Literary Sleuths I’d Trust to Solve My Murder

Being a muse sounds romantic, but maybe not when you end up the murder victim in someone else’s story. And then end up being murdered yourself while living in the house with the book’s author. That’s what ends up happening to Julie Stender, a young woman who lives as a tenant in the home of retired professor Esther de Laurenti, who is writing a novel where a Julie look-alike is killed. If you’re ever the victim in a garden-variety case of “stranger than fiction” murder, you’ll need Copenhagen police detectives Jeppe Kørner and Anette Werner on your case. Kørner and Werner are a bit of an odd couple, with his moodiness juxtaposed to her positivity, but it works out when you give the pair a real sense of chemistry and add tension to the plot as they work together to solve the case. THE TENANT may be about a fictional murder happening in real life, but it proves the very real fact that often two heads are better than one.

It’s probably not anyone’s desire to be murdered by a terrifying serial killer who is intent on destroying as much human life as possible. But if you’ve been caught in the claws of a dangerous man like Mr. Mercedes, then you’re going to want Bill Hodges and Holly Gibney on the hunt. Hodges is a grizzled, retired police detective who gets pulled into the case via a mysterious, taunting letter, while Gibney is an eccentric but highly detailed young woman able to make connections others can’t. Together, they are able to fill in the gaps in each other’s skills and tackle the strange twists and turns in MR. MERCEDES, as well as its sequels, FINDERS KEEPERS and END OF WATCH. And trust me, with a dark and sadistic man like Brady Hartsfield doing all he can to torment and kill others, you’re going to need a super-sleuthing duo on your case.

John Connolly is a master of thrills and chills, whether it be mystery, sci-fi, or horror. But he might be best known for his long-running detective series, which follows the adventures of Charlie Parker. A former NY Police Department detective, Parker often finds himself drawn to strange and terrible cases that have dark resolutions after his wife and daughter are brutally murdered. And while I don’t think I’ll ever get swept into a cult that mysteriously disappears until their mass grave is found four decades later, THE KILLING KIND proves that if anyone’s going to find my killer, it’s Charlie Parker. And while this book is not for the faint of heart, thanks to the dark antagonism of the terrible Mr. Pudd and a literal ton of spiders, it’s exactly the type of spooky thriller that’s tailor-made for Halloween reading. Also, if you’re looking for more adventures, Charlie Parker stars in 17 books, with the 18th, THE DIRTY SOUTH, set to hit shelves in November. So if I do ever disappear under mysterious circumstance, someone be sure to give Mr. Parker a call—hopefully he’ll have time with his busy caseload.

Sometimes the best detective duos aren't comprised of two detectives. Take Deputy Captain Colomba Caselli and Dante Torre. Caselli is a fierce police detective dealing with the aftermath of a traumatic incident, while Torre is a claustrophobic who spent years kidnapped by a mysterious figure and whose keen eye and thirst for knowledge are unparalleled. The two are paired off when the figure who held Torre captive, known as The Father, is back on the scene after a mother is beheaded and her child goes missing. This unlikely team will have to combat their personal demons as they hunt down the strange and sadistic man, who may have had more victims than either of them ever imagined. What I love about this team-up is that Torre brings an insight into the crimes that only a previous victim of crime can, while Caselli has the experience and fearlessness to charge headfirst, even when she’s in pain. A dark thriller you can’t get enough of, KILL THE FATHER will have you glued to your seat. And once you’ve devoured that, you can read the next two books in the trilogy, including the recently released KILL THE KING.

The mean streets of New York City in 1896 aren’t a place for...well, anyone really. It’s a dog-eat-dog time, where everyone you meet has the potential to be friend or foe. So if I were to meet my maker in as dark and dreary a place and time as that, I know I would be looking for the brightest intellect around. Enter Dr. Laszlo Kreizler, alienist (or in our parlance, psychologist), and part-time detective when there’s a deranged killer on the loose. When young boys are being murdered all over the city, Kreizler and his unlikely companions, including a crime reporter and the first woman hired by the NY Police Department, take to the strange and gruesome case. Kreizler is a bit of an oddball, but he’s methodical and works to understand the criminal mind to catch them before they can strike again. Think of it as a historical Criminal Minds, if you will. As much an examination of class and racial politics as a psychological thriller, THE ALIENIST will have you hooked through to the very last page (or minute, if you’re listening to the audiobook).

Leave it to the queen of the murder mystery to create one of the most iconic detectives of all time. Hercule Poirot is a world-famous Belgian detective who always finds himself at the scene of a gruesome murder, and never fails to find the killer. If I’m ever murdered on some fabulous vacation surrounded by gorgeous strangers, he’s the one I want on my case. In the classic DEATH ON THE NILE, Poirot becomes embroiled in a murder involving affairs of the heart on a cruise of the Nile. Socialite Linnet Doyle has been slain, and there are any number of suspects, including her former friend Jacqueline de Bellefort, whose fiancé Linnet stole. And while this is a classic, and you may already be familiar with it, the ending is still sure to surprise the reader as Poirot interrogates the various suspects aboard the boat. It’s a story so intriguing, it’s even being adapted for the silver screen, releasing this December. If you’re looking for a detective with class who will stop at nothing to discover the truth, make sure you go wherever Poirot is headed next.

It’s very unlikely I am going to die at the hand of something supernatural, but one should be prepared for all eventualities. If it is something not-quite-human that takes me down, be sure to get in contact with Harry Dresden, wizard and private investigator. Dresden deals with a lot of strange and otherworldly madness in his job, and uses just as many creepy and dangerous tools to get to the bottom of every case. In his first appearance, STORM FRONT, Dresden finds himself the prime suspect after two bodies are found with their hearts ripped out by supposedly magical means. He must work with Karrin Murphy of the Chicago PD, his ghostly associate Bob, and his bag of tricks to find the real killer—and absolve himself of the supernatural crime. If this book casts a spell on you, the Dresden Files series includes seventeen books, as well as a ton of short stories.