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!
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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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