Life is a river of challenges and hurdles. And we undergo many situations that are impossible to explain; that’s exactly what mystery is. A mystery is something that leaves you puzzled and thrilled. And it brings out the inner detective in you.
When it comes to books, everyone loves the mystery genre. Well, who would not like twisty and thrilling plots? When you go through the mystery books, what do you seek? Most probably a mind-blowing story that keeps you wondering who the culprit is.
If you are looking for some exciting mystery novels, read on. We have listed some of the dazzling and dramatic mystery books. These books comprise puzzles, secrets, unsolved issues, murder, death, crime, suspense, morbidity, and riddles.
So, if you are weak-hearted and get threatened by jumps and surprises, opt for other genres. But, if you like to solve crack riddles and puzzles, this is for you. Go through the blog and dive into the bizarre world.
The Maltese Falcon
This book is by Dashiell Hammett, the father of the hard-boiled detective type. These books always depend on dialogue and less on everything else, such as long-winded descriptions to move the plot. In addition, the book got published in 1930.
Dashiell Hammett managed to get something brilliant written but less published. For most of his life, he suffered from tuberculosis, alcoholism, and writer's block.
So far, this novel has got transformed into four different movies. But the best one is the 1941 version with Peter Lorre and Humphrey Bogart. John Huston is the director of this movie. Try to watch the movie once you get done reading the book.
Gone Girl
The book is mostly known for its picture adaptation. The Gone Girl is a tough nut to crack for the modern media age. In addition, the credit for his book goes to Gillian Flynn.
The story is about a devoted wife named Amy. Her sudden disappearance throws Nick Dunne, her husband, into a storm of suspicion. Everyone from her parents to his neighbors to the investigators thinks he is the one responsible for this.
Nick gets to know how his wife regards him. Also, he understood how little he knew of her. It happens when he listens to her emerge from buddies he has never heard. The venture of reading the minds of these unpredictable narrators will be worth it.
The Big Sleep
The book is by Raymond Chandler. His ideas for mystery novels deviate from conventions. He used to focus more on the atmosphere and characters rather than the intricate plot.
The story revolves around the blackmail of Carmen Sternwood, the second daughter of a rich general. And Philip Marlowe gets hired to investigate this matter. Further, when he gets into the business, it becomes more complicated. The reason was that Carmen persists in being blackmailed by others in a trap of random relations between the characters.
Chandler's work is complicated as his characters are versatile. And the language he uses forecasts the disaster about to fall on that family. Yet, the hints you get will not take you to the final result. But it makes you more excited to know about the story.
Murder On The Orient Express
When it comes to selecting which Agatha Christie novel to read as her all-time best is a challenging task to do. Most of the mystery books feature the list of her titles. Should we choose The Murder Of Roger Ackroyd? Or we should go for The Murder At The Vicarage.
Then There Were None is also outstanding. But we chose Murder On The Orient Express. This novel is famous for its twisty ending. The outcome of the crime is so simple, graceful, and daring that no one can imagine it.
The Whistler
When it comes to mystery books, the books of John Grisham are always on the list. It is one of the American bestsellers. The story covers the professional life of two lawyers.
Moreover, they come across a risky and deadly case. It exposes the reality of corruption in the judicial system. The case exposes the impenetrable mischief that she has to face.
The Moonstone
This book is known to be the first detective book in the English language. The epistolary work shows that it is the work of mid-nineteenth-century literature. Further, the book got serialized in Charles Dickens magazine. At that time, the book was famous as “a sensation novel.”
Wilkie Collins is the writer of this sensational book. The story is about a woman who holds a diamond. Further, someone steals it from her. Then, the story revolves around who stole the diamond and the reason behind it.
Anatomy of a Murder
The book is a novelized version of a real case Voelker found. Robert Traver is the writer of this book. Also, Traver penned a few other fiction novels and a few nonfiction books regarding fishing.
Anatomy of a Murder is an early and prominent example of courtroom riddles. And it is the one that prepares the ground for future works in the subgenre. Although many regard this book as the best of its type ever written, it is somehow complex.
The story is about a man charged with murder.
And it is about all that happened on the night of the murder. Furthermore, you will read if the lawyers can successfully defend the accused in court. It has fast-paced and fantastic dialogue.
The book got transformed into an excellent movie in 1959. The movie presents James Stewart, George C. Scott, and many other big names. The director of the movie was Otto Preminger. And it got nominated for seven Academy Awards.
The Postman Always Rings Twice
This is the most prominent crime book of the 20th century. The story is full of quick, racy, and surprises. It will leave you out of time to take a breath. M. Cain wrote this book. Further, the language used by Cain was so unprecedentedly clear. The book got restricted in Boston for a while.
