Best Mystery & Thrillers books of the last 13 years (2023 updated)
Goodreads Choice award-winning books in the mystery & thriller genre
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The Mysteries and thrillers genre being my favorite genre I am always riddled with the question - What are the best mystery books to read?
So I decided why not read all the most popular books voted by readers like you and me. For those who aren’t aware, Goodreads- the most popular website among readers, holds a popularity award every year at the end of the year where readers vote for their favorite book in the genre, released in that year. And the book with the most votes wins.
So I simply went to Goodreads and picked out the winning novel in the mystery and thriller genre for the last 13 years starting from 2023 and back and read all of them (okay not all, I did not read the other Stephen King novel (Mr.Mercedes), one was enough). And honestly, I had my hits and misses. But some of them did end up being my favorites too.
What are those “the best mystery thriller books” and did I like them or not, read on to find out. And let me know how many of these Best mystery thriller books of all time have you read.
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Mystery thriller books for adults
The Housemaid's Secret by Freida McFadden (2023)
In "The Housemaid's Secret," we follow the story of a mysterious Millie. She finds a job with the Garrick family, only to uncover unsettling secrets within their luxurious penthouse. Millie discovers signs of distress from Mrs. Garrick and makes a vow to protect her while seeking revenge against Douglas Garrick. He has committed wrongs.
This book is a sequel that can be enjoyed on its own. However, I think readers may find, reading the series better, to fully understand Millie's character development.
On the positive side, "The Housemaid's Secret" maintains a quick pace and engaging storyline. The plot is filled with twists and turns, some of which are unexpected. It kept me invested in the narrative. The protagonist's snide remarks add a humorous element to the story, and the ending I felt was satisfying and fitting.
However, I felt the some plot twists were predictable. Millie's character development may not be as likable. She had repetitive thoughts and an irksome attitude towards certain characters.
Overall, "The Housemaid's Secret" is a good thriller that offers an entertaining read. While it may not reach the dark depths of the best thrillers, it still provides a popcorn thriller experience.
Readers interested in thrillers, please read it with an open mind and enjoy the ride it offers.
The Maid by Nita Prose (2022)
Molly the Maid is obsessed with cleanliness and excellence. Although that may benefit the Regency Hotel it's a challenge for Molly herself. Because her differentness leads to social awkwardness, and she frequently judges others' intentions incorrectly.
The only person who at all understood her was her Gran whom she lost to cancer lately and now Molly feels lost. Work is her only mate, but work too gets out of hand when Molly discovers a habitual but infamous guest of the hotel Mr.Black deceased in his room’s bed.
Her singular demeanor and social awkwardness make her the chief suspect. But she discovers unanticipated friends during the crisis who help her get to the right criminal.
Quite an unanticipatedly surprising novel that explores characters, that are distinct, and traces their growth through life's emergencies. The mystery is gripping, no doubt, but further, the character development was what I enjoyed most about this novel.
This book is a definite must-have book for readers interested in a mystery with a human touch and connections of the heart.
The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave (2021)
“Protect her”, is the final statement Owen Michaels (a coder) recounted to Hannah (his second wife) about Bailey (his teenage daughter) before he vanished one evening without a trail.
And furthermore, the news breaks out that the organization’s CEO that Owen worked for is arrested for swindling. Hannah realizes that her husband hasn’t been entirely honest with her, and she decides to ascertain the truth on her own, or along with her step-daughter. But her stepdaughter wants nothing to do with her.
This novel has all the makings of a perfect nail-biter. Couldn't have been better.
The Guest List by Lucy Foley (2020)
A marriage party. A remote island. 150 guests. Each with a secret. Each with an intent to murder. A storm. A killer among the guests.
Jules, the bride, is the director of an online fashion magazine. Will, the bridegroom, is a television actor in a happening show on survival in the wild. They're a match made in heaven. But does everyone suppose so? The fantastic islet has a history, and so do its guests. Is their coming together at the island a coincidence or a brutal twist of destiny? The marriage cake is cut, but so is the life of a person. The ravaging storm brings the thought that a killer also roams among them. Who is it?
