APRIL ACTION: NEW CRIME AND THRILLER TITLES THAT I AM LOOKING FORWARD TO READING IN APRIL 2026

Over two months into the new year and the new crime and thriller releases are beginning to flow through at an overwhelming rate. It is hard to keep up with them all, but it does mean that there is a good selection from across the crime fiction spectrum for readers to choose from in late March and April.

Fans of Australian and British crime and thriller fiction seem to be particularly well served with some major new releases. On the British side we have new books by Anthony Horowitz, Tom Bradby, Sarah Hilary and the pseudonymous Evelyn Clarke. While fans of Downunder crime fiction can look forward to new books books by Sarah Bailey, Sarah Barrie, Candice Fox and Victoria Brownlee. In addition, there are also steady stream of cosy Australian mysteries by Amanda Hampson (The Model Murder), Kate Solly (The Paradise Heights Miniature Railway Bust-Up) and Penny Tangey (What Rhymes With Murder), which I will highlight in another post. Finally, there is a terrific thriller by Douglas Preston and his daughter Aletheia Preston – Paradox.

Leading off the British releases is the latest book in the Hawthorne series by Anthony Horowitz, A Deadly Episode (Century, 21 April 2026).

The Hawthorne books, in which Horowitz features as a character himself, are an absolute treat. I binged my way through them last year and found everyone to be excellent. The murder in A Deadly Episode takes place on a film set, where the first book is being filmed. Horowitz is no stranger to television and film sets and A Deadly Episode is filled with interesting background and a clever twisty plot. I am about half-way through and will be reviewing in the next few weeks.

Here is the details provided by the publisher:

“The Word is Murder, the first book in the Hawthorne series, is being made into a major feature film.

The actors have been cast, the script written, and filming has already started in Hastings.

But when Hawthorne and Anthony visit the set, they find a far from happy family.

The director’s pretentious, the screenwriter’s an eco-warrior, the two stars hate each other, and the producer has run out of money.

And things are about to get much, much worse.

In the middle of shooting, the actor playing Hawthorne is stabbed – which leaves the real Hawthorne with no choice. He has to step in and investigate his own murder.

Because the killer may not have got the right man. Was it Hawthorne himself who was meant to be the target?”

Sure to be a fun read. A Deadly Episode is released in Australia on 21 April 2026 and in the United Kingdom on 23 April 2026.

Crime novels about writers and writers’ retreats are very much in vogue at the moment. There have easily been ten or so over the past year and several more are scheduled for release this year. Probably the one with the most pre-publication noise is The Ending Writes Itself, (HQ, 14 April 2026), by the pseudonymous Evelyn Clarke.

A collaboration between bestselling author V.E. Schwab and her friend and screenwriter Cat Clarke, The Ending Writes Itself comes with a recommendation from Stephen King and plenty of enthusiasm from the publisher. It certainly seems promising:

“It’s the perfect plot. All it needs is a killer ending.

Six authors.

One private island.

Seventy-two hours to write the ending.

World-famous author Arthur Fletch is dead. His final novel, the most anticipated book in history, remains unfinished. But the ending won’t write itself.

When six struggling authors are invited to Fletch’s private Scottish island and presented with the opportunity of a lifetime, the plot thickens: whoever writes a worthy ending will receive a game-changing book deal and two million dollars.

Why have they been chosen to attend? Who is behind the invitation? And just how far would they go to secure a place on the bestseller list?

They have just seventy-two hours, a typewriter and a blank page. All they have to do is write…

Starting is often the hardest part. But getting to the end could be murder.”

It sounds fun and is high on my ‘to read list’. The Ending Writes Itself is released in Australia on 14 April 2026 and in the United Kingdom on 9 April 2026.

Sarah Hilary is an award winning veteran of the British crime scene who rarely disappoints.

Her latest, The Drowning Place (Harvill, 16 April 2026), looks like being another pitch perfect police novel, and the start of a new series:

“Every place has its ghosts. Edenscar, a town in the Peak District, has more than most.

