Quick Mystery Novel Recommendations

Looking for a good mystery?  There are so many good mysteries out there to be read. Here are a few selections from new to older to classic.

As always, I think your best bet is to get these books from the library or a used bookstore. However, if you would like to check out Amazon reviews and/or purchase the books new, I have included Amazon links in red to the books below.

Face of Betrayal (Triple Threat Series 1) by Liz Wiehl. This is the first of the Triple Threat novels that features attorney Allison Pierce and her two friends Nicole and Cassidy. Nicole is an FBI agent and Cassidy is a journalist. Together they are a ‘triple threat’ against crime. In this debut of the series, a senator’s intern is murdered. It’s up to Allison and her friends to find out the truth. The book combines the unraveling of the mystery with the issues each friend is facing. I enjoyed the mystery and getting to know Allison and her friends. My only criticism of the book is that the murder was a little too detailed.

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd: A Hercule Poirot Mystery (Hercule Poirot Mysteries) by Agatha Christie This is one of Christie’s best Hercule Poirot novels. Hercule Poirot uses his “grey matter” (as he puts it) to solve crimes. The novel details a riveting mystery with a twist I did not see coming.   [easyazon_cta align=”right” cart=”n” identifier=”0062073567″ key=”small-light” locale=”US” nw=”n” nf=”n” tag=”greatbookgood-20″]

Stone and Spark: Book 1 in the Raleigh Harmon mysteries (Raleigh Hamon mysteries) (Volume 1) by Sibella Giorello. This is the first in a new series by Giorello that follows the life of Raleigh Harmon, a teenage girl growing up in the south. Raleigh’s best friend Drew has disappeared. She’s run away before, and everyone is convinced that she has run away again. Raleigh insists foul play is involved. Find out who is right. 

The Night She Died (The Inspector Thanet Mysteries Book 1) by Dorothy Simpson. This is the start of a wonderful series that begins in the 1980s. Set in Britain, we are introduced to Inspector Luke Thanet and his family. A young woman has been murdered and Inspector Thanet is tasked with finding the killer. This series combines the best of both worlds. That is, a protagonist with whom you enjoy spending time and well-done, interesting mysteries to be solved in each novel. 

The Thin Woman (Ellie Haskell) by Dorothy Cannell. Ellie Hakell needs a date to her family reunion. She wants to impress her extended family and so she hires Ben to play her boyfriend. Hilarity ensues. This book was named one of the 100 favorite mysteries of the Twentieth Century by the Mystery Book Sellers of America. It deserves that honor. It combines great humor, romance, and, of course, mystery in one enjoyable read. 

The Caves of Steel (R. Daneel Olivaw, Book 1) by Isaac Asimov. This is a great science fiction novel in which a human and a robot pair to solve a murder. Asimov writes sci fi that is enjoyable and accessible even if sci fi is not your usual genre. 

The Moonstone (Penguin Classics) by Wilkie Collins. Written in 1868, this is a forerunner of the modern detective story. It tells the story of a beautiful, large diamond stolen in India by Colonel Herncastle. Fast forward some time later and it has been bequeathed to the young Rachel Verinder when she turns 18. Shortly after, the moonstone goes missing. Read this classic to find out what really happened to the moonstone.