The characters were defined with perfection. To picture the pale and skinny Olivia and tall and handsome Will with a charming smile, and the stern but beautiful and graceful wife-to-be Julia. Even the minor characters like Jules's mama and Will’s father or Charlie were so splendidly created that their image in my mind was clear.
The world-building was unique. The haunted island with its crashing swells, enigmatic bog, and cliffs was so dramatic it would make you believe in ghosts.
The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides (2019)
The novel starts with a diary entry by Alicia Berenson, where she explains that she’s jotting this diary because her husband asserted she writes it to vent her internal reflections. Gabriel Berenson, Alicia’s husband is a photographer and she herself is a painter. They're happily married for seven years. In the alternate chapter, we pick up that one night Gabriel was (murdered) shot by Alicia in the face five times, and since that episode, she has come silent. Her enduring silence turns the story into a grand riddle. She hasn’t spoken to anyone except she drew an oil named ALCESTIS shortly after the murder.
The best part I like about The Silent Patient was the weaving of the parallel story of Theo’s past that was so fluid and presented as one with the original story that I no way for one second misdoubted the intention of that story other than to produce a background for an important character.
The Outsider by Stephen King (2018)
A boy is raped and murdered. Witnesses and evidence all point to the favorite coach of all the kids in the city, Coach T. But Coach T has the strongest alibi. He was in another city attending an author convention with a few friends from his teaching association who all stood firm that he was with them. Then who murdered the little boy?
And more important still, how can a man be in two places at the same time?
A very gripping but slow-burn mystery that will have you turning pages. But don’t hold me accountable if you dislike the end. I didn’t much like it too. It seemed far-fetched. Nevertheless, this was my first Stephen King and I wasn’t disappointed. I am most definitely going to read more books from him.
Into The Water by Paula Hawkins (2017)
Just days before her sister dived to her death, Julia neglected her call. Now Nel is dead. They say she jumped. And Jules has to return to her sister’s house, her childhood home, to look out for her daughter, Lena, and to confront the secret of Nel’s death.
But she's fearful of returning. Her long-buried memories of the old Mill House and the city’s secret drowning history horrify her. The Drowning Pool has already claimed the lives of four women. And furthermore, she also knows that Nel would in no way jump to her death.
I wasn’t madly turning the pages, as is published in numerous reviews by popular magazines. I thought we got to the end in a very indirect way, beating about the bush. It could have been shorter. The characters could have been deeper. And it could’ve been simpler.
Best Mystery thriller books
End of Watch by Stephen King (2016)
In Room 217 of the Lakes Region Traumatic Brain Injury Clinic, an evil entity has risen. Brady Hartsfield, the perpetrator of the Mercedes Massacre, where eight people were killed and numerous further were wretchedly injured, has been in the clinic for five years, in a vegetative state. According to his doctors, anything nearing a full recovery is far-fetched. But behind the dribble and gaze, Brady is wide-awake, and in control of lethal new powers that permit him to inflict unconceivable destruction without ever leaving his hospital room.
Retired police operative Bill Hodges, with his partner, Holly Gibney — the woman who delivered the blow to Hartsfield’s head that put him in the brain injury ward. When Bill and Holly are called to a self-murder scene with ties to the Mercedes Massacre, they find themselves pulled into their most perilous case yet, one that will put their lives at stake, as well as those of Bill’s heroic youthful friend Jerome Robinson and his teenage sister, Barbara. Brady Hartsfield is back, and planning vengeance not just on Hodges and his mates, but on an entire metropolis.
In End of Watch, Stephen King brings the Hodges trilogy to a sublimely intimidating inference, connecting the detective fiction of Mr. Mercedes and Finders Keepers with the heart-pounding, paranormal suspense that has been his bestselling brand. The result is a distressing look at human weakness and a chilling mystery.
