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23 Best Mystery Books For When You Want to Sleuth Like Sherlock

Get out your magnifying glass. It's time to start investigating.

Woman's Day Edit Team

Romance novels and books that make you crack up are always fun, but sometimes you want to hunker down with a thrilling read that leaves you on the edge of your seat. If you were a regular Harriet the Spy as a kid, dust off your trusty notebook, polish up the old magnifying glass, and get back in the game with the best mystery books for adults. With this solid selection of classics, plus a few you may have seen on the big screen, any one of these books will make you feel like Sherlock Holmes himself.

Whether you favorite the Stephen King-esque thriller novel side of the shelf, or prefer your crime books with a little girl power, there's bound to be something on this list to tip off your inner investigator. Let's face it, even the bad mystery books are great fun, but these are well-written and exciting to sleuth out. And if any one of these has you saying, "elementary, my dear Watson," move right on down the list — there's always another case just waiting for the next Miss Marple to crack wide open.

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'The Little Death' by Michael Nava

A troubled San Francisco public defender starts off the novel battling alcoholism and burnout. But when an old case sparks his interest again, and secrets start to seep out, he soon battles his own demons with the battle for justice.

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'The Secret History of Las Vegas' by Chris Abani

For those we want a big mystery right within the first few pages, this book is the ticket. One's detective's scary and creepy discover late one night sends him on the chase to hunt down what could be one dangerous killer.

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'The Unquiet Dead' by Ausma Zehanat Khan

When her boss asks her to look into a recent death that many deem an accident,  Detective Rachel Getty agrees. But as the days pass, more secrets from the dead man's past slip out, and Rachel finds herself in the midst of a scary investigation.

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'Hollywood Homicide' by Kellye Garrett

A perfect for pick for  readers who want a thrill but don't want to be scared. Actress Dayna Anderson just landed a major role playing a homicide detective. Off set, she's no sleuth, but when she witnesses a deadly hit-and-run, she investigates the case herself in order to get the large reward that could help her parents keep their house. But has she gotten in over her head?

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'Inner City Blues' by Paula L. Woods

Set in Los Angeles during the LA Riots, a detective learns that the man who hurt her family is found dead in the street. But as she investigates the man's death, she starts to wonder if this was a random murder, or someone close to her family committed the crime themselves.

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'Bluebird, Bluebird' by Attica Locke

A Texas Ranger investigates two major murders at the same time while also dealing with racism and injustice in his small town.

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'In Cold Blood' by Truman Capote

True crime lovers won't be able to stop reading this detailed account of the brutal 1959 murders of four members of the Herbert Clutter family. Capote, having spent weeks interviewing residents and investigators, reconstructs both the murder and the investigation that led to the arrest, trial, and execution of the killers.

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'And Then There Were None' by Agatha Christie

Ten strangers, each with a secret to keep, are invited to the private island home of a mysterious eccentric millionaire, who is nowhere to be found. One by one, the guests fall victim to an unknown murderer, and everyone is a suspect.

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'Alias Grace' by Margaret Atwood

From the award-winning author who brought youThe Handmaid's Tale,Alias Graceis an amazing work of historical fiction that will leave you guessing at every turn. Inspired by the real-life conviction and imprisonment of GraceMarks for the murder of Thomas Kinnear and his housekeeper Nancy Montgomery, the book follows psychiatrist Dr. Simon Jordan as he interviews Grace for her pending pardon. Jordan soon becomes enthralled with the seemingly mild-mannered Grace and the brutal murder of which she has been convicted.

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'Whose Body?' by Dorothy L. Sayers

First published in 1923,Whose Body?followsLord Peter Wimsey, London's greatest sleuth. When a corpse appears in the bathtub of a suburban architect's home, police suspect that the bathtub's owner is the murderer, but Wimsey soon finds that the case is much more complicated than anyone could have foreseen.

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'Case Histories' by Kate Atkinson

Three seemingly separate violent cases spread over 30 years start to have some startling connections as investigator Jackson Brodie begins to look into them.

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'The Girl on the Train' by Paula Hawkins

Rachel takes the same train every morning, and, through the window, always sees the same seemingly perfect couple having breakfast on their deck. That is, until she sees something shocking.  Rachel goes to the police and soon becomes entwined in the lives of everyone involved. What happens next has her asking if she did more harm than good.

