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Sometimes mysteries and thrillers can be fast-paced, action-packed experiences that don’t give you, let alone the characters, enough time to stop and breathe. These kinds of books can be so, so fun, cutting out the slower, emotional beats to keep the tension and speed at full throttle. In these types of mysteries and thrillers, less time might be spent fleshing out characters, digging into the emotional side of things, or dedicating space on the page to pretty prose. These types of mysteries and thrillers can have you on the edge of your seat, staying up late just to find out who did it or to see if the detective saves the girl in the nick of time.
There are, however, some mysteries and thrillers that do spend more space to make the novel character-driven with emotional character arcs and relationships. These are what we’d call literary mysteries and thrillers. These types of books often lean more toward flowery prose, scenery descriptions, and make sure the characters are in the driver’s seat. Like with general literary fiction novels, these can be more introspective and reflective, spending time exploring the interiority of the character or humanity.
If you’re in the mood for some literary mysteries and thrillers, you’ve come to the right place! Here are eight excellent literary mysteries and thrillers to get you started.
The God of the Woods by Liz Moore
When Barbara, the 13-year-old daughter of the prominent Van Laars goes missing from their family-owned summer camp in eerily similar circumstances to another disappearance in the family years before, chaos breaks loose as the counselors, police officers, and those close to the family converge on the scene. Told through multiple female perspectives, the investigation and history reveal the way the roles of women in families and in society as a whole add another layer of interiority and tenderness to the mystery of Barbara’s disappearance.
The Majesties by Tiffany Tsao
When Gwedolyn comes to in the hospital, she struggles to make sense of what landed her there. She is, after all, the only one in her extended family who survived a poisoning committed by her sister, Estella. Struggling to stay alive and comatose, Gwendolyn reflects on her relationship with her sister and their family drama, including the way wealth played into their interpersonal dynamics, to try to uncover the why behind Estella’s murderous decision.
The Searcher by Tana French
When retired detective Cal Hooper relocates to a small countryside town in Ireland, he’s hoping for a peaceful and calm existence, even if the locals don’t necessarily warm to him right away. Soon, however, he can’t help but get sucked into the case of a local boy’s disappearance. As he digs into the case, the town that seemed devoid of the dangers of his past may have something sinister lurking under the surface after all.
Birnam Wood by Eleanor Catton
Mira is the leader of an activist group that plants crops wherever they can, even if it’s not exactly legal to do so, and when she hears about a landslide that isolated an entire town, visions of a much larger plot of untouchable land dances through her head. When she checks out the location, though, she has a run in with the extremely rich Robert Lemoine who wants the land for himself. As their goals for the land clash, tensions rise as capitalism clashes with eco-activism.
My Sister the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite
Korede spends her days as a nurse with a major crush on Tade, one of the doctors at her clinic Her sister, a gorgeous if self-centered shadow over Korede’s life, has terrible taste in men, leading to the alleged self-defense killings of two men. Both times, Korede has helped her sister clean up the scenes. But when Tade develops an interest in her sister, Korede’s love for her sister collides with her morality as she questions whether her sister was telling the truth about those deaths in her dating past.
Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
When the unnamed narrator moves to Manderley, newly married to Maximilian de Winter, she’s delighted to be a good wife to her far-better-than-her (at least in her mind) husband. However, after a chilly reception from one of the estate’s staff members and constant mentions of her husband’s previous wife Rebecca, the narrator finds herself haunted by her shadow. What happened to Rebecca, though, and why won’t anyone tell her?
American Spy by Lauren Wilkinson
Told through letters to her sons, Marie Mitchell details the story of how she became a spy for the FBI and the CIA, including parts of the job involving influencing politics overseas and escaping assassination attempts. She also reflects on her upbringing in New York, and her battles against sexism and racism in law enforcement spaces.
Miracle Creek by Angie Kim
Pak and Young Yoo, immigrants from Korea, have made a niche for themselves by running a hyperbaric oxygen therapy facility, a therapy that purports to treat almost any condition under the sun. But when a fire breaks out at the facility killing two patients, their business is thrown into tragedy. Then a mother of one of the victims is pinpointed as the suspect, and a subsequent trial dredges up the histories and secrets of everyone involved.
If you’re in the mood for more character-driven stories, why not check out these “no plot just vibes” books or these award-winning literary fiction books!
