Timy’s Top 10 Reads of 2025

Dive into the #1 best-selling mystery series readers are comparing to Connelly, Patterson, and Baldacci.

How do you catch a killer who’s already behind bars?

Thomas Austin was once a star NYPD detective, known for locking up a psychopathic serial The Holiday Baby Butcher. Now retired in a small beach town, Austin runs a little café, trying to overcome the loss of his wife, a district attorney who was gunned down only one year ago.

But when a mysterious bag of bones appears on a nearby beach, Austin is dragged back into law enforcement for one last job. The Holiday Baby Butcher is behind bars, so it has to be a copycat. But with each new clue, the killer seems closer and closer to the real thing.

Now Austin must overcome the darkness of his past to chase a killer as twisted as any America has ever seen. And when Austin finally learns the truth, it’s a twist so shocking it shakes him to his core, and threatens his life.

The Bones of Point No Point is the mesmerizing debut crime thriller from D.D. Black, perfect for fans of James Patterson, Lisa Regan, Michael Connelly, and David Baldacci.

Sometimes the past is better left buried.

When the matriarch of a rich Seattle family dies under suspicious circumstances, private investigator Thomas Austin is on the case. This time, the suspect list is easy.

Seven people were in the lakefront mansion with the millionaire when she died: a spoiled son, a jealous brother-in-law, a beloved chef, a rebellious grandson, an arrogant memoirist, and a pair of successful daughters. All had motive. All had opportunity. But which one is the killer?

To solve the case, Austin must look into the past of one of Seattle’s most powerful families. With the help of a fiery reporter and a long-lost diary, he uncovers a series of dark secrets that betray the criminal underbelly of old-money Seattle.

But the closer Austin gets to the truth, the more dangerous the investigation becomes. Sometimes, when you dig into a secret past, the past comes out to bury you.

‘I did an evil thing to be put in here, and I’m going to have to do an evil thing to get out.’

They call them wayward girls. Loose girls. Girls who grew up too fast. And they’re sent to the Wellwood House in St. Augustine, Florida, where unwed mothers are hidden by their families to have their babies in secret, give them up for adoption, and most important of all, to forget any of it ever happened.

Fifteen-year-old Fern arrives at the home in the sweltering summer of 1970, pregnant, terrified and alone. There, she meets a dozen other girls in the same predicament. Rose, a hippie who insists she’s going to keep her baby and escape to a commune. Zinnia, a budding musician who plans to marry her baby’s father. And Holly, barely fourteen, mute and pregnant by no-one-knows-who.

Every moment of their waking day is strictly controlled by adults who claim they know what’s best for them. Then Fern meets a librarian who gives her an occult book about witchcraft, and power is in the hands of the girls for the first time in their lives. But power can destroy as easily as it creates, and it’s never given freely. There’s always a price to be paid . . . and it’s usually paid in blood.

Set in Regency England, The Gentleman and His Vowsmith is a sparkling historical fantasy filled with arcane magic, deadly conspiracies and an irresistible queer romance. Perfect for fans of Freya Marske, Alexis Hall, and Bridgerton mixed with magic, mayhem and murder.

Lord Nicholas Monterris is trapped. The only heir to a declining dukedom, Nic is destined for a marriage of convenience. What he didn’t expect was for his bride to be Lady Leaf Serral, daughter of his father’s hated rivals. Now they must all be locked inside mouldering Monterris Court for the duration of the contract negotiations, along with head negotiator, master vowsmith Dashiell sa Vare—beautiful, perfect Dashiell sa Vare—an old flame Nic has neither forgiven nor forgotten.

What could go wrong?

Only a dead body turning up mere hours after they lock the doors. The first could be an accident, but a second death reveals something sinister is unfolding at Monterris Court, and long-buried secrets begin to surface. As accusations fly, Nic must work with his former lover and his future bride to uncover the killer before they become the next targets.

AHart is a marshal, tasked with patrolling the strange and magical wilds of Tanria. It’s an unforgiving job, and Hart’s got nothing but time to ponder his loneliness.

Mercy never has a moment to herself. She’s been single-handedly keeping Birdsall & Son Undertakers afloat in defiance of sullen jerks like Hart, who seems to have a gift for showing up right when her patience is thinnest.

