“Let my heart be still a moment and this mystery explore…” – Edgar Allen Poe
We enjoy books of all genres, from cozy romance novels to motivational self-help books. They keep us in our comfort zones and bring everything to our fingertips. Nevertheless, now and then, it’s crucial to leave our comfort zones and immerse ourselves in the realm of a spine-chilling thriller or a mind-bending mystery. Is a message written in the victim’s blood? A little hair strand on the body? A fingerprint on the wall?
Best Page Turner Books To Read!
Little facts sometimes turn out to be significant clues in mysteries. Reading mysteries will become exciting and rewarding after carefully noticing such minor details. Even though there may be a detective in the plot, anyone may become a detective when they read a good mystery. Our trust is also restored when the novels conclude with the wrong people being punished for their misdeeds and the good people getting the life they deserve. This list includes books for every literary preference, from classic mysteries like “The Murder on the Orient Express” to ones with graphic violence like “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.”
You by Caroline Kepnes
“Some people, it’s like they care more about their status updates than their actual lives.”
Narrated from the perspective of Joe Goldberg, a seemingly ordinary bookstore manager, the story is written like a long monologue to the titular character “you”: an aspiring young writer Guinevere Beck. Joe’s thinking is twisted and dark; he is obsessed with Beck. He starts googling her name, meticulously combing through all her social media profiles, and digging up everything possible about her. He also steals her phone, giving him access to her emails and messages.
Beck is a vulnerable target for Joe since she is broke, insecure, and struggling with family issues. Will happens to their love story forms the plot of the story. The story is presented in the first person present tense, with most of the dialogue taking place in Joe’s mind. If you are looking forward to a psycho-stalker kind of story with serial killer vibes, the novel will be worth your time. You can get the book here! 📖
The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides
“Remember, love that doesn’t include honesty doesn’t deserve to be called love.”
Six years ago, painter Alicia Berenson murdered her husband, Gabriel, and was admitted to a mental asylum. She hasn’t uttered a word since then, while Theo Faber, a therapist, is interested in the case and wants to help Alicia. The novel travels through the eyes of Theo, along with Alicia’s old diary, which has excerpts from her life. Shocking truths resurface as Alicia had a stalker before the murder and Gabriel owned a gun.
In a parallel storyline, Theo finds that his wife, Kathy, has been having an affair with a married man. The plot moves from a simple mystery to an intricate labyrinth of psychological problems, with each character trapped in a mental maze, unable to confront the issues. The book is not about Whos and Hows, but rather about Whys. An excellent psychological thriller that holds your attention throughout! You can get the book here! 📖
One of Us Is Lying by Karen M. McManus
“That’s the kind of person you can get away with killing: someone everybody else wants dead.”
The story takes place at Bayview High School and follows the lives of five students: Simon, Bronwyn, Nate, Cooper, and Addy. Simon has left unpublished posts about all four on his app, revealing their terrible secrets. When all of them are detained together, Simon dies, and one is assumed to be the murderer. How Simon’s death happened and what happened to the future of these four forms the rest of the story.
The book focuses on the budding friendship between the four of them and underlines that friends can become bullies and strangers can become friends. Told through the eyes of each character, the story keeps the suspicion on all four of them to some point. If you are looking forward to a high school drama with gossip, scandals, and rumors, this book is a perfect take! You can get the book here! 📖
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
“Women disappear all the time. Nobody misses them. Immigrants. Whores from Russia. Thousands of people pass through Sweden every year.”
The book is centered on the themes of mystery, dysfunctional families, and high-profile cases. It follows the lives of three main characters:
1. Mikael Blomkvist – A journalist whose reputation and company are at stake after a case
2. Henrik Vanger – The head of the Vanger family and a retired industrialist who wants Blomkvist to investigate the disappearance of his grandniece Harriet Vanger
3. Lisbeth Salander – An anti-social character who is a skilled hacker and private investigator. She has done a background check on Blomkvist for Henrik Vanger.
When all three come together, Harriet Vanger’s missing case is reopened, revealing dark secrets and hidden truths. The book has descriptions of rape, incestuous relationships, and altercations and is recommended for those who enjoy lengthy murder mystery novels. You can get the book here! 📖
The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins
“Let’s be honest: women are still only really valued for two things—their looks and their role as mothers.”
The story is told from the perspectives of three women – Rachel, Anna, and Megan. Rachel is an alcoholic who experiences frequent blackouts and loses her job. Her husband, Tom, divorced her due to her fertility issues and married Anna. Tom finds it irritating that Rachel drinks and harasses him all the time. Rachel idealizes a couple, Megan and Scott, who live a few houses away from Tom and Anna while traveling by train.
