| 100% | DROP | 4 | 2025 thriller about a date interrupted by threatening messages from a stranger |
| 31% | ALN | 3 | English river mentioned by Ptolemy and the site of a still-occupied castle dating from about 1096 |
| 30% | SCENT | 5 | "A Good ___ from a Strange Mountain" (Pulitzer winner by Robert Olen Butler) |
| 29% | SCENT | 5 | "A Good ___ from a Strange Mountain" (Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Robert Olen Butler) |
| 29% | THEWATCHER | 10 | Netflix mystery thriller about a married couple harassed by a stalker: 2 wds. |
| 29% | THEACCOUNTANT | 13 | 2016 thriller about a man hunted by the Treasury Department for sanitizing the financial records of criminal organizations |
| 29% | HOOT | 4 | YA novel by Carl Hiaasen about a threatened owl habitat |
| 28% | YOU | 3 | Netflix psychological thriller about a bookstore manager stalking a writer co-created by Sera Gamble |
| 28% | INFAMY | 6 | "... a date which will live in ___" (line from a speech about Pearl Harbor) |
| 28% | DONOTDISTURB | 12 | 2021 thriller by 32-Across about a woman on the run after committing a crime (3 wds.) |
| 28% | THEANTIDOTE | 11 | 2025 novel by 30-Across about a Nebraska town during the Great Depression: 2 wds. |
| 27% | DIGITAL | 7 | "___ Fortress," thriller written by Dan Brown about a supercomputer that cracks cryptic codes |
| 27% | THEHOUSEMAID | 12 | 2022 thriller by 32-Across about a woman working as a cleaner for a rich family (2 wds.) |
| 27% | MICHAELBENNETT | 14 | Thriller series, cowritten by 16-Across, about a Big Apple detective raising 10 adopted kids: 2 wds. |
| 27% | BLINKTWICE | 10 | 2024 psychological thriller about strange events on a tech billionaire's private island (2 wds.) |
| 27% | FIRSTLIEWINS | 12 | 2024 thriller by 44-Across about a woman who takes on secret identities (3 wds.) |
| 27% | REASON | 6 | "Just Give Me a ___," song by singer Pink from her album "The Truth About Love" |
| 27% | SEEME | 5 | Message from a teacher |
| 27% | SEEME | 5 | Message from a supervisor |
| 27% | TEXT | 4 | Message from a smartphone |
| 27% | EMAIL | 5 | Message from a server |
| 27% | COO | 3 | Message from a pigeon? |
| 27% | CODE | 4 | Message from a spy |
| 26% | HISS | 4 | Threatening sound from a cat |
| 26% | SENDCASH | 8 | Message from a short person? |
| 26% | EMAIL | 5 | Message from a BlackBerry, maybe |
| 26% | TVAD | 4 | Message from a sitcom sponsor |
| 26% | SOS | 3 | Message from a stranded person |
| 26% | SOS | 3 | Message from a sinking ship |
| 26% | OINK | 4 | Message from a pen pal? |