Around the world, one in eight fiction books belongs to the mystery and thriller genres, making it one of the most popular categories. This translates to more than 50 million copies sold annually, as readers are drawn to the suspense, intrigue, and excitement these stories offer.
With so many amazing thriller and mystery books out there, it can be challenging to know which ones to read next.
You’re in the right place, intrepid reader. Here are 25 popular options from across the decades for you to pick from. Happy reading!
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Most Popular Mysteries of all Time
Two authors top the charts in most popular mysteries of all time: Agatha Christie and Arthur Conan Doyle. Both were prolific writers, and best sellers in their lifetimes and beyond.
Agatha Christie has been called the Queen of Crime for her works written during the golden age of mysteries. Her most famous private detective series feature Hercule Poirot, a retired Belgian detective, and Miss Marple, a sharp-witted homebody from a small village.
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie, 1926
One of her best-known novels for its clever plot and the analytical ingenuity of her great detective, Hercule Poirot. This novel was considered controversial in its time due to its innovative twist ending.
Christie, the acknowledged master of the mystery genre, offers the reader just the right mix of clues and red herrings in this intriguing story of secrets, blackmail, and murders in a small gossipy town, all recounted by the local doctor who is in a position to tell all.
And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie, 1939
Credited as the world’s best-selling mystery book, and the sixth best-selling book of all time in any language. A group of ten people are invited to an isolated island, and once stranded there, all are accused of murder. One by one, the guests meet their demise, with each cause of death mysteriously matching up with those from a well-known nursery rhyme.
By the time the police arrive and find the bodies, they can piece together what happened from diaries and the evidence, but they are baffled by the how and why until a written confession reveals the startling conclusion.
4.50 from Paddington by Agatha Christie, 1957
Miss Marple, the astutely intelligent and surprisingly worldly spinster from the little village of St. Mary Mead, has another chance to use her amateur sleuthing skills when her friend sees a stranger being strangled on a passing train.
With no body, no suspects, and no corroborating witnesses, the police turn a deaf ear, but Miss Marple brings her vast knowledge of humankind to bear, as well as her knack for connecting casual comments with the matter at hand. The cast includes the usual engaging complement of small-town folk along with an exceptionally cunning plot.
In his Sherlock Holmes series, Arthur Conan Doyle created a one-of-a kind character. Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes books have never been out of print since the first story was published in 1887.
Singularly eccentric, and by turns arrogant, dismissive, and self-aggrandizing, it is Holmes’ sharp powers of observation and talent for deduction that keep readers coming back. His sidekick and chronicler, Dr. John Watson, acts as the perfect foil.
The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle, 1901
This intricately plotted novel is deliciously tangled and full of deftly drawn characters. Holmes and Watson meet with the new Baronet of Baskerville, hearing of some strange incidents and the family curse, said to be a demonic hound that caused the death of his predecessor.
Dismissing the supernatural, Holmes nonetheless sends faithful Watson to act as bodyguard and investigate any skulduggery.
Add in an escaped convict, mysterious blinking lights in the night, glimpses of a gigantic beast upon the moor, whispered warnings, mistaken identities, and a secret rendezvous in the fog, it will take someone like Sherlock Holmes to unravel the clues and resolve the mystery.
The Adventure of the Speckled Band by Arthur Conan Doyle, 1892
A classic locked-room mystery with dark gothic elements, Doyle himself called this the best of all his stories.
A young woman, newly engaged to be married, visits Holmes and Watson with her tale of strange deaths and an overbearing father. Holmes examines the seemingly inexplicable circumstances and asks Watson to bring his service revolver.
A Scandal in Bohemia by Arthur Conan Doyle, 1891
Holmes is tasked with recovering a compromising photograph of the Bohemian king and an opera singer, Irene Adler, who is blackmailing him over their secret affair. Holmes dons one of his famous disguises and follows her to locate the hiding place of the evidence.
A simple matter for him, Holmes chuckles, until he learns the singer has deduced his ruse. From then on, Holmes will always refer to Adler with reverence as the woman.
The Adventure of Silver Blaze by Arthur Conan Doyle, 1892
Another of Doyle’s favorites. A much-touted racehorse is missing, and its trainer has been murdered. Holmes and Watson hurry to track down Silver Blaze, gone missing on the day before an important race. The clues do not seem to add up until Holmes puts his tracking skills to the test, finding the horse and delivering the killer, drawing the local constabulary to ponder “the curious incident of the dog in the night-time.”
Good Mystery Books from the 21st Century
Given time, some of these books might rival Holmes and Poirot in terms of longevity on the best-selling list!
All The Devils Are Here by Louise Penny, 2023
The 16th novel in the bestselling Inspector Armand Gamache series places the investigator from the Sûreté du Quebec visiting his godfather in Paris.
All is not well when an attempt on the elderly man’s life sends Gamache, his wife, and his second-in-command from the greatest heights to below the streets of the City of Lights, searching out the violent secrets Gamache’s godfather has kept.
