Mystery Books
Unravel puzzling crimes and follow brilliant detectives through our curated collection of mystery book series
Adam Dalgliesh
14 Books • 1962-2008
Adam Dalgliesh is a Scotland Yard detective who rises from Chief Inspector to Commander over fourteen novels, and who also happens to be a published p...
Agatha Raisin
37 Books • 1992-2026
The Agatha Raisin series is a collection of cozy mysteries set in Carsely, a village in England's Cotswolds. Agatha, a retired PR executive from Londo...
Aloysius Archer
3 Books • 2019-2022
Aloysius Archer is a WWII veteran and former inmate who becomes a detective in 1949 Cold War America. Created by David Baldacci, Archer operates in a ...
Atlee Pine
4 Books • 2018-2021
FBI Special Agent Atlee Pine is stationed at the Grand Canyon, the most remote posting in the Bureau, a choice she made deliberately. As a six-year-ol...
Bill Hodges Trilogy
3 Books • 2014-2016
Stephen King's crime thriller trilogy follows retired detective Bill Hodges as he pursues a serial killer who uses a car as a weapon. Across Mr. Merce...
Cackleberry Club
9 Books • 2008-2021
Laura Childs' cozy mystery series centers on three women who run a tearoom and bookshop while solving murders in their spare time. The Cackleberry Clu...
Chief Inspector Gamache
21 Books • 2005-2026
Louise Penny's mystery series follows Chief Inspector Armand Gamache investigating crimes in the Quebec village of Three Pines and beyond. Gamache is ...
Cormoran Strike
8 Books • 2013-2025
J.K. Rowling, writing as Robert Galbraith, created private detective Cormoran Strike and his assistant Robin Ellacott, who solve high-profile crimes i...
Grant County
6 Books • 2002-2008
Karin Slaughter's crime series is set in a small Georgia town where detective Jeffrey Tolliver and medical examiner Sara Linton investigate brutal mur...
Hamish Macbeth
38 Books • 1985-2025
M.C. Beaton's Hamish Macbeth series spans from 1985 to the present, featuring Police Constable Hamish Macbeth in the Scottish Highland village of Loch...
Harry Hole
13 Books • 1997-2022
Harry Hole is an Oslo homicide detective with a drinking problem, a talent for catching serial killers and a habit of wrecking everything good in his ...
Jesse Stone
23 Books • 1997-2026
Jesse Stone was a promising LAPD homicide detective until his drinking and a failed marriage cost him his job. He gets a second chance as police chief...
Joe Pickett
26 Books • 2001-2026
Joe Pickett is a game warden in Twelve Sleep County, Wyoming: underpaid, stubborn, a poor shot and almost impossible to bribe. Each novel starts with ...
Kay Scarpetta
29 Books • 1990-2025
Patricia Cornwell's Kay Scarpetta is a forensic pathologist whose medical expertise and dogged investigation style make her a formidable detective. Th...
Lucas Davenport (Prey)
36 Books • 1989-2026
The Prey novels follow Lucas Davenport, a Minneapolis detective who later works for the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension and then the U.S. Ma...
Memory Man
7 Books • 2015-2022
David Baldacci's Amos Decker is a former football player with hyperthymesia, perfect recall of nearly everything he witnesses, who becomes an investig...
Miss Julia
23 Books • 1999-2021
Ann B. Ross's Miss Julia is a widow in small-town North Carolina navigating social expectations, family chaos, and amateur detective work with sharp w...
Miss Marple
12 Books • 1930-1976
Agatha Christie's Miss Marple is an elderly English villager whose observations of human nature make her an uncanny detective despite having no offici...
Myron Bolitar
12 Books • 1995-2024
Harlan Coben's Myron Bolitar is a sports agent and former athlete who stumbles into private investigation while protecting his clients. The series mix...
No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency
25 Books • 1998-2024
Alexander McCall Smith's Precious Ramotswe is Botswana's first female private detective, solving crimes with intuition and common sense rather than ag...
Renée Ballard
6 Books • 2017-2024
Renee Ballard, an LAPD detective working the night shift, takes on cold cases and overlooked crimes that the day shift ignores. Michael Connelly's ser...
Robert Langdon
6 Books • 2010-2025
Harvard symbology professor Robert Langdon races across the globe solving mysteries tied to historical codes, religious artifacts, and hidden knowledg...
Ruth Galloway
15 Books • 2009-2023
Dr Ruth Galloway is a forensic archaeologist who teaches at the University of North Norfolk and lives in a remote cottage on the edge of the saltmarsh...
Scrapbooking Mystery
16 Books • 2003-2019
Laura Childs' Scrapbooking Mystery series follows Carmela Bertrand, who runs a scrapbooking shop in New Orleans and gets drawn into local murder inves...
Tea Shop Mystery
29 Books • 2001-2025
Theodosia Browning runs an upscale tea shop in Charleston and finds herself investigating murders connected to the city's business and social elite. L...
Temperance Brennan
22 Books • 1997-2024
Temperance Brennan, a forensic anthropologist, solves murders by examining skeletal evidence and works both with the FBI and a Montreal police departm...
The 6:20 Man
3 Books • 2022-2024
Will Tanner takes a job at a prestigious wealth management firm in New York and discovers the company harbors dark secrets and powerful enemies. David...
The Camel Club
5 Books • 2005-2010
Before conspiracy thrillers dominated bestseller lists, Baldacci created the Camel Club—four unlikely vigilantes exposing government corruption in Was...
The Housemaid
3 Books • 2022-2024
The Housemaid is a gripping psychological thriller series by Freida McFadden that follows Millie Calloway, a woman with a criminal past who takes desp...
The Lincoln Lawyer
8 Books • 2005-2025
The Lincoln Lawyer series follows Mickey Haller, a Los Angeles criminal defense attorney who operates his practice from the back seat of his Lincoln T...
Theodore Boone
7 Books • 2010-2019
Theodore Boone is a middle-grade legal thriller series following 13-year-old Theo Boone, an aspiring lawyer whose parents are both attorneys. Living i...
Walt Longmire
21 Books • 2004-2025
The Walt Longmire series follows the laconic sheriff of Absaroka County, Wyoming, as he investigates crimes in the shadow of the Bighorn Mountains. Se...
Will Trent
12 Books • 2006-2024
Will Trent is a GBI special agent with an eidetic memory, severe dyslexia, and scars from eighteen years in Atlanta's foster care system. He compensat...
Popular Mystery Authors
- P.D. James
- M.C. Beaton
- David Baldacci
- Stephen King
- Laura Childs
- Louise Penny
- J.K. Rowling
- Karin Slaughter
- Jo Nesbø
- Christopher Farnsworth
Related Genres
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Frequently Asked Questions
What are the best mystery book series to read?
Popular mystery series include Robert Langdon by Dan Brown, Alex Cross by James Patterson, Harry Bosch by Michael Connelly, Jack Reacher by Lee Child, and Hercule Poirot by Agatha Christie. Each series offers unique detective characters and compelling mysteries.
Should I read mystery series in order?
Yes, reading mystery series in order is recommended as they often feature character development, recurring relationships, and plot elements that build across books. However, many mystery novels can also be enjoyed as standalones.
What is the difference between mystery and thriller books?
Mystery books focus on solving a puzzle or crime, with the emphasis on investigation and deduction. Thrillers emphasize suspense, danger, and fast-paced action. Many books blend both genres, featuring detective work with high-stakes tension.
What are classic mystery series?
Classic mystery series include Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple, Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes, and Dorothy L. Sayers' Lord Peter Wimsey. These timeless series established many conventions of the mystery genre.