Where to Start with Edwin Hill
Edwin Hill has quickly made a name for himself in the contemporary crime fiction scene, crafting mysteries that blend the intellectual puzzle of classic whodunits with the dark, emotional intensity of modern domestic suspense. Set largely in New England, his books feature rich character development, atmospheric settings, and intricate plotting that keeps readers guessing until the final pages.
For readers new to Hill's work, there are two primary entry points:
- The Hester Thursby Series: If you love recurring characters, slow-burn relationship dynamics, and amateur sleuths with unique professional skills, start with Little Comfort. Hester Thursby is a research librarian at Harvard who uses her search skills to find missing people, leading her into dark and dangerous investigations.
- The Standalone Thrillers: If you prefer self-contained, high-stakes psychological mysteries that explore family secrets, multi-perspective narratives, and moral ambiguity, you can jump in with any of his standalones. Who to Believe or his latest release, What Happened Next, serve as excellent introductions to his style.
Hester Thursby Series in Order
The Hester Thursby series is best read in publication order. While each book features a self-contained mystery that is resolved by the end, the overarching character arcs, family relationships, and personal trauma of Hester, her partner Morgan, and Morgan's young niece Finola build directly from one book to the next. Reading them out of order will spoil major developments in their personal lives.
1. Little Comfort (2018)
In this Agatha Award-nominated debut, readers are introduced to Hester Thursby. While her day job involves navigating the quiet archives of Harvard, her side gig is tracking down people who do not want to be found. When she is hired to locate Sam Blaine, a charismatic young man moving through the circles of Boston’s wealthy elite, Hester uncovers a trail of manipulation, co-dependency, and murder. The novel establishes the cozy yet tense atmosphere of Hill's version of Boston, contrasting domestic warmth with chilling psychological obsession.
2. The Missing Ones (2019)
Hester’s second outing takes her away from the familiar streets of Boston to the isolated, atmospheric setting of Finisterre Island off the coast of Maine. Hired to find a woman who vanished into a secretive, tight-knit community, Hester finds herself embroiled in a dark web of long-buried family secrets and child protection concerns. This installment, which was nominated for both the Agatha and Edgar Awards, raises the stakes for Hester personally, forcing her to confront her own views on motherhood, duty, and protection.
3. Watch Her (2020)
The third book in the series returns to Massachusetts, specifically Pinehurst, a corrupt, private for-profit university. Hester is tasked by the school's enigmatic co-founder with investigating a series of bizarre incidents targeting his family. As she digs deeper, she exposes a hotbed of academic rivalry, greed, and elite entitlement. Watch Her combines the tropes of dark academia with a fast-paced thriller, showing how institutional corruption can harbor personal violence.
Edwin Hill's Standalone Thrillers
For readers looking for standalone stories that do not require any prior reading, Hill has written three highly acclaimed psychological thrillers. These can be read in any order, though reading them in publication order shows the author's growing experimentation with narrative structure and perspective.
1. The Secrets We Share (2022)
Set in Boston, this domestic thriller centers on two sisters, Natalie and Glennon, who have been haunted by the unsolved murder of their father decades earlier. When a dead body is found in the same location where their father died, the sisters find themselves caught in a police investigation that threatens to expose the secrets they have kept from the world—and from each other. The novel alternatingly explores themes of trauma, sibling bonds, and the destructive power of family mythologies.
2. Who to Believe (2024)
Set in the fictional, quiet coastal town of Monhegan, Massachusetts, this mystery begins with the shocking murder of a popular local woman, Laurel Fletcher. The narrative is structured around multiple perspectives, showing how the tragedy ripples through a small community where everyone has something to hide. It is a classic small-town mystery updated with modern psychological depth, challenging the reader to figure out who is telling the truth in a sea of unreliable narrators.
3. What Happened Next (2026)
Hill's latest thriller shifts the action to the rugged White Mountains of New Hampshire. The story follows Charlie Kilgore, whose father allegedly committed a horrific act of violence twenty-five years ago before vanishing into the wilderness. Determined to uncover the truth, Charlie launches a true-crime podcast and returns to his hometown to interview the key players from that fateful day. It is an atmospheric, suspenseful look at how the media processes trauma and how the past refused to stay buried.
Chronological vs. Publication Order
Because Edwin Hill writes his books in real-time continuity, the chronological order of the Hester Thursby series is identical to its publication order. There are no prequels or complex chronological jumps to worry about. The standalone novels are completely independent of the Hester Thursby universe and do not share characters or plot lines, meaning they can be read before, during, or after the main series without affecting your understanding of either.
What to Know Before You Start
Before diving into Edwin Hill's books, it is helpful to keep a few things in mind:
- A Focus on Character over Action: While Hill's books feature murder and suspense, they are deeply rooted in the psychological makeup of their characters. Hester Thursby, in particular, is not a typical hard-boiled detective; she is small, quiet, lives a domestic life with her partner, and struggles with anxiety.
- The New England Setting: Hill utilizes the geography of Massachusetts, Maine, and New Hampshire as active characters in his books. The contrast between Boston's historical academic institutions and the desolate coastlines or dense forests of northern New England plays a major role in establishing the tone.
- Thematic Focus: A recurring theme in all of Hill's work is the concept of chosen family versus biological family, and the toxic secrets that families keep to protect their own reputations.