27 Mystery & Thriller Books to Read This Autumn

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Something about reading mysteries during the autumn season just feels right. Whether it is the cozy vibes or the spooky season, but this time of year I just have a craving to read everything mystery and thriller. So naturally, I had to share these mystery and thriller books to read this autumn.

Since school, I learned that I am more of a mystery/thriller/horror writer than anything else. As much as I love romance stories, it’s the uneasiness, strange stories that I gravitate to the most. The last few years I have been collecting more and more of this genre of books and my bookshelf is starting to look more dark and sinister. I don’t know what this says about me, but I must not be the only one if you are here scrolling through this list too! So welcome! Happy to vibe with other mystery and thriller readers.

So if you are on the search for your next mystery/thriller read, find one in the 27 mystery and thriller books to read this autumn in the list below.

Miss Morton and the English House Party Murder by Catherine Lloyd

Synopsis:

Lady Caroline and her sister have been left without income or a home following the suspicious death of her father, the Earl of Morton. Caroline then takes a post as a lady’s companion to the wealthy widow Frogerton.

Soon, Caroline’s aunt, Lady Eleanor Greenwood, invites her and Lady Frogerton to a house party in the countryside to celebrate her youngest daughter’s birthday.

But all is not well at the Greenwood estate. An elderly family member is found stabbed by a knitting needle. Culprit may be leaving bizarre clues? Caroline and Lady Frogerton team up to find who the heartless killer may be.

Grab Miss Morton and the English House Party Murder here: Bookshop.org | Amazon | Audible | Kindle

A Botanist's Guide to Parties and Poison by Kate Khavari

Synopsis:

Saffron Everleigh is a research assistant at the University College London, but her colleagues’ don’t necessarily believe that a her academic abilities is nothing compared to theirs and her position is because of her deceased father’s reputation.

When she attends a dinner party for the school, Mrs. Henry, one of the professors’ wives is poisoned by an unknown toxin and dies right in the middle of the gathering.

Dr. Maxwell, Saffron’s mentor, is the main suspect so Saffron uses her knowledge of botany as she explores steamy greenhouses, dark gardens, and deadly poisons to clear Maxwell's name.

Grab A Botanist's Guide to Parties and Poison here: Bookshop.org | Amazon | Audible | Kindle

The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman

Synopsis:

Four unlikely friends at a peaceful retirement village meet up once a week to investigate unsolved murders and call themselves The Thursday Murder Club.

Suddenly, a brutal killing takes place right at the retirement village. Can a group of eighty year olds catch the killer before it's too late?

Grab The Thursday Murder Club here: Bookshop.org | Amazon | Audible | Kindle

The Guest List by Lucy Foley

Synopsis:

The bride – The plus one – The best man – The wedding planner – The bridesmaid – The body

On an island off the coast of Ireland, wedding guests gather to celebrate a seemingly happy couple. It’s a celebratory day, until someone turns up dead.

Grab The Guest List here: Bookshop.org | Amazon | Audible | Kindle

Finlay Donovan Is Killing It by Elle Cosimano

Synopsis:

Finlay Donovan, stressed-out single mom of two, a struggling novelist, and real-life murder sleuth? So much is happening in Finlay’s life, and to top it off, she is roped into a murder. Can this crime writer actually solve a crime?

Grab Finlay Donovan Is Killing It here: Bookshop.org | Amazon | Audible | Kindle

The Mother-In-Law by Sally Hepworth

Synopsis:

Lucy may have a complicated relationship with her mother-in-law but that doesn't mean she should have died.

Lucy’s husband's mother, Diana, was a pillar of the community and happily married to Tom, until an apparent suicide claiming that she no longer wanted to live because of a battle with cancer. But that is not the truth; and Lucy is about to find out why.

Grab The Mother-In-Law here: Bookshop.org | Amazon | Audible | Kindle

The House in the Pines by Ana Reyes

Synopsis:

In high school during her senior year, Maya and Aubrey were best friends until Aubrey mysteriously dropped dead in front of a man named Frank.

