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Mystery's New Megahits: Readers' 48 Favorite Whodunits of the Past 3 Years
Most scholars agree that the modern mystery novel genre dates back to the mid-1800s, when authors like Edgar Allan Poe introduced the idea of a murder or other crime that’s investigated through deduction, clever thinking, and reasoning. Depending on how you define your terms, though, the mystery tradition is much older. For instance, there are a couple of good head-scratchers in One Thousand and One Nights, the famous collection of tales from the Islamic Golden Age (8th century to 13th century).
Today’s mystery shelves, meanwhile, are filled with 1,001 variations on the theme: detective stories, cozies, procedurals, neo-noirs, whodunits. The lines get pleasantly blurry, and contemporary authors take pride in finding new ways to futz with the standard mystery story template.
We recently got curious about which relatively new mystery novels have proved most popular among Goodreads members. So we crunched the numbers. The list below ranks, in order, the most popular mystery books of the past three years, as determined by average star ratings, reader reviews, and members’ Want to Read shelves.
You’ll find some familiar names here: Jewell and Feeney, Prose and Ware, Foley and McFadden. If there’s a central trend, it’s that female authors pretty much dominate this genre on Goodreads these days. Count them up for yourselves. Another weird little microtrend: What’s up with the maids and housemaids? Also look for a surge in cozy mysteries with particularly good titles.
Click on the book cover images for more information about each title. If you’re in the mood for some sleuthing, add any good leads to your Want to Read shelf.
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Have a great mystery recommendation? Share it with your fellow readers in the comments below!
Comments Showing 1-50 of 61 (61 new)
message 1:
by
Law
(new)
Jun 24, 2024 12:54AM
I'm surprised The Teacher is not on here despite the abundance of Freida McFadden books here on this list. I'll avoid that author. Can anyone recommend me a book to read from this list?
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loved flicker in the dark, literally could not put it down and it had the most intricate plots ever. rock paper scissors was mid though
Law wrote: "I'm surprised The Teacher is not on here despite the abundance of Freida McFadden books here on this list. I'll avoid that author. Can anyone recommend me a book to read from this list?"I really liked None of this is True, A Flicker in the Dark, Local Woman Missing, The It Girl, First Lie Wins ( definitely my favorite of all), and I have Some Questions for you. Also worth reading The Quiet Tenant and the Good Lie. I've read almost all of these. I've also heard good things about Notes on an Execution but i haven't personally read it. Hope that helps:-)
I especially enjoyed The Quiet Tenant: the tension was palatable and my heart was in my throat for a lot of it!
Law wrote: "I'm surprised The Teacher is not on here despite the abundance of Freida McFadden books here on this list. I'll avoid that author. Can anyone recommend me a book to read from this list?"LOVE FM! And that book, a lot of my faves are by here. On this list I'd recommend AR Torre, Alice Feeney and Stacey Willingham
I've read 12 of these and I hope to read more by the end of the year!
Do read 'A flicker in the Dark' -- it was excellent.
I've read all but 15. I put one of those on my TBR list.
I dream of the day Freida McFadden stops being recommended to me. Hopefully the same day that Colleen Hoover stops getting recommended to me.Read 23. None of This is True, The Push, and Local Woman Missing were all 5 stars from me and definitely the best on this list!
Not sure what is the cut-off date for "last three years"- but "The Plot" that came out in May 2021 is worth a mention.Is it my imagination or are there way more women authors than men in this list?
Mostly thrillers. Any good mysteries, police procedurals, detective books out there?
The Outsiders by Steve King.It was pure horror.
Law wrote: "I'm surprised The Teacher is not on here despite the abundance of Freida McFadden books here on this list. I'll avoid that author. Can anyone recommend me a book to read from this list?"I can, but it might vary based on your preferences. While all of these fit into the mystery genre, they are diverse in where they fall on the spectrum of reads. For example, The Maid, Finlay Donovan is Killing It, and Killers of a Certain Age are lighter where something like Daisy Darker is a bit...well darker and has a big ol twist. The ones I've mentioned, I've read and liked but it comes down to taste.
Medh wrote: "Not sure what is the cut-off date for "last three years"- but "The Plot" that came out in May 2021 is worth a mention.Is it my imagination or are there way more women authors than men in this list?"
Probably, women write more thrillers than men do (these days anyway)
@Barb: Police procedurals (more or less): Michael Connelly and John Sandford are still writing excellent books IMHO. Anthony Horowitz's Hawthorn & Horowitz series is sort of in the vein of more classic mysteries.
Happy reading!
I've read 12. The Push was a 5⭐️ for me! I have quite a few I need to get to on my shelf as well.
Law wrote: "I'm surprised The Teacher is not on here despite the abundance of Freida McFadden books here on this list. I'll avoid that author. Can anyone recommend me a book to read from this list?"The Quiet Tenant is my coworkers favorite!!! A book that isn't on this list that I think should be is Strange Sally Diamond by Liz Nugent! I also started reading the audiob ook of Notes on an Execution a while ago and it was fantastic!
Barb wrote: "Mostly thrillers. Any good mysteries, police procedurals, detective books out there?"I love the Jackson Brodie series by Kate Atkinson. I also like JD Kirk, DCI Logan series and TG Reid for the DCI Bones series.
"The Seven" (Chris Hammer) is one of the best crime novels I've read for quite a while.