After yet another exasperating run-in with Mercy, Hart finds himself penning a letter addressed simply to “A Friend”. Much to his surprise, an anonymous letter comes back in return, and a tentative friendship is born.

If only Hart knew he’s been baring his soul to the person who infuriates him most – Mercy. As the dangers from Tanria grow closer, so do the unlikely correspondents. But can their blossoming romance survive the fated discovery that their pen pals are their worst nightmares – each other?

From the author of The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy comes a heartwarming fantasy with a best friends-to-lovers rom com twist–When Harry Met Sally, but with dragons!—set in the delightful demigod and donut-filled world of Tanria.

The entire town of Eternity was shocked when widowed, middle-aged Twyla Banneker partnered up with her neighbor and best friend, Frank Ellis, to join the Tanrian Marshals. Eight years later, Twyla and Frank are still patrolling the dangerous land of Tanria, the former prison of the Old Gods.

Twyla might look like a small town mom who brings cheesy potatoes to funerals and whips up a batch of cookies for the school bake sale, but her rewarding career in law enforcement has been a welcome change from the domestic grind of mom life, despite the misgivings of her grown children.

Fortunately (or unfortunately) a recent decrease in on-the-job peril has made Twyla and Frank’s job a lot safer … and a lot less exciting. So when they discover the body of one of their fellow marshals covered in liquid glitter–and Frank finds himself the inadvertent foster dad to a baby dragon–they are more than happy to be back on the beat.

Soon, the friends wind up ensnared in a nefarious plot that goes far deeper than any lucrative Tanrian mineshaft. But as the danger closes in and Twyla and Frank’s investigation becomes more complicated, so does their easy friendship. And Twyla starts to realize that her true soul mate might just be the person who has lived next door all along…

Abody with no clues. A killer with no heart. A cop with no hope.

When the body of a young woman is found on the banks of the River Thames, Detective Inspector Simon Wise is called to investigate. With his team at half-strength and still trying to deal with their own trauma, he hopes it’s a straight-forward case. But London is a cruel city and Wise soon find himself hunting the most ruthless of killers.

Into The River Dead is the fourth book in the DI Simon Wise Crime Thriller series and set on the streets of London. If you like dark police procedurals, complex characters, and shocking twists, then you’ll love Michael Dylan’s pulse-pounding crime series.

What do you do when a Celtic god rings your doorbell?

Laurence Riley is a San Diego florist whose ex won’t leave him alone. Quentin d’Arcy is a British earl on the run from his own family. Despite their dramatically opposite worlds, they have so much in common: they’re both failing at life, sobriety, and controlling their supernatural powers.

Desperate to get his life back on track, Laurence prays for help, and Jack answers. A Celtic deity, Jack has the power to help… For an undisclosed price.

Laurence strikes a deal, but soon realizes he can’t pay up. His only hope of surviving Jack’s wrath is to join forces with Quentin, but can they overcome their differences — and past horrors that won’t stay buried — or are their fates already sealed?

The Art of a Lie is a beguiling cat-and-mouse thriller from The Sunday Times bestselling author of The Square of Sevens, Laura Shepherd-Robinson.

That’s the trouble with stories, especially the ones you write for yourself. Sometimes you think they’ve ended, when they’ve barely begun . . .

London, 1749. Following the murder of her husband in what looks like a violent street robbery, Hannah Cole is struggling to keep her head above water. The Punchbowl and Pineapple, her confectionary shop on Piccadilly, is barely turning a profit. Henry Fielding, the famous author and new magistrate, is threatening to confiscate the money in her husband’s bank account, because he believes it might have been illicitly acquired. And even those who claim to be Hannah’s friends have darker intent.

Only William Devereux seems different. A friend of her late husband, Devereux helps Hannah unravel some of the mysteries surrounding his death. He also tells her about an Italian delicacy called iced cream, an innovation she is convinced will transform the fortunes of her shop – if only she can learn how to make it. But their friendship opens Hannah to speculation and gossip and draws Henry Fielding’s attention her way, locking her into a battle of wits more devastating than anything, even her husband’s murder.