Notable books releasing in October 2026
Keep these upcoming releases on your radar.
It’s nearly the end of the year, but we still have a few months of book releases to look forward to. October 2026 is a strong month, with lots of new books across multiple centres. If you’re a thriller fan, you’ll be pleased to know that crime/thriller books are the focus here. But we also have some intriguing autobiographies (Alice Cooper, Judi Dench, and Gromit, of all trios).
With Christmas coming up, too, we’ve got a smattering of Christmas books (but the majority of the upcoming festive releases have been saved for their own list, coming soon). Scroll on to see the key book releases for October 2026, separated by day. Click through and you’ll also find useful links to Amazon, allowing you to choose the physical, audio or Kindle edition (these are affiliate links).
The October book releases I’m most looking forward to
The key release for me this week is First One to Die by Michael Wood. It’s the fourteenth book in the Matilda Darke police procedural series, a series I’m utterly obsessed with. Matilda might be my all-time favourite protagonist, and Wood is a fantastic author – although a rather ruthless one. Plot armour is not something he believes in, and so I’ll be entering into First One to Die with bated breath.
Also on my list to read this month is Sally-Anne Martyn’s The Witch Elm, which looks to be the perfect spooky, folksy read for October. I’m also keen to jump into Vaseem Khan’s The Man With the Golden Compass – a new take on the James Bond franchise with a second book in a series focusing on Q.
Paperback readers should also make sure Witch Trial is on their radar. I reviewed it earlier in the year, calling it “12 Angry Men meets The Craft”, if you can imagine such a wonderful thing. Part psychological thriller, part courtroom drama, it’s a story tinged with witchcraft, real life, and a sense of not knowing what you can and can’t believe. It’s a delight.
6th October
- The Witch by Freida McFadden (hardback, audio and ebook – also available as part of Kindle Unlimited
- Other Worlds than These: A Talisman Novel by Stephen King and Peter Straub (hardback, audio and ebook)
8th October
- The Heights by Ian Rankin (hardback, audio and book)
- Devil on My Shoulder: A Memoir by Alice Cooper (hardback, audio and ebook)
- The Queerest of Folk by Russell T. Davies (hardback, audio and ebook)
- Bad Words by Rioghnach Robinson (hardback, audio and ebook)
- The Deadly Inheritance of Everest Macdonald by A. J. West (hardback, audio and ebook)
- Who’s That Girl? by Alexandra Potter (paperback, audio and ebook)
- Witch Trial by Harriet Tyce (paperback release)
9th October
- Her Stepmother’s House by K.L. Slater (paperback, audio and ebook)
- The Witch Elm by Sally-Anne Martyn (paperback, audio and ebook – also available on Kindle Unlimited)
13th October
- Peck and Peck by Bonnie Garmus (hardback, audio and ebook)
- Life Out of Order by Audrey Niffenegger (hardback, audio and ebook)
- As We Fall Through Time by Claire North (hardback, audio and book)
22nd October
- Is It Too Late to Make a Run For It? by Judi Dench (hardback, audio and ebook)
- Grand: The Autobiography of Gromit by Nick Park (hardback, audio and ebook)
- The Man With the Golden Compass by Vaseem Khan (hardback, audio and ebook)
- Bah Bloody Humbug by Jo Middleton (paperback, audio and ebook)
- Let The Bells Ring Out by Milly Johnson (paperback release)
27th October
- The Art of Being Easily Pleased by Donna Ashworth (hardback, audio and ebook)
- Public Access Afterworld by Jane Schoenbrun (hardback, audio and ebook)
29th October
- First One to Die by Michael Wood – Matilda Darke #14 (audio and ebook, with paperback out on 5th November)
- Murder on the Royal Crescent by Harriet F. Townson (hardback, audio and ebook)
Have I missed any notable releases? Drop me a line to let me know.
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