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  1. Genres
  2. ›Mystery

Best Mystery Books

Mystery and detective fiction

2,086 summaries

Showing 2,017–2,040 of 2,086

  1. The Cloud of Unknowing

    Thomas H. Cook

    ★ 3.5 (713) average on GoodreadsThriller

    A man’s life unravels as his brilliant sister, consumed by grief and a Gaia-inspired delusion, implicates her husband in their schizophrenic son’s drowning, forcing him to confront the dark legacy of their family’s mental illness and the terrifying possibility of murder.

  2. Sammy Keyes and the Showdown in Sin City

    Wendelin Van Draanen

    ★ 4.4 (701) average on GoodreadsChildren's

    Armed with an army of Elvis impersonators in Las Vegas, junior detective Sammy Keyes uncovers the long-hidden truth about her father, confronting family secrets that prove more costly than any case she's ever solved.

  3. The Prisoner

    Omar Shahid Hamid

    ★ 4.0 (686) average on GoodreadsPolitics

    In the chilling streets of Karachi, a kidnapped American journalist's Christmas Eve execution deadline ignites a desperate race against time, exposing a city rife with jihadis, corrupt police, and treacherous political machinations where nothing is as it seems.

  4. Way Down Deep

    Ruth White

    ★ 3.9 (681) average on GoodreadsFantasy

    An orphaned girl in 1940s West Virginia uncovers the mystery of her origins, only to discover that the truest family ties are forged not by blood, but by the unwavering love of the quirky town that raised her.

  5. This Is the Story of You

    Beth Kephart

    ★ 3.4 (679) average on GoodreadsYoung Adult

    After a superstorm destroys her barrier island home and strands her family, a young woman must solve the mysteries of a vanished friend and a strange arrival, all while facing a future as broken as the land around her.

  6. The Royal Family

    William T. Vollmann

    ★ 3.9 (669) average on GoodreadsLiterary Fiction

    A grief-stricken private detective, haunted by his brother's wife's suicide, goes into San Francisco's underworld to find the fabled Queen of Prostitutes, blurring the lines between loss, desire, and the city's hidden depravities.

  7. The Secrets She Keeps

    Deb Caletti

    ★ 3.3 (660) average on GoodreadsHistorical Fiction

    Three women facing marital problems uncover the scandalous secrets of a 1950s Nevada 'divorce ranch,' revealing how the past's quest for freedom mirrors their own search for love and self amid change.

  8. Spirited

    Mary Behre

    ★ 3.6 (656) average on GoodreadsThriller

    Haunted by a spectral gift she desperately wants to ignore, a woman finds herself entangled in a detective's murder investigation, forcing her to reveal her supernatural secrets to the very man determined to expose her.

  9. The Secret of Laurel Oaks

    Lois Ruby

    ★ 3.8 (641) average on GoodreadsFantasy

    A contemporary girl with a gift for sensing spirits must unravel a 150-year-old murder mystery at a haunted Louisiana plantation to clear the name of a wrongly accused slave girl and finally bring peace to her restless spirit.

  10. Stirring Up Trouble

    Juli Alexander

    ★ 3.6 (637) average on GoodreadsFantasy

    A teenage witch with a knack for potions navigates high school crushes, a complicated blended family, and the temptation to use forbidden magic to fix her messy life, all while trying to find a substitute for toad slime.

  11. Superstition

    David Ambrose

    ★ 3.7 (617) average on GoodreadsThriller

    A parapsychologist's experiment to debunk the supernatural by inventing a ghost backfires when his fictional creation manifests with deadly intent, preying on minds and threatening to turn a new love into a nightmare.

  12. The Evil Within

    Nancy Holder

    ★ 4.0 (614) average on GoodreadsYoung Adult

    Haunted by nightmares and a growing possession, Lindsay must return to the academy she fled, where mean girls are evil and her crush might hold a dark secret, to fight for her soul before malevolent spirits claim her.

  13. Nightmare

    Robin Parrish

    ★ 3.9 (612) average on GoodreadsThriller

    A ghost hunter's skeptical visit to an amusement park turns terrifying when a ride reveals a missing classmate, pulling her into a real paranormal mystery.

  14. The Wicker Man

    Robin Hardy

    ★ 3.9 (610) average on GoodreadsThriller

    A Christian detective searches for a missing girl on a remote Scottish island, only to uncover a pagan cult and realize he is the intended human sacrifice.

  15. Minion

    David Anderson, John David Anderson

    ★ 3.9 (603) average on GoodreadsFantasy

    In a city where villains are common and heroes are rare, a young inventor's life with his adoptive father changes when a mysterious Super arrives, forcing them to face the blurred line between good and evil.

  16. The November Criminals

    Sam Munson

    ★ 2.6 (591) average on GoodreadsThriller

    Armed with a sharp wit, a drug-dealing side hustle, and an unrequited crush, a cynical high school senior turns his college application essay into an unfiltered, obsessive investigation into his classmate's murder.

  17. What Waits in the Water

    Kieran Scott

    ★ 4.1 (588) average on GoodreadsThriller

    A summer of first crushes and small-town secrets turns sinister when Hannah uncovers a dark history of drownings in the very lake her stepsister is so eager to explore.

  18. Silver

    Steven Savile

    ★ 3.6 (585) average on GoodreadsThriller

    A detective, haunted by amnesia, uncovers a conspiracy where ancient werewolf legends meet modern genetic experiments. To save humanity, he must accept the monster within.

  19. A House Without Windows

    Stevie Turner

    ★ 3.6 (578) average on GoodreadsThriller

    Trapped for years in a windowless room, a doctor clings to the flickering hope that her lost fiancé is still searching for her, even as the lines of reality begin to blur.

  20. Host

    Peter James

    ★ 4.0 (578) average on GoodreadsThriller

    A brilliant but obsessed scientist's quest for immortality unleashes a terrifying digital consciousness that threatens humanity.

  21. Mixed Blood

    Roger Smith

    ★ 3.9 (576) average on GoodreadsThriller

    An American fugitive in Cape Town finds his past catching up to him, ensnaring him and a local night watchman in a deadly game with a corrupt cop and a vengeful detective.

  22. City of Ruin

    Mark Charan Newton

    ★ 3.7 (572) average on GoodreadsFantasy

    In a city already crumbling under the weight of its monstrous residents and an otherworldly invasion, Commander Brynd Lathraea and Inquisitor Jeryd must hunt a supernatural serial killer while preparing Villiren for its impossible last stand.

  23. The Knife That Killed Me

    Anthony McGowan

    ★ 3.7 (572) average on GoodreadsYoung Adult

    Caught in the terrifying orbit of a charismatic bully, a high schooler's desperate attempts to escape a brewing gang war only pull him closer to the moment he holds the knife that will end a life.

  24. Gospel

    Wilton Barnhardt

    ★ 4.3 (572) average on GoodreadsThriller

    A shy theologian and a cynical ex-Jesuit race across continents, from the Vatican to the ancient Silk Road, in a thrilling, erudite, and often humorous pursuit of a lost first-century gospel that could redefine the essence of Christian faith.

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