NetGalley offers a wealth of insightful data that sheds light on the latest trends and preferences, and in this spooky season we’re focusing on Mystery & Thrillers, Horror, and True Crime. If you haven’t browsed these categories recently, you may be missing out! In the last 12 months, publishers have added nearly 5,000 new books, generating a lot of engagement and excitement from the NetGalley community.

Read on for a glimpse at some of the Most Requested* and Top Performing** books in these categories!
Most Requested Mystery & Thrillers
On average, books in the Mystery & Thriller category receive about 320 requests and auto-approvals. This includes activity generated when a publisher invites a reader to access the book using the NetGalley widget or makes the book available to ‘Read Now’, in addition to organic requests from NetGalley members. The Feedback Ratio (amount of Feedback returned based on all types of approval) is 29%.

Top Performing Mystery & Thrillers

Most Requested Horror

Top Performing Horror

Most Requested True Crime

Top Performing True Crime

Case Study: The Ballad of Old Joe Booth
by William Pauley III
Horror meets poetry, this Doom Fiction audiobook has NetGalley members atwitter with four and five star reviews. Here’s how The Ballad of Old Joe Booth has made some spooky waves:
– 89 feedback as of October 23, 2023
– Over 2,000 impressions
– 100% of approved Booksellers nominated this book for the Indie Next List
– 95% of Reviewers would recommend this book/author to their audience
– The word “recommend” was in the top list of words used in NetGalley reviews!
Buzz Beyond NetGalley!

Promotions for Mystery & Thrillers, Horror, and True Crime
Launch your frontlist or leverage your backlist! We have both on-site and email promotions for every budget, goal, and type of book. Learn more or view the full Media Kit here.
This newsletter was sent to over 38,000 members who are interested in Mysteries & Thrillers, and saw a 77% open rate!
Information in this article is from October 2023, unless otherwise specified. Data includes details from NetGalley.com.