Everyone loves a good mystery. There’s nothing like curling up on the couch on a rainy evening with an Agatha Christie novel. Trying to puzzle out the secret as you read before you reach the end. Whether you like your mystery novels spooky, crime-based, or crossing over into horror territory, this list has got something for everyone.
So if you’re new to the genre or just looking for recommendations, dive in because I guarantee there will be at least one book that strikes your fancy. And if you’re a real mystery aficionado whose just here to see if we’ve included your favorite books on the list, you’re welcome too. Maybe you’ll even find something you haven’t read yet.
True Crime Story by Joseph Knox
An incredibly well-crafted novel that feels so real that people often end up Googling to check. True Crime Story is the mystery of student Zoe Nolan’s disappearance. It’s a really interesting story filled with multiple unreliable narrators. It gets even twistier after Knox inserts his author persona into the narrative.
People Like Her by Ellery Lloyd
Mommy blogger Emma is on her way to stardom when she gets a TV show. But then a stalker starts targeting her family with increasingly dangerous consequences. People Like Her is an unsettling and harrowing read, a book investigating social media, the internalizing of its false narratives, and the dangers that can come with being an influencer.
Murder Must Advertise by Dorothy L. Sayers
Murder Must Advertise follows Lord Peter Wimsey as he goes undercover at an advertising agency where a murder has just taken place. Filled with angry female copywriters, the only cricket match I’ve actually enjoyed reading about, and all the seedy scandal you’d want from a novel set in the ’20s, it’s just a lot of fun—and Wimsey is his delightful, ridiculous self.
Shakespeare‘s Landlord by Charlaine Harris
Shakespeare’s Landlord focuses on the traumatized Lily as she tries to rebuild her life by working as a cleaner in the small town of Shakespeare, Arkansas. Unfortunately, someone keeps killing her clients, dragging her into the ongoing murder investigation whether she likes it or not. A gritty and real portrayal of a sexual assault survivor, Lily is an interesting character that you just want to see thrive.
The Hunting Party by Lucy Foley
Friends reuniting and celebrating the new year in a remote cabin in the Scottish Highlands—what could possibly go wrong? The Hunting Party has a mixture of noxious, over-privileged characters … and some of them you’ll actually root for. It’s a classic Christie-style mystery that keeps you guessing, and you might even be happy to see some of the characters killed off.
Perfume by Patrick Süskind
A sinister and almost horrifying novel that some reviewers have described as depraved. Perfume follows a scentless man, whose lack of smell gives people around him the creeps, on his quest to make the greatest perfume in the world. Unfortunately, that perfume can only be made from the bodies of virgin women, which leads to serial murder and a truly grotesque ending.
A Carol for the Dead by Patrick Dunne
In the middle of winter archaeologist Illaun Bowe unearths two bodies near the neolithic site of Newgrange. What seems at first to be the pre-historic burial of a mother and child abruptly becomes sinister with the discovery that only one of the bodies is as ancient as they thought. A much spookier mystery than the others in the series, with major Victorian Christmas ghost story vibes, A Carol for the Dead poses an incredibly twisty mystery to the reader, with high stakes and a surprising ending.
The Hollow by Agatha Christie
You can’t have a top mystery novels list without Agatha Christie, and The Hollow is a particularly enjoyable one. A Poirot that unusually begins and ends from the perspective of one of the suspects rather than the detective himself, The Hollow follows that classic Christie formula of horrible rich people doing horrible things to each other, and then trying to cover for each other when things go too far and someone ends up dead.
Blood Harvest by S. J. Bolton
A spine-chilling modern gothic novel set in the English countryside, Blood Harvest sees ten-year-old Tom and his family relocating to a remote village where everything is a little more folk horror than they would like. At first, no one believes Tom about the weird goings on, but when his little sister goes missing past and present collide as the adults realize that whatever is happening here is very, very real.
The Death of Mrs. Westaway by Ruth Ware
The Death of Mrs. Westaway is a classic Christie-style novel complete with aristocratic drama, murder, betrayals, and obsessive love. Hal, poor, recently orphaned, and in debt to the local mob, is in a desperate position. So when a lawyer tells her about a bequest from a wealthy grandmother it seems like the answer to all her problems. The only thing is Hal’s grandparents died years ago and this mysterious Mrs. Westaway is a total stranger to her. We learn that Hal’s mother was keeping a lot of secrets from her—secrets that turn increasingly deadly as the truth comes closer to being revealed.
(featured Image: Harper, Berkley, HarperCollins UK, Corgi, Gallery/Scout Press)
