I was adding books to my Goodreads page the other day when I realized I had 100 books on my mystery and thriller shelf. Seeing that number inspired me to review that list and think about my favorite titles. I’m sharing 20 of them in this post.
Reading diversely is important to me, and this list of 20 books only offers a couple of diverse titles. Finding more mysteries and thrillers by BIPOC writers is important to me, so I’m also sharing some books I’ve purchased and can’t wait to dive into next.
One more note! Thrillers, mysteries, suspense, and crime are technically individual genres. Still, there’s a lot of overlap between them, so I include them all under the mystery and thriller umbrella for easier categorization. Summaries are from NoveList.
Let’s get to the books!
The Appeal by Janice Hallett
Summary: When the cast of a local theater group raises money for an experimental treatment for the director’s granddaughter, who has a rare form of cancer, one member raises her concerns, creating tensions within the community, which leads to murder.
Why I like this book: I enjoy epistolary novels, and if you do too, you’ll love this mystery told through emails and text messages. The storytelling is creative and fun. I’ve never read another mystery quite like this one.
Bluebird, Bluebird by Attica Locke
Summary: In a rural East Texas town of fewer than 200 people, the body of an African American lawyer from Chicago is found in a bayou, followed several days later by that of a local white woman. What’s going on? African American Texas Ranger Darren Mathews hopes to find out, which means talking to relatives of the deceased, including the woman’s white supremacist husband — and Mathews soon discovers things are more complex than they seem.
Why I like this book: Well-developed, complex characters are something I look for in the books I read, and Attica Locke delivers with Darren Mathews. Bluebird, Bluebird also offers insightful commentary about race relations in a way that never feels didactic.
The Butterfly House by Katrine Engberg
Summary: Detectives Jeppe Karner and Anette Werner race to solve a series of sordid murders linked to some of the most vulnerable patients in a Danish hospital.
Why I like this book: One of my reading goals is to read more books translated into English from other languages. This series by Katrine Engberg is translated from Danish and set in and around Copenhagen. The setting is one of my favorite things about Engberg’s books. She creates a strong sense of place and draws you in with her complicated protagonists and twisty mysteries. I enjoy each book in this series, but The Butterfly House (#2) is my favorite. You could enjoy this without reading The Tenant, the first book.
The Dry by Jane Harper
Summary: Receiving a sinister anonymous note after his best friend’s suspicious death, federal agent Aaron Falk is forced to confront the fallout of a twenty-year-old false alibi against a backdrop of the worst drought Melbourne has seen in a century.
Why I like this book: Like Katrine Engberg, Jane Harper consistently creates memorable, engrossing settings. Harper’s books are set in Australia, and several follow the protagonist we meet in The Dry. Harper’s standalone titles are just as good as this series, though, especially The Survivors.
The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins
Summary: Obsessively watching a breakfasting couple every day to escape the pain of her losses, Rachel witnesses a shocking event that inextricably entangles her in the lives of strangers.
Why I like this book: I love unreliable narrators, and that’s exactly what Hawkins gives readers in this popular thriller. This book is fun and fast-paced, making it a good choice for breaking a reading slump.
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
Summary: When beautiful Amy Dunne disappears from her Missouri home, it looks as if her husband Nick is to blame. But though he protests his innocence, it’s clear that he’s not being entirely truthful. Gone Girl is not only the story of a disappearance, but a truly frightening glimpse of a souring marriage.
Why I like this book: Gillian Flynn is a brilliant mystery writer (her other books are also fantastic). Her characters are deeply flawed yet utterly unforgettable. I read Gone Girl over ten years ago, and I’m still thinking about Amy and Nick.
Her Every Fear by Peter Swanson
Summary: A woman prone to panic attacks in the aftermath of a violent kidnapping relocates to a cousin’s home in Boston, where a neighbor’s murder embroils her in speculation about her cousin’s nature and the intentions of an appealing stranger.
Why I like this book: Peter Swanson is one of my go-to mystery writers. His books are always gripping, and I could have chosen several for this list, but I picked Her Every Fear because it’s stayed with me. I never knew where this book was going, and that’s something I appreciate in a story. Swanson’s latest release, The Kind Worth Saving, is also great. I highly recommend that one too.
Home Before Dark by Riley Sager
Summary: Twenty-five years after her father published a wildly popular non-fiction book based on her family’s rushed exit from a haunted Victorian estate, naysayer Maggie inherits the house and begins renovations only to make a number of disturbing discoveries.
Why I like this book: Riley Sager always delivers fun page-turners (except for The House Across the Lake, which was. . .not great). This novel offers readers a book within a book and plenty of creepy plot twists to keep the tension high.
