Everybody loves a good detective story. They satisfy our natural curiosity for solvable mysteries, allowing us to slip into the shoes of competent detectives like Sherlock Holmes or Hercule Poirot. There’s a sense of satisfaction to following a trail of clues, identifying red herrings, and theorizing before the answers are revealed. Good detective stories use grounded settings to heighten anxiety and embrace some amount of chaos before bringing about a neat resolution.
Detective stories can take many forms, but here are five genre books that are engrossing page-turners from start to finish.
1
Magpie Murders (2016), by Anthony Horowitz
Metanarratives, or a “story-within-a-story” formula, can be tricky to pull off. That said, Anthony Horowitz’s Magpie Murders juggles its dual narratives with ease. The first plotline is about a mystery novel written by fictional author Alan Conway, where the housekeeper at Pye Hall is found dead in the year 1955. Famed detective Atticus Pünd and his assistant James Fraser arrive at the scene to solve this crime, while aspects of Pünd’s personal life are revealed towards the end. The second story in Magpie Murders is about Susan Ryeland, an editor who finds that the last chapter in Conway’s novel is missing. This means a whodunit with no solution, leading to yet another mystery worth resolving.
Horowitz’s novel is a page-turner for many reasons. It cushions an intriguing period-piece mystery inside its modern narrative, letting readers get engrossed by these parallel cases. These metanarratives are inevitably connected, which adds to the fun of hunting for clues and connecting any possible dots. The novel is a brilliant homage to classic Golden Age whodunits by Agatha Christie and Dorothy Sayers, which often dwell on the nostalgia of a complicated suburban mystery.
2
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd (1926), by Agatha Christie
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd opens with Dr. James Sheppard, the story’s narrator, talking about the death of a wealthy widow who took her own life a year after her abusive husband’s death. Sheppard is soon contacted by a widower named Roger Ackroyd, who urgently invites our narrator over to speak on a pressing matter. The grisly murder takes place after this visit, prompting the appearance of retired detective Hercule Poirot, who must rely on his “little gray cells” to get to the bottom of this mystery. Like most Agatha Christie plots, this one is a definitive page-turner, thanks to its relentless structure and a complicated web of local gossip that hides some kernel of truth.
This book is the epitome of Christie’s taut writing, where she uses genre expectations to pull off an unexpected twist. This misdirection is rather skilful, keeping readers occupied with connected clues that are only a part of the bigger picture. Poirot’s presence plays an integral part in this process, as much of the sleuthing is inadvertently deferred to him, given his ability to identify discrepancies hidden in plain sight. The way Christie sets the murder up is also engrossing. The title tells us outright that the crime is going to happen, but it’s impossible to predict why or how, as every character connected to Ackroyd seems to harbor hidden motivations.
3
The Thin Man (1934), by Dashiell Hammett
During the last days of Prohibition in the United States, former private eye Nick Charles and his socialite wife Nora get involved in a rather baffling mystery in The Thin Man. The daughter of Nick’s former client, Clyde, tells him that she has been trying to get in contact with her father for quite some time, but to no avail. The plot thickens after Clyde’s secretary/fling, Julia, is found dead, and a local gangster is suspected of the crime. Nick and Nora get involved in this madness during Christmas of 1932, leading to one booze-filled, glamorous adventure that also has its fair share of dangers.
Dashiell Hammett presents Nick and Nora as a formidable duo, where their effortlessly charming dynamic brings every scene to life. The mystery moves at a snappy pace — a marked departure from his celebrated hard-boiled mystery, The Maltese Falcon. Although our central duo is easy to like due to their quick wit and relatable nature, the world around them is complex and gritty, making for a more cynical backdrop than one would expect. As the Christmas season coincides with the celebratory haze of post-Prohibition days, high-society glamor is juxtaposed against middle-class economic uncertainty. These aspects enliven the mystery at the core of The Thin Man, which leans more towards a polished comedy of manners than a cut-and-dried hard-boiled noir.
4
Red Dragon (1981), by Thomas Harris
Thomas Harris’ Red Dragon might not be