Mystery books are full of secrets, surprises, and clues waiting to be discovered. They pull you into stories where anything can happen and every detail matters. In this list, you’ll find ten must‑read mysteries that are exciting, easy to follow, and perfect for readers who love solving puzzles. Get ready to meet clever detectives, tricky suspects, and twists that will keep you guessing until the very end.
Not Quite Dead Yet by Holly Jackson
Jet Mason is a young woman from a rich family who thinks she has plenty of time to figure out her life, until she is attacked on Halloween and badly hurt. Doctors say she only has seven days to live, and suddenly everyone around her seems like they could be hiding something. With her health getting worse, Jet teams up with her childhood friend Billy to uncover the truth. She decides that before her time runs out, she’s going to solve the biggest mystery of all: who tried to kill her.
The Tenant by Freida McFaddenBlake Porter thinks his life is going great until he suddenly loses his job and can’t pay for his home. When a friendly woman named Whitney moves in as a renter, things seem better at first, but strange things start happening. The house begins to smell bad, weird noises wake him up at night, and the neighbors act differently toward him. Blake starts to worry that someone knows his secrets and that he might be in danger in his own home.
The Impossible Fortune by Richard Osman
The Thursday Murder Club is having a slow year until a wedding guest asks Elizabeth for help, pulling the whole group back into danger. A criminal is hunting for a secret code that no one can break, and people may be getting kidnapped or worse. Joyce, Ron, Ibrahim, and Joyce’s daughter Joanna team up to solve the mystery, figure out what the code means, and find out what happened to Nick. With trouble closing in fast, the friends must work together to crack the puzzle and stop a new murder before it’s too late.
Vera Wong's Guide to Snooping (On a Dead Man) by Jesse Q. Sutanto
Vera’s life has been calm and happy since the last mystery in her teahouse, but things get exciting again when she meets a worried young woman searching for a missing friend. While cat‑sitting, Vera discovers a police file about an influencer named Xander, whose body was found but whose identity no one can confirm not even his parents. Realizing this missing friend and the mysterious death are the same case, Vera decides she must solve Xander’s murder herself. She’s sure that cracking the mystery will help the young woman, impress Officer Selena, and maybe even bring a little adventure back into her life.
The Blue Monsoon by Damyanti Biswas
A brutal murder at a Mumbai temple pulls Senior Inspector Arnav Singh Rajput into a dangerous new case just as he’s trying to care for his wife during a difficult pregnancy. The victim’s body is marked with strange symbols linked to a secretive cult, and a video of the crime suddenly appears on a famous influencer’s account, making the investigation even more confusing. As Arnav follows the clues, he faces angry communities, a suspicious priest, and threats that put his family at risk. When more bodies are discovered, he realizes the city is hiding darker secrets than he imagined, and he must solve the case before the violence spreads even further.
Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Noemí Taboada travels to a remote mansion in the Mexican countryside after receiving a desperate letter from her newly married cousin, who believes something terrible is happening to her. Even though Noemí is known for her glamorous style rather than detective work, she refuses to be scared off by her cousin’s strange husband, his unsettling family, or the creepy house that fills her dreams with frightening images. With help from the family’s quiet youngest son, Noemí uncovers dark secrets about the family’s past, including stories of violence and madness. As the mysteries of High Place pull her in deeper, she realizes the house may be far more dangerous than she ever imagined.
Gone Before Goodbye by Reese Witherspoon and Harlan Coben
Maggie McCabe is a talented Army surgeon whose life falls apart after a series of tragedies costs her both her confidence and her medical license. When a former colleague offers her a secret job treating a mysterious and extremely wealthy man overseas, she takes the chance, hoping to rebuild her life. But after she completes the risky procedure, her patient suddenly disappears, leaving Maggie blamed and in danger. To survive, she must uncover the truth behind his vanishing before she becomes the next person to go missing.
While Justice Sleeps by Stacey Abrams
Avery Keene is a smart young law clerk whose life changes fast when the Supreme Court justice she works for suddenly falls into a coma and leaves her in charge of his legal decisions. As Avery tries to manage this huge responsibility, she discovers that the justice was secretly investigating a powerful biotech case and a dangerous conspiracy in Washington. Following the clues he left behind, Avery uncovers hidden connections, personal motives, and people who will do anything to keep the truth buried. Soon she realizes that solving the puzzle could put her in serious danger, but it may be the only way to protect both the justice and herself.
The Widow by John GrishamSimon Latch is a small‑town lawyer whose life gets much harder when an elderly widow named Eleanor Barnett hires him to write a new will and reveals she secretly has a lot of money. When Eleanor is later hurt in a car accident and strange details about her story stop making sense, Simon suddenly finds himself accused of her murder. Even though he knows he’s innocent, the evidence makes him look guilty, and he realizes he must uncover the truth and find the real killer before he loses his freedom forever.
Forget Me Not by Stacy Willingham
Claire Campbell returns to her hometown for the summer, twenty‑two years after her older sister Natalie disappeared, hoping to finally move past the pain. To keep busy, she takes a job at a nearby vineyard where her sister once spent time, but things change when she discovers an old diary filled with clues about past crimes. As Claire reads more, she begins to suspect that the diary might be connected to Natalie’s disappearance. What was supposed to be a quiet summer turns into a dangerous search for the truth, pulling Claire deeper into the mysteries she tried so hard to forget.
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