Adult books read in 2025

 In 2025, I read 70 adult books, covering a wide range of genres, but with a focus on women and Australian women. Much of my reading in adult books this year came from some judging work, but there were some very good ones in everything I read. One that stood out to me was Slashed Beauties by A Rushby, a gothic novel, which was a first for me. I also didn’t review all of the adult books I read. I often find this one tricky, because during the last few years, I have found adult books to have a lot of the same things in them, not much that makes things stand out, and sometimes, the repetitiveness can make seeing what does stand out harder. Are there some good 2025 releases that for various reasons I missed out on? I’m sure! But that just means I will try to get to them in 2026, as they are ones I really want to read.

I write roundups that are broad and focused, and split them into men, women, Australian, non-Australian, children’s, young adult, adult, LGBTQIA, Disabled and co-authored books. There is also a post with everything and a summary at the end. So if people want to look at something in particular, they can.

1. Panic by Catherine Jinks
2. The Briar Book of the Dead by A.G. Slatter
3. Catherine Wheel by Liz Evans
4. A Killer Among Friends by Andrea Barton
5. The Spirit Circle by Tara Calaby
6. Safe Haven by Shankari Chandran
7. Original Twin by Paula Gleeson
8. Shattered by Juanita Kees
9. Kitty and Cadaver by Narelle M Harris
10. Down the Track by Stella Quinn
11. The Mail Train Murders by Kay Duke
12. Nephthys by Rachel Louise Driscoll
13. The Whispering Palms by Annette Leigh
14. Devil’s Kitchen by Candice Fox
15. The Search Party by Hannah Richell
16. The Bank by Miriam Verbeek
17. The Buried Life by Andrea Goldsmith
18. Lest Tides Turn by Phillipa Nefri Clark
19. The Potent Perfume by Helen Goltz
20. Halfway House by Helen Fitzgerald
21. Between Husbands and Wives by Susannah Glenn
22. The Paradise Heights Craft Store Stitch-Up by Kate Solly
23. Missing by Nicole Morris
24. Crimes of the Cross: The Anglican Paedophile Network of Newcastle, its Protectors, and the Man who Fought for Justice by Anne Manne
25. The Close-Up by Pip Drysdale
26. Better Days by Claire Zorn
27. Myrren’s Gift by Fiona McIntosh
28. The Masterpiece by Belinda Alexandra
29. Black Silk and Sympathy by Deborah Challinor
30. The Crag by Claire Sutherland
31. A Dance with Murder by Elizabeth Coleman
32. The Thinning by Inga Simpson
33. A Shadow at the Door by Jo Dixon
34. Every Last Suspect by Nicola Moriarty
35. Bone Lands by Pip Fioretti
36. Bitroux: High Country by Jordan Harcourt-Hughes
37. The Chilling by Riley James
38. With Winter Comes Darkness by Robbi Neal
39. Stinkbug by Sinéad Stubbins
40. Looking for Eden by Caroline Overington
41. The Happiest Man on Earth by Eddie Jaku
42. To the River by Vikki Wakefield
43. The Lasting Harm: Witnessing the Trial of Ghislaine Maxwell by Lucia Osborne-Crowley
44. Down the Rabbit Hole by Shaeden Berry
45. Wait Here by Lucy Nelson
46. Shadow City by Natalie Conyer
47. Vengeance Planning for Amateurs by Lee Winter
48. Woman, Missing by Sherryl Clark
49. Shadows of Winter Robins by Louise Wolhunter
50. Gone by Glenna Thomson
51. What I Would Do to You by Georgia Harper
52. Red River Road by Anna Downes
53. The Creeper by Margaret Hickey
54. The Autist’s Guide to the Galaxy: Navigating the World of ‘normal people’ by Clara Törnvall, translated by Alice E. Ossman
55. High Wire by Candice Fox
56. Raising Readers: How To Nurture a Child’s Love of Books by Megan Daley
57. The Mademoiselle Alliance by Natasha Lester
58. Miss Austen by Gill Hornby
59. Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
60. Guilty by Definition by Susie Dent
61. Miss Caroline Bingley, Private Detective by Kelly Gardiner and Sharmini Kumar
62. Dinner at the Night Library by Hika Harada, translated by Philip Gabriel
63. Do We Deserve This? by Eleanor Elliott Thomas
64. Slashed Beauties by A Rushby
65. The Dictionary People: The Unsung Heroes Who Created the Oxford English Dictionary by Sarah Ogilvie
66. Someone Like Me: An Anthology of Non-Fiction by Autistic Writers edited by Clem Bastow and Jo Case
67. Victorian Fairytales edited by Michael Newton
68. A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
69. Cape Fever by Nadia Davids
70. Growing into Autism by Sandra Thom-Jones