Dark reads for sunny days: the best crime fiction books to take on holiday

Why read this: We're all drawn to water in a heatwave, but with The Killing Stones it's more storm-lashed cliffs and washed-up murder victims than paddling pools and gently lapping waves. Ann Cleeves brings back one of her best loved detectives, Jimmy Perez, this time to the wild isolation of Orkney. When a ferocious storm uncovers the body of Archie Stout, a larger-than-life local and Perez’s childhood friend, the investigation feels chillingly personal. The weapon – a Neolithic stone marked with cryptic inscriptions – draws Perez deep into island legend, old loyalties, and a community where every familiar face could be hiding something. Whether you're already a fan of Ann Cleeves' Shetland detective series, or this will be your introduction to one of our best crime fiction writers, The Killing Stones is the ultimate anti-beach read. 

If you're looking for: Island noir, atmospheric crime fiction, detective fiction, remote settings, ancient mysteries, close-knit communities, personal stakes, stormy landscapes.

Great for fans of: Val McDermid, Peter May's Lewis Trilogy.

What the experts think: 'Expertly plotted and mesmerizing' – Mick Herron, author of Slow Horses. 'Bold and dramatic, with a restless love of landscape' – Val McDermid, author of Past Lying.

Why read this: For crime readers who prefer their summer escapes with a chill in the air, The Crow Trap offers an isolated cottage, bleak North Pennines landscapes, and secrets waiting to turn deadly. The first book in Ann Cleeves’ bestselling Vera Stanhope detective series brings together three women working on an environmental survey in the North Pennines, each carrying her own betrayals, deceptions, and hidden past. When Rachael, the first to arrive, discovers an apparent suicide, the remote setting quickly becomes claustrophobic – and when another death follows, the unforgettable Detective Inspector Vera Stanhope steps in to untangle the lies.

If you're looking for: British crime novels, police procedural, female detective, atmospheric writing, setting-as-character. 

Great for fans of: The Ruth Galloway series by Elly Griffiths, the DCI Banks series by Peter Robinson.

What the experts think: 'Vera is extremely intelligent and plain-spoken, and her appearance on the page is striking . . . [Cleeves'] depiction of the moody landscape creates a setting as strong a character as any individual.' – Richard Osman, author of The Thursday Murder Club series.

Why read this: Take the scenic route to the darker side of the coast with The Long Call. In North Devon, where two rivers meet the sea, Detective Matthew Venn is keeping his distance from his father’s funeral – and from the strict evangelical community he left behind. But when a man is found stabbed on the beach near Matthew’s new home, the case pulls him back towards the people and beliefs he thought he had escaped. Atmospheric, compassionate, and quietly haunting, this is crime fiction with a strong undertow. (And once it's pulled you in, you can catch up with the other two books in the Two Rivers series detective series before the new novel, The Dying Light, comes out in October.) 

If you're looking for: Rural mystery, atmospheric crime fiction, small-town secrets, detective series, LGBTQI+ detective, police procedural.

Great for fans of: Vera Stanhope and the Shetland series by Ann Cleeves, Elly Griffiths.

What the experts think: 'A vividly evoked North Devon setting, a powerful emotional heft and a new detective hero in Matthew Venn who you will want to follow for book after book.' – Chris Ewan, bestselling author of Safe House.

Why read this: Yes, this book is set in Australia, but it's no holiday in Byron Bay. Queen of Outback noir Jane Harper's new novel is a haunting, slow-burn mystery set in a dying Australian town. When Sam Crowley disappears on the night of his twenty-first birthday, the only clue is a set of footprints leading into – and out of – three abandoned houses. Five years later, his mother Ro comes back, determined to uncover the truth in a community hollowed out by suspicion and loss. With Harper’s signature atmospheric style and emotional depth, this is as much about grief and fractured lives as it is about solving the mystery.

If you're looking for: Crime fiction, Outback noir, small-town mystery.

Great for fans of: The Dry by Jane Harper, Val McDermid, Ann Cleeves, Chris Whitaker.

What the experts think: ‘This is a slow-burn of a novel, claustrophobic and compelling’ – Ann Cleeves, author of the Shetland series. ‘Jane Harper delivers unbearable tension every time.’ – Val McDermid, author of 1989.

Why read this: Where better to be this summer than the north east: the weather is cooler but the tension is about to boil over. A dead judge. A defendant who refuses to speak. And a case that may be unwinnable by design. When Durham-based junior barrister Leila Reynolds is thrust into a high-profile murder trial, she is chosen by the accused for reasons she does not understand. As the courtroom battle intensifies, Leila must persuade a jury without testimony, evidence that won’t cooperate, and while concealing secrets of her own. Every argument cuts both ways, and the truth threatens to dismantle everything she is trying to protect.

If you're looking for: Courtroom drama, unreliable narratives, legal strategy, hidden pasts, psychological tension, British crime.

Great for fans of: Blood Orange by Harriet Tyce, The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides, Apple Tree Yard.

What the experts think: 'So gripping, so clever, so good. This brilliant book had me hooked from the beginning' – Alice Feeney, author of Beautiful Ugly.

Why read this: If you really want to escape the sun, spend your summer in a courtroom – courtesy of an author with incomparable insider's knowledge. The Cut Throat Trial is the first legal thriller from the million-copy bestselling Secret Barrister. This page-turner follows a trial billed as the ‘biggest of the year’, as three seventeen-year-old boys are accused of the brutal murder of an elderly teacher on New Year's Eve. Each boy denies it. Each points the finger at the other two. But they can’t all be innocent.

If you're looking for: Twists you won’t see coming, legal thriller, courtroom drama.

Great for fans of: The Secret Barrister, Mick Herron’s The Secret Hours, Sarah Vaughan’s Anatomy of a Scandal, C. J. Tudor’s The Chalk Man.

What the experts think:  'Astute, empathetic, and satisfyingly twisty' ー Sarah Vaughan, author of Anatomy of a Scandal and Reputation

Why read this: This gripping mystery set in Australia's Blue Mountains has a vivid sense of place, a fractured friendship, and may or may not be a crime novel. . . The story follows Finn and Daphne, whose uneasy bond is tested when Finn's new girlfriend, Magdu, falls to her death during a rock-climbing trip. Was it an accident, or something more sinister? 

If you're looking for: Atmospheric setting, psychological mystery, friendship dynamics, dual perspective, Outback noir. 

Great for fans of: The Valley by Chris Hammer, The Dry by Jane Harper, Chris Whitaker.

What the experts think: ‘Australian crime has a new star’ – Chris Hammer. 'An enthralling excavation of truth, with a vivid, human heart' – Benjamin Stevenson, author of Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone.

Why read this: Amid the beauty of Cornwall’s coastline, the death of a local man shatters the peace with its violence. The body of Michael Lobb is discovered in his family’s tin and pewter workshop, and Detective Inspector Beatrice Hannaford is brought in to investigate. Suspicion quickly develops when it emerges that a mining company had been trying to buy the man’s land, and Lobb was the only remaining obstacle to the deal going through. With cryptic alibis and shifting motives, the tangled web of intrigue soon draws in her colleagues Thomas Lynley and Barbara Havers, who must search for a killer in a community that has very little trust in outsiders.

If you're looking for: Murder mystery, Cornwall setting, police procedural