I’ve always been a fan of mysteries and thrillers. Some of my first memorable favorites were the Pretty Little Liars and Private series, featuring rich teens behaving badly to various degrees. Sometimes murder and death was involved and other times a little less, but still… I didn’t always just read cute contemporary romances when I was a teen!
However, I’ve realized that I’m way more likely to read a classic mystery or, more often, a fast-paced thriller. I like the twists and turns and am often disappointed when the book isn’t giving me whiplash with twists. I’m always expecting more from it and that’s probably not fair.
One thing I’ve noticed lately is that – despite my nerves about reading them – I really enjoy the slower-burn literary mysteries.
I read BRIGHT YOUNG WOMEN thinking that it was a bit out of my comfort zone but for some reason it called to me. It was my first book of the year in 2024 and my brief Goodreads review said:
This is going to stick with me. I was on the fence about reading it and hadn’t even marked it as “to read” on Goodreads when I bought it on a whim at the store and started it within the week. I don’t follow serial killer true crime stories or podcasts because the victims aren’t at the forefront so my only knowledge of the man “featured” in this book was the Zac Efron movie (watched only because of said actor). This reads like a true crime story but it’s largely fiction based on real events. I loved that the author didn’t even name the dude, and that this book showed how he truly was instead of how the media perceived him. I loved the women centered in this story and was pretty gripped the whole time… despite there not really being mystery or thriller elements. Like I said, it reads like true crime, but historical fiction at the same time. It left me feeling simultaneously hopeful and unsettled.
Maybe it was a little more nonfiction vibes or historical fiction mixed with mystery rather than a true literary mystery, but it was my first(-ish) exposure to this kind of mystery/thriller novel. My earlier experience was probably THE QUARRY GIRLS, which I picked up completely on a whim on my honeymoon. Yes, it was a weird place to read a book about this topic, but it just HIT for some reason when I was staring out at the ocean, feeling safe lol. It’s another historical mystery that reads like true crime and was also inspired by real events. My review was literally:
Wow, that was something. A bit predictable but I actually think that’s done on purpose. A thriller but not really a mystery? Idk. This really hit hard. Fuck men.
I’ve talked about the books that intimidate me and I always think these huge literary mysteries are intimidating, or will be boring, or won’t be for me. My mystery book club has done a great job of getting me to read some of these books over the last year and many have been five-star reads. When THE GOD OF THE WOODS got popular around the same time as ALL THE COLORS OF THE DARK, I bought both of them and normally would’ve put off reading them for so long, if ever. Both of these were absolute five-star reads for me in 2024 and 2025.
We recently read RAZORBLADE TEARS, which was another great one. It’s more brutal and graphic than many others on here and often had some scary moments, but I would still consider it to be less of a thriller and more of a mystery? I’ve always been intimidated by SA Cosby’s books for all of those reasons. I also grabbed WILD DARK SHORE on a whim because everyone loves it so much and I was incredibly impressed. This is a climate fiction story with a bit of mystery, strong characterization, and a haunting setting. Very well-rounded.
My friend at the salon read and highly recommended LONG BRIGHT RIVER to me and I decided to pick it up on a whim because she literally handed it to me. I didn’t even realize at the time that it was Liz Moore’s debut novel after I already read and loved her latest. The concept (following a cop and her sister who is an addict) is just not really a book for me and I ended up loving it. I keep getting surprised by these books that I’d never pick up on on my own. My Goodreads review:
I feel very similar to this one as I did for THE GOD OF THE WOODS. Another super well-written slower literary mystery. If you go in expecting anything else, you may call it boring. I really enjoyed the twists and slow burn style of this. The topics/main characters are not typically ~for me~ (a cop and an addict…very heavy) but it was a very powerful read nonetheless.
Literary mysteries often have a slower burn style where clues are revealed over time and/or while the characters are also living their normal lives. I wrote a blog post a long time ago where I talked about how I can struggle with mystery/thrillers sometimes because I don’t get attached to any of the characters since I don’t trust them. I think these slower literary books allow you to get a deeper view of the characters and therefore feel more connected to the story, while still trying to figure out a mystery.
Mysteries that pull in other genres like fantasy, paranormal, literary fiction, and historical fiction create an interesting, well-rounded story.
I’ve read quite a few books in my life where mysteries are mashed up with other genres. I’ve often said that I can’t really read historical fiction without there being some other genre involved (usually fantasy/paranormal or mystery/thriller). It’s always fun to have multiple elements to a story to add depth.
THE DIVINERS and A CURIOUS BEGINNING are both historical fiction with mysteries involved, and the former also has some paranormal elements as well. NINTH HOUSE and THE CHANGE are set in our timeline but have some paranormal-ish elements along with a mystery plot. I’ve really enjoyed finding books like this to read when I’m craving something deeper but still mysterious, or with thrilling elements.
I hope 2026 brings more literary mysteries from my TBR. The one I’ve had on my TBR for a long time is I HAVE SOME QUESTIONS FOR YOU. My mom read it before me and wasn’t a huge fan, but I know she’s a heavy thriller reader exclusively. This is a classic slow-burn literary mystery that honestly has more mixed reviews than some of the others I’ve read and enjoyed. There’s a lot to love when you can take your time with a mystery and have things slowly revealed to the reader. I’m not big on trying to solve the mystery as I read in general, so these create a slow suspense that I just love. Here’s to longer, slow-burn, literary mysteries for me!
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