I never consider myself much of a mystery reader, but some of my favourite books fall under that category! So I thought it was worthwhile today to reflect on some of my favourites that range from thoroughly flummoxing me to having me in stitches with a sassy narrator. Have you read any of them?

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Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson

This is by far one of my favourite mystery novels at the moment. If you’ve seen the movie Knives Out and enjoyed it, I can’t recommend this enough. Set at a ski resort during a family reunion, people begin to die. The narrator is unreliable and there’s a lot of family drama and secrets going around to try and distract you.

This will have you wetting yourself with laughter and also quaking in your boots. I loved trying to guess at the direction it was going in, who was the murderer, and what the motive could possibly be.

One of the really cool things about this book is that at the beginning the narrator tells you on which pages a death will occur. And then it’s referred back to – moments when you *think* someone might be dead, the narrator will break the fourth wall and ask you if this page number is on the list. It’s its own kind of spooky and I loved it.

Verity by Colleen Hoover

I’m sure this needs no introducing, but I do still stand by this book as worth the read. It has so much hype around it these days that I can imagine it might be somewhat intimidating to pick up, if you haven’t already. But it’s good!

I read this around the time it came out and listened to the audiobook – and oh my goodness, I couldn’t put it down. This has a really spooky atmosphere to it, because in true Colleen Hoover style, it’s a romance mixed in with some more serious topics that have you questioning the motives of characters.

The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield

It’s been some time since I read The Thirteenth Tale, but it still sticks in my mind today as a mystery novel that I enjoyed more than most. There was something so twisty and turny about this, that forced you to wade through the plot and examine each story line to try and find the truth – that made it so fun.

I knew going into this one that there was a big twist in it, but no matter how hard I braced for it to try and anticipate it coming, I didn’t see at all until it happened! The story follows a character trying to unearth the life story of another character, but where this takes them is pretty interesting. I would recommend this to people who love books, stories and unpredictable twists.

And Then There Were None

This wouldn’t be a list without an Agatha Christie, and there’s a reason And Then There Were None is her bestselling novel. This is truly the ultimate mystery, and one you can’t even work out when you get to the end. Seriously! There’s an author note at the end of the book to explain what happened, and how.

If you’re looking for a good spook that will get your brain turning over furiously as you try to guess the answers, this is definitely it. It follows ten strangers who are invited to a private island, all under different pretences, but once they’re there, things start to go downhill, one by one.

Dial A For Aunties

Quite different to And Then There Were None, if you’re looking for a mystery that will have you laughing your socks off, Dial A For Aunties is definitely it.

I don’t think I have ample enough words to tell you how much I enjoyed reading this. It’s all about a girl who accidentally kills a too-keen date, and how she comically tries to cover up the murder. Coming from a Chinese family, it ends up being a hilarious fiasco as too many aunts get involved to help her out.

The Girl on the Train

And finally, the modern classic, as I’m calling it: The Girl on the Train. This book is so hard to put down, so be prepared to binge it.

If you’re not familiar with this book, it’s about a woman who’s lost her job but still catches the train day and night, whiling away her daytime hours away from her housemate to keep up pretences. This woman sees a family in their house as the train passes every day, and when one of them goes missing, she thinks she might have some information to be able to sleuth the heck out of the situation and work out what happened and where they’ve gone. It’s 110% worth the hype.

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What is your favourite mystery book?