13 Easy-to-read Mystery books for beginner’s in the genre
Whether you’re making a start to your reading journey or you want to pick up the mystery genre for the first, the following books promise to keep you hooked.
The tension, the drama, and your nerve cells working up extra to find out the killer will have you turning pages on these books at the same time they will be easy mystery reads without complex plots, shifting timelines or gruesome details.
The younger me loved to devour Nancy Drew Mysteries by Carolyne Kleene and my adult reading life began with Sherlock Holmes, Sidney Sheldon, and Agatha Christie.
While Sheldon might not be suitable due to gory details and the sexual nature of the content for beginners in the mystery genre, Christie and Doyle make it to my list for must-Read Mysteries for Beginners.
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Mystery books for Beginners
Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie
The serenity of a cruise along the River Nile is diluted by the discovery that Linnet Ridgeway has been murdered. She was a young, sophisticated and beautiful girl who had everything - until she lost her life.
But Hercule Poirot with his sharp wits, and keen observation, recalls an earlier outburst by a fellow passenger: 'I'd like to put my dear little pistol against her head and just press the trigger.'
Yet as is always the case in life, nothing is ever quite what it seems.
The Hound of Baskerville by Sir Arthur Canon Doyle
Everyone attributes the sudden death of Sir Charles Baskerville to the colossal ghostly hound that is said to have haunted his family for generations. But Sherlock Holmes does not believe in the supernatural and very typically dismisses the theory as bullshit.
Since he is handling another case simultaneously, he sends his friend Dr.Watson to Devon to protect the Baskerville heir and interview the suspects. With its gothic setting on the ancient, wild moorland and its ferocious specter, The Hound of the Baskervilles is one of the best crime novels ever written.
Rationalism is working against the supernatural, good against evil, as Sherlock Holmes seeks to defeat an enemy almost his equal.
The Guest List by Lucy Foley
A wedding on a secluded island in Ireland, with a storm that is threatening to salvage the island and in the midst a body is found.
The groom, a rising television star is handsome and charming. The bride, a magazine publisher is smart and ambitious. It’s like a wedding of dreams, the designer dress, the remote location, the glam party favors, and the boutique whiskey.
The wedding planner has planned everything in great detail and with pure grace and elegance. But sometimes the best-laid plans don’t work out well. The limited guests have arrived and then someone turns up dead. Who wished to malign the happy couple’s prospects, and who was murdered? And the more pressing question, why?
Angels & Demons by Dan Brown
A cryptic symbol needs analyzing. And who better than world-renowned Harvard symbolist Robert Langdon. He is called to a Swiss research facility unaware that the symbol is carved into the chest of a murdered physicist.
What he learns is shocking, the murder is a part of an elaborate vendetta by an underground organization called the Illuminati.
In a frantic race against time to save the Vatican from a powerful time bomb, Langdon joins forces in Rome with the beautiful scientist Vittoria Vetra.
A must-read series, the Robert Langdon series, for every fan of mystery. A fascinating and elaborate quest through history and religion.
Easy to Read Mystery Books
The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides
Alicia Berenson shot her husband five times in the face. She is a famous painter married to an equally famous fashion photographer. After killing her husband she goes mute, never to speak again.
Alicia’s refusal to talk, or explain what happened and why it happened, turns a domestic tragedy into a most sought-after mystery for the media and the public.
Theo Faber, a criminal psychotherapist, has waited a long time for the opportunity to work with Alicia. He thinks he can break Alicia’s silence and crack the mystery of the murder. But the truth might consume him.
Brilliant plot twist, hands down.
12 Books Like The Silent Patient
The Perfect Murder by Ruskin Bond
In a dimly lit corner of a cafe was planned the perfect murder or money. Paul had long since realized that the matter was not as easy as he had suggested. For the act must be carried out with patience, without violence, without clues, without a trace.
Is the perfect murder ever possible? Explore this collection of Bond’s favorite short stories where plenty of cryptic and bizarre crimes occur.
100 very interesting reads by Ruskin Bond
Sadie by Courtney Summers
A disappeared girl on a journey of revenge. A podcaster following the clues she's left behind while broadcasting her story for listeners. And an ending you won't be able to stop raving about.
Sadie never had an easy life and she's been raising her little sister Mattie in an isolated small town.
But when Mattie is found dead, Sadie's world is shattered. The police turn out to be useless so Sadie is on a quest of her own to find her sister’s killer.
With this book, Courtney Summers has written the shoot to stardom book of her career. I recommend this especially on audio because the podcast intermingled with the fast-paced writing needs to be heard in audio format only.
One by One Ruth Ware
Getting snowed in at a lovely, countryside mountain cottage doesn’t sound like the worst problem in the world, especially when there’s a breathtaking view, a comfortable fire, and company to keep you warm. But only if you trust that company.
A company retreat meant to promote mindfulness and teamwork goes turns out to be a disaster when an avalanche hits it. Survival becomes key. The burning question is – how many of these company colleagues will you see in the office on Monday?
Best Mystery Novels for Beginners
Silence in The Library by Katharine Schellman
Lily Adler, a recent widow, didn't expect to find a dead body when visiting a family friend. Now it's up to her to discover the killer in the charming second book in the Lily Adler mystery series.
Mr. Page, the constable in charge of the case, believes the surviving family members are hiding the key to the deaths of both Sir Charles and a maid, who dies subsequently. To expose the truth, Lily must persuade her father who doesn't trust or respect her to help catch his friend's killer before another death in the Wyatt residence.
The Husband’s Secret by Liane Moriarty
Imagine that your husband wrote you a letter, to be opened only after his death. Imagine, too, that the letter contains his deepest, darkest secret—something with the potential to destroy not just the life you built together, but the lives of others as well. Imagine, then, that you stumble across that letter while your husband is still very much alive. . . .
If this blurb, isn’t enough to make you pick this I don’t see how I can add anything more to impress you.
I’ll be honest in why I recommend this book, only to beginners. It’s simple to follow, it’s a domestic thriller and it’s mysterious enough to keep you reading until the very end. But for more regular (seasoned) mystery readers, I wouldn’t recommend this book, because I think we like to be swept off our feet and this book didn’t do that for me.
This YA thriller is taking the thriller genre like a storm.
Five students of a university. One of them is going to reveal some juicy secrets about the other four. Only he can’t because before he does that he is found dead.
Did one of the other four do it or did all of them do it or was there someone else involved who wanted to trap the four?
Read carefully and you might just find out the secret.
A compulsively readable book.
A very detailed and organized investigation by Pippa, our protagonist, into a murder and suicide, that took place five years ago in her small town, Kilton. Pippa decides to pick up the investigation as her summer project as she does not believe the accused Sal Singh, who committed suicide later, was responsible for the death of Andie, the town's darling girl. Pippa takes care of all the small things that a reader might question during her thorough investigation.
In addition to that, I also loved the many twists and turns, and the final reveal was someone I did not deduce.
The Couple Next Door is a domestic suspense novel. The Plot - a 6-month-old baby is left to sleep alone at home while the parents attend a party next door. And then the mother's worst nightmare comes true - when she checks on her baby, she finds her missing. The perfect couple, living the perfect life, and yet, looks could be deceiving.
Who knew that the people we trust and love are unworthy of that trust and love? In the context of our everyday lives with everyday people and events, this kind of a novel is unsettling.
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