What I enjoy most about mysteries and thrillers is the curiosity they create. I like following the clues as the story unfolds. A good mystery keeps me guessing without leaving me lost, and I appreciate those moments when something finally clicks.
I’m especially drawn to stories with interesting characters, secrets, unexpected turns, and a reason to keep turning the page. For me, suspense doesn’t have to mean violence or graphic details. I want the mystery and the feeling that you need to know what happens next.
Famous Mysteries & Thrillers
Here’s a mix of classic mysteries, beloved detective stories, psychological thrillers, and newer favorites for your Lori’s Book Loft collection.
Classic Mysteries
The books that helped shape the mystery genre.
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes — Arthur Conan Doyle
The Hound of the Baskervilles — Arthur Conan Doyle
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd — Agatha Christie
Murder on the Orient Express — Agatha Christie
And Then There Were None — Agatha Christie
The Mysterious Affair at Styles — Agatha Christie
The Moonstone — Wilkie Collins
The Woman in White — Wilkie Collins
The Maltese Falcon — Dashiell Hammett
The Thin Man — Dashiell Hammett
The Big Sleep — Raymond Chandler
Rebecca — Daphne du Maurier
Famous Detective Stories
The Complete Father Brown Stories — G. K. Chesterton
The Nine Tailors — Dorothy L. Sayers
Strong Poison — Dorothy L. Sayers
The Daughter of Time — Josephine Tey
The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie — Alan Bradley
The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency — Alexander McCall Smith
The Thursday Murder Club — Richard Osman
Psychological Thrillers & Suspense
Strangers on a Train — Patricia Highsmith
The Talented Mr. Ripley — Patricia Highsmith
The Spy Who Came in from the Cold — John le Carré
The Day of the Jackal — Frederick Forsyth
Jaws — Peter Benchley
The Silence of the Lambs — Thomas Harris
Misery — Stephen King
The Shining — Stephen King
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo — Stieg Larsson
Gone Girl — Gillian Flynn
The Girl on the Train — Paula Hawkins
The Silent Patient — Alex Michaelides
Gothic Mysteries & Suspense
Jane Eyre — Charlotte Brontë
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde — Robert Louis Stevenson
The Picture of Dorian Gray — Oscar Wilde
The Turn of the Screw — Henry James
The Haunting of Hill House — Shirley Jackson
The Thirteenth Tale — Diane Setterfield
The Shadow of the Wind — Carlos Ruiz Zafón
Legal, Crime & Police Thrillers
Presumed Innocent — Scott Turow
The Firm — John Grisham
The Pelican Brief — John Grisham
In Cold Blood — Truman Capote
The Godfather — Mario Puzo
The Black Echo — Michael Connelly
Along Came a Spider — James Patterson
The Reversal — Michael Connelly
Newer Reads
Terminal Veracity
Act of Murder
Act of Negligence
Ancient Illusions
Ascendant
Assassin's Lullaby
Befriended
The Bone Collector
The Chronicles of the Anti Christ
Confess
The Fifth Era of Man
The Child Wore Pearls
The Stolen Generation
Gaijin
Never Dawn
Each Little Lie by Tom Bale
Ghost Stories
The Girl Who Came Back
Heart Fever
Ink and Bone
Justice Gone
Kidnapped on Safari
Hounds of the Underworld
The Kitchen Brigade
The Truth About Gretchen
Dark Alignment
Burial Rites
The Last Mermaid Princess
Lethal Family Blake Sebring
Lethal Ghost by Blake Sebring
Lethal Justice by Blake Sebring
Androdigm Park
Lily White in Detroit
Dark Chains
A Line Between
To Build a Dream
Parabellum
Beyond the Red Carpet
No One Will Hear Your Screams
No Truth Left to Tell
The Palm Reader
Passe-Partout
Road Ahead
A Single Light
Lights on the Sea
Russell Brooks Thrillers
The Shawdomaker
BIG DOGS Book One in the ‘Big Dogs Series
A Night in the Desert
The Storied Life of a J Fikry
The Tell-Tale Heart
Vic Boyo Doofus Detective
The Unbelievable Death of Joseph Goldberg
Victoria Songlight
The Wilkes Insurrection
Liquid Shades of Blue
Big Dogs S.L. Ditmars
Retribution Robert McCaw
The House in the Middle of the Street Jennifer Sklias - Gahan
The Wolf with Crimson Eyes John Earl Sharp
Wet, Warm and Noisy David Wilson
Cast No Shadow Brandon Dragan
The Event Horizon Murder Greg Hickey
On Wahoo Reef Tim W. Jackson
Terminal Veracity
Death of a Messenger Robert McCaw
The Scopas Factor Vincent Panettiere
