Another Puzzle Solved? Best Mystery Books

Jade — A compulsive read that is full of twists, this is a must-pick-up for those looking for a quick dose of literary adrenaline! Set in a claustrophobic old apartment building populated with shady neighbours, this book is best enjoyed by playing detective – and with a croissant, of course.

Kaylie — Melina Marchetta proves she can write almost anything! After standout young adult and fantasy novels, she delivers on a grown-up mystery. As a reader, I loved this because I could piece together character backstories and relationships while the detective pieced together the events of the crime.

Nisha — A modern-day epistolary novel, The Appeal centres around The Fairway Players, a local amateur theatre group. Tragedy strikes the director Martin Hayward and his wife Helen as their granddaughter is diagnosed with a rare form of cancer which requires them to raise a huge sum of money for an experimental treatment. The cast rally to help fundraise but tensions grow and eventually a body is found.

We come to the novel when an arrest has been made and two young lawyers are tasked with wading through the evidence in order to prepare for court. We are only privy to their evidence in the form of emails, letters and text message exchanges — a clever mechanic that puts us, the reader, in the shoes of a sleuth.

As a puzzle fan, I’m sure we all fancy our chances at solving a real-life puzzle and this is as close as you can get. Information about the characters and their backstories are revealed slowly through their communications, and it’s our job to pull all the loose ends together and crack the case. It’s a novel that will have you hooked from page one so make sure you set aside the time to read it in one sitting. Janice Hallett has just released a follow-up novel, The Christmas Appeal, which sees the cast return for a festive murder mystery — I’ve already added it to my Christmas list!

David — Ira Levin was able to write page-turners which don’t compromise on style and aren’t lacking in depth. His first, A Kiss Before Dying, was published when he was just 23. The gall.

It’s a gripping account of Dorothy and her relationship with a man whose eyes light up when he discovers she’s sitting on a fortune. This is a mystery which unravels slowly and, much like Dorothy’s love interest, is more than it first seems.

A vivid character study of both sociopath and his trusting target, it’s no wonder that it made the move to the big screen (twice). Indeed, Levin’s skill at painting a picture with words has been manna to movie makers time and again (Rosemary’s Baby, The Stepford Wives, The Boys from Brazil, Deathtrap, eg).

For a mystery with a solution which you should struggle to see coming, A Kiss Before Dying is hard to beat.

Niall — These stories may be among the foundational texts of crime fiction, but they are more about the pleasures of mystery-solving than they are about the drama of catching thieves or murderers. In fact, in ‘The Red-Headed League’, one of the earliest stories in the collection, it isn’t initially clear that a crime has even been committed. For Holmes, the appeal of being a detective lies in the process of solving a puzzle, which provides an ‘escape from the commonplaces of existence’.

Not that there is anything commonplace about Holmes and Watson’s existence at 221B Baker Street. From the arrival of European royalty, to a precious gem discovered inside a Christmas goose, the tales are filled with the unexpected. The set-ups are often delightfully weird and the twists hard to predict.

The stories’ short length means that each one can be read from start to finish within an hour, making them perfect for a lunchbreak or train journey. Given all this, it’s no mystery why The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes makes an ideal addition to any puzzler’s bookshelf.

Jade — With the opening line revealing the death, as murder stories go this one doesn’t waste any time. But while some might mourn the lack of the ‘Whodunit’ element, the real joy of this book lies in the unforgettable cast of characters, the subtle sense of anticipation and the underlying simmering question of just how far people will go to keep their secrets.

Sonia — I couldn’t resist the premise of this book: ‘a crossword clue that spells MURDER…’ As a puzzles editor I spend a considerable amount of time solving crosswords and I have always enjoyed reading murder mysteries, so this seemed like a match made in heaven — although the first few pages are rather hellish as the novel opens with a description of a chillingly gruesome scene. This leaves you wondering what has happened — who is the victim and who is the murderer?

I found myself keenly turning the pages every night to find out. Thankfully the rest of the book is far less macabre otherwise I may have had trouble sleeping!

David — “Agatha Christie? Who’s this new kid on the block?”, I hear no one shout. Yes, the Queen of Crime is hardly niche, but she’s the best-selling fiction author of all time for a reason.

My pick of her substantial back catalogue is And Then There Were None. There’s no Poirot or Marple to be found here. The detective work is left down to the reader, and a cast of characters who unexpectedly find themselves on an isolated island.

I’m not alone in ranking it among her best. A 2015 poll run by the author’s estate also put it top. If it’s somehow managed to pass you by, it’s surely time to right that wrong.