Best Mystery Books for Beginners

1. 1

   

   And Then There Were None

   by Agatha Christie

   ★ 4.69 BLT Score (1.6M ratings)

   ★ 4.27 Goodreads (1.6M)

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   Get the Book → Start Listening →
2. 2

   

   A Good Girl's Guide to Murder

   A Good Girl's Guide to Murder • Book 1

   by Holly Jackson

   ★ 4.60 BLT Score (1.8M ratings)

   ★ 4.28 Goodreads (1.8M)

   433 pages • 2019

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   Get the Book → Start Listening →
3. 3

   

   We Are All Guilty Here

   North Falls • Book 1

   by Karin Slaughter

   ★ 4.60 BLT Score (133.0K ratings)

   ★ 4.21 Goodreads (133.0K)

   439 pages • 2025

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   Get the Book → Start Listening →
4. 4

   

   Rebecca

   by Daphne du Maurier

   ★ 4.57 BLT Score (730.8K ratings)

   ★ 4.25 Goodreads (730.8K)

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   Get the Book → Start Listening →
5. 5

   

   [Dolores Claiborne] [By: King, Stephen] [July, 2011]

   by Stephen King

   ★ 4.54 BLT Score (172.3K ratings)

   ★ 3.95 Goodreads (172.3K)

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   Get the Book → Start Listening →
6. 6

   

   The Delicate Things We Make

   by Milena McKay

   ★ 4.52 BLT Score (3.2K ratings)

   ★ 4.51 Goodreads (3.2K)

   334 pages • 2021

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   Get the Book → Start Listening →
7. 7

   

   The Only One Left

   by Riley Sager

   ★ 4.45 BLT Score (635.0K ratings)

   ★ 4.13 Goodreads (635.0K)

   383 pages • 2023

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   Get the Book → Start Listening →
8. 8

   

   The Deep, Deep Snow

   Shelby Lake • Book 1

   by Brian Freeman

   ★ 4.45 BLT Score (11.3K ratings)

   ★ 4.21 Goodreads (11.3K)

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   Get the Book → Start Listening →
9. 9

   

   The Cold Dish

   Walt Longmire • Book 1

   by Craig Johnson

   ★ 4.42 BLT Score (46.6K ratings)

   ★ 4.11 Goodreads (46.6K)

   354 pages • 2004

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   Get the Book → Start Listening →
10. 10

    

    In Cold Blood

    by Truman Capote

    ★ 4.37 BLT Score (735.8K ratings)

    ★ 4.09 Goodreads (735.8K)

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    Get the Book → Start Listening →
11. 11

    

    [The Murder at the Vicarage] [by: Agatha Christie]

    Miss Marple • Book 1

    by Agatha Christie

    ★ 4.35 BLT Score (216.7K ratings)

    ★ 4.04 Goodreads (216.7K)

    236 pages • 1930

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    Get the Book → Start Listening →
12. 12

    

    The Broken Girls

    by Simone St. James

    ★ 4.35 BLT Score (130.7K ratings)

    ★ 4.05 Goodreads (130.7K)

    336 pages • 2018

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    Get the Book → Start Listening →
13. 13

    

    The Lake House

    by Kate Morton, Unknown Author

    ★ 4.35 BLT Score (131.8K ratings)

    ★ 4.08 Goodreads (131.8K)

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    Get the Book → Start Listening →
14. 14

    

    The Alienist

    Laszlo Kreizler and John Schuyler Moore • Book 1

    by Caleb Carr

    ★ 4.34 BLT Score (182.1K ratings)

    ★ 4.06 Goodreads (182.1K)

    498 pages • 1994

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    Get the Book → Start Listening →
15. 15

    

    Allegedly

    by Tiffany D. Jackson

    ★ 4.33 BLT Score (84.0K ratings)

    ★ 4.02 Goodreads (84.0K)

    390 pages • 2017

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    Get the Book → Start Listening →
16. 16

    

    The Cuckoo's Calling

    Cormoran Strike • Book 1

    by Robert Galbraith

    ★ 4.33 BLT Score (630.7K ratings)

    ★ 3.89 Goodreads (630.7K)

    456 pages • 2013

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    Get the Book → Start Listening →
17. 17

    

    Conflict of Interest

    Portland Police Bureau • Book 1

    by Jae

    ★ 4.32 BLT Score (3.6K ratings)

    ★ 4.23 Goodreads (3.6K)

    562 pages • 2008

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    Get the Book → Start Listening →
18. 18

    

    Mystic River

    by Dennis Lehane

    ★ 4.32 BLT Score (166.9K ratings)

    ★ 4.18 Goodreads (166.9K)

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    Get the Book → Start Listening →
19. 19

    

    Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil

    by John Berendt

    ★ 4.32 BLT Score (297.3K ratings)

    ★ 3.92 Goodreads (297.3K)

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    Get the Book → Start Listening →
20. 20

    

    The Woman in White

    by Wilkie Collins

    ★ 4.31 BLT Score (167.1K ratings)

    ★ 4.01 Goodreads (167.1K)

    219 pages • 1859

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    Get the Book → Start Listening →
21. 21

    

    The Murders at Fleat House

    by Lucinda Riley

    ★ 4.31 BLT Score (46.5K ratings)

    ★ 4.1 Goodreads (46.5K)

    576 pages • 2022

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    Get the Book → Start Listening →
22. 22

    

    Finlay Donovan Is Killing It

    Finlay Donovan • Book 1

    by Elle Cosimano

    ★ 4.30 BLT Score (241.9K ratings)

    ★ 3.99 Goodreads (241.9K)

    368 pages • 2021

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    Get the Book → Start Listening →
23. 23

    

    Letters to a Young Poet

    by Rainer Maria Rilke

    ★ 4.30 BLT Score (125.4K ratings)

    ★ 4.27 Goodreads (125.4K)

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    Get the Book → Start Listening →
24. 24

    

    One of Us Is Lying

    One of Us Is Lying • Book 1

    by Karen M. McManus

    ★ 4.30 BLT Score (1.1M ratings)

    ★ 3.91 Goodreads (1.1M)

    416 pages • 2017

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    Get the Book → Start Listening →
25. 25

    

    The Mysterious Affair at Styles

    A Hercule Poirot Mystery • Book 1

    by Agatha Christie

    ★ 4.29 BLT Score (514.2K ratings)

    ★ 4 Goodreads (514.2K)

    209 pages • 1920

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    Get the Book → Start Listening →

Mystery is a series-driven genre — many of the best detectives here have dozens of cases. Find one you love and you'll never run out.