I’ve always been into mystery books. It started with Nancy Drew and The Hardy Boys, which my mom used to read to me when I was younger. I had a little “Choose Your Own Adventure” mystery book that I read until it almost fell apart. As I grew older, I turned to Agatha Christie, my mom’s favorite mystery writer. Her detail-oriented, gripping plots always have a very strong hold on my attention, and I absolutely flew through them. Agatha Christie solidified my love for mystery and encouraged me to expand into different authors and variations. So without further ado, and in no particular order, here are my top five mystery books.
- Big Little Lies
TW: Sexual Assault and Abuse
This is such a wonderful book and a great show adaptation that was turned into a really good miniseries with Reese Witherspoon! It’s a genuine page turner, and it has so much to offer. The story is about three women – Celeste, Madeline, and Jane – who live in Australia. One of the women’s husbands has recently died, and there is a lot of suspense and mystery around his death. If you like stories with a lot of preschool mommy drama, this one may be for you. It’s a really intense book for sure, so be sure to make certain that the content is okay for you!
- Sharp Objects
TW: Self Harm, Drug and Alcohol Abuse
This book is extremely disturbing. It’s about a series of deaths in the main character’s small-town childhood home that cause her to come back home to write a story. She is again confronted by her childhood trauma at home and attempts to deal with that while also writing this story. I didn’t exactly like this writing style, but the plot made up for it. I was hooked until the end, and the ending was so creepy that I was scared to go outside in the dark for days after finishing it. However, the plot is well crafted, and the small subtleties really make it an interesting read!
- The Girl on the Train
TW: Alcoholism, Violence and Abuse
This is a really intense story. It’s full of deceit and cheating, and it’s absolutely a page-turner. There was so much mystery and so many twists that kept me guessing right up until the end. This one was also turned into a really great film adaptation starring Emily Blunt. It’s about a woman who watches two families through the window of a train every day and ends up witnessing a murder that she can hardly remember. There’s a lot of complexity to this book, and it certainly deals with some heavy topics, so be mindful of that before reading!
- Five Little Pigs
I absolutely love Agatha Christie. She never fails with her dramatic reveals and explanations at the end of every mystery. Poirot, the detective, is one of my favorite characters ever, and he’s just so observant. Every little subtle comment matters, and that’s what makes this book so wonderful. It’s about a woman who is seeking to clear her mother’s name many years after her mother was found guilty of killing her father when she was younger. It’s a very good read, as are most Agatha Christie novels, and one of my favorites.
- The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
TW: Sexual Assault and Incest
This book was a lot. It was suspenseful, complicated and very disturbing. The general premise is that the grandfather of a girl who went missing a long time ago employs a prominent investigative journalist and a rebellious PI to solve the case. The story has
been adapted into two different movies, both of which are quite good. It’s full of twists, and I’d be surprised if anyone figured out the true culprit before it was revealed!
Featured Image by Allison Geddie