How Can I Help You by Laura Sims
Summary: Accepting a position at a small-town public library, a recent graduate student and failed novelist discovers a patron dead in the library bathroom and begins to dig up her co-worker’s past as a nurse with a trail of premature deaths.
Why I like this book: I have a thing for books set in libraries or bookstores, so the setting first drew me to this book. I kept reading because of the unreliable narrators and the slow but steady tension Laura Sims created. I devoured this new release and realized I need more books about deranged librarians ASAP.
I Have Some Questions for You by Rebecca Makkai
Summary: A woman must reckon with her past when new details surface about a tragedy at her elite New England boarding school.
Why I like this book: Rebecca Makkai has written a masterful mystery novel about growing up, injustice, and the secrets we keep. The school where this story is set feels like a real place, and the characters who populate its campus are fascinating and multilayered.
In the Woods by Tana French
Summary: Twenty years after witnessing the violent disappearances of two companions from their small Dublin suburb, detective Rob Ryan investigates a chillingly similar murder that takes place in the same wooded area, a case that forces him to piece together his traumatic memories.
Why I like this book: Everything about this novel is excellent. The setting is dark and moody and perfectly complements the story. Rob Ryan is an unforgettable protagonist who carries a lot of baggage. His relationship with his partner Cassie is complex and intriguing. I can’t say enough good things about Tana French. I try not to, but I usually compare each mystery I read to this book.
Little Secrets by Jennifer Hillier
Summary: A year after the disappearance of her son, Marin, a shadow of herself, hires a P.I. to pick up where the police left off, only to discover that her husband is having an affair with a younger woman, which is a problem Marin wants to fix by any means necessary.
Why I like this book: Reading about characters on the brink who are just about to make catastrophic choices is always exciting. That’s one of the reasons I loved this thriller, and as a Washingtonian, I also appreciated the Seattle setting.
Night Film by Marisha Pessl
Summary: When the daughter of a cult horror film director is found dead in an abandoned Manhattan warehouse, investigative journalist Scott McGrath, disbelieving the official suicide ruling, probes into the strange circumstances of the young woman’s death.
Why I like this book: Few novels are as absorbing as this twisty book that contains illustrations, newspaper clippings, images of websites, and other unique storytelling devices. Those imaginative inclusions make Night Film even creepier and help tell an unforgettable, wholly original story.
The Plot by Jean Hanff Korelitz
Summary: Wildly successful author Jacob Finch Bonner, who had stolen the plot of his book from a late student, fights to hide the truth from his fans and publishers, while trying to figure out who wants to destroy him.
Why I like this book: I’m a rule-follower who strives to do the right thing, so reading about characters who definitely do not do the right thing is fun. If you’ve already read and liked this book, try Yellowface by R. F. Kuang for another excellent stolen manuscript story.
Providence by Caroline Kepnes
Summary: A tale of two childhood best friends—part love story, part detective story and part supernatural thriller—follows Jon, a boy with a strange power that can harm those he most loves, as he aims to protect his friend, Chloe, from it.
Why I like this book: As I read Providence, I saw it like a movie or TV show in my head. Caroline Kepnes is such a cinematic writer, and the world she created in this novel is one I absolutely love.
Sadie by Courtney Summers
Summary: Told from the alternating perspectives of nineteen-year-old Sadie who runs away from her isolated small Colorado town to find her younger sister’s killer, and a true crime podcast exploring Sadie’s disappearance.
Why I like this book: This YA novel is beautifully written and engaging. Tying podcast episodes into the book’s structure adds a unique tone to this thrilling and surprisingly moving story. I often recommend Sadie to students, and it’s been a massive hit in my school libraries.
The Secret History by Donna Tartt
Summary:: A transfer student from a small town in California, Richard Papen is determined to affect the ways of his Hampden College peers, and he begins his intense studies under the tutelage of eccentric Julian Morrow.
Why I like this book: Dark academia books have been trendy lately (thanks, TikTok!), and this book is the best of that genre. Donna Tartt is a genius at crafting suspense and memorable characters. The Secret History is one of my all-time favorites.
