Whodun’em? The best new thrillers of 2018

GIRL IN SNOW Danya Kukalka

Picador, Jan 11 The murder of a highschool princess seen through the eyes of the boy who was obsessed with her, maybe to a dangerous degree... A clichéd title belies a dark and elegant thriller set in small-town America.

THE CONFESSION Jo Spain

Quercus, Jan 11 A banker is beaten to death in front of his wife. The killer confesses, but doesn’t say why he did it. Dublin writer Spain’s blackly comic touch – who hasn’t wanted to kill a banker? – pulls us through a brilliantly dark tale. Also, see Shrink Rap in the Magazine

THE CHALK MAN C J Tudor

Michael Joseph, Jan 11 Spooky English murder mystery. Chalk men start appearing on the walls of a cathedral city and then people start dying. The ideas here are stronger than the prose – this is one that may work better on screen.

FEAR Dirk Kurbjuweit

Orion, Jan 25 Chilling German thriller based on its author’s real experience of having his family stalked by the downstairs neighbour. Kurbjuweit takes you right into the heart of the darkness. In film terms, it’s an arthouse chiller, not a blockbuster.

NEED TO KNOW Karen Cleveland

Bantam, Jan 25 Ex-CIA analyst Cleveland has written her debut thriller about a CIA analyst who discovers her husband is a Russian spy. Impressively compelling if highly unlikely, this is probably the banker among the New Year crop thanks to its sheer page-turning readability.