10 Must-Read Mystery Books of All Time (Twists You’ll Never See Coming)

Mystery novels are one of the few books that make you feel a part of the story. Many authors sprinkle enough clues for the reader to figure out who the killer is. That is why we decided to list the ten must read mystery books of all time!

This is one of my favorite genres and what got me into reading as a kid. A lot of classics fall under this genre and that has led to some novels that everyone should read. Sherlock Holmes is just one of the many amazing detectives that came out of this genre.

And it isn’t always a character with a good heart that is remembered the most. Many villains have outshined the novels that they were in such as Hannibal Lector. Great writing can make a mystery novel memorable. You can see the full list below!

The 10 Must Read Mystery Books  

• And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie
• The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris
• Devil in a Blue Dress by Walter Mosely
• The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett
• In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
• The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler
• The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
• Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie
• Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane
• The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman

And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie

It is impossible not to mention And Then There Were None when you talk about the best mystery books of all time. Christie is in her element in this novel and it is a fun mystery of trying to guess who the murderer is.

Ten people receive personal invitation to a small island. They accept and arrive on the island but find out from the butler and the cook that the Ulick Norman Owen and Una Nancy Owen have not arrived yet but have left instructions for the guests.

As the guests make their way to their rooms, an old rhyme called “Ten Little Indians”hangs in every room. After supper is served and eaten, a phonograph record plays and accuses all ten guests of murder.

The guests start talking and realize that none of them knows the Owens. One guest even points out that the guests adds up to Unknown. One of the guests finishes his drink and falls and dies.

Now the mystery of who the Owens are becomes important as someone has been killed and what the guests have in common. As the novel progresses and the victims pile up, we dive deep into the mystery and the checkered past of the ten guests.

The Silence of the Lambs

The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris is one of the most famous psychological thrillers ever written, and it still lives up to its reputation. The novel follows FBI trainee Clarice Starling as she is pulled into the hunt for a serial killer known as Buffalo Bill. To understand the killer, she is sent to speak with imprisoned psychiatrist and murderer Hannibal Lecter.

The conversations between Clarice and Lecter are easily the strongest part of the novel. Lecter is intelligent, manipulative, and terrifying without needing to do much at all. He constantly tests Clarice, forcing her to reveal personal details in exchange for clues that may help the investigation. Their exchanges give the book a psychological tension that feels just as important as the murder investigation itself.

Clarice is also an excellent protagonist. She is ambitious and capable but still inexperienced enough to feel vulnerable. Watching her navigate the investigation while dealing with Lecter and the people who underestimate her makes the story even more engaging.

The Silence of the Lambs is dark, disturbing, and incredibly suspenseful. If you enjoy psychological thrillers, crime novels, and memorable villains, this is a classic that absolutely deserves to be read.

Devil In a Blue Dress

Devil in a Blue Dress by Walter Mosley is a fantastic crime novel that introduces readers to Ezekiel “Easy” Rawlins. Set in Los Angeles in 1948, the story begins when Easy loses his job and desperately needs money to keep his home. That leads him to accept a job finding a mysterious woman named Daphne Monet.

What begins as a seemingly simple search quickly becomes much more dangerous. Easy finds himself pulled into a world of murder, corruption, violence, and secrets. He isn’t a traditional private detective, which makes the story feel different from many classic noir novels. Easy is learning how to investigate while also trying to survive.

One of the best things about the novel is its setting. Mosley brings postwar Los Angeles to life while also exploring race, class, and the realities facing Black Americans at the time. These elements aren’t simply background details. They directly shape how Easy moves through the city and how people treat him.

Devil in a Blue Dress is stylish, atmospheric, and filled with memorable characters. Easy Rawlins is an excellent protagonist, and this first novel makes it easy to understand why Walter Mosley’s series has become such an important part of modern crime fiction.

The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett

The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett is one of the defining novels of hard-boiled detective fiction. The story follows private detective Sam Spade after a seemingly ordinary case involving a missing woman quickly turns into something far more complicated.

Soon, Spade becomes involved with a group of dangerous people searching for a priceless object known as the Maltese Falcon. Everyone seems to be lying, everyone has their own agenda, and Spade has to figure out whom he can trust while staying one step ahead of the people around him.

The novel’s biggest strength is its atmosphere. Hammett creates a world filled with shady characters, double-crosses, greed, and moral ambiguity. Sam Spade isn’t your typical heroic detective. He is cynical, calculating, and willing to play by his own rules, which makes him a fascinating protagonist.

Some aspects of the writing feel dated compared with modern mysteries, but the influence of The Maltese Falcon is impossible to ignore. If you enjoy noir, detective stories, and crime classics, this is one of the foundational books of the genre and still worth reading today.

In Cold Blood by Truman Capote

If you enjoy true crime fiction, then In Cold Blood is a must read. The book tells the story of a true murder that took place in Holcomb, Kansas. You might be wondering why it is listed as fiction if it is a true story? Apparently, Capote has been accused of adding accounts to the book that didn’t happen.

Herbert “Herb” Clutter is a wealthy farmer that lives in western Kansas with his wife, son, and daughter. He employs as much as 18 workers to work on his farmland where the wages are good. Herb also has two older daughters that have married and have moved out with their husbands. His wife has been diagnosed with clinical depression and struggles to live a normal life because of that

On November 29, 1959 the Clutter family is found murdered in their house. They were killed by Richard Eugene “Dick” Hickock and Perry Edward Smith, two ex-convicts that were out on parole. After getting out, Perry received a letter from Dick about a job that is the perfect crime. A few days after they killed the Clutters, they drive down to Mexico and try to start anew.

