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72 of the Most Popular Mysteries and Thrillers of the Past Three Years
Posted by Cybil on April 4, 2022
“All my books come to me, first of all, as a character in my mind and as a story that I want to tell. But how you tell that story, there are definitely some deliberate decisions involved.”
That’s British author Ruth Ware, one of the planet’s most accomplished contemporary mystery writers. In a Goodreads interview from a few books back, Ware talked about the “how” of the mystery/thriller novel—the way authors deploy careful narrative choices and techniques to tell all kinds of different stories.
We’ve gathered below 72 of the most popular mystery and thriller books of the past three years, as determined by Goodreads members’ Want to Read lists. The “what” of these books is interesting enough—stories about island weddings, small-town hotels, and obsessed academics. But pay attention to the “how” as well, the specific setups and particular premises that make mystery stories so compelling.
Scroll over the book covers to learn more about each title, and add the ones that pique your interest to your Want to Read shelf.
PinkPanthress
I just completed the The Sun Down Motel by St. James and can't stop thinking about it. I can't wait to get my hands on her new book, The Book of Cold Cases.
She's becoming a new fave author of mine, fast! :)
She's becoming a new fave author of mine, fast! :)
The Cruciverbalistic Bookworm
The Turn of the Key and The Thursday Murder Club were the ones I have read from this list. Both were really good; the latter was amusing too
Apoorva ♡
Nono wrote: "I just completed the The Sun Down Motel by St. James and can't stop thinking about it. I can't wait to get my hands on her new book, The Book of Cold Cases.
She's becoming a new fa..."
I just read The Book of Cold Cases and it was AMAZING!!
She's becoming a new fa..."
I just read The Book of Cold Cases and it was AMAZING!!
PinkPanthress
Apoorva wrote: "Nono wrote: "...I can't wait to get my hands on her new book, The Book of Cold Cases."
I just read The Book of Cold Cases and it was AMAZING!!
Ahhh, I guess I need to pester our public library to get two copies then 'cause I really can't wait anymore. :D
I just read The Book of Cold Cases and it was AMAZING!!
Ahhh, I guess I need to pester our public library to get two copies then 'cause I really can't wait anymore. :D
Mayke ☕️
Nono wrote: "I just completed the The Sun Down Motel by St. James and can't stop thinking about it. I can't wait to get my hands on her new book, The Book of Cold Cases.
She's becoming a new fa..."
I agree. I loved The Sun Down Motel a lot and really want to read her other books now. The Book of Cold Cases looks so good!
She's becoming a new fa..."
I agree. I loved The Sun Down Motel a lot and really want to read her other books now. The Book of Cold Cases looks so good!
Apoorva ♡
Mayke ☕️ wrote: "Nono wrote: "I just completed the The Sun Down Motel by St. James and can't stop thinking about it. I can't wait to get my hands on her new book, The Book of Cold Cases.
She's beco..."
and The Broken Girls is another of her amazing works
if you love The Sun Down Motel, then you'll enjoy this one as well:)
She's beco..."
and The Broken Girls is another of her amazing works
if you love The Sun Down Motel, then you'll enjoy this one as well:)
Allie
I also just finished The Book of Cold Cases and LOVED IT!! I’m also a huge fan of both Ruth Ware and Mary Kubica, and The Thursday Murder Club series is amazing!
Melliott
I find this list both underwhelming and incomplete. More than half of it is "popular fiction," touted for its author/notoriety and not for its story, and there are a couple of really crap writers included here, in my opinion. There are much better mysteries out there in the more mainstream mystery category than what has been collected here. This seems like a self-serving Amazon promotion.
Janet Martin
Melliott wrote: "I find this list both underwhelming and incomplete. More than half of it is "popular fiction," touted for its author/notoriety and not for its story, and there are a couple of really crap writers i..."
The title is "the most popular," not the highest rated. These are the books read by the most people, meaning these many reached lots of readers because they were the books with the most successful marketing. I read 25 of them. A couple were DNF, and I ranked 3 of those I finished with 2 stars, 8 with 5. There are some very good books in this field, including a couple of the best I read in the 3 past 3 years--"We Begin at the End," by Chris Whitaker, and "The Chain," by Adrian McKinty, are amazing. While there were additional very good books on this list, there were many average ones, and a few real dogs, including a few by authors I swore to never pick up again. Like your experience, many of my favorites didn't make the list, but that's not because they lacked popular appeal, but because low advertising budgets meant not so many folks knew about them.
The title is "the most popular," not the highest rated. These are the books read by the most people, meaning these many reached lots of readers because they were the books with the most successful marketing. I read 25 of them. A couple were DNF, and I ranked 3 of those I finished with 2 stars, 8 with 5. There are some very good books in this field, including a couple of the best I read in the 3 past 3 years--"We Begin at the End," by Chris Whitaker, and "The Chain," by Adrian McKinty, are amazing. While there were additional very good books on this list, there were many average ones, and a few real dogs, including a few by authors I swore to never pick up again. Like your experience, many of my favorites didn't make the list, but that's not because they lacked popular appeal, but because low advertising budgets meant not so many folks knew about them.