One day Megan disappears, and Rachel gets on the radar of suspicion. Rachel, in turn, suspects that Megan is having an affair. The story then focuses on how the men in their life tie together the lives of these three women and how psychological abuse and gaslighting can permanently ruin lives. If you want to read a psychological thriller with multiple POVs, this book is definitely for you! You can get the book here! 📖
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
“Tampon commercial, detergent commercial, maxi pad commercial, windex commercial – you’d think all women do is clean and bleed.”
Amy and Nick fall in love and marry. After losing their jobs, they relocate to care for Nick’s mother, where Nick starts an affair. Their marriage starts deteriorating, and Amy disappears on their fifth wedding anniversary. The novel has alternative chapters, one told by Amy and the other told by Nick, and both are unreliable narrators.
Amy’s disappearance is perceived as murder by everyone, and the media focuses on them as their story becomes the buzz of the town. The story then exposes how Amy and Nick lead double lives because they can’t live up to the facade they put on. What happened to both of them later forms the rest of the plot. A perfect read for those who look forward to reading stories with complex and unreliable narrators! You can get the book here! 📖
Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie
“There is much evil in the world.”
Private detective Hercule Poirot boards the Orient Express at night. Samuel Ratchett, an American businessman, is also on the train. At night, a scream is heard from Ratchett’s compartment, and the following day, his body is discovered with 12 stab wounds. The train has also been stuck in a snowdrift. Therefore, one of the train’s thirteen passengers is the murderer, and the detective investigates each passenger individually.
The book, essentially a locked room mystery, focuses more on what happens after the murder than on the actual murder itself. Despite being written about 80 years ago, this book is still exceptional. This can be the ideal choice if you want to read a classic crime novel! You can get the book here! 📖
The Couple Next Door by Shari Lapena
“The wife is always the last to know, right?”
Couple Anne and Marco go to a dinner party of their neighbors, Cynthia and her husband Graham, leaving their six-month-old baby Cora at home. As the party ends, the couple is shocked that the front door is open and their baby is missing. Richard and Alice Dries, Anne’s stepfather and mother, also reach their home to support Anne while Detective Rasbach enters the crime scene to investigate the case. Anne has been having psychological problems and postpartum depression, and Marco and Cynthia’s flirting also takes a toll on her.
The kidnappers get in touch with them and demand a ransom, but when Marco goes to deliver the money, he is knocked out, and the money is gone. What happens later to Marco, Cora, and Anne forms the rest of the story. This book starts as a classic detective story before delving into a psychological analysis of a dysfunctional household where people are emotionally manipulated. It also reveals how greed wins over and how far people would go to make money. You can get the book here! 📖
The Guest List by Lucy Foley
“But no matter what happens, life is only a series of days. You can’t control more than a single day.”
Jules, who runs an online magazine, and Will, the host of a survival television show, are planning to marry on an island, with Aoife being the wedding planner. Three weeks before the wedding, Jules receives an anonymous note asking her not to marry Will. The people from Jules’s side are Charles, his wife Hannah, and Jules’ younger half-sister Olivia.
The people from Will’s side include Johno, his best man for the marriage, and four other ushers. Every guest who attends the wedding has a hidden secret, and a murder happens on the night of the wedding. The story jumps back and forth between the present and the past, and all of these plotlines meet at the end. The book is a perfect read that can be completed on the weekend! You can get the book here! 📖
The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown
“Faith ― acceptance of which we imagine to be true, that which we cannot prove.”
Louvre curator Jacques Sauniere is shot by someone working for ‘The Teacher,’ who is looking for the location of a keystone. The cryptic message left close to Sauniere’s body is then given to Harvard professor Robert Langdon to decipher. In addition to being a police cryptographer, Sophie Nevue is the deceased Sauniere’s granddaughter. She tries to interpret her grandfather’s hints with Langdon’s assistance. What happened later forms the plot of the story.
Although the book received favorable reviews, it also drew criticism for its inaccurate representations of the history and architecture, which sparked disputes from Christian communities. From the perspective of a general reader, the book is packed with codes, puzzles, and riddles that make it an enjoyable read. This is an apt choice if you want to read a controversial blockbuster! You can get the book here! 📖
Pick up any of the novels mentioned above and let the detective in you out – but remember, no peeking at the conclusion! How many of these books have you read? Do share your comments below! Happy reading!