Looking for the perfect unputdownable gripping thriller? These upcoming reads from HQ are must-reads for your winter TBR!
Boring Asian Female by Canwen Xu
An addictive novel about a young woman's all-consuming obsession with a rival of her own making and the desperate lengths she goes to in order to succeed, by debut author Canwen Xu.
'Xu is a writer to watch' Isabel Banta, author of Honey
'Smart, engaging, and thought-provoking' Jean Kwok, New York Times bestselling author of The Leftover Woman
Elizabeth Zhang knows her place in the world. She knows she's in the tenth percentile for likability, the seventieth percentile for attractiveness, and the ninety-ninth percentile for academics.
With a hard-working ethic instilled in her by immigrant parents, armed with impeccable grades, Elizabeth thinks she is set for Harvard Law School. Until she is rejected for being too ordinary, which she translates to mean she's just another boring Asian female. But when her classmate Laura Kim gets in, everything falls apart. Why was Laura accepted? What makes her so interesting?
At first, she follows her because she's just curious. What Laura eats for lunch. Where Laura shops. The answer for Elizabeth's failure must lie somewhere in Laura's life. But still, Elizabeth just can't see it. The only thing she sees is that Laura has taken her spot at Harvard.
A spot she knows she deserves. A spot that she'll simply have to take back.
Layered, subversive, and satirical, this novel brings to light how, in the face of societal expectations and self-inflicted pressures, a person can unlock the darkest parts of themselves and show how far they're willing to go to achieve their vision of success.
On shelves: 26 May 2026
For All The Dead Girls by Sherryl Clark
Tough and gutsy PI Lou Alcott returns with a terrifyingly gritty new case that takes her deep into the dark web. Perfect for fans of Jacqueline Bublitz and Jane Caro.
While juggling a missing person case with unexpected ties close to home and saving an innocent woman and her child from a dangerous domestic situation, Lou ends up in the line of fire of a mysterious dark-web hate group, known only as SYB.
As Melbourne simmers through a relentless heatwave, the murders of more women are connected to SYB and Lou becomes the number one target of their vicious campaign of incited violence. #GetLou #killthebitch
Lou lurches between a fire-bombed safe house, car chases and stalkers, as her private investigation firm races against time to uncover the core of the group and work out just how far their tentacles stretch...
Dark, gritty and utterly compelling, FOR ALL THE DEAD GIRLS is Sherryl Clark at her riveting, nail-biting best and delivers a chilling warning that will stay with you long after you've turned the final page.
On shelves: 30 June 2026
The Gardens by Emma Babbington
It might look idyllic, but the secrets buried there are deadly…
When human bones are found in the garden attached to the glamorous London home where she grew up, Jess McIntyre prepares to receive the news she has dreaded for thirty-four years: that her sister, Nina, is dead and now here is the proof.
Nina disappeared without a trace in 1992, aged eighteen, the summer she fell in with a charismatic group of friends who squatted in a vacant house on the other side of Willow Gardens.
Having moved to Australia years ago, widow and single mum Jess arrives back in London to provide a DNA sample to help the investigation, with her teenage son, Ollie, in tow.
As they try and unravel the secrets of Nina's past, and her connection to a sinister cult, will they discover that some bodies are best left buried…?
On shelves: 28 July 2026
Kingpin by A.A. Dhand
Two brothers. One empire. A city ready to fall.
‘We can do what no one’s ever done before. We can become gods in a game built for the devil.’
Idris Khan is no longer the man he used to be. How can he be? Murder changes people – and it has changed him. Once a respected pharmacist, Idris now walks a fine line between survival and destruction. He craves something normal in a world gone to hell – but then Zidane, his estranged brother, walks through the door. Freshly released from prison, Zidane’s presence is radioactive. Truths are laid bare. New alliances are formed. And Zidane has an offer for Idris that could blow his whole world apart: he wants them to take over the entire drug trafficking network in Leeds and Bradford, and rule together.
Now, Idris has a choice to make. Leave Leeds forever, or become the very thing he’s always feared … The Kingpin.
On shelves: 16 July 2026
Stay Buried by Jane R. Miles
The claustrophobia of Room meets the camaraderie of Yellowjackets with a touch of Picnic at Hanging Rock in this dark, immersive, psychological thriller debut with a speculative/lite-horror edge.
Christmas Eve, 1974.
As Cyclone Tracy tears through Darwin, four girls disappear into the heart of the outback. No tracks. No bodies. No answers.
Decades later, one returns.
She claims to be one of the missing. But is she? There is no proof of who she is, only a keepsake that once belonged to another missing woman - Sally, a teen mother whose disappearance never mattered to anyone but Von, the daughter she left behind. Sally's return rekindles the cold case, as desperate families plead for answers - and a dark mystery begins to surface.
A hidden bunker ... a ghost ... scratches on a concrete wall ... pictures inside a View-Master ... and the little girl who understood the darkness better than anyone.
Inspired by true events, Stay Buried is the darkly thrilling tale of secrets unearthed, the will to survive and a legend that refuses to die.
On shelves: 28 July 2026
You Know What You Did by K.T. Nguyen
A heart stopping thriller for fans of Lisa Jewell and Celeste Ng.
Annie 'Anh Le' Shaw has built the perfect life: a rising star in the art world, a devoted husband, a beautiful daughter. She's left her past behind-or so she thought.
When her mother, a Vietnam War refugee, dies without warning, Annie's carefully controlled world begins to unravel. The obsessive-compulsive disorder she fought so hard to overcome returns and now it's darker and more dangerous than ever.
Now her intrusive thoughts aren't just thoughts.
They're coming true.
A powerful art patron vanishes, all eyes turn to Annie and things begin to unravel fast.
She wakes up in a hotel room. A dead body beside her.
No memory of how she got there.
With suspicion closing in and her mind betraying her, Annie must piece together the truth before it destroys her. But the deeper she digs, the more she's forced to confront buried secrets about her past, her family, and the trauma she thought she'd escaped.
A gripping, twist-filled psychological thriller about obsession and the lies we tell ourselves.
On shelves: 28 July 2026