As usual, Penny’s incisive characterizations, shrewd observations, and thoughtful plotting keep readers returning time after time.
The Maid by Nita Prose, 2022
Working as a hotel maid, Molly is proud of the crisp order and cleanliness she imposes upon the rooms under her care, until a shocking disorderly corpse disrupts her day. Her lifelong struggles to interpret everyday social skills have brought the police to suspect her, but fortunately her friends rally around her and search out clues to prove what really happened.
It is also fortunate that Molly’s obsessive desire for perfection makes her uniquely qualified to find the out-of-place puzzle piece and solve the murder herself.
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn, 2012
Already hailed by Time magazine as one of the 100 best mystery and thriller books of all time. When the wife of the perfect couple disappears, sympathy for the husband soon turns to suspicion. Told from two points of view, the story reveals bit by bit how each side of this dysfunctional pair is less than they seem to be.
The reader must double- and triple-question what truly happened, and the startling twist mid-way through the book only muddies the waters even further. Deception and manipulation make this a riveting story from start to finish.
Faithful Place by Tana French, 2010
This police procedural masterwork also made it into Time magazine’s 100 best mysteries. Twenty-two years ago, a young man in love planned to run away with his sweetheart, but she never showed up. He left town without her, taking it for granted that she dumped him.
Now an undercover detective, his latest case is following up when her suitcase is found hidden behind a fireplace in an abandoned building. Delving into his own messy and sometimes violent past was something he never expected to do, but nothing will keep him from working towards delayed justice.
The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown, 2003
The murder of a curator at the Louvre Museum sends a Harvard symbologist and a gifted cryptologist sorting through a series of inexplicable clues, leading to disguised symbols in the paintings of Leonardo da Vinci, and into the depths of an occult conspiracy theory.
The trail becomes more and more perilous, leading to a startling secret of centuries past. The pair must decipher the puzzle if they want to survive, for an unknown enemy is every bit as intent on keeping this ancient truth untold.
Top Mystery Books from the 20th Century
Smilla’s Sense of Snow by Peter Høeg, 1992
As a Greenlander, Smilla has an intricate understanding of all types of snow. That is how she is certain the boy who fell from a roof in her adopted home of Denmark did not fall by accident.
As a scientist specializing in snow and ice, Smilla finds herself compelled to pursue the case despite official obstruction, intimidation, and overt threats, finally using her intuitive evaluation of the frozen landscape to track down the real killer.
Presumed Innocent by Scott Turow, 1987
A prosecutor finds the tables turned when he is charged with the murder of his colleague and former lover. Suspense mounts with every twist and turn, new evidence found and misplaced, new testimony presented and discredited, all while the innocent man ponders what really happened, how his obsession and betrayal put his life in such jeopardy.
A compelling plot with a haunting, thought-provoking conclusion.
Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco, 1980
In the year 1327 at a Benedictine abbey, Brother William of Baskerville arrives to investigate charges of heresy, but finds himself embroiled in a series of bizarre deaths. Baskerville must deduce the solution using his sharp-edged observation, droll humor, and the intellectual tools of his day — the logic of Aristotle, the theology of Thomas Aquinas, and the pragmatism of Roger Bacon.
With side excursions to discuss arcane topics such as whether laughter was permissible in the abbey or a perversion of God’s established order, Baskerville at last uncovers what the monastery has protected for ages, and has killed to keep hidden.
The Day of the Jackal by Frederick Forsyth 1971
A thrilling and suspenseful race against time, set against the backdrop of a real life event. In 1962, a top-level assassin puts in motion his meticulously-planned scheme to take down the President of France. Pitted against him is a crack detective, unassuming in the eyes of many, but determined to apprehend the criminal.
This Edgar Award-winning novel follows the killer, known only by his alias, through the attempted assassination of the most highly guarded man in France and his subsequent evasion of arrest, with chilling blow-by-blow descriptions of the culprit and his pursuer outdoing each other in cunning and daring. Breathtaking chase scenes end in a disturbing conclusion.
The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett 1929
This book set the ground rules for private eye fiction. Not only a good detective story, it combines the complicated and satisfying elements of a thriller, a dark comedy, a love story, and a literary exploration of the depths of the human heart.
Sam Spade, tough-minded and cool-headed, is hired to track down a missing statuette, but the case becomes a matter of honor to him when someone guns down his partner. Or maybe it is a matter of good business, for it looks bad when a private detective’s partner is killed on his watch.
With a cadre of assorted colorful characters closing in on the sought-after item, and the local police curious to learn what the private eye has gotten himself into, Spade has a lot of thinking to do about murder, what he will do for love, and what he won’t risk his life for.
Mystery Books from the 19th Century
The Murders in the Rue Morgue by Edgar Allan Poe, 1841
This short story is generally considered to be the first instance of a modern detective tale, introducing C. Auguste Dupin to the world.
This fantastical locked-room mystery also introduced many of the concepts that have become standard in the genre, such as a talented amateur sleuth solving the case when the local police are baffled, interviews with less than reliable witnesses, careful observation of the crime scene to find what is hiding in plain sight, a myriad of extraneous and false clues among the relevant ones, false accusations, and a brilliant deduction unveiled at last.
Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky, 1866
Struggling with poverty and his conscience, Raskolnikov persuades himself that he is doing good for society when he murders a greedy pawnbroker, intending to take her money and generously distribute it to those in need. Once the deed is done, however, he is overcome with remorse and paranoia.
Against the backdrop of 19th century St. Petersburg, Raskolnikov feels increasingly beset, struggling to find redemption while feeling he deserves the worst for the crime he has committed. Soon, his mental and physical health suffer, and it seems his punishment has already begun as he becomes increasingly reckless, driven to confess to anyone who might listen.
The Mystery of Edwin Drood by Charles Dickens, 1870
At his death in 1870, Charles Dickens had published the first six of 12 contracted installments of this novel. Over the years many other writers have penned possible conclusions.
Dickens wrote about the young Edwin Drood confiding in his uncle Jasper about his misgivings regarding his betrothal to Rosa Bud, when unbeknown to him, Jasper lusted after Rosa for himself.
In the meantime, Neville comes to lodge at the same boarding house as Edwin, and he too becomes smitten with Rosa. Edwin and Rosa agree to end their engagement, but before Edwin can return the family ring, he mysteriously disappears. Circumstances seem to point variously to Uncle Jasper and Neville.
It was shortly after this point in the story when Charles Dickens passed away from a stroke, leaving no indications for how he intended to resolve the mystery. “More than 200 endings have been suggested for the novel,” according to the curator of the Charles Dickens Museum in London.
YA Mystery Suspense Books
A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson, 2020
Haunted by a murder-suicide cold case from her high school, true crime enthusiast Pip decides to look into the details for her final school project. While digging into the original investigation, she suspects the facts were other than were reported, and the true culprit might still be out there.
Soon she is uncovering secrets that plenty of people don’t want revealed, making her a candidate to be the next true crime victim.
Award-winning book, praised for its mixture of heart, caring, and comedy.
One of Us Is Lying by Karen M. McManus, 2017
Five high-school students are given detention in the study hall, but only four leave alive. The unpopular creator of a notorious gossip app ends up dead, soon after he announced he would post especially juicy exposés the next day. Did one of them do it, or were all they set up to take the fall?
Initially suspicious of each other, they decide to join forces as pressure against them mounts. This best-selling novel has been praised for its nuanced characters, breaking traditional stereotypes, and giving insights into common adolescent struggles.
The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie: A Flavia de Luce Mystery by Alan Bradley, 2009
In the summer of 1950, young Flavia de Luce, an 11-year-old aspiring chemist with her own personal laboratory, comes across both a dead bird with a collectible stamp stuck to its beak and a dead man in the cucumber patch on her family’s estate.
When her father is accused of murder, Flavia takes to her bicycle and begins an investigation, interviewing possible suspects, chasing down clues, and researching other mysterious deaths, all while avoiding the attention of the local police department.
Written in a style reminiscent of the golden age of mystery fiction, this award-winning series now has 11 sequels.
The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin, 1978
The fun begins when 16 unlikely people are gathered together for the reading of eccentric, game-enthusiast, millionaire Samuel Westing’s will. Soon all are plunged into an adventure, part whodunit and part treasure hunt, bringing the reader along for the ride.
As the story progresses, more and more is revealed of the characters’ backstories while they navigate the riddles, illusions, and slight of hand tricks, exposing clever aliases and multiple subterfuges, and surviving several explosions to reach the unexpected conclusion. A Newbery Medal winner.
The Secret of the Old Clock (Nancy Drew mystery series) by Carolyn Keene, 1930
A well-loved and much-read series of books featuring a 16-year-old (18-year-old in later editions) daughter of a well-known criminal defense lawyer. In this first book of the series, Nancy helps her neighbors search for a missing will. While interviewing other relatives and friends, Nancy learns that a family clock might hold a clue.
Finding an excuse to investigate the summer home where the clock resides, Nancy is overpowered by burglars stealing furniture from the home (including the clock).
Intrepid Nancy escapes, obtains the clock, ducks the gunfire exchange between police and the robbers, and triumphantly produces the missing will, allowing the inheritance to go to the proper heirs.
Tips for Writing Great Mystery Books
Mysteries are about solving a crime. Thrillers are about the race to prevent a crime. At the heart of each are a puzzle, and readers want to collect the puzzle pieces and play along.
For any book, it is important to have a compelling plot, engaging characters, and a setting that enhances and advances the storyline. Beyond that, a mystery also needs a well-constructed crime scene, whether it’s a bloodless misdeed or a gruesome murder, with a goodly number of clues doled out over time. Pacing is essential to keep the reader turning the pages to find out more.
Misdirecting the reader with some red herrings is expected in order for the solution to seem more challenging. This also builds up tension. All the clues, suspense, and discoveries should reach a climax where the detective outs the culprit or uncovers the truth, justice is done, and all is right with the world, until the next book in the series!
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