13 Page-Turning Murder Mysteries Recommended by Off the Shelf Readers

With its white-knuckled plot and unforeseeable twists, it’s no wonder Off the Shelf readers consider this Lisa Lutz thriller a must-read. After leaving her husband’s body at the base of the stairs, Tanya flees town and meets an ally, Blue, along the way. From heart-stopping escapes and devious deceptions, readers are left to wonder: can she possibly outrun her past?

Years after 13-year-old Julie was kidnapped from her bedroom, she turns up on the doorstep of her family’s home. But is this young woman the real Julie? Propulsive and suspenseful, GOOD AS GONE will keep readers guessing until the final pages.

Looking for an interview subject for a college assignment, Joe Talbert finds himself unwittingly interviewing convicted murder Carl, who has been medically paroled to a nursing home. Thread by thread, Joe digs deeper into the circumstances of Carl’s conviction and the crime. But will he discover the truth before it’s too late to escape the fallout?

It’s Christmastime in the village of Three Pines and Chief Inspector Armand Gamache has received a missing person report for an unnamed woman. But as Gamache is drawn into the investigation, he soon discovers that the missing woman was once one of the most famous people in the world.

Many of you agreed Patricia Cornwell’s Kay Scarpetta series, which begins with POSTMORTEM, was essential for avid mystery readers. Medical examiner Kay Scarpetta suspects the worst when a gruesome trail of stranglings paralyzes Richmond, Virginia. With an unerring eye, she calls on the latest advances in forensic research to unmask the madman.

Of course, no list of murder mysteries worth its salt can leave out legendary writer Agatha Christie. In EVIL UNDER THE SUN, meticulous Belgian detective Hercule Poirot is on the trail of the killer of a sun-bronzed beauty whose death brings some rather shocking secrets to light.

Seven years ago, Flora Dane was abducted When a Boston detective learns that she has been connected to murder suspects since her return to society 5 years ago, he must determine if Flora is a victim or a vigilante.

Pick up any Mary Higgins Clark suspense novel and we promise that you’ll be dazzled by it. With more than 50 books under her belt, Clark is an authority in the genre. Off the Shelf readers recommend Clark’s YOU BELONG TO ME, a page-turning mystery about a killer who targets lonely women on cruise ships.

Born in 1950 in Los Angeles to Marjorie Phillips Lowe, Hieronymus Bosch was named after the 15th century Dutch artist and nicknamed “Harry.” He became an orphan at 11 when his mother, a prostitute, was murdered. He grew up living in a youth hall and foster homes. He joined the army and did two tours in Vietnam. Harry returned to Los Angeles and joined the LAPD in 1972. He became a detective after five years in patrol.

Sarah’s husband, Jack, has been haunted for decades by the untimely death of his mother. When his beloved Aunt Julia suffers an accident, they return to the childhood home Jack has avoided for years. As facts about Julia’s accident begin to surface, Sarah realizes that nothing about this family is what it seems and that her husband’s past is actually a puzzling rabbit hole.

Everyone knows a couple like Jack and Grace. He has looks and wealth; she has charm and elegance. But some might wonder what’s really going on once the dinner party is over, and the front door has closed.

In the classic mystery GAUDY NIGHT, Harriet and her paramour, Lord Peter Wimsey, head to her alma mater, Oxford University, for a reunion, only to find themselves the targets of harassment and mysterious, murderous threats.

Edgar Allan Poe invented the genre of detective fiction with 3 mesmerizing stories about a young French eccentric named C. Auguste Dupin. In this classic mystery, Dupin solves the brutal murder of two women in Paris—and the murderer does not appear to be human.