Seven years later, Maya fights with her inner demons of that day until her past comes back when she sees a recent YouTube video of a young woman who suddenly dies in a diner while sitting across Frank, the same Frank Aubrey died in front of. What could this mean for Maya and Aubrey that night? Only one way for Maya to find out…

Grab The House in the Pines here: Bookshop.org | Amazon | Audible | Kindle

My Lovely Wife by Samantha Downing

Synopsis:

Millicent’s fifteen-year marriage to her husband has turned interesting. Instead of the cookie cutter life they had been accustomed to, they decide to take a different turn…murder.

What else is there to do to spice up a marriage?

Grab My Lovely Wife here: Bookshop.org | Amazon | Audible | Kindle

The Other Black Girl by Zakiya Dalila Harris

Synopsis:

Nella Rogers, the twenty-six-year-old editorial assistant, has had enough of being the only Black employee at Wagner Books. When Harlem-born and bred Hazel starts working in the cubicle beside hers, they start to form a friendship; until Hazel becomes the office’s star which leaves Nella on the outskirts.

That’s when notes begin to appear on Nella’s desk. Suspicious notes telling Nella to leave Wagner Books. Is Hazel behind this? Or is there more to these notes? Nella is about to find out.

Grab The Other Black Girl here: Bookshop.org | Amazon | Audible | Kindle

The Maid by Nita Prose

Synopsis:

Molly Gray struggles with social skills and misreads the intentions of others. Her gran was her eyes and ears to interpret the proper social skills Molly needed. But then Gran died a few months prior leaving twenty-five-year-old Molly navigating life on her own. As a hotel maid, she gets to live her life obsessing over her love of cleaning and proper etiquette. But when Molly goes into the suite of the infamous and wealthy Charles Black, she finds Mr. Black dead in his bed. Molly is quickly caught in a web of deception, one she has no idea how to untangle.

Grab The Maid here: Bookshop.org | Amazon | Audible | Kindle

The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires: A Novel by Grady Hendrix

Synopsis:

Patricia Campbell’s life is smothered in chaos. The only thing keeping her spirits high is her book club, a close-knit group of Charleston women bonding over their love of true crime.

When children on the other side of town go missing, Patricia believes it to be James Harris, the handsome nephew of an elderly neighbor. Is James the culprit, or is he just overly neighborly? Patricia will fight to find out.

Grab The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires: A Novel here: Bookshop.org | Amazon | Audible | Kindle

All Good People Here by Ashley Flowers

Synopsis:

Margot Davies was best friends with January Jacobs, the little girl who was discovered in a ditch hours after her family awoke to find her gone in their small town of Wakarusa, Indiana. Twenty years have gone by and Margot has grown up, moved away, and become a big-city journalist.

When Margot returns home to help care for her Uncle Luke after he is diagnosed with early-onset dementia, Wakarusa recounts January’s case when news breaks about five-year-old Natalie Clark from the next town who’s gone missing under circumstances. Margot now has the smarts and courage to bring Natalie’s case to justice and to solve January’s murder once and for all.

Grab All Good People Here here: Bookshop.org | Amazon | Audible | Kindle

The House Across the Lake by Riley Sager

Synopsis:

Casey Fletcher is a recently widowed actress trying to escape a streak of bad press. She takes it upon herself to find peace and quiet at her family’s lake house in Vermont. As she eases her tension, she manages to spy on Tom and Katherine Royce, the glamorous couple living in the house across the lake.

Then Casey saves Katherine from drowning, and the two start a friendship. That’s when it becomes clear to Casey that Katherine and Tom’s marriage is not perfect as it first appears. With lies, secrets, and foul play, there is more to their marriage that Casey is about to find out.

Grab The House Across the Lake here: Bookshop.org | Amazon | Audible | Kindle

None of This Is True by Lisa Jewell

Synopsis:

Popular podcaster Alix Summer celebrates her forty-fifth birthday at her local pub when she crosses paths with Josie Fair who is also celebrating her forty-fifth birthday. Josie’s life is strange and complicated, yet Alix finds her story enthralling. Slowly she starts to realize that Josie has been hiding some very dark secrets.