The residents of the small town of Holcomb are shocked by the murders of the family and believe that someone in the town murdered them. The police try to find the criminals and the motive of the crime with little to go on. But a breakthrough occurs in the unlikeliest of places and helps the detectives pursue the killers.

The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler

Raymond Chandler’s The Big Sleep is one of the most iconic detective novels ever written and the book that introduced readers to private investigator Philip Marlowe. Marlowe is hired by the wealthy General Sternwood to deal with someone blackmailing his daughter, but the case quickly grows far more complicated.

As Marlowe investigates, he encounters gamblers, criminals, disappearing people, murder, and one suspicious character after another. The plot can become complicated, but the real appeal of the novel is Marlowe himself. His sharp observations, dry humor, and refusal to be intimidated make him one of crime fiction’s greatest detectives.

Chandler is also brilliant at creating atmosphere. Los Angeles feels dark, glamorous, dangerous, and corrupt at the same time. His dialogue and descriptive style helped define what readers now associate with classic noir fiction.

The Big Sleep can occasionally be difficult to follow, but the writing, atmosphere, and Philip Marlowe make it worth the effort. Anyone interested in detective fiction should experience Chandler’s novel at least once.

The Hound of the Baskervilles by by Arthur Conan Doyle

When talking about the best mystery novels, it is impossible to leave off Sherlock Holmes off the list. The Hound of the Baskervilles is considered as the best Sherlock Holmes book written by Doyle. So, if you had to read just one Sherlock Holmes book, make it this one.

Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson are visited by Dr. James Mortimer who tells them about the death of Sir Charles Baskerville. He died to a heart attack but near his body, there was a footprint of a giant hound. A letter shown by Mortimer tells of a legend of the first Baskerville who was killed by a hound.  

This leads Holmes to sending Watson to accompany Henry Baskerville, the next in line, to Baskerville Hall. Holmes wants Watson to keep Henry safe as well as tell him about everything that goes on around the area and the residents.  

As Watson gets a lay of the land, he comes across a few suspicious characters. And who was the person following Henry when he arrived to London? The answer to these questions will determine Henry Baskerville’s fate. Will Holmes and Watson solve the case before the hound of the Baskervilles strikes again? 

Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie

Murder on the Orient Express is Agatha Christie at her best. The novel follows legendary detective Hercule Poirot as he boards the luxurious Orient Express, expecting what should be a relatively peaceful journey. Instead, one of the passengers is murdered while the train is trapped by snow.

With nowhere for the killer to escape, Poirot begins questioning everyone aboard the train. Almost every passenger has something suspicious about them, and Christie slowly reveals secrets and contradictions that make the mystery increasingly complicated.

What makes this novel so enjoyable is the setup. A murder aboard a stranded train creates the perfect locked-room mystery, and Christie makes excellent use of the limited setting. Poirot’s careful questioning and attention to seemingly meaningless details keep you constantly guessing.

The ending is one of the most famous twists in mystery fiction, and for good reason. Even if you already know how the story ends, watching Poirot piece everything together is still incredibly satisfying. Murder on the Orient Express is an essential read for mystery fans and one of Christie’s best novels.

Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane

A book that not make most top ten lists but will always make is Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane. Like many people, I watched the movie first and loved every second of it. That made me give the book a try and somehow it was even better. There are lots of scenes in the book that didn’t make the movie that are worth reading.

In 1954, U.S. Marshall Edward “Teddy” Daniels and his new partner, Chuck Aule, who he meets on the ferry boat, head towards Shutter Island. They are visiting to investigate the disappearance of an inmate named Rachel Solando. She is being held at the Ashecliffe Hospital for the criminally insane for drowning her three children.

Teddy and Aule have to figure out how Solando disappeared from her cell and where she is hiding on the island. Throughout their investigation, we find out that the island is harboring dark secrets. There have been rumors of human experiments and scientific advancements that are ahead of their times.

Bad weather and conspiracy theories make Teddy question everything. Who is Rachel Solando and why is everyone hiding something from him? Can Teddy escape off the island before it is too late?

The Thursday Murder Club

The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman proves that a murder mystery doesn’t need to be dark and depressing to be entertaining. The novel centers on four residents of a retirement community who meet every Thursday to investigate old unsolved crimes for fun.

Their hobby suddenly becomes much more serious when a murder takes place close to home. Elizabeth, Joyce, Ibrahim, and Ron decide to investigate, often getting involved in places where the police would probably prefer they didn’t. Their different personalities and skills make them an unlikely but incredibly entertaining detective team.

The characters are easily the best part of the novel. Osman balances humor and mystery with surprisingly emotional moments about aging, friendship, grief, and loneliness. Joyce is especially entertaining, and her observations add a lot of warmth to the story.

The mystery itself can become a little complicated, but the charm of the characters more than makes up for it. The Thursday Murder Club is funny, clever, and surprisingly heartfelt, making it a great choice for readers who enjoy cozy mysteries with memorable characters.

That concludes our list of the ten must read mystery books of all time. We included classics and other novels that we believe are must reads.

The mystery genre is fulled with hundreds of amazing books to read. And you should read all of them if you can. But these are the ones we recommend reading first.

How many of these mystery books have you read or plan to read? What other mystery books should we include in our next list? Let us know in the comments below. Until next time, happy reading!

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