10 Books for the Mystery Lover in Your Life
Hoping to find the perfect gift for the mystery lover in your life? Look no further, friend. I’ve got you covered. From stand-alones to series starters, from trope troves to trope twisters, this list contains the best the genre has to offer.
I will die on the Tana French hill. There are few writers - period - who can write as well as French. Atmospheric, moody, and nostalgic, her Dublin Murder Squad series is perfect for just about anyone who enjoys a good detective story. Each novel features a different detective, so the books don’t actually have to be read in any particular order. The first in the series, though, is In the Woods, and I usually tell folks to start there.
When homicide detective, Rob Ryan, was a child, he went into the woods with his friends. He emerged badly injured and unable to remember what happened. His friends never returned. Twenty years later, a girl is murdered in those same woods. Are the cases connected, and will Ryan finally remember the events of that day so long ago?
I love, love, love this stand-alone by Liz Moore. It’s got all the best detective tropes and SO MUCH MORE. Mickey is a police officer working a Philadelphia neighborhood where addiction and crime run rampant. Women—drug addicts and prostitutes—are starting to turn up murdered, and it appears a serial killer may be prowling the streets. As the murders begin, Mickey’s sister, Kacey, an addict, goes missing, and Mickey fears she may have fallen victim to the killer. The narrative alternates between the present day investigation and Mickey and Kacey’s childhood, exploring how the two sisters forged such different paths.
This is a book about solving murders. It’s also a book about addiction, abuse of power, and family bonds.
Horowitz is an expert in writing a genre I call the meta-mystery. “The Word is Murder” is the first in the “Hawthorne and Horowitz Mystery” series and features none other than Anthony Horowitz himself as the protagonist.
When a woman is strangled hours after planning her own funeral, disgraced former detective, Daniel Hawthorne wants to solve the case. Having met Horowitz previously, Hawthorne, out of work and in need of some cash, approaches the writer with a proposal. Horowitz can tag along while Hawthorne solves the case and then write a tell-all book about it. They’ll split the proceeds. As the case progresses, Horowitz wonders if maybe he made a deal with the devil.
This one’s a whodunnit with a whole lot of heart. Molly Gray loves being a maid at a luxury hotel, and she takes her job VERY seriously, but Molly, who is still grieving her beloved grandmother's death, finds it hard to connect with other people. She often misreads social cues. Without Gran, she has no one to help her navigate the world.
When Molly discovers the body of a wealthy guest at the hotel, she is swept up in the investigation. Her struggle to read situations causes some missteps, and she must learn who she can trust in order to avoid being blamed for the crime. Funny and warm, this is a good, lighter read for your mystery reader.
I may be partial to this one, because it takes place in Iowa, but this first in what will be a series is one to check out if you haven’t already. Young is actually British. Fascinated by Iowa (huh?), she traveled to the Cyclone State to research the setting for this novel, and her Iowa research shows!
Riley Fisher is a sergeant in the Black Hawk County Sheriff's Office. The first woman to hold her position and the daughter of the former sheriff, she has something to prove. When women start turning up dead around the county, one of whom is a childhood friend, Riley knows she must act quickly to prevent more murders. But past trauma the case drudged up, as well as current issues within her family, are getting in the way.
Regional topics like big agriculture and substance abuse play significant roles in the story, making this a good pick for any mystery lover who lives in the heartland.
If you dig a little paranormal with your mysteries, try this haunting read by Simone St. James.
This murder mystery/ghost story/thriller alternates between two storylines that take place 35 years apart. The first takes place in 1982 and belongs to Viv; she is a night clerk at the Sun Down motel who witnesses strange things that lead her to begin investigating of a string of seemingly unrelated murders in the area. Viv disappears, never to be heard from again.
The second story belongs to her niece, Carly, who has decided to see if she can solve the case of her missing aunt. Carly also takes on a job at the Sun Down and bears witness to some of the strange happenings her aunt saw while working at the motel.
Fast-paced and creepy, this one will keep you entertained (and probably up all night).
Another Iowa mystery, this time in rural, north central Iowa. True crime writer, Wylie Lark, is finishing her latest book about a double homicide and is staying in the farmhouse where the grisly crime occurred more than 20 years ago. One night, in the middle of an intense winter storm, Wylie finds an unconscious child nearly frozen to death in her yard. How did he get there—miles from anywhere—in a blizzard?
The novel spans one night. As Wylie comes to understand the precarious situation of her overnight guest, she questions whether either of them will survive the night.
The short time span of this novel and its eerie setting make for a chilling winter read.
Cultish reads are totally a thing right now and this is one of the better cult-y reads of 2022.
Travis Wren, who has the preternatural ability to sense people's movements through the objects they've possessed, is hired to find Maggie St. James, a famous children’s author who went missing five years ago. His ability leads him up a desolate mountain road, and he, too, is not seen again.
Years later, in a decades old, remote mountain commune where citizens are prohibited from leaving and no one is allowed in, a man named Theo, his wife Calla, and her sister, Bee, start find strange items in their home and buried in the garden - items that suggest both Maggie and Travis have been at the commune, but who were they, and why were they there? And - most importantly - where are they now?
This one will keep you guessing!
This grisly start to a trilogy is for the mystery lover who likes their books twisted and, frankly, psychopathic. It’s a staff favorite, which maybe isn’t something worth admitting.
A serial killer is found dead and on his body is his journal. Detective Sam Porter delves into the sick mind of the killer with the hope that he can find the last victim, who he suspects may have made it out alive. Propulsive and depraved, this one isn’t for the faint of heart.
Last but not least, I offer you the only nonfiction title on this list, true crime masterpiece, “We Keep the Dead Close” by Becky Cooper.
Cooper muses, "There are no true stories; there are only facts, and the stories we tell ourselves about those facts." In her book, Cooper takes a deep dive into the 50 year old unsolved murder of Harvard archeology student, Jane Britton, taking the reader down the rabbit hole of the multiple theories and prime suspects that have become the lore of this case. I hesitate to even lump this in the true-crime genre, because it really is a whole lot more. Lots of commentary on academia, gender, and the perils of constructing narratives. Smart and wholly engaging, this under-the-radar book is deserving of any mystery reader/true crime lover’s attention.
