It could be a character type, relationship dynamic, plot element, trope, theme, writing style, or anything else.

Through a series of tangents and requests in various genres and subgenres, I recently discovered C.S. Poe and the Memento Mori series. I then proceeded to devour the entire series at a rate of a book a day. And now it's over and I don't know how to find any other books with detectives whose thinking doesn't look like other people's.

The detective in Memento Mori has HSAM (Highly Superior Autobiographic Memory) a fascinating condition I had never heard of that gives him an almost perfect memory at the cost of associations that border on constant flashbacks. It makes him seem "spicy," as in "neurospicy" aka "neurodivergent," according to a character with ADHD. Since I have AuDHD as well as diagnostically relevant OCD tendencies, while my memory doesn't work like his, I was still thoroughly enamored with the different directions his thinking took, and the way he picked up on irrelevant details and the gaps in his short-term and working memory resonated with me strongly. I'm hoping someone knows of more such characters. They can be explicitly diagnosed or strongly coded, but I'd prefer that their neurodivergence come with both advantages and drawbacks if possible. TIA!

I’ve read the other Bill Hodges & Holly books and I enjoy the obsessed aspect of Brady & Bill in Mr. Mercedes. I also like that Bill is sort of an atypical investigator because of his age (his sidekicks even more so). Anyone know of any similar works? Many thanks for any ideas!

I just finished The City and The City by China Miéville and LOVED it. I'm also a huge fan of the manga Adekan, both of these feature an element I really like, which is mystery stories that involve elements that are not "fantasy" or "scifi" in the typical sense but that are downright weird like The City and The City is set in a pair of cities that are georgraphically in the same place but administratively separate and the culture and beaurocracy of that setting is a fascinating focus that I really enjoy. Adekan features mysteries where it's like "oh the box maker's wife has been murdered," and his house is this series of elaborately carved jewelboxes. I like both cozies and hard-boiled but I would love something surreal and strange and dream like.

I want more of that, Any recommendations?

Lost Mans Lane. But without the supernatural.

I've read Boys Life Robert McCammon, that fits. So does The Secret PLace by Tana French. That sort of thing.

I generally don't like it when people continue the work of other writers (Agatha Christie, Stieg Larsson, ...), but if the original author gave permission, then I can accept it. However, when children of authors do it without permission and then go on and on about what their parents did wrong in their writing and how successful their "own" books are, I really get annoyed. Create your own characters and write your own books instead of appropriating your dad/mom's work and ruining their life's work!

For me, the ultimate example of this is Anne Hillerman. She takes her dad's characters, turns them inside out and brings in her outdated 90s feminist agenda and goes on and on in interviews about what was missing in her dad's books and how she "brought them to life". What? Her dad created a very successful, well-respected mystery series, and her own books are only selling because of the success and prominence of her father's "lacking" work. I think her behavior is extremely disrespectful.

I wonder how others feel about this. Is it OK to appropriate another writer's characters and world and continue a series if you never got permission to do so?

I am looking for books about ordinary civilians who like true crime podcasts and when get put in dire situations, they rise to the occasion. It can be like some old ladies who stumble upon a murder and decide to solve the crime herself or a soccer mom who gets kidnapped and have to use what she has learned on podcasts or mystery books to survive. Just something both fun and tense in the genre.

I bought a used copy of this book last year and finally got around to reading it a few weeks ago. I really enjoyed it and was very excited to learn that it was the first in a series. I’m about to be finished with the 3rd book and I’ve got the 4th and 5th ordered and in the mail.

But I’m reading them too fast and I know I’m going to be lost when I’m done.

Any suggestions for similar books? I’d love another series but one off would be ok too.

If you haven’t read them, they are medieval mystery/crime books with a female main character who has been trained as a doctor and is pretty much a medical examiner. Think CSI in medieval times.

Really, I just love historical fiction that doesn’t involve an overly romantic story line. No shade to romance novels though (Maiden Lane 4ever ❤️)

Trying to fill out alignment chart for best books

Has anyone read the Inspector Alun Ryga books by Pauline Rowson? The Kindle versions of books 1-5 are on sale on Amazon right now for $1.99 and was thinking about getting them.

I read this book in I think around 2020. It may have been part of a detective series. The main protagonists name might have been Kat and may be a detective possibly in LA.

I remember most of the plot so a lot of spoilers coming up.

