Best Mystery Books For Adults You Won’t Be Able To Put Down

Just what everyone wants to deal with, your weird family, whom you don’t talk to, but are now forced to interact with because someone decided to die.

After the death of Chinese actress Vivian Yin, the whole family is called together for the reading of the will. One daughter thinks she should inherit the house; the other thinks the house is haunted. The cousins are fighting, there’s drama and arguments, nothing is fair, and everyone is mad all the time.

As they all spend time together in the big, scary house that’s falling apart, they uncover secrets, hidden messages, and a whole world of things they didn’t know about Vivian. There are shocking revelations, more arguments between the remaining family members, and maybe even a ghost? The story is told from multiple points of view and dual timelines, so you can get the full effect of everyone being miserable.

This story has so much mystery, drama, and generational trauma that you’ll find it hard to put down. I read this book in one sitting because I was desperate to learn every gritty detail of these women’s lives. I felt like I was part of the drama, and it was a great time. I wanted to know every detail about Vivian’s life, and I wish she were a real person I could Google to learn even more about her.

James and Johnny are like this (🤞), they are twins with that twin psychic thing that everyone assumes every twin has. So, when Johnny suddenly dies, James knows instantly before anyone can contact her. This is the first time in her life she has felt so completely and utterly alone.

She travels to rural California to take care of what her brother left behind, and trust me, it’s a lot. She’s not emotionally prepared to deal with anything, and at her lowest, an old love interest, Micah, makes his appearance and just causes way more trouble than she needs right now.

Johnny’s secrets, Micah’s existence, and this never-ending nagging feeling that her brother is still connected to her make her start to lose her mind and her patience as she tries to find out what’s going on.

This story is atmospheric and emotional. The mix of traditional mystery and magical realism in this book is top-tier. I don’t read many books that fit the definition of magical realism, but this worked really well. I wanted James to succeed in her mission so badly the whole time I was reading. I felt what she felt, and building an emotional connection with her made the story so much better.

Dolores becomes obsessed with her coworker, Jake, after creating a fantasy idea in her mind about all the gruesome things he gets up to in his off time. Now, if only it were true... or maybe it is true? The verdict is still out.

Jake reciprocates her curiosity, but he’s not really sure why she finds him so fascinating. He enjoys all the flirting, but he’s a normal guy doing seemingly normal guy things.

Both of them have made up their minds about each other, but that quickly changes when Doloras asks Jake to help her dispose of a body. This is when the real adventure begins, and they must decide how far this relationship will go and if they’re actually meant for each other.

This mystery rom-com was funny and silly in all the right places with lots of dark humor, and I couldn’t help but support Doloras in her delusions. I laughed out loud many times while reading this book. If you enjoy novels with romance, and you like mystery, you’ll want to pick this book up as soon as you can.

I genuinely can’t wait to see what else Posey writes in the future.

Mallory is a homicide detective from British Columbia, currently in Edinburgh to spend time with her dying grandmother. While out for a jog, her cop instincts take control when she hears a woman in distress down an alley. Acting first and thinking later, Mallory runs headfirst down the alley to save the day, only to be met with unconsciousness.

When she awakens, it’s 1869, and she’s inside the body of a young housemaid named Catriona. Some sort of time-travelling body-switching, freaky Friday magic happened. Now, in a body that doesn’t fit Mallory’s personality, she has to navigate a lifestyle so far from what she knows in modern-day Canada.

Catriona’s employer, Dr. Gray, is a medical examiner experimenting with logic and limited science knowledge to solve crimes. Mallory couldn’t be in a more perfect situation, other than the whole body switching stuff.

I love how this series doesn’t take itself seriously. All historical events and facts are accurate for the time, but the humor and silliness mixed in are what really make it such a great read. The slow burn is definitely sloooow, but it makes it all the more worth reading.

This is one of my favourite mystery series, and I love that it’s still ongoing with more books to come. I’m anxiously waiting for book five, which is getting published in May of this year!

Imagine this, you’re a teacher in a high school, just minding your own business, trying to teach the youths, when you see a young man out the window making his way towards the school with a bomb strapped to his chest. Everyone’s worst nightmare is becoming a reality.

Richard is an English teacher and is now seen as a hero in town after he diverted a major tragedy. He’s getting a lot of attention after the incident, but not all attention is good attention. Someone’s out to get him, and through harassment, blackmail, and dangerously perverse accusations, Richard’s life is in utter shambles.

As he tries to make sense of what’s happening to him, he uncovers one too many secrets and connections that could bring him even more trouble. No one is safe, and he can’t trust anyone.

This was the first book by Barclay I had read before I fell headfirst into the rest of his writing. There are so many characters, connections, and backtracking in this story that you can’t help but keep reading. 

I was hooked from that first scene and finished this book in a single sitting. It was hands down one of the best mystery thriller novels I’ve ever read.