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100 Mystery and Thriller Recommendations by Setting
Location, location, location…
The famous old saying about real estate, it turns out, can be a useful way to parse books in the mystery and thriller categories. After all, a murder mystery needs a body (usually), and the body needs to be found in a particular place.
We’ve gathered below a specially curated list of mystery and thriller titles sorted according to the setting where the body is found. Or unearthed. Or stumbled upon. You’ll find some classic crime scenes here: the country house! the library! the locked room! But we’ve also found some locales that are surprisingly well-stocked with cadavers: on campus! in space! lost in time itself!
Have fun, and if anyone is ambitious enough to actually organize their bookshelf along this motif, send us a picture.
In a Library
Talk about getting shushed…permanently.
In a Hotel Room
Rest and relaxation of the eternal variety.
At the Theater
A flair for the dramatic so often turns deadly.
At the Office
When we said we'd kill to get out of forced workplace merriment, we didn't mean this.
In a Creepy Apartment
You really don't want to shelter in these places.
At the Table
These restaurants appear to serve up some truly killer cuisine.
In a Country House
Want to stay alive? Never accept an invitation to visit someone's country estate.
In a Locked Room
No exits!
On Campus
Putting the final in final exams.
At Church
Priests making confessions, priests hearing confessions, that sort of thing.
In a Very Cold Place
Literally spine-chilling!
On Planes and Trains
High-speed peril.
On a Boat
Homicide on the high seas.
By the Shore
The other kind of beach body.
On an Island
Isolated isles do make ideal murder conditions.
Through Time
As if establishing an alibi weren't hard enough already.
In Space
You know what they say about how no one can hear you scream.
Where do your favorite mysteries and thrillers take place? Let's talk settings and books in the comments below!
Comments Showing 1-50 of 110 (110 new)
message 1:
by
ree
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Apr 04, 2022 01:41AM
I enjoyed Paradox Hotel (sci-fi mystery with time travel)
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Seems like Hotels and Libraries are my favourite settings. :)
'The Secret History' and 'Deception On His Mind' were pretty unique..
Death on the NileMurder on the Orient Express
Agatha Christie
I loved both Murder on the Orient Express and Death on the Nile, if anyone is even tempted to read them go for it!!!
Great!Real cool the way that is characterized, I'm saving this one to help me read them
Libraries, country houses, and campuses are among my favorites. I also love anything outdoors, especially in the mountains.
How about the bookstore setting? There are dozens of wonderful mysteries set in bookstores. Definitely my favorite category.
This is such a creative blog post! I love it! Thanks for the great recommendations.
That's a great list! My favourite category are boats and trains/planes, especially when they're historical as well.
Fantastic list! I have read quite a few, have some on my TBR & picked up a few new ones. I love so many settings but my favourite has to be most any place with a sequestered group (islands, mountainous snowy locales, country houses, space stations & colonies/habitats, etc). I'm to be counted upon to pick those up and check them out. Also, mysteries involving bookstores, libraries, museums, all things preservation societies and archival sciences. Books about books and those who keep, covet and kill/or are killed over them, love them.
I would recommend Places in the Darkness by Chris Brookmyre as a good murder mystery on a space station. Also, just about any Murderbot book is worth it.
Country House, Library and very cold place are favourite settings of mystery and thriller.
I love how this was categorized. Wish I could save this list
Fun list!And amusing: By the Shore
The other kind of beach body. - lol
And time travel, as if setting up an alibi wasn't hard enough 😊
shell wrote: "agatha cristie is almost in each category!"Yea she's a legend for this genre
Want to stay alive? Never accept an invitation to visit someone's country estate. 😂😂😂
Love this list. Thank you for this creative approach.
Melissa wrote: "I love how this was categorized. Wish I could save this list"I have a folder for this kind of stuff in my booklink library (where I saved this one as well) perhaps that's an idea for you too.