The story pursues Frank Chambers and his roadside meeting with diner owner Cora Papadakis. Frank turns out to be working for Cora. And her husband then falls in love with her, despite her marriage.
Frank’s spontaneousness gets the better of him when he and Cora choose to menacingly plot the split of her marriage. Once the plan thrives, they can remain happily ever after in each other’s arms, or so they think.
Women in White
This late Victorian novel is among the earliest psychological suspenders by Wilkie Collins. The story is about two unhappy lovers — Walter Hartright and Laura Fairlie. They do not aim to be together.
Laura was with Sir Percival Glyde. That's why she does not want to proceed with the marriage. Meanwhile, the city gets spellbound by the story of a strange woman clad in white. She keeps roaming in the dark street.
As the title suggests, this final character is the key to the mystery. It is going to hide these characters. Set in dimly-lit streets, the woman in white is very scary just as in the mystery book. So, it becomes very satisfying to read when the mystery gets solved.
The Deep Blue Good-by
The Deep Blue Good-By is the first of the Travis McGee sequence. Travis McGee was a personality whose work was “salvage”. Or accomplish things back for people; when they could not go through normal permitted channels to retrieve whatever they had lost.
All the books have a color on the label. And all the books have McGee trying to bring back something for a handsome fee as he works inside or outside the law.
The book tells about a person whose main job is just cracking mysteries. He lives on the edges of society. Additionally, he works on the fringes of the law. As you move further, the story will make you question the world you live in and society at large.
Da Vinci Code
There is also a movie in this book. The main character gets performed remarkably well by Tom Hanks. You will remain in a sleepy trance after reading this book.
The book is about a symbolist named Langdon, who gets up one day to a phone call. After that phone call, his life turns upside down. After this, he has to escape from the police in the search for the historical secret.
On his journey, he meets a French cryptologist, Sophie. And altogether, they unravel a sequel of weird mysteries. And also crack the codes concealed under the art of Leonardo Da Vinci.
The Blessing Way
The Blessing Way was the first of 18 books by Tony Hillerman. It was a series that featured Detective Joe Leaphorn. Later on, Detective Jim Chee also joins the plot. The book has a story related to police procedures.
So, The Blessing Way has a multi-layered affair like the other books in the series. In the story, there is always one or more murders to unravel by Leaphorn. But there are also multiple local anthropology, archeology, and sociology that play important parts in the stories.
Cinnamon Skin
Cinnamon Skin is a kind of mystery/thriller by MacDonald. he wrote this book almost 20 years after the first one. The Deep Blue Good-By is one of the last John D. MacDonald books in the Travis McGee sequence.
In this book, a regular character comes into the scene: Meyer, the retired economist. And this mystery sets upon one of Meyer’s families. Hence the murder involves one of Meyer’s families, both McGee and Meyer carry it personally.
The Eye of The Beholder
The book is going to give you goosebumps and chills with its mysteries. This book by Marc Behm is very popular. The plot focuses on a female serial killer. Further, she has an extreme dislike for men. However, you will get to the reason behind it. And the reason is valid.
A private detective was behind this slayer for about ten years. At last, you will get to know the relationship between these two characters. And it will be the most unexpected and fascinating one you will ever find.
Out
This mystery-thriller obtained the Best Novel award from the Mystery Writers of Japan in 1997. Plus, it acquired an Edgar Award nomination after its translation into English in 2004.
The story is about a young mother from Tokyo. She works in a Tokyo box lunch company. Moreover, she chokes her abusive husband. And her co-workers help her hide the crime. The story will leave you thrilled.
The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo
This was the first book of Stieg Larsson’s Millennium series. The story familiarizes us with two main characters- journalist Mikael Blomkvist and freelance hacker Lisbeth Salander.
Although the characters were strange to each other, yet find themselves both trying to find the same person. They were searching for the person who allegedly killed Harriet Vanger. She was the niece of one of the most affluent men in Sweden.
Blomkvist gets an invitation to stay over at the wealthy family’s island. At that place, he comes into contact with other family members who were present at the scene years ago. And he starts to wonder if any of them was responsible for it.
Big Little Lies
This captivating book is by Liane Moriarty. In this book, there is a character, Jane. She is a single mother and sends her son to kindergarten. There she meets two mothers — Madeleine and Celeste.
They go through an array of family dramas, from ex or abusive husbands to dark histories. Jane does not have a clue about it. But there’s a part of her past that makes her fit well into this wild mystery.
No one ever shows their domestic issues. And they keep acting normal in front of each other. And that makes Big Little Lies so much more fascinating.
Conclusion
These are the famous mystery books that you must give a shot at. They will keep you awake at night. Check out the list of mystery books and plunge into the thrilling experience.
