Best Mystery Books of 2023

It’s time for Barnes & Noble’s Best Mystery Books of 2023! Lovers of police procedurals and small-town mysteries will revel in All the Sinners Bleed and The River We Remember, the latest from your next auto-buy authors. The new spy thriller, Zero Days, will have you turning pages well past dawn and the new gothic chiller, The Only One Left, will leave you completely twisted up in its spider web of a mystery. Learn diabolical lessons about the art of murder they never taught you in school in Murder Your Employer: The McMasters Guide to Homicide. Read the latest from the most popular new mystery series, The Raging Storm (Detective Matthew Venn #3) and After that Night (Will Trent Series #11). You’ll have difficulty putting down these Best Mystery Books of the year.

An exhilarating, pressure cooker of a police procedural thriller, All the Sinners Bleed, is the addictive and fast-paced crime fiction instant bestseller we have all been waiting for. The first Black Sheriff in the history of a small town in Virginia unearths a serial killer hiding in plain sight in the aftermath of the murder of a local schoolteacher. Stark and intense, this razor-sharp Southern noir is a can’t-miss from your next auto-buy author.

Set against the backdrop of a small town in Minnesota, local sheriff and war veteran Brody Dern investigates the mysterious death of one its most powerful members on Memorial Day in The River We Remember. Blurring the lines between suspense, mystery and literary fiction, it is an examination of how we heal from the wounds of wars fought abroad and at home, and a meditation on the beauties and downfalls of small-town living.

Explore the lighter side of murder with the latest from the Thursday Murder Club Series, The Last Devil to Die. A new mystery is afoot for the residents of the Coopers Chase Retirement Community when a dangerous package goes missing and an old friend winds up dead. Who will be the last devil to die in this latest ridiculously fun cozy mystery from Richard Osman?

The legacy of Will Trent continues with twists and turns that will keep you on the edge of your seat in After that Night (Will Trent Series #11). Dr. Sara Linton encounters a dying rape victim and promises her justice. With the help of her fiancé Special Agent Will Trent, they unearth some uncanny links to Sara’s past. But Sara’s dark secrets won’t stay buried forever in this electrifying whodunnit.

In Zero Days, a woman is in a race against the clock to clear her name and find the person who murdered her husband. This action-packed spy novel from the "new Agatha Christie", Ruth Ware, is the kind of thriller that will have you turning pages till dawn.

Find the most thrilling and electrifying page-turners in our list of Best Mystery Books of 2023. Searching for more mysteries to solve? Check out our collection of bestselling mystery books, monthly picks and new releases. We have all the most popular mystery books from cozy mystery to true crime. We also have the best and the latest from your favorite mystery writers like John Grisham, Agatha Christie and Ann Cleeves. For the best holiday gifts for your mystery lover, explore our Barnes & Noble holiday gift guide.