Then Josie disappears and Alix discovers that Josie has left a terrible and terrifying legacy in her wake, and that Alix has become the subject of her own true crime podcast, with her life and her family’s lives in threat.

Grab None of This Is True here: Bookshop.org | Amazon | Audible | Kindle

The Villa by Rachel Hawkins

Synopsis:

Best friends, Emily and Chess haven’t had a chance to hang out like old times. Now that they are in their 30s, their friendship takes second place to everything else. When Chess suggests a girls trip to Italy, Emily is more than excited to refresh their bond and make some needed memories. jumps at the chance to reconnect with her best friend.

Flashback to 1974 when Villa Aestas in Orvieto is rented for the summer by a notorious rock star, Noel Gordon and Pierce Sheldon with his girlfriend, Mari, and her stepsister, Lara. What was meant to be a creative retreat turns into Pierce’s murder.

Fast forward to Emily and Chess, these best friends uncover the truth that their much-needed vacation was a site covered in secrets.

Grab The Villa here: Bookshop.org | Amazon | Audible | Kindle

The Only Survivors by Megan Miranda

Synopsis:

About a decade before there were two vans driving a group of high school seniors to a school trip. Within minutes, the bus crashes into a Tennessee ravine. Several classmates and teachers tragically passed away, leaving nine surviving students.

Then, a year later, one of the survivors dies by the ravine on the day of the tragic anniversary. Now the eighth survivors make a pact: to come together each year to commemorate that terrible night. Now, the survivors still reconnect ten years later, but when one of them dies, it raises suspicion.

Grab The Only Survivors here: Bookshop.org | Amazon | Audible | Kindle

Bad Summer People by Emma Rosenblum

Synopsis:

Two couples vacation on he town of Salcombe, Fire Island every summer. They know that they are not the greatest people, but are any of them really capable of murder?

Jen Weinstein and Lauren Parker are used to manipulating people to get what they want. Their husbands, Sam and Jason, have summered together at the same exact spot since they were kids. Then there is their one single friend, Rachel Woolf. She is on the look out to find her future love.

It’s all glorious and fabulous until a body is discovered on the boardwalk. Who is it, and why were they killed?

Grab Bad Summer People here: Bookshop.org | Amazon | Audible | Kindle

Weekend Friends by Bella Ellwood-Clayton

Synopsis:

Rebecca, and her tween daughter, Willow, move from Alaska to Boca Raton when Rebecca's husband dies; but she doesn’t want to share that information in her new life. But their nee, fresh start isn’t so serene when Willow becomes controlled and bullied by the popular group. Rebecca, as any mother would, tries to get to the bottom of the bullying but soon finds lies, deception, and secrets that she was not prepared for. Junior high school is not so fun, and Rebecca is about to find out.

Grab Weekend Friends here: Amazon

Twisted by Maggie Giles

Synopsis:

Detective Ryan Boone was on the case of a simple jewelry heist. Then new evidence turns up and seems like this crime is more than what it seems.

Mel Parker, the leader of an escort service, finds herself in the mix when she discovers the drugs that Detective Ryan Boone is investigating. The two become unlikely partners as they find out who is behind the drug crime, and why people are dying over it.

Grab Twisted here: Amazon | Audible | Kindle

Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Q. Sutanto

Synopsis:

Vera Wong is a sixty-year-old self-proclaimed tea expert who loves sipping a cup of Wulong and following up her son’s life on social media; as any mother would.

On a very normal day, Vera finds herself the center of a murder right in her tea shop. Thinking that she is the right fit for the job, Vera takes it upon herself to do what she thinks the police could never do…solve the case. Who knows, maybe a suspicious Chinese mother is just what the case needs to find out who killed the man in her tea shop.