Priyanka wrote: "shell wrote: "agatha cristie is almost in each category!" She is truly the Queen of Mystery! "And Then There Were None" is a great book, if you love mystery at least half as much as I do, please read."The ABC Murders is excellent. She's definitely one of the best.
Agnieszka wrote: "Melissa wrote: "I love how this was categorized. Wish I could save this list"I have a folder for this kind of stuff in my booklink library (where I saved this one as well) perhaps that's an idea ..."
Not sure what you mean by "booklink library"
Having trouble replacing Jack Reacher novels (any recommendations) Dickey
When it comes to settings I like a warm climate. Which puts Andrea Camilleri's Montalbano series right up at the top of the list.
I just looked up The Woman in the Library in the Kindle Store. It is scheduled to be released on June 7, 2022.
Oh, I so wanted this item to categorise real places. I am after books with a genuine sense of place, even if in translation.
Would anyone mind recommending bookstore mystery / thriller novels please
Sarah’s reading journey wrote: "Would anyone mind recommending bookstore mystery / thriller novels please"Hi, if you're at all interested in short stories, I'd recommend Bibliomysteries (ed. Otto Penzler).
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3...
Angus wrote: "Oh, I so wanted this item to categorise real places. I am after books with a genuine sense of place, even if in translation."Hi Angus. If I'm allowed to recommend my own book, Waking the Tiger is set in Singapore in 1939.
You forgot small town vibes, where everyone knows everyone and all have secret secrets 😏Like
And you forgot a classic in "Island" setting:
We Begin At The End…one of the best books I EVER read.
Mark wrote: "Angus wrote: "Oh, I so wanted this item to categorise real places. I am after books with a genuine sense of place, even if in translation."Hi Angus. If I'm allowed to recommend my own book, Waking..."
Thank you.
I looked for physical locations, too. My books are all set in 1920's Idaho in mountains, deserts, Craters of the Moon, and mines.
For the mystery on boats I would like to add the famous Per Wallhoe/Maj Sjoewall novel "Roseanna" (German title: Die Tote im Goeta Kanal".
old country houses with creaking stairs and doors and secret passageways under the stairs! They 'get me' every time!
Melissa wrote: "I love how this was categorized. Wish I could save this list"You can! I was able to send it from Goodreads.com to the iBooks on my iPad! Maybe you can find a way on your device if you start from the webpage.
You didn't list mountains or the American west. That's my favorite setting!
A nice list - but what about small towns/ villages near forests/ swamps?
I'm surprised that Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane is not on the "on an island" list! It was really good!And though I haven't read it, Lucy Foley's The Hunting Party seems appropriate for the "in a very cold place" list.
I'd love to see a similar list by geographical location ... love me a mystery in a European setting.
How about series - I want to find mystery/thrillers that are a series of books with the same characters.
Try Brushed Off, an amateur sleuth, his married lover, their dog and a detective solve the murder of 3 artists in Los Angeles.
shell wrote: "agatha cristie is almost in each category!"That's because she is the best!
Angus wrote: "Oh, I so wanted this item to categorise real places. I am after books with a genuine sense of place, even if in translation."Agreed! That is what I was expecting. A strong sense of place is one of my top requirements in a mystery.
AGATHA CHRISTIE IS THE BEST, THE PURE BEST IN THIS GENRE!!!
I love mysteries / thrillers on islands, boats, mountains, someplace it is almost impossible for the characters to escape from!!!AnneMarie
Excellent list :)The boat category brought Snow Falling on Cedars to mind.
I've been binge reading Agatha Christie books lately and in my opinion, she is the best in this genre! Lately, her books are the only ones I feel like reading!! So if you never tried on of her stories before, take this chance and do it, they're so worth it!Also, I love how they categorized this list, I wish there was a way to save it!!
How about a category for the Australian Outback - I'd be hard pressed to think of many books with a better setting-as-a-character than Jane Harper's "The Lost Man". Her best book so far in my opinion, but all of her books have a tremendous sense of place and geography.The Lost Man
