The Best Mystery & Suspense of 2023
S.A. Cosby’s All the Sinners Bleed is a nerve-jangling, thought-provoking, often heartbreaking read that follows the first Black sheriff of a rural county in Virginia.
Jessica Knoll’s Bright Young Women is a primal scream for women past and present.
Jane Harper’s lyrically written, immersive and slow-burning mystery Exiles is a powerful send-off for beloved character Aaron Falk.
Atmospheric, unique and elegantly written, The Frozen River will satisfy mystery lovers and historical fiction enthusiasts alike.
The Last Devil to Die is equal parts well-plotted mystery, scintillating repartee and deep reflection on what it means to love.
By turns witty, warm, charming and poignant, The Motion Picture Teller is perhaps Colin Cotterill’s finest novel thus far.
William Kent Krueger’s page-turning, rewarding mystery The River We Remember is a superb exploration of the prejudices and complexities of post-World War II America.
Sly and suspenseful, The Secret Hours is both a marvelous standalone novel and a stunning companion to Mick Herron’s Slough House series.
Jesse Q. Sutanto hits all the right notes in Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers, a cozy mystery worth reading for its hilariously meddlesome titular character alone.
Previous Best Mystery & Suspense lists
Recent starred mystery
Astrid Dahl’s The Really Dead Wives of New Jersey, a murder mystery set on a Housewives-style reality show, effectively straddles the line between dark humor and genuine suspense.
Laura McCluskey expertly melds modern crime procedural and ancient folklore in her eerie debut mystery, The Wolf Tree.
A. Rae Dunlap’s The Resurrectionist is a heartfelt yet gruesome historical thriller following two body snatchers as they fall in love and evade Burke and Hare.
Paraic O’Donnell inserts touches of humor and insight without lessening the tension in his breathtaking gothic historical mystery, The Naming of the Birds.
Melissa Larsen’s must-read debut thriller, The Lost House, is a note-perfect example of Nordic noir—written by an American.
Sara Sligar’s Vantage Point is an entertaining literary companion to shows like Succession, but also a chilling warning about the rise of deepfake technology.
