List
2024 Staff Picks: Mystery, Suspense, and Thrillers
Our expert staff members look back at the year and share their favorite titles.
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An Intrigue of Witches
2024 by Addison, EsmeGet this itemI greatly enjoyed Esme Addison’s Enchanted Bay mysteries and couldn’t wait to get hold of her latest, the first in the Secret Society series. Here, a Black historian looking for a lost artifact learns that she’s descended from a line of witches going back to ancient Egypt. If you like a mix of history, magic, mystery, and a strong female lead--this is for you. Suggested by Sharon.
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No One Dies Yet
2024 by Ben Ben, KobbyGet this itemThis novel, immersed within Ghana’s 2019 Year of Return tourism initiative, kept me disoriented and anxious all the way through. Driven by the perspectives of two opposing and unreliable narrators—one who shares striking similarities with the author—this erotic, murderous thriller weaves postcolonial questions of diaspora, queerness, and tourism throughout. This is a truly bizarre and brilliant read that I cannot stop thinking about. Suggested by Lill.
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You'd Look Better as a Ghost
2024 by Wallace, JoannaGet this itemI loved the glib and morbid humor of this book from the point of view of a serial killer who is being blackmailed. Suggested by Suzanne.
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Where They Last Saw Her
2024 by Rendon, Marcie R.Get this itemAn intense slow-burn mystery/thriller that shines a necessary light on the Missing Murdered Indigenous Women Girls and Two Spirit movement. I really like how this female centric story in which the main cast of female characters came together and were determined to solve a crime that would otherwise be neglected and unsolved. The author identifies some of the issues that the tribal nation faces and showcases their power of community, support, and resilience. A great pick if you enjoyed "True Detective Night Country." Suggested by Rummanah.
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Graveyard Shift
2024 by Rio, M. L.Get this itemI enjoyed this book because it was fast paced, interesting, and very well researched. The author did a great job setting a dark scene full of dark themes. Suggested by Luke.
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Guide Me Home
2024 by Locke, AtticaGet this item“Can Darren Matthews save himself?” The question underlying this series comes to a head in 2019, with the troubled Texas Ranger unravelling along with his country. Possible salvation appears in a new case from an unexpected source. The author has indicated that this is the end of what she calls her “Highway 59 Trilogy.” I hope she reconsiders. Suggested by Andrew.
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The Expectant Detectives
2024 by Ailes, KatGet this itemHilarity ensues in this British amateur sleuth whodunit centering on mom-to-be Alice, who investigates a murder with her new friends from a birthing class. Witty and charming and just a little twisty, it's an ideal escape. You’ll want to grab the next in the series: Dead Tired. Suggested by Sharon.
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The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels
2024 by Hallett, JaniceGet this itemI love mixed media books like this. Reading emails, transcripts of interviews, all piecing together a deadly mystery and a dangerous path for the writer investigating it. You just can't be disappointed with a Hallett thriller! Suggested by Amanda.
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The Noh Mask Murder
2024 by Takagi, AkimitsuGet this itemFans of John Dickson Carr’s locked room puzzles and Agatha Christie’s clever twists will have a field day with this Japanese classic mystery that’s finally appearing in English. I stand in awe of its author’s superior craftsmanship and masterful misdirection. Suggested by Steven.
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Listen for the Lie
2024 by Tintera, AmyGet this itemA twisty mystery with a podcast tie-in? Sign us up! Lucy has been accused of murdering her best friend, but she has no memory of that night. She’ll have to confront her past to find the answers. Lucy is a hilarious and sarcastic narrator, an anti-hero type that you can't help rooting for. Suggested by Brenna and Sheena.
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The Return of Ellie Black
2024 by Jean, EmikoGet this itemThis is a fast paced thriller that unravels nicely like a spool of yarn with one question leading to the next, shocking twists, and every chapter ending in a cliffhanger. I had a very hard time putting this one down. Suggested by Rummanah.
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First Lie Wins
2024 by Elston, AshleyGet this itemI found this thriller impossible to put down; I wasn’t sure what to believe or who to trust! I loved digging into con artist Evie’s mysterious past as the story came together. Suggested by Brenna.