17 years ago, its inhabitants were hit by tragedy when a school bus veered off the road and everyone on board drowned. Everyone, that is, except Joseph Ashe. His miraculous survival has haunted him and the town ever since.

Now a Detective Sergeant in the local police, Joe is called to the scene of a brutal and apparently inexplicable crime. The whole town is spooked, but Joe’s new boss, DI Laurie Bower, more used to inner-city police work, has no time for superstition. She just wants to find the very real killer who has left no trace and apparently had no motive.

Joining forces, Joe and Laurie work to uncover the secrets of Edenscar, both past and present.”

Sarah is very good at mixing atmospheric locations with intriguing mysteries and I am very much looking forward to this one.

The Drowning Place is released in the United Kingdom on 16 April 2026. I am not sure on the release date for Australia.

I have really enjoyed Tom Bradby’s recent run of spy novels, especially the marvellous Kate Henderson series, and I am looking forward to the slight change of direction of his new book, Red Scorpion (Bantam, 9 April 2026).

The publisher has provided the following:

“Life for Dr Laura Strong shouldn’t be this hard. Nights working thankless A&E shifts. A much-loved disabled brother to look after. Loan sharks at her door. She needs a miracle to stop her life collapsing around her.

The arrival of South American coffee magnate Rafael Fernandez appears to be the answer to her prayers. A devoted father with a sick son requiring a 24/7 care, he is prepared to pay any price for expertise he can trust.

But if something appears to be too good to be true, then it probably is. Behind the façade of Rafa’s gilded existence lies a dark family history which he has been doing his best to avoid – until the death of his estranged father brings it crashing back into his – and Laura’s – world.

What had at first seemed to be a remarkable escape from an impossible situation now threatens to destroy everything Laura cares about. Friendless and far from home, she must rely on her own instincts to find a way out of this terrifying new landscape. Sometimes it’s easier to trust the devil you know.”

Red Scorpion is released on 9 April 2026.

My pick of the Australian releases would narrowly be Click, (Allen & Unwin, 31 March 2026), by Sarah Bailey.

I think Sarah’s The Housemate was probably the best book that she has written, and she has now followed up on some of the characters from that mystery, particularly journalist Oli Groves, in her new book.

“Melbourne is gripped by fear after a backpacker’s body is found with a cryptic note, and two more women vanish without trace. When photographs begin to arrive in the inboxes of the media and police, it’s clear the killer isn’t hiding – they are performing.

Journalist Oli Groves, founder of a fledgling digital news site, knows the story could make or break her. Rookie detective Penelope Kibbs, still trying to prove herself, is desperate to stop the violence before more women are lost. But they soon realise the danger runs deeper than one killer – and closer than they want to believe.”

Click is released in Australia on 31 March 2026.

Here is a link to my review of The Housemate from a couple of years back: https://murdermayhemandlongdogs.com/the-housemate-by-sarah-bailey-allen-unwin/

Also high on my ‘to read list’ is the latest thrill-fest from Sydney author Candice Fox, Redbelly Crossing (Penguin, 31 March 2026).

In addition to her collaborations with James Patterson, Candice has developed a reputation for writing high voltage thrillers set in remote parts of Australia. It is a trend that she has continued in Redbelly Crossing:

“Russell and Evan Powder are cops.

The brothers haven’t spoken for five years, since a violent confrontation tore their family apart.

Now they are both assigned to the murder of a young journalist, Chloe Lutz, in the small town of Redbelly Crossing (population 205).

It’s the last thing Russell wants. This is supposed to be the week he repairs things with his teenage daughter Bridie. Now he’s had to drag her on a murderous ride-along to the middle of snake-infested nowhere.

But a big case like this is just what Evan needs after a terrible mistake nearly tanked his career.

Then a dark discovery leaves Evan with only one way out; to bury the truth Russell is so determined to uncover.”

Redbelly Crossing draws on some of Candice’s personal experiences and look like being a very exciting read. It is released in Australia on 31 March 2026, and in the United Kingdom on 28 March 2026 with a neat drone-style cover that highlights its outback setting (see below).