Unmissing by Minka Kent
Summary: Merritt Coletto and her husband, Luca, have the life they dreamed of: a coastal home, a promising future, and a growing family. That dream ends with a late-night knock on the door. Weak, broken, and emaciated, it’s Luca’s first wife, Lydia. Missing for ten years, presumed dead, and very much alive, she has quite a story. Her kidnapping. A torturous confinement that should’ve ended with her dead. And finally, escape. Racked with guilt over the beautiful life they’ve built, Merritt and Luca agree to help get Lydia back on her feet—it’s the least they can do. But the more enmeshed Lydia becomes in Merritt’s family, the more questions Merritt has. What is it about Lydia that’s especially unnerving? Why hasn’t she gone to the police with her harrowing tale? What does she really want of them? The answers, when they come, are terrifying. – Goodreads
Why I like this book: Unmissing is one of those books that surprised me repeatedly. I started reading it around 9:00 or 10:00 p.m. and continued until I finished the book around 3:00 a.m. My head was spinning when I reached the final page!
Watching You by Lisa Jewell
Summary: When a murder occurs in Melville Heights, one of the nicest neighborhoods in Bristol, England, dangerous obsessions come to light involving the headmaster at a local school, in this place where everyone has a secret.
Why I like this book: Lisa Jewell is one of my favorite writers because of her impressive plots and well-developed characters. She’s another author who routinely delivers great settings that make me feel I’m right in the middle of the action. Jewell’s upcoming book, None of This Is True, releases on August 8th. It’s a fabulous, wild story I devoured within 24 hours, so place your library hold now.
Who Is Maud Dixon? by Alexandra Andrews
Summary: Florence Darrow believes that she’s destined to become a famous writer. When she becomes the assistant to “Maud Dixon,” a bestselling novelist, she believes that it’s her big chance. Helen (“Maud”) can be prickly, but she is full of wisdom on both writing and life. She invites Florence along on a research trip to Morocco, where her new novel is set, and Florence hopes that she, too, will have something to write about. But when Florence wakes up in the hospital after a terrible car crash, and Helen is dead, she begins to imagine what it might be like to ‘upgrade’ into not only Helen’s life, but also that of Helen’s pseudonym.
Why I like this book: NoveList says this book is “darkly humorous” and “intricately plotted,” and I agree. People who enjoy books about books and writers will find much to love in this notable story.
Mystery and Thriller Picks by BIPOC Authors
Here are some of the books that are waiting for me on my bookshelves.
Lemon by Kwon Yeo-Sun
In the summer of 2002, when Korea is abuzz over hosting the FIFA World Cup, nineteen-year-old Kim Hae-on is killed in what becomes known as the High School Beauty Murder. Two suspects quickly emerge: rich kid Shin Jeongjun, whose car Hae-on was last seen in, and delivery boy Han Manu, who witnesses Hae-on in the passenger seat of Jeongjun’s car just a few hours before her death. But when Jeongjun’s alibi turns out to be solid, and no evidence can be pinned on Manu, the case goes cold. Seventeen years pass without any resolution for those who knew and loved Hae-on, and the grief and uncertainty take a cruel toll on her younger sister, Da-on, in particular. Unable to move on with her life, Da-on tries in her own twisted way to recover some of what she’s lost, ultimately setting out to find the truth of what happened. – Goodreads
The Lost Ones by Sheena Kamal
Contacted by the desperate adoptive parents of the child she gave up 15 years earlier, Nora teams up with her mutt companion and embarks on a search through the streets of Vancouver only become enmeshed in a puzzling conspiracy.
The Other Black Girl by Zakiya Dalila Harris
Tired of being the only Black employee at Wagner Books, 26-year-old editorial assistant Nella Rogers is thrilled when Harlem-born and bred Hazel is hired until she after a string uncomfortable events, is elevated to Office Darling, leaving Nella in the dust.
The Unquiet Dead by Ausma Zehanat Khan
Detective Esa Khattack and his partner, Detective Rachel Getty, investigate the death of a local man who may have been a Bosnian war criminal with ties to the Srebrenica massacre of 1995.
The Violin Conspiracy by Brendan Slocumb
Ray McMillian loves playing the violin more than anything, and nothing will stop him from pursuing his dream of becoming a professional musician. Not his mother, who thinks he should get a real job, not the fact that he can’t afford a high-caliber violin, not the racism inherent in the classical music world. And when he makes the startling discovery that his great-grandfather’s fiddle is actually a priceless Stradivarius, his star begins to rise. Then with the international Tchaikovsky Competition-the Olympics of classical music-fast approaching, his prized family heirloom is stolen. Ray is determined to get it back. But now his family and the descendants of the man who once enslaved Ray’s great-grandfather are each claiming that the violin belongs to them. With the odds stacked against him and the pressure mounting, will Ray ever see his beloved violin again?
Do you have any favorites on this list? What books top yours?
Andrea Is Reading 
Wow, these look like some great reads! My TBR is toppling over but I’m adding them anyway! LOL 🤍
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