It’s been a little over a year since I published my list of The 81 Best Sci-Fi Crime Novels, which means there was an entire year’s worth of futuristic crime fiction that list didn’t account for. As with my previous genre lists, I plan to publish annual updates with the best sci-fi crime fiction of the past year. The following list of the best sci-fi crime novels of 2025 is based on curated lists from Amazon, The New York Times, The Guardian, Publishers Weekly and more, suggestions from readers on Goodreads, and ratings on Goodreads and Amazon.
To complement these rankings, I have created two pieces of bonus content:
- The best sci-fi crime novels according to several top authors in the genre
- A one-page PDF shopping guide to The Best Sci-Fi Crime Novels
You can access both of these free resources using the form below. And now, on with The Best Sci-Fi Crime Novels of 2025!
4. Halcyon Years by Alastair Reynolds
A down-on-his-luck private investigator aboard the generation ship Halcyon gets drawn into a dangerous mystery involving a death in an elite family that could upend life across the starship.
3. Simultaneous by Eric Heisserer
A Homeland Security agent and a therapist unravel a strange phenomenon linking people’s lives and consciousness across timelines as they race to stop a killer whose actions spread across multiple realities. Amazon named this debut novel by the Oscar-nominated screenwriter of Arrival one of the best sci-fi and fantasy books of 2025.
2. Murder by Memory by Olivia Waite
On a generation ship where minds are stored and reborn in new bodies, detective Dorothy Gentleman must find a murderer who is killing bodies and erasing memories and identities forever. Waite’s cozy science fiction mystery made Amazon’s list of the best sci-fi and fantasy novels of the year.
1. Luminous by Silvia Park
In a near-future reunified Korea, the lives of three estranged siblings—two human, one robot—collide against the backdrop of a murder investigation that raises questions about what it means to be truly alive. The Guardian named Park’s debut novel one of the best sci-fi books of 2025, and it was a Goodreads Choice Award nominee in science fiction.