In addition to her day job as a bestselling author, Candice is also a volunteer wildlife rescuer for WIRES and her Facebook page is a fascinating account of the various animals, particularly ducks, that she rescues. Well worth following.

Sporting a nicely spooky cover is the latest offering from Sarah Barrie, Dark Sanctuary, (Harper Collins, 24 April 2026).

Sarah’s books have progressively gotten darker over recent years, and Dark Sanctuary seem to be continuing that trend with a creepy setting and a range of threats hovering nearby:

“Sergeant ‘Hex’ Rexford is the detective who caught the infamous serial killer Dr. Witcherton. Now, with a series of gruesome murders unfolding inside Coast Sanctuary – a hospital for the criminally insane – Witcherton claims to know who’s behind them. Hex takes the case, determined to uncover the truth, even as his own body is failing him.

Beth Thompson is desperate to keep her children safe. Her violent ex is stalking her, her son’s behaviour is growing strange, and his beloved teddy bear, Theo, might be more than just a toy. When an elderly woman offers Beth a remote cottage, it feels like a chance to breathe – but safety is an illusion.

Meanwhile, true crime podcasters Eve and Zane are chasing the story of the murders. But as Eve edges closer to the truth, the danger closes in.

As past and present collide, and the body count rises, the threads connecting them all begin to tighten – and something terrifying is watching from the dark.”

Sounds like another well constructed and tense offering from Sarah. Dark Sanctuary is released in Australia on 28 April 2026 and on Kindle in the United Kingdom on the same day.

Victoria Brownlee’s The Writers Retreat, (Affirm, 31 March 2026), is another tale about authors risking their lives while on a writer’s retreat. Set in the glorious south of France, it sounds like a fun read:

“Welcome to The Writers Retreat – a creative haven for writers to hone their plotlines and sharpen their characters while soaking up the Provençal atmosphere. But this year’s retreat offers something different, as real-life blurs with fiction, and suspense isn’t contained to the page.

Kat Hale is a bestselling Australian author crumbling under the pressure of writing her second novel. On a whim, she has fled to a writers retreat in the South of France run by internationally acclaimed author Helen Thorne. What Kat hopes will be two blissfully uninterrupted weeks to focus on her writing in anonymity quickly turns into something more sinister, when Kat begins to suspect that Helen isn’t quite as perfect as everyone seems to believe.

Will Kat’s drive to uncover the truth about Helen be any match for Helen’s desire to hold onto her career, her reputation and her writing retreat, or is Kat at risk of falling victim to a more dangerous climax?”

The Writer’s Retreat is released in Australia on 31 March 2026.

Finally, Paradox, (Forge, 21 April 2026), by Douglas and Aletheia Preston is one of the most enjoyable books I have read so far this year.

A sequel to Douglas Preston’s Extinction, Paradox is a rapid fire thriller that combines religious theology with scientific speculation and good, old-fashioned thrills. The story returns to the Colorado wilderness and CBI Agent Frankie Cash and Eagle County Sheriff Jim Colcord, who have more on their hands than the still ‘roaming free’ Neanderthals from the first book.

One of the holiest relics in Christendom, inexplicably defaced…

A paranoid old prospector, ritualistically murdered…

A controversial exobiologist, tortured and dismembered…

When a reclusive man is found dead under grisly circumstances in the Colorado wilderness, CBI Agent Frankie Cash and Eagle County Sheriff Jim Colcord team up again on their most enigmatic and dangerous case yet. Their investigation uncovers a trail of bizarre killings, baffling money transfers, and a fanatical secret society.

And all the while, the resurrected Neanderthals, who vanished into the Colorado mountains, seem to be biding their time for something…spectacular.”

I will be reviewing Paradox closer to the release date, but I will say now that it is a very entertaining book. It did not go in the direction that I was expecting and the mix of good writing and interesting ideas kept me keenly turning the pages all the way to the end. Certainly one to look out for.

So, nine really interesting and promising sounding books to look out for over the next six weeks or so. Which ones appeal to you?