Best Mysteries and Thrillers of November 2024, as chosen by the Amazon Editors
This month, the Amazon Editors were wowed by the 19th book in Louise Penny’s Chief Inspector Gamache series and a literary crossover novel from Richard Price (Clockers, The Whites, Lush Life), but a few debut mysteries knocked our (reading) socks off, too. Scroll on to learn more and check out the complete list of Best Mysteries and Thrillers of the month.
Who could have predicted that a mashup of The Odyssey and Black Beauty would be the feel-good mystery we all needed? Christina Lynch’s debut mystery tells two stories in alternating chapters, and much of the tension derives from wondering how or if these stories will meet in the middle. Chapters entitled “The Pony” follow a cranky, middle-aged pony who, passing from one owner to another—mostly due to his willingness to bite people, including children—practices quiet quitting and vows to find Penny, the little girl who owned him years ago. His quest: to get payback on her for selling him. In the “Penny” chapters meanwhile, we encounter a suburban mom who’s been arrested for a decades-old crime. Yes, this plot is mad as a box of frogs, but readers will be all in on the first page because a grumpy, vengeful pony, a high-stakes mystery, and the love between a girl and her horse makes for a read that’s taut in places, tender in others, and too, too funny everywhere else. —Vannessa Cronin, Amazon Editor
The 19th Chief Inspector Gamache novel begins with a series of baffling and unnerving events: repeated phone calls that Reine-Marie sees Gamache not answering, though he clearly knows who’s calling; a break-in at the Gamache’s pied-à-terre in which only a coat is stolen. Bizarrely, it is subsequently returned, with cryptic notes in the pocket. By the time the reader knows anything, Gamache is embroiled in a cross-globe conspiracy and author Louise Penny is in her element, garnishing a police procedural with another mini-treatise on the nature of evil that encompasses the evil done with both the worst and best intentions, as well as the damage done by those sworn—or elected—to protect. Luckily for readers, Penny’s incapable of writing a rote or one-dimensional novel. This has all the action and intrigue you want in a crime fiction novel, as well as all the gear-grinding hypotheses about what it is that makes some people commit awful acts and what it is that compels others—like Gamache, Jean-Guy, and Lacoste—to confront their own frailties and blind spots and step up regardless. The Grey Wolf is another page-turner that blends action and angst to perfection. —Vannessa Cronin, Amazon Editor
Marie Tierney’s debut novel is everything readers want a mystery to be: dark, even gruesome; dangerous; genuinely puzzling; and utterly addictive. It also introduces one of the most compelling characters in recent memory, Ava, who reads like a teenage Temperance “Bones” Brennan with an English accent. Like the TV version of Tempe, Ava’s got a troubled family background and a father who introduced her to the wonders of science. From there, her interest in forensics developed. So, when she discovers the body of a murdered classmate, her expertise in decomposition makes her less horrified than intrigued. In fact, after tipping off the police anonymously, she spends most of the book a step or two ahead of the detectives working the case. And, as the number of dead teens rises, Ava’s skills become critical—as does the danger she’s in. Brilliant plotting and pitch-perfect character portraits—especially the resourceful Ava, but also the kind Detective Delahaye—make us hope fervently that more books with these characters are planned. —Vannessa Cronin, Amazon Editor
Whoever decided to schedule a mystery set in Hawaii just as we were getting to grips with another rainy, grey Seattle fall, is a genius. This debut mystery sees an out of work journalist head back to her Hawaii hometown to (reluctantly) take a paying freelance gig as a ghostwriter for a controversial real estate tycoon’s biography. But when he turns up dead, she’ll find herself tangling with a face from her past, her ex, homicide detective Koa Yamada. Between the push-pull of Maya and Koa’s relationship, the murder investigation, and Morita’s skillful blending of topical social issues into the story—developers pricing locals out of Hawaii real estate in particular—there’s a lot to hold the reader’s attention in this atmospheric but fun read. —Vannessa Cronin, Amazon Editor
The inspiration for the original series Cross on Prime Video, Along Came a Spider is our mystery book club pick for November. This book introduced the character of Alex Cross, the brilliant homicide detective with a Ph.D. in psychology. You’ll have seen him portrayed by Morgan Freeman in the movie adaptation, but the new TV series promises brand new stories. As author James Patterson puts it though, “die-hard Alex fans of course know all the old ones from the books, so it’s exciting to have fresh new thrills—where we truly have no idea of the ending. That said, Aldis Hodge’s amazing on-screen Alex would not be who he is if he hadn’t experienced what he’s been through in the books.” Read the book that started it all and judge for yourself. —Vannessa Cronin, Amazon Editor
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