The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins (2015)
Rachel goes to work on the same commuter train every morning. She knows it'll stay at the same signal each day, overlooking a row of back lawns belonging to some pretty houses. She’s indeed started to feel like she knows the people who reside in one of the houses. “Jess and Jason,” she calls them. Their life as she sees from the train is perfect. Rachel wants that kind of happiness and life for herself.
But one day, at the signal, she sees something disturbing. It’s only a moment until the train moves on, but it’s enough. Now everything’s changed. Now Rachel has to do something girl on the train.
Although the writing was a little bit confusing for me, the conception and the plot itself had me hooked. Other than the repetitive gross throw-ups Rachel had, I think it was a compelling read.
Mr. Mercedes by Stephen King (2014)
Early one morning, in an anxious American metropolis, hundreds of jobless men and women line up for the opening of a job exhibition. They're weary and cold and desperate. Surfacing from the haze, unnoticeable until it's too late, a lone motorist plows through the crowd in a stolen Mercedes, running over the innocent, backing up, and charging again. Eight people are dead; fifteen people are injured. The killer escapes.
Months later, an ex-cop named Bill Hodges, still thinking about the unsolved crime, contemplates suicide. When he gets a crazed letter from" the perpetrator," claiming credit for the murders, Hodges wakes up from his retirement, worrying about another even more evil attack, and is hell-bent on stopping it.
Brady Hartfield lives with his alcoholic mama in the house where he was born. He loved the sense of death under the wheels of the Mercedes, and he needs that rush again. Only Bill Hodges, with a couple of eccentric and mismatched partners, can seize the killer before he strikes again. And they've no time to lose, because Brady's new mission if it succeeds, will kill or mutilate thousands.
Mercedes is a war between good and evil from the master of suspense whose wisdom into the mind of this obsessed, insane killer is chilling and memorable.
Inferno by Dan Brown (2013)
Feels like a very long time since I read the entire Langdon series. But I remember every one of the plots, they were so engaging and unique.
Harvard professor of symbolist Robert Langdon awakens in an Italian hospital, disoriented and without recollection of the past thirty-six hours, including the origin of the macabre object hidden in his belongings. A woman killer is on their trail, so he and his resourceful doctor, Sienna Brooks, are forced to flee. While on the run of their life, they must uncover a series of codes, which are the work of a genius scientist whose fetish with the end of the world is matched only by his love for one of the most influential masterpieces ever written, Dante Alighieri's The Inferno.Dan Brown conjures up everything in his stories – mystery, thrill, history, art literature, sci-fi, and even some romance. Every book in the Robert Langdon series raises the bar higher up and delivers an action-packed story every single time..
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn (2012)
Who are you?
What have we done to each other?
These are the questions Nick Dunne finds himself questioning on the morning of his fifth marriage anniversary when his wife Amy abruptly disappears. The police suspect Nick. Amy's friends disclose that she was frightened of him and that she kept secrets from him. He swears it is not true. When the police check his computer they find strange searches. He says he has no clue who made them. But then there are the suspicious calls on his mobile phone.
So what did happen to Nick's beautiful wife?
A genre-bending book, this thriller became the benchmark for psychological mystery and thriller writers after its shocking and extremely twisted end. Let me tell you the movie adaptation is as popular as the book and deserves all the accolades it received.
Smokin Seventeen by Janet Evanovich (2011)
How can anyone decide this novel was their favorite mystery novel for the year 2011 is beyond me? Maybe the other contenders were hopelessly trashy, who knows!
So in Trenton, one-morning parts of a person’s body are found. And then the number of bodies just keeps piling up. One of these bodies is addressed to Stephanie Plum, our protagonist. While trying to find who is behind this killing spree, her romantic life gets complicated when her parents decide to do match-making for her.
For me, I think this book was more of a rom-com than a murder mystery. Because frankly, only a handful of paragraphs (not even pages) were dedicated to actually finding the killer. In addition to that, I think the readers will guess the murderer, way, way before the reveal. At least I did. No surprises here. And this book was the Goodreads choice award winner for best mystery in 2011.
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