Solve the Case with These Detective Books!

In the mood for a little sleuthing? You’re in luck. We’ve selected the best detective books that will bring out your inner Nancy Drew. From classics to more contemporary detective books, you’ll find something in the most popular mystery sub-genres.

Detective books often focus on, you guessed it, an investigator working to solve a mystery. Some readers enjoy watching the main character’s process for solving the case while others love to try to figure it out before the sleuth does. Look through our list of ten detective mysteries to find your next great sleuthing read!


Solve the Case with These Detective Books! – The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler

1. The Big Sleep

by Raymond Chandler

This hardboiled crime novel features detective Philip Marlowe. Adapted for film twice, The Big Sleep was listed in Time magazine’s “List of the 100 Best Novels.” The book is known for its complex narrative, double-crossing characters, and exposed secrets.

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Solve the Case with These Detective Books! – The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett

2. The Maltese Falcon

by Dashiell Hammett

There’s a treasure that’s worth killing for. Private eye Sam Spade, along with a motley crew of grafters and treacherous characters, make up this iconic detective novel as the treasure hunt begins.

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Solve the Case with These Detective Books! – The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

3. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

by Stieg Larsson

Harriet Vanger, daughter of one of Sweden’s richest families, has been missing for more than 40 years. All this time later, Harriet’s uncle is still fighting to uncover the truth. He hires Mikael Blomkvist, investigative journalist, to uncover a story that taps into a vein of astonishing corruption.

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Solve the Case with These Detective Books! – In Cold Blood by Truman Capote

4. In Cold Blood

by Truman Capote

In one of the first nonfiction novels to be written, Truman Capote retells the savage murder of the Clutter family in Holcomb, Kansas. Capote’s retelling moves on to the investigation (and subsequent capture and trial) of the Clutter family killers.

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Solve the Case with These Detective Books! – 2 Sisters Detective Agency by James Patterson

5. 2 Sisters Detective Agency

by James Patterson

When attorney Rhonda Bird comes home after learning her father has passed away, she discovers that not only had her father opened a private detective agency – but that he had another daughter named Baby. Rhonda and Baby soon get swept up in a dangerous case at their father’s agency.

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Solve the Case with These Detective Books! - Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

6. Gone Girl

by Gillian Flynn

Now a major motion picture. Flynn’s Gone Girl was named one of the ten best books of the year by The New York Times. It stars Nick and Amy Dunne, a seemingly perfect couple that’s rocked by a missing persons case… Involving Amy. When Amy disappears, all eyes turn to Nick. But is Nick really a killer?

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Solve the Case with These Detective Books! - The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie

7. The Murder of Roger Ackroyd

by Agatha Christie

Roger Ackroyd was a man who knew too much. The woman he loved poisoned her first husband – he knew that for sure. He also believed someone had started blackmailing the woman. When she passes away in what seems to be a drug overdose, Roger must learn more.

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Solve the Case with These Detective Books! - Dare Me by Megan Abbott

8. Dare Me

by Megan Abbott

Addy Hanlon and Beth Cassidy are best friends. The two girls rule their high school cheerleading squad, feared and followed by the girls beneath them. When a new young coach arrives, she disrupts everything that Addy and Beth have known. Beth wages a subtle campaign to regain her position as “top girl” and knock the coach down. Only the campaign ends unexpectedly… In a suicide investigation.

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Solve the Case with These Detective Books! - The Woman in Cabin by 10 by Ruth Ware

9. The Woman in Cabin by 10

by Ruth Ware

Lo Blacklock is a journalist who’s been given the assignment of a lifetime: one week sailing on a luxury cruise with a handful of cabins. Guests are jovial and the skies are clear. At first, the trip is nothing but lovely. But as the week goes on, Lo witnesses something dark and disturbing: a woman being tossed overboard. The issue? All passengers are accounted for.

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Solve the Case with These Detective Books! - In the Woods by Tana French

10. In the Woods

by Tana French

Dusk settles over a small Dublin town in 1984. Mothers call their children home for dinner. But on this night, three children don’t come back from the dark woods they entered. The police are called and discover only one of the children – wearing blood-filled sneakers and completely unable to recall a single detail of what they’ve encountered.

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