Who doesn’t love a great whodunnit? These books are guaranteed to keep you on your toes. With various settings across the world and different methods of mystery solving, one or more of the following books is sure to pique your interest. Whether you’re looking for stand-alone books or books that belong in a series, there are just so many great books to choose from.
The Body on the Train: A Kate Shackleton Mystery
By Frances Brody
Crooked Lane Books, $26.99, 332 pages
Although this is book eleven in the Kate Shackleton series, this book works as a great standalone as well. Set in London in 1929, a dead body is found and Investigator Kate Shackleton is on the case. As she unravels a set of mysterious clues and discovers multiple murders, she digs herself into a deep hole of wicked deceit. Author Frances Brody’s clever and realistic storytelling gives the reader a picturesque look into the dark underground of England in the 1920s.
Murder in Rat Alley (Blackman Agency Investigations)
By Mark de Castrique
Poisoned Pen Press, $15.99, 272 pages
The seventh book in the Blackman Agency Investigations series, Murder in Rat Alley can be read as a standalone. A dead man’s body is found buried on the grounds of the Pisgah Astronomical Research Institute. A body that has been there for a very long time. Then, the body of the dead man’s fiancee turns up in Rat Alley. How did the discovery of the man’s body somehow trigger that of the fiancee? It is up to Sam Blackman and Nakayla Robertson to find out.
The Cactus Plot: Murder in the High Desert
By Vicky Ramakka
Artemesia Publishing, LLC, $15.95, 284 pages
Botanist Millie Whitehall stars in this entangled story where murder, mystery, and the wild, wild west are all involved. With a string of brilliantly colorful characters that Millie meets along the way, this story is an entertaining read. Set in Northwestern New Mexico, the native plants may be the clue to solving the deaths. Millie didn’t expect to be solving a mystery when she arrived in New Mexico, let alone a murder mystery.
The Dead Girls Club: A Novel
By Damien Angelica Walters
Crooked Lane Books, $26.99, 280 pages
This supernatural thriller will have readers crawling under the covers! Heather and her friends are in a self-created club called The Dead Girls Club. They talk about and research serial killers with one another. One of the stories, the Red Lady is one that Heather’s best friend won’t let go of. She insists it’s real. Now Becca is dead. Thirty years have passed and Heather receives a necklace in the mail. The necklace Becca was wearing when Heather killed her. This book will leave you wanting more from author Damien Walters. All the creepy crawly feelings of a ghost story complete with goosebumps and one-eye-shut moments.
Passport to Death (A Dotan Naor Thriller)
By Yigal Zur
Oceanview Publishing, $26.95, 208 pages
Book two in the Dotan Naor Thriller series, Passport to Death is set in Thailand, where Israeli private investigator Naor goes to find a missing girl from a wealthy family. What he doesn’t realize is that he is personally connected to this case. And as time goes on he thinks that someone may be trying to fool him. Digging into his own past is the only way the Naor will solve the mystery and find the girl. And he must do it before it’s too late. An exciting addition to the library of any fan of international noir.