The Real Book Spy

The Real Book Spy

August Reading Guide: Every Mystery & Thriller Hitting Bookstores this Month

Read reviews and additional info for all of this month's new releases!

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The Real Book Spy
Aug 04, 2025
∙ Paid

Get ready for another great month, full of must-read mysteries and thrillers!

To kick off the month, we've got two versions of the August Reading Guide—the basic version, which you can find on The Real Book Spy flagship site (here), and this premium version, which also includes all my reviews for books coming out in August.

As always, we've selected a few titles that we're especially excited about, and this month's Featured Selections are: Last Seen by J.T. Ellison, Declared Hostile by Jack Stewart, We Are All Guilty Here by Krin Slaughter, and Kiss Her Goodbye by Lisa Gardner

Happy Reading!

Last Seen by J.T. Ellison

Release Date: August 5th

Thomas & Mercer

ORDER HERE

From New York Times bestselling author J.T. Ellison comes a twisted psychological thriller about the bonds of family and the disconnect between memory and the truth.

Come here. Come closer.

Halley James knows her marriage is over. But she’s not prepared for the rest of her life to fall apart too.

No one can hear you. No one can help you.

She just lost her job at the forensics lab. Her dad needs emergency surgery. But the biggest blow comes back home in Marchburg, Virginia, where she discovers her mother didn’t actually die in a car crash. Her mom was murdered—and her father lied about it all these years.

I have nothing to hide from you. Are you hiding something from me?

Since she was six years old, it’s been Halley and her dad. Now, she doesn’t know what to believe. Desperate for the truth, Halley chases down a lead in Brockville, Tennessee. But all there is not as it seems. Brockville’s utopian charm hides a chilling darkness. And Halley’s search for answers threatens to expose an unspeakable reality.

My Review: I’ve had the absolute pleasure of covering Ellison’s work for a little more than a decade now, and without question…

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