Top 12 Murder Mystery Books For Adults Updated 04 /2024

When you open up a mystery book, what do you think you will find? Probably a thrilling story that makes you wonder who did it. People who like mystery books with clever clues sprinkled in along the way will enjoy the best ones. The best thing about reading a crime novel is being able to solve a difficult puzzle and still be able to say "I knew it!" when the end comes.

If there is a good murder case in a mystery book, it will always be at the top of the list. Other stories have their own advantages, too. Whether you're looking for a true crime book, an espionage adventure, or a whodunnit riddle, we've got the 30 best mystery books that you can't miss out on to keep you on the edge of your seat.

And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie

It's impossible to talk about mystery novels and not think of the legendary Agatha Christie. And Then There Were None is the best-selling mystery book of all time because the story is so well-written. This is why it is so popular.

In the story, there are ten people who are brought together for different reasons to an empty mansion on a small island. They all end up there. The mysterious hosts of this party aren't there, but they left instructions for two of the ten to take care of the house and cook. People who are invited to the party have to deal with their pasts and face the music (literally) as the days go by. They will die one by one.

The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler

Raymond Chandler's idea of a mystery is different from what most people think. For him, it's not about the complicated plot, but about the atmosphere and the people in it. When Philip Marlowe is hired to look into the blackmailing of Carmen Sternwood, the second daughter of a wealthy general, the story isn't just any old one. To make things even more complicated for him, Carmen keeps getting blackmailed by other people in a web of connections that didn't seem to be there at the start.

Chandler's work is very complicated. His characters are very different, and his language is full of hints about the tragedy that is about to happen to this family. If you look at the signs he drops, though, you won't be able to figure out "who did this." It will, however, make it hard to put down.

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

Gone Girl, which was made into a major movie, is the ultimate mystery puzzle for the modern media age. It may be better known than the movie because of that. Amy's sudden disappearance throws Nick Dunne into a storm of suspicion. From her parents to his neighbors to the police, everyone thinks he did something. How his wife saw him and how little Nick knew about her comes to light when he hears about her from people he's never met.

This book is worth getting even if you didn't know about the movie adaptation. You can read the minds of these untrustworthy narrators, and that's worth the price of admission.

The Postman Always Rings Twice by James M. Cain

Is it hard to see why the book The Postman Always Rings Twice is so important? It's short, sexy, and full of surprises, so you won't have time to catch your breath. He used language that was so shocking that the book had to be taken off shelves in Boston for a while.

Frank Chambers meets Cora Papadakis at a diner on the side of the road. In the end, Frank works for Cora's husband and falls in love with her, even though she is married. His spontaneity gets the best of him when he and Cora decide to plot for the breakup of Cora's marriage in an evil way. Once the plan works, they can stay together happily ever after.

In Cold Blood by Truman Capote

You might think that because it's about a real-life case that has already been solved, all the mystery is gone from Truman Capote's In Cold Blood. This isn't true at all. As it turns out, that isn't true at all. This nonfiction book is one of the best-selling crime stories of all time.

Capote had been following the investigation of a quadruple murder in Kansas very closely. Before the killers were caught, he did a little research of his own. You won't see things like this in his book, which is why it is full of twists and turns you wouldn't expect.

 Woman in White by Wilkie Collins

This late Victorian book by Wilkie Collins is one of the first psychological thrillers ever written. What at first seems like a simple story about two lovers who were meant to be together turns out to be a lot more complicated than it first appears. In a strange way, Laura was told not to marry Sir Percival Glyde. When a white-clad woman walks down a dark street, people are shocked.

As the title says, this last person is the key to the mystery that will engulf these people. As a Gothic horror book, The Woman in White is just as much a mystery book as it is a horror book. That's why the clarity you get when the riddle is solved is so satisfying.

Anatomy of a Murder by Robert Traver

It used to be that before there were shows like How To Get Away With Murder and Suits, there were shows about lawyers and criminal cases. So many people love Anatomy of a Murder, which was written by a Supreme Court Justice who used the name Robert Traver. It's about a lawyer named Paul Biegler and the case of Frederick Manion, who is accused of killing an innkeeper. In spite of the fact that the case against Manion is overwhelming, his unreliable behavior leaves room for appeals against his conviction. That's where Biegler comes in. Drama: You'll be on the edge of your seat wondering how this lawyer can fight such a hard case.

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy by John le Carré

Ex-spy George Smiley (codename Beggarman) is brought out of retirement to find a Soviet mole in the British Intelligence Service. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is full of interesting codenames and stressful covert actions. Smiley is called out of retirement to find the Soviet mole. Smiley is trying to find the double-agent in a group of old friends. You've probably never seen the "Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer" motto in action like this. With a little help from these mysteriously named characters, you can join Smiley as he fights to protect his home country.

It will also show you how social tensions were so high in the 1970s, when the Cold War was at its peak.

The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown

Dan Brown knows how to write a riddle. If you read The Da Vinci Code, you can see for yourself. On a whim, Professor Robert Langdon is brought to Paris to solve a strange murder in the Louvre. He wants to know what happened. Dan Brown and his sidekick, cryptologist Neveu, try to figure out the artistic riddles that were left at the scene. All of them are connected to Leonardo da Vinci's work, so Brown takes his readers around the City of Love in silence.

You can picture Dan Brown walking around Paris for hours looking at paintings and statues before he came up with this crazy idea for Langdon's quest to solve the case. The story that comes out of this is shockingly good to read, and it will make you want to go to Paris to follow in the footsteps of Langdon.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

If a good mystery book has been turned into a movie, then it must be a good book. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo isn't the only one. The first book in Stieg Larsson's Millennium series introduces us to journalists Mikael Blomkvist and Lisbeth Salander, two freelance hackers who work for each other and for the government. In the end, the characters both want to find the person who supposedly killed the niece of one of Sweden's wealthiest men 40 years ago. Invited by the wealthy family, Blomkvist stays on their island for a while. There he meets other family members who were there at the scene years ago and wonders whether any of them had anything to do with it.

In the book, Blomkvist reads through a lot of old notes and newspaper clippings to figure out what this family is like. This book is about a family feud and a blackmailing scheme, but Larsson adds extra details about the characters' personal lives to make them more interesting.

The Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey

The Daughter of Time is a book about King Richard III. We'll go back in time again to read about him. Scotland Yard Inspector Alan Grant takes a break from modern-day cases while he recovers from an injury. He still looks for puzzles to keep him busy. After that, he comes across the mystery of King Richard III, a king who is said to have killed people but who Grant only sees as kind and wise. Grant searches through old records to solve a complicated case that happened a long time ago.

Josephine Tey makes the past come alive in this book. She shows how history is used to reopen a case that was closed and forgotten. The Daughter of Time is a good drama with a lot of political intrigue and weird records that make it a lot of fun to read and a lot of fun for the readers and the critics.

---