The 25 best mysteries and thrillers
The 25 highest-ranked mysteries and thrillers in our ranking of 2,819, scored on how much readers love them, their prize, best-list and bestseller record, and current buzz. We rank 555 mysteries and thrillers in all. How we rank
- 1
The Correspondent94.9Must-Read ScoreThe Correspondent
It's a quiet, wise, funny book that sneaks up on you.
- 2
The Housemaid89.3Must-Read ScoreThe Housemaid
It's the definition of a page-turner: short chapters, a twisty plot and a payoff that made millions of people pass it on to friends.
- 3
Verity88.1Must-Read ScoreVerity
It's a dark, twisty, can't-put-it-down thriller that became a word-of-mouth sensation, and its ending has divided readers into passionate camps.
- 4
Gone Girl87.5Must-Read ScoreGone Girl
It's one of the most influential thrillers of the century, with a mid-book twist that changed the genre and two of the most unsettling narrators in fiction.
- 5
Remarkably Bright Creatures87.4Must-Read ScoreRemarkably Bright Creatures
It's charming, funny and full of heart, and Marcellus, who narrates some chapters himself, is one of the most beloved characters in recent fiction.
- 6
266687.1Must-Read Score2666
It's on the New York Times list of the century's best books and won the National Book Critics Circle Award.
- 7
The Godfather86.7Must-Read ScoreThe Godfather
It's one of the most gripping crime novels ever written and a dark, operatic family saga about power, loyalty and the American dream.
- 8
The Tainted Cup86.2Must-Read ScoreThe Tainted Cup
It's Sherlock Holmes in a strange, inventive fantasy world, a genuinely clever mystery with a delightful detective duo, and it won the Hugo Award.
- 9
Piranesi85.3Must-Read ScorePiranesi
It won the Women's Prize for Fiction and was a Hugo and Nebula finalist.
- 10The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo85.2Must-Read Score
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
It's one of the best-selling novels ever, with about 30 million copies sold, it spent 184 weeks on the New York Times bestseller lists, and it's on the Guardian's list of the best books of the 21st century.
- 11
The Day of the Jackal85.0Must-Read ScoreThe Day of the Jackal
It's the template for the modern thriller: precise, procedural and almost unbearably tense, even though you know de Gaulle survived.
- 12
Rebecca84.1Must-Read ScoreRebecca
It's a perfect gothic suspense novel, atmospheric, psychologically sharp and impossible to put down, and its opening line, "Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again," is among the most famous ever written.
- 13
Big Little Lies83.9Must-Read ScoreBig Little Lies
It was a #1 New York Times bestseller and became an Emmy-winning HBO series.
- 14
Crime and Punishment83.5Must-Read ScoreCrime and Punishment
It's one of the greatest psychological novels ever written, on the Bokklubben World Library of the greatest books and a PBS Great American Read pick.
- 15
The Frozen River83.3Must-Read ScoreThe Frozen River
It spent more than thirty weeks on the New York Times bestseller lists and was a Goodreads Choice finalist.
- 16A Drop of Corruption82.8Must-Read Score
A Drop of Corruption
It was a Hugo Award finalist and a Goodreads Choice finalist.
- 17The Spy Who Came in From the Cold82.7Must-Read Score
The Spy Who Came in From the Cold
It won the Edgar Award, spent 34 weeks at #1 on the New York Times bestseller list and is on TIME's list of the 100 best novels.
- 18The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest82.3Must-Read Score
The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest
It spent nine weeks at #1 on the New York Times bestseller list and was one of the ten best-selling books of 2010.
- 19
The Silent Patient82.1Must-Read ScoreThe Silent Patient
It was one of the best-selling debut thrillers of its decade and is still on the New York Times lists years later.
- 20Where the Crawdads Sing82.1Must-Read Score
Where the Crawdads Sing
It spent 44 weeks at #1 on the New York Times bestseller list and was one of the ten best-selling books in three different years.
- 21
And Then There Were None82.0Must-Read ScoreAnd Then There Were None
It's the best-selling mystery novel ever written, with about 100 million copies, and a PBS Great American Read pick.
- 22The Lincoln Lawyer81.6Must-Read Score
The Lincoln Lawyer
It reached #1 on the New York Times bestseller list and was an Edgar Award finalist.
- 23
The Raven Scholar81.6Must-Read ScoreThe Raven Scholar
It's a debut fantasy that became one of 2025's breakout hits, a Hugo Award finalist and a Goodreads Choice finalist.
- 24The Housemaid's Secret81.5Must-Read Score
The Housemaid's Secret
It won the Goodreads Choice Award for mystery and thriller and has spent more than 80 weeks on the New York Times bestseller lists.
- 25Anxious People81.2Must-Read Score
Anxious People
It was an instant #1 New York Times bestseller and spent 44 weeks on the lists.