One of the fun things we’ve discovered over the years, here at Goodreads World Headquarters, is that there are many, many, many ways to shuffle and categorize books. The traditional genre tags and topic lists are useful. But if you get a little wacky with it, interesting connections present themselves.
 
To wit: our inaugural Mystery Week Choose-Your-Own-Adventure recommendation list. We’ve sorted the stacks in the mystery aisle to accommodate themed pairs of opposites. Are you in the mood for a Locked Room mystery or something with Wide-Open Spaces? In the Air or at Sea? Hot or Cold? Small Town or Big City?
 
The categories and connections below should mostly explain themselves, though some might require a little sleuthing. (In Church Versus State, for example, we’ve bunched religious investigators and themes in one pile, and espionage thrillers and matter of state in another.)
 
The books included here are a mix of new releases and old favorites, with an eye toward representative classics. You’ll find a wide range of mystery subgenres (Noir! Cozy! Horroresque!) from a lineup of usual-suspect authors (Christie! Grisham! Highsmith!). You’ll also find some of the best new talent in the genre, with books by Jesse Q. Sutanto, T.J. Newman, and Deepti Kapoor.
 
Rummage around the book cover images below, and tap or click through to get more information about each title. Feel free to add what you like to your Want to Read shelf.
 

...or Cold

Historical...

   

...or Far Future

      

Amateur Detective...

...or Professional Sleuth

 

Church...

...or State