able to predict a person’s death. She also inherits a house from her grandmother—the very house in which Eden Fox has confronted her husband and the woman he insists is his wife.

Multiple narratives, shifting timelines, deception, and subterfuge are all promised in My Husband’s Wife, complete with the final twist that is Feeney’s trademark. This could well be the “marriage thriller” of 2026.

A Deadly Episode by Anthony Horowitz

Expected in April 2026

A Deadly Episode by Anthony Horowitz features an author-detective partnership. (Source: amazon.in)

The idea of an author initially working with a detective to understand police investigation and then ending up solving mysteries with him might sound odd, but that is exactly what Anthony Horowitz has pulled off with his Hawthorne and Horowitz series, which features the author himself alongside the eccentric and brilliant Daniel Hawthorne.

A Deadly Episode is the sixth book in the series, and fans of classic whodunits are likely to love its understated, typically British narration. Hawthorne and Horowitz once again join forces—arguing all the time, as always—to solve the murder of an actor who was supposed to play Hawthorne in an upcoming film based on him.

There is plenty of wit, lots of puzzle-solving, and since Horowitz plays himself, readers can expect a few celebrity appearances (Spielberg featured in one of the earlier books). At around 600 pages, this is expected to be a substantial read, but knowing Horowitz, readers will race through it, enjoying the suspense while smiling at the banter between real-life author and fictional detective.