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Rough Pages
2024 by Rosen, Lev ACGet this itemIn 1953, the subscriber list for a queer book service could get people killed...or be worth killing for. Lev Rosen’s third historical mystery featuring Evander “Andy” Mills is also about censorship, privacy, and the transformative power of human beings seeing themselves in fiction. This series keeps getting better and better. Suggested by Andrew.
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The God of the Woods
2024 by Moore, LizGet this itemAn isolated summer camp. A serial killer on the loose. A wealthy family with lots of secrets. I can’t think of a better setup, and this historical mystery delivers all of the thrills and intrigue. Suggested by Brenna.
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The Framed Women of Ardemore House
2024 by Schillace, BrandyGet this itemAfter losing the important things in her life all within a year, Jo inherits a family estate in York and has a chance to start over. However, she finds herself at the center of a murder investigation when a family portrait vanishes and a dead body shows up in the manor. With a lovable and memorable cast of characters and an intricately constructed mystery, this is a great pick. Suggested by Rummanah.
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Karla's Choice
2024 by Harkaway, NickGet this itemI can’t remember the last time I was as surprised by how good a book is as I was while reading this. Nick Cornwell (writing as Nick Harkaway) has done the near impossible, creating an exact facsimile of his father's (who wrote as John Le Carre) world of grimy, morally compromised Cold War espionage that nonetheless has a sensibility all its own. I was downright excited by the suggestion this isn’t a one-off. Suggested by Andrew.
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What Have You Done?
2024 by Lapena, ShariGet this itemA twist you wouldn't see coming! Suggested by Marissa.
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Death in the Spires
2024 by Charles, KJ.Get this itemI couldn’t help but think of Tom Stoppard’s play The Invention of Love and its theme of queer desire sublimated into academic achievement while reading this excellent Oxford-set historical mystery. After 10 years of secrets and innuendo, Jeremy “Jem” Kite sees no way forward but to finally solve the murder of his classmate Toby Feynsham. Suggested by Andrew.
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What You Leave Behind
2024 by Morris, Wanda M.Get this itemThis is a fast-paced and tense legal thriller with a lens toward social justice. Wanda Morris has crafted a story that not only entertains but also educates readers about the billion dollar legal issue surrounding Heir Property Law that specifically targets landowners, particularly Black families, Hispanic populations in Southwest America, Indigenous communities in the West, and communities living throughout Appalachia, who are land-rich and cash poor. Suggested by Rummanah.
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The Last Murder at the End of the World
2024 by Turton, StuartGet this itemThe 122 people left on Earth live on an island surrounded by lethal fog. It gets weirder from there. Turton isn’t just becoming the master of the science fiction mystery--he breaks all the rules in ways that should be the opposite of “fair play”, but still makes you want more. Suggested by Andrew.
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The Teacher
2024 by McFadden, FreidaGet this itemIf you've read Freida McFadden before, you know you're in for a wild ride! After her charming husband begins mentoring a troubled girl, Eve is concerned. Addie had been involved in a student-teacher affair rumor and she has become a social pariah. Each person has something to hide and it all culminates in an explosive ending. Seriously, my jaw dropped. Suggested by Amber H.
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Sniffing Out Murder
2023 by Benjamin, Kallie E.Get this itemIt's one of my favorite authors Valerie Burns, writing under a pseudonym, with a new cozy series: Bailey the Bloodhound. I’m all in for mysteries featuring canine characters and this does not disappoint. Of course, Bailey uses his special talents to help Pris, a children’s book author, solve the murder of a school board trustee who wanted to cut funding for a pet-assisted reading program. Suggested by Sharon.
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The Christmas Guest
2023 by Swanson, PeterGet this itemDespite its holiday setting, there’s nothing cozy about this novella that adds a contemporary twist to the traditional English country house mystery. Once again, Peter Swanson excels in atmosphere, suspense, and clever plotting. Suggested by Steven.
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Gaslight
2023 by Kayode, FemiGet this itemThe disappearance of Sade Dawodu is the kind of mystery Philip Taiwo knows he should stay away from. Taiwo’s sister, who nonetheless involves him in the case, doesn’t seem to grasp the target her friend wears as the “difficult” wife of one of Nigeria’s most influential megachurch preachers. Suggested by Andrew.
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