Mystery Book Reviews

The best mystery book reviews. Mysteries are typically crime stories in which readers follows a detective or amateur sleuth attempting to solve a criminal puzzle. Compared with “crime thrillers,” mysteries often feature less graphic violence and shocking subject matter.

Dirty Deeds, a Clever Murder Mystery by Deborah Shlian and Linda Reid

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The Bottom Line: A cleverly-constructed murder mystery with a one-of-a-kind heroine at its core. The fourth book in the Sammy Greene series opens in New York City, as smug real estate tycoon Vince Garibaldi is lured into a midnight hour meeting. After handing over a thumb drive and denying accusations of being a snitch, he’s summarily bludgeoned to death, belted into his Porsche, and sunk […]

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Stuntman

The Stuntman, an Impeccably Paced Action Thriller by Evan Graver

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The Bottom Line: Don’t miss this sharply funny, impeccably paced action thriller. Amidst an ocean of heroes who take themselves far too seriously, Luke Wesson is a breath of fresh air. The Stuntman opens on a Hollywood movie set as Luke Wesson – doubling for actor Jordan Reese – prepares to jump his motorbike onto the roof of a moving train. After a bee sting triggers

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The Best C.J. Box Books, Ranked in Order

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What are the best CJ Box books? For newcomers to Box’s work, deciding which book to pick up first is a serious challenge. That’s because Box has been incredibly prolific in the years since the publication of his first novel. Box is best known for his Joe Pickett series, featuring an honest, upright, hardworking and faithful Wyoming Game and Fish warden. Pickett’s famous flaw is

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Don’t Look Down, a Surprise-Filled Murder Mystery by Matthew Becker

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The Bottom Line: Brimming with strong personalities, Don’t Look Down is a surprising and propulsive murder mystery, as well as a worthy follow-up to Run.  The follow-up to Matthew Beckers’ must-read debut novel Run opens on Theodore Roosevelt Island with the murder of a United States Senator. As homicide Detective Emilia Brown and her new partner begin investigating the Senator’s disappearance, she interviews Ben Walsh in an attempt to get insight into a

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Black Yéʼii, a Must-Read Small Town Crime Thriller by Joseph Lewis

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The Bottom Line: A must-read small town crime thriller that will please new and old fans. Black Yéʼii opens in Waukesha, Wisconsin, as Carmen Benevides finds three terrifying strangers on her doorstep. The trio is searching for her teenage son, Angel, and they won’t take no for an answer. Minutes later, Angel receives a text message from his mother’s phone: I need you to come home right away. It’s

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The Girl Goes Home, an Edge-of-Your-Seat Murder Mystery by Dorian Box

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The Bottom Line: The Girl Goes Home delivers an edge-of-your-seat murder mystery years in the making, along with explosive courtroom drama and a compelling emotional arc for the series’ favorite duo. For fans who have followed Emily Calby’s plight after the brutal murder of her mother and sister in the series’ first installment, the book’s opening feels like a triumph in itself. This, the fourth book in Dorian Box’s Emily Calby series, finds our heroine

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Alpha Beta Gamma, a Murder Mystery with a Highly Charismatic Sleuth

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The Bottom Line: Witty and intellectual, Alpha Beta Gamma introduces a highly charismatic amateur sleuth who risks everything to unravel a sinister international political conspiracy.  Alpha Beta Gamma opens in Tehran, where former spy Nasser and his wife, Fatemeh Ali, are anxiously awaiting the arrival of their daughter, Sara. The stakes are high, as they know that Sara is engaged in protests against the morality police, who recently killed a young woman. Soon,

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The Year’s Best Mystery, a Chain of Pearls by Raemi A. Ray

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The year’s best mystery combines incredible atmosphere, a world-weary detective, a powerful politican and an amateur sleuth that everyone can easily relate to. When the body of a celebrated journalist is fished from the Edgartown Harbor, the official report rules his death accidental. But why was he alone on a senator’s yacht during a nor’easter? That’s only the first question London-based lawyer Kyra Gibson has

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Last Call, a Brilliantly Told Crime Thriller by Travis Tougaw

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The Bottom Line: Brilliantly told, this nail-biter about the effort to free a convicted killer will make you question everything you know about our legal system. Highly recommended.  Last Call opens in a hole-in-the-wall bar in Denver, Colorado. It’s 2004, and bartender Paul Humphries is worried about a boisterous troublemaker sitting at a corner table named Dennis. After Dennis starts aggressively hitting on three much younger women,

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