Different genres appeal to different people, but detective novels are one genre that everyone finds interesting. Rom-coms, science fiction, and fantasy stories all are great – but it’s the thriller, complex mysteries that keep you on the edge. Following your favourite detective closely as they solve the mystery and nabs the culprit – the feeling is quite exhilarating. It’s as if you’re unravelling the mysteries yourself- unleashing the semi-Sherlock in you. Ha! Don’t blame us for playing Enola Holmes here. Bitten by the detective bug, have a knack for mysteries (just like us)? We’ve curated a list of 8 fantastic detective reads for the occasion.
Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle
Everyone knows about Sherlock – he’s a legend – exactly why we couldn’t start the list with anyone else other than this age-old classic. 221B Baker Street, London isn’t just the place where Sherlock’s brilliant mind works out the mysteries, it’s an emotion for many. If you’ve read it – great. If not, then just go ahead and give it a read. There isn’t a better detective book than this.
Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie
A classic by the acclaimed mystery writer Agatha Christie, a name not unknown to the detective fanatics. There’s also a movie based on this age-old classic, starring Johnny Depp. The plot is thick, full of mysteries, and deceptions which are all unraveled one after another by Christie’s iconic detective Hercule Poirot. In for a complicated mystery? Pick this up.
The Murders in the Rue Morgue by Edgar Allan Poe
Even before Christie or Doyle came into the picture, it was Edgar Allan Poe who laid the foundation of detective novels. That’s why you can’t call yourself a true mystery detective story fan unless you have read one of Poe’s works. Written in 1841, it was Poe’s first detective work and considered the first detective fiction. Poe weaved a thrilling murder story in Rue Morgue and set his Parisian detective C. Auguste Dupin on the course to chase the culprit. Once you pick up the Murders in the Rue Morgue, you won’t be able to put it down until you finish.
The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler
Make your way through the 1930 underworld mysteries of Los Angeles with Chandler’s private eye Philip Marlowe. Walk with Philip as he untangles mysteries, blackmailers at every step, and unearths the hard hitting truths of society and the world. The book has all the ingredients required in a detective story in perfect moderation making it a great mystery read.
Byomkesh Bakshi by Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay
Another legend but from India, Bandyopadhyay didn’t make his detective a suited, eccentric kind of detective obsessing over crimes. His lead Byomkesh can’t stop looking for mysteries, but he does call himself a ‘truth seeker’, not just a culprit finder. A Bengali, family man with a razor-sharp mind, an awe-worthy intellect, and coming up with unconventional ways to bring out the truth – Bandyopadhyay’s stories are indeed one of a kind.
Death In Holy Orders by PD James
A death at a theological college sets the gears in this story in motion. PD James, one after another aligns crimes and twists them so naturally in a hard-to-solve fashion that along with the book’s hero Scotland Yard Detective Adam Dalgliesh, you’ll find yourself entangled in a web of mysteries. James makes sure to get you thinking as well with twists and turns that lead to dark secrets buried within the theological college.
The Bat by Jo Nesbø
Have a knack for solving serial killing thrillers, then pick The Bat up! Moving on from England, this story unfolds in Australia where the tale’s protagonist Norwegian officer Harry Hole is shipped to assist an Australian police’s investigation of a young Norwegian girl. As the story proceeds the tone of serial killing sets in but there are more dark secrets, even surrounding Harry. And the only way to catch up on these secrets is to read the book.
The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett
You must have heard a movie of the same name, but the original work is a book written in 1930 by Dashiell Hammett. Set in 20th-century San Francisco, the story takes you on a ride of multi-layered mysteries and a cat and mouse chase. Hammett’s detective Sam Spade doesn’t chase just any murderer, but a killer with a high body count, too many lies, and crimes. If you are in for a fast-paced thrilling mystery, this one’s for you.
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