Notes On An Execution was one of my top reads the year it came out. It is excellent! So hapoy to see it on this list. And I am head over heals in love with Finlay Donovan. I cant get enough of that series, also super happy to see that on this list. I dont think Ive ever genuinely laught so much with any other series, especially mystery series.
Omg!!! Why are majority of the books here 3 stars?None of This is True, The Push, Both the Stacy Willingham books were all 5 stars for me. Rest of them- I can't say!
Laura wrote: "I dream of the day Freida McFadden stops being recommended to me. Hopefully the same day that Colleen Hoover stops getting recommended to me.Read 23. None of This is True, The Push, and Local Wom..."
Haha! You're right here.
Law wrote: "I'm surprised The Teacher is not on here despite the abundance of Freida McFadden books here on this list. I'll avoid that author. Can anyone recommend me a book to read from this list?"Alice Feeney- Rock, Paper, Scissors! I stay away from McFadden as well. If you like something more cozy then The Maid, Thursday Murder Club and Finlay Donovan are great.
I've read 26 and am currently reading one. I love this genre, but am a really tough rater on it. (I almost always figure out the plot twists.)My favs on this list are Apples Never Fall (but IMO it's a completely different genre), First Lie Wins and Rock Paper Scissors.
I know I'm an outlier, but I absolutely hated None of This is True and Notes on an Execution.
My current fav from this genre is The Return of Ellie Black (the audio version in particular). It's a million times better than all the books on this list.
Law wrote: "I'm surprised The Teacher is not on here despite the abundance of Freida McFadden books here on this list. I'll avoid that author. Can anyone recommend me a book to read from this list?"I really enjoyed Lisa Jewell's novels if you haven't read any of her books then I would suggest: Then she was gone, The Family upstairs, and The Night she disappeared.
Can you recommend me any thrillers from authors of colour? I only found one from an Asian author called Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers on this list. Correct me if I'm wrong or there's more. That looks intriguing.
Law wrote: "I'm surprised The Teacher is not on here despite the abundance of Freida McFadden books here on this list. I'll avoid that author. Can anyone recommend me a book to read from this list?"None of this true! such a great book
Law wrote: "I'm surprised The Teacher is not on here despite the abundance of Freida McFadden books here on this list. I'll avoid that author. Can anyone recommend me a book to read from this list?"Honestly I definitely recommend the only one left by Riley Sager!!
Laura wrote: "I dream of the day Freida McFadden stops being recommended to me. Hopefully the same day that Colleen Hoover stops getting recommended to me.Read 23. None of This is True, The Push, and Local Wom..."
You sound like my kind of reader! I'll check out your recs!
Law wrote: "I'm surprised The Teacher is not on here despite the abundance of Freida McFadden books here on this list. I'll avoid that author. Can anyone recommend me a book to read from this list?"The Guest List by Lucy Foley.
Vera Wong is my favorite from the list. That book was so funny and creative. I won’t read another book by Frieda McFadden. She steals all her plots from better writers who have original ideas. I really enjoyed The Maid and the sequel. They are quirky and the characters are all so endearing tied up with a good mystery.
"If there’s a central trend, it’s that female authors pretty much dominate this genre on Goodreads these days. Count them up for yourselves." Interesting that the comments are also dominated by female members.
On a road trip. Killers of a Certain Age was first read. Could not put down. Book with me constantly, read every possible moment, even created some. Passed to another person on the trip, who just shacked up in the cottage and read the book. Person number three is now reading. Only book on list I’ve read so far.
Never, ever, see any Craig Johnson or Lee Child titles listed.Missing out on some great reads & stories!
I have read 19 of these books and “None of this is True” by Lisa Jewell was my absolute favorite by far. Check it out if you haven’t already!
Lindsay, The last thing he told me was really good. So was The Housemaid.
I have read 34 of these books. The only ones left I still want to read are the Richard Osman ones. I've heard great things about them!
I’ve read 20+ on this list. Loved Vera Wong (she reminds me of a co-worker).The House Across The Lake was a little out of my normal comfort zone, but I really liked it also.
Law wrote: "I'm surprised The Teacher is not on here despite the abundance of Freida McFadden books here on this list. I'll avoid that author. Can anyone recommend me a book to read from this list?"I liked The Teacher also. I recommend The Push and all of Mary Kubica's books.
Natalia wrote: "Alice Feeney- Rock, Paper, Scissors! I stay away from McFadden as well. If you like something more cozy then The Maid, Thursday Murder Club and Finlay Donovan are great."
I agree Rock, Paper, Scissors was good, really enjoyed that one.
From this list that I've read:The Housemaid - 2 stars, didn't like it
The Paris Apartment - 2 stars, didn't like it
Rock Paper Scissors - 4 Stars, very good
The Push - 3 stars
The House Across the Lake - 2 stars
All Good People Here - 3 stars
Law wrote: "Can you recommend me any thrillers from authors of colour? I only found one from an Asian author called Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers on this list. Correct me if I'm wrong or there's..."Did a quick search and this is what i came of with. The list is from last year but this should get you started:
https://www.goodreads.com/blog/show/2...
I just finished All the Colors of the Dark by Chris Whitaker and it was fantastic!! Definitely one of my favorites! 5⭐️
Really enjoyed Finlay Donovan Series, Thursday Murder Club Series and The Maid (also a series but I’ve only read the first book.) Highly recommend them all!
