What New Fiction Mystery Books Have Won Awards This Year?

He was New York’s most untouchable billionaire… Until a four-year-old boy called him “Daddy.” At his mother’s birthday gala, Ethan Hartwell receives the ultimate shock— a child with his face, his blood… and a pink ribbon tied like a gift. Vivian Rong never planned to return. Not after her sister stole her life, her lover betrayed her, and the world branded her a liar. But her son is dying. And Ethan Hartwell is the only man who can save him. Now, forced back into a world that destroyed her, Vivian must face: the billionaire who doesn’t remember her, the family that erased her, and the enemies who would rather see her dead. But this time… She didn’t come back to beg. She came back to win.

With her enemies in pre-civil war Virginia still seeking her death, Esmerelda is forced to return to the future only days after wedding Lance. Because it was necessary to fake her death in order to stop her enemies from following her to the future, her new husband, Lance, was forced to stay behind. He’d placed a magic box for them to communicate until he found a way to safely be with her beneath the floorboards of the house. Now, she must find it. A task that is easier said than done! “The Magic Box” is book two of the exciting paranormal-romance-mystery-thriller Esmerelda Sleuth Series

A secret society of widows. A cold billionaire with a deadly past. One woman sent to seduce him... and destroy him. When Genevieve Holloway buries her husband, she thinks the worst is behind her. But the black-veiled woman at the funeral of her husband says otherwise. “You’ve been chosen.” Drawn into a shadowy society of grieving wives turned silent assassins, Genevieve is given one final task before she can walk free: infiltrate the life of Dominic Rourke—the enigmatic tech billionaire tied to her husband’s mysterious death—and expose the truth. Her mission is clear: seduce him. Infiltrate him. Ruin him. But Dominic Rourke is nothing like she expected. Cold. Calculating. Unreachable. And he’s never let any woman get close—until her. Worse still, his five-year-old daughter clings to Genevieve like a lost soul, whispering secrets she shouldn’t know. Secrets about her dead mother… and the club Genevieve now serves. The deeper Genevieve sinks into Dominic’s world, the more dangerous her own becomes. The women she trusted have blood on their hands. The man she was sent to destroy might be innocent. And the lies that bind them all go deeper than any grave. Genevieve begins to develop feelings for the man she’s sent to ruin, and he sees himself letting go of his cold nature to make her happy and find her husband’s killer. In a game of power, seduction, and betrayal, only one can survive. And Genevieve must decide: Is she the hunter or the hunted? Will she be Dominic’s ruin, or will she become his everything?

Regina’s life begins to unravel after a single, unexpected revelation shatters everything she thought she knew about her past. What starts as a quiet connection with Michael—a calm, grounded young man carrying his own burdens—quickly deepens into something neither of them anticipated. But just as love begins to bloom, dark truths surface. A powerful and high-handed cartel led by the ruthless Raymond operates in the shadows, manipulating events, silencing truth, and leaving destruction in its wake. As Regina digs deeper, she uncovers a web of secrets tied to her family—secrets involving Barrister John Odion, the man she trusted as a father figure, and a hidden truth about her identity. Even more devastating is the discovery that her father’s death was no accident, but part of something far more sinister. With the past closing in and danger growing, Regina must find the strength to face betrayal, uncover the truth, and decide who she can trust. Alongside Michael, she steps into a world where love, power, and deception collide—and where the truth may cost everything.

When Emma's sister vanishes, she's thrust into a deadly game of cat and mouse. A mysterious figure, hidden behind a mask, demands Emma play a twisted game of puzzles and clues to rescue her sister. With time running out, Emma must use her wits to unravel the mysteries and face the sinister forces behind the game. But as the stakes grow higher, Emma realizes the game is designed to test her limits, and the truth about her sister's disappearance may be more terrifying than she ever imagined. Will Emma solve the puzzles and save her sister, or will she become the game's next victim?

Six years ago, Elena Morrell walked away from Adrian Lancaster with nothing but heartbreak and a promise to never return. Now she is back. No longer the fragile woman trapped in a cold marriage, Elena has rebuilt her life into something powerful and independent. Returning to Althea to lead a prestigious medical institute is supposed to be a fresh start for herself and her twin sons. Until fate places Adrian Lancaster directly in her path again. Cold, ruthless, and more dangerous than ever, Adrian has never forgotten the woman who disappeared from his life without explanation. And the moment he hears Elena’s voice again, he becomes determined to uncover every secret she has been hiding. But when a frightened little girl unexpectedly enters Elena’s life, the past Elena fought desperately to escape begins unraveling piece by piece. As old feelings reignite and buried truths slowly come to light, Elena finds herself trapped between the life she built and the man she was never truly able to forget. Because some secrets were never meant to stay buried. And some loves refuse to die no matter how badly they destroy you.