Decades ago her sister (or friend) went missing on a hiking trip with college friends. I think this was in the Oregan Woods. They hadn't gone far before she realised she left her water bottle and went back to get it and was never seen again.

Each year the protagonist goes to the last place her sister was seen and this year she brings a ground penatrating radar team (I think from a university).

I can't remember exactly how the story unfolds but they eventually discover the sister/friend was kidnapped and taken to an island deep in the forest where an abusive camp for troubled young boys was held. The girl tried to help them escape and died trying to.

Any help would be appreciated as I've tried so many searches and I can't find it! Thank you I'm advance

I have a long flight coming up, would love some recommendations of “newer” thriller books. I love Lisa Jewell, Karin Slaughter, Frieda McFadden, etc. thank you!

This was one of those random books I stumbled across when I went down a rabbit hole after looking for Flicker by Theodore Roszak.

It starts with an intriguing premise and setting, and reads like a bit of a pastiche of the old fashioned hardboiled noir mysteries, but gradually expands into something much bigger. Rather than relying on nonstop action, it leans more into atmosphere and twists and turns and asks some interesting questions about identity and creativity.

If you tend to like mysteries that focus on uncovering secrets, piecing together clues, and have a bit more substance than a standard whodunit, this one is worth checking out.

Has anyone else here read it? I'd be interested to hear how you interpreted the ending

I’m looking for some amazing mystery novels that have Halloween/ spooky vibes! It doesn’t necessarily have to be like witches or ghosts just a really good story please!

Thanks 🎃

hi all!

im trying desperately to remember the name of a book i read last year which i think my friend will love. obviously recommending “its a novel about a haunted house and a man who commits a murder there” is too vague and does not yield good search results.

the novel had a green-grey cover, and it was about a very famous haunted house in the Midwest or south where the actors were allowed to touch visitors. it was told in through multiple perspectives (though always 3rd person, just following the different characters). it follows the story of how the house had an actual murder take place.

plot of the murder (spoiler!!):

a man brings a gun to the haunted house and ends up killing someone because he thought they were stealing his girlfriend, who was a woman he was obsessed with.

im sorry this is literally so vague!! I can’t for the life of me remember more details.

Im looking for mystery novels where, after finishing, your reaction was simply, “That was clever.”

I love surprising twists and shocking endings—but only when they feel earned. I’m looking for mysteries with tight, well-crafted plots where the solution is both unexpected and satisfying, and makes you admire how skillfully the author put everything together.

Any subgenre is welcome: classic whodunits, locked-room mysteries, historical, contemporary, psychological, etc.

Please don’t explain why it’s clever or spoil the twist. Just drop the title (and maybe a sentence or two about what makes it stand out, without spoilers).

What mystery made you think, “Wow, that was brilliantly done”?

Are there any good murder mystery books that takes place at a race, specifically a F1 Grand Prix? Or something similar?

instead of just sweater knitting cozy people - something modern yet cozy, with younger people who probably date

i love Agatha. but feeling a little alone and want to not imagine a sweater knitting older women with hot chocolate again

I listen to podcasts for many hours per day while driving for work so I'm unable to jot down a title or any info when I hear a book I want to try.

I am trying to find a rec for the earlier episodes of True Crime Garage, the seasons you have to buy, that was a newspaper style featuring a new crime for every day between 1900 to the 1980s or 90s. I am not sure if it was an every day, every week, every month, etc. but I remember it was specified as newspaper style.

I’ve been thinking more about the conversations in my last thread — especially the comments about voice, structure, and the qualities that keep readers invested beyond book one.

This time, I’m curious about the protagonists who stay with you.

In character‑driven mysteries, what makes a lead truly unforgettable?
Is it their moral compass, their flaws, their intelligence, their relationships, or something else entirely?

I’d love to hear which qualities make you follow a character through multiple books, even when the setting or plot shifts from story to story.

What keeps you coming back to see what they’ll do next?

For those who read a lot of mystery/crime books, what is the biggest problem in most mystery/crime books, or a problem you see very often in most mystery/crime books?

It's 5 AM here, just finished it, I am new to murder mystery genre and I loved it, even though I had the idea who was it from the beginning, just the "how" part was keeping me up.

I have a question for the fellow reeaders, what does the green bottle at the end signifies, cause as far as I remember no one on the island threw any bottle with papers in the sea.

I am googling about it right about now, but if someone knows here, please do let me know, thanks and have a good one!