Grab Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers here: Bookshop.org | Amazon | Audible | Kindle

You Shouldn't Have Come Here by Jeneva Rose

Synopsis:

Grace Evans is anything but relaxed. As an overworked New Yorker she impulsively books an Airbnb on a ranch in the middle of Wyoming; completely different from her life in the city. The owner is handsome man named Calvin Wells, but that’s not the only suspicious part. There seems to be a woman missing and the little ranch town is not so inviting as Grace hoped.

Grab You Shouldn't Have Come Here here: Bookshop.org | Amazon | Audible | Kindle

Even When You Lie by Michelle Cruz

Synopsis:

Reagan Reyes works for a fancy criminal defense attorney named Cade McCarrick, who is secretly her lover. But the firm has a strict ‘no office romance’ policy but that doesn’t stop the lovebirds. They have an agreement to never to lie to each other—until they have to. A mysterious woman leaves an envelope for Cade but is found dead not long after. Is this connected to Cade or does this have to do with Reagan? Only one way to find out and it is up to Reagan to discover the truth.

Grab Even When You Lie here: Bookshop.org | Amazon | Audible | Kindle

More Than You’ll Ever Know by Katie Gutierrez

Synopsis:

Lore Rivera lived a double life. Married to two men at the same time, being a wife to two separate individuals, just an ordinary world for Lore. Until it all shatters when in 1986, one of them found out and shot the other. At least, that’s how everyone knows it to be.

Cassie Bowman is a modern day, true-crime writer who is obsessed with learning the true Lore Rivera. And Lore is willing to share the full story. Truths are revealed and both women soon learn more about themselves than they thought.

Grab More Than You’ll Ever Know here: Bookshop.org | Amazon | Audible | Kindle

Secrets at Meadow Lake by Wendy Owens

Synopsis:

A group of college friends were part of a horrendous crime that they thought would never come back to haunt them. But it did. Ten years later, the group all receive a strange invitation to meet and spend time at a remote cabin on meadow Lake.

With tension brewing, the group learn that someone is responsible for the invites but they don’t know who. With secrets revealing itself, the group learns more about each other than they ever had. In order to leave that place, they need to work with each other to survive until the next day.

Grab Secrets at Meadow Lake here: Bookshop.org | Amazon | Kindle

The Soulmate by Sally Hepworth

Synopsis:

Gabe and Pippa’s dream cottage home sits in a sleepy coastal town right on a cliff. But doesn’t every dream home come with a sinister price? Not only is the area a beautiful scenery, it is also the site of many lives to end. Gabe rescues these people by literally talking them off the ledge, until he is met with someone he actually knows.

Pippa discovers Gabe’s secret and questions start to pile on. Did Gabe lie to Pippa or is there something that he is hiding from his wife–his soulmate?

Grab The Soulmate here: Bookshop.org | Amazon | Audible | Kindle

Lay Your Body Down by Amy Suiter Clarke

Synopsis:

Del Walker vowed to leave the rural Minnesota hometown where she grew up, but has found herself back to this small town where a radical evangelical pastor has poisoned everyone’s minds. Del had love during her time there, Lars, but he left her to marry the local golden girl Eve. Eve’s runs a famous blog that shares all about the town’s pastor’s conservative philosophy. Then six years after Del left, Lars is suddenly killed, and she suspects it’s foul play. Who killed Lars, and what is this town hiding?

Grab Lay Your Body Down here: Bookshop.org | Amazon | Audible | Kindle

What Happened to Ruthy Ramirez by Claire Jiménez

Synopsis:

Thirteen‑year‑old middle child Ruthy Ramierz disappeared after track practice without a trace. This had left the close knit family distraught. it Then, twelve years later, oldest sister Jessica notices that the woman on her TV might be her younger sister. Jessica tells her sister Nina and they believe that the woman who goes by Rudy could be their missing sister.

Jessica and Nina take it upon themselves to go looking into this Ruby and find out the truth. Their mother, Dolores, learns of this scheme and wants in. The three Ramierz women travel to the TV set to find out if Ruby is who she says she is, or she’s covering something.

Grab What Happened to Ruthy Ramirez here: Bookshop.org | Amazon | Audible | Kindle

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