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'The Secret Place: A Novel' by Tana French

When a boy turns up murdered at an all-girls boarding school, the only lead is a note found tacked to a bulletin board that reads "I know who killed him." If that's not weird enough, the girl who brings it to detective Stephen Moran is the lead detective's daughter, Holly. Clues begin pointing to Holly and her group of friends, as the detectives try to untangle the web of relationships that lead back to the mysterious body.

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'Before I Go to Sleep' by S. J. Watson

Christine wakes up every morning to find out she has amnesia and has to rely on those around her to help piece her life together. Unable to store new memories, how can Christine know what's real, what isn't, and who she should trust?

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'Big Little Lies' by Liane Moriarty

Now an award-winning HBO series, this arresting story explores the lives of three women each grappling with their own complicated families, and the politics that arise in schoolyards and at PTA meetings. When someone turns up dead after a school trivia event, they're forced to reckon with their own demons. Fiercely funny, bone-chillingly scary, and totally unforgettable.

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'The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie' by Alan Bradley

When she finds a dead bird with a postage stamp in its beak on the porch of the once-grand Buckshaw mansion, poison enthusiast Flavia de Luce is both appalled and delighted. Hours later, a man takes his dying breaths in Flavia's cucumber patch and it all snowballs from there. You'll love the fresh, captivating voice of Flavia in this first installment of a delightful mystery series.

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'Jane Steele' by Lyndsay Faye

This imaginative book recasts Jane Eyre as a gutsy serial killer who takes a governess position at Highgate House, her former home. While there, she falls in love with the house's master, Mr. Thornfield. But as she learns more about his darkness, she has to decide: can she possess him — all of him — without revealing her own murderous past? You'll never look at the Bronte masterpiece the same after this one.

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'Still Mine' by Amy Stuart

When Clare turns up in the small town of Blackmore asking about Shayna, a local girl who's disappeared, it raises some major red flags. But Clare's not the only one who's hiding something. As she digs into the circumstances surrounding Shayna's disappearance, she has to confront her own demons. The rabbit hole goes deep in this one, and it's easy to lose hours while reading it.

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'The Dinner' by Herman Koch

Two couples sit down to a meal together, but there's fire under their idle chit-chat. Their teenage sons are implicated in a horrible crime, one that's shattered the safety of each family. In this novel that's wound as tight as a violin string, you'll feel your own tension rise as dessert approaches, and the knives come out just under the surface of what passes for polite conversation.

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'The Woman in Cabin 10' by Ruth Ware

At first, it seems like a dream assignment. Travel writer Lo Blacklock gets sent on a luxury cruise, for a whole week. And at first, it is a dream. The seas are calm, the dinner parties opulent, and everything seems peachy-keen. But one fateful night, a storm whips up and Lo sees a woman go overboard. There's just one problem: All guests are accounted for. This novel will chill you to the bone and keep you guessing about the limits of imagination, long after the last page is turned.

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'The Au Pair' by Emma Rous

On the night Seraphine and her twin brother, Danny, were born, their mother threw herself off a cliff, their au pair fled, and their small village lit up with gossip about what really happened. Now an adult, Seraphine finds a curious family photograph while sorting her late father's belongings, and it raises all of the old questions. You'll get sucked in as she tries to figure out what really happened that fateful day.

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'Freefall' by Jessica Barry

A private plane crashes in the Colorado Rockies, and everyone assumes Allison is dead. Except, that is, her estranged mother Maggie. As Allison fights her way across the treacherous mountains toward survival, Maggie works to uncover the truth behind her daughter's mysterious life since they lost touch. Told from the perspectives of both women, this is a mother-daughter story you won't be able to put down.

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'The Suspect' by Fiona Barton

When two teenage girls go missing on a trip to Thailand, journalist Kate Waters is all over the case. She always wants to be the first to the story, and the first to solve the mystery. But this time, it's personal. While reporting on the story, she can't help but think of her own son who she hasn't seen since he left home to travel two years ago. Danger comes closer to home than anyone expects in this thriller that will especially keep parents awake at night.

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Lizz Schumer Senior editor Lizz Schumer is the senior editor for Good Housekeeping, and also contributes to Woman's Day, and Prevention, covering pets, culture, lifestyle, books, and entertainment.

Annie O'Sullivan Editorial Assistant As a member of the Special Projects Team, Annie works with the GH Tested program writing up product reviews and roundups and helps plan and run annual expos and events like the GH Parenting Summit, Xmas in July Expo, Cleaning Summit, Winter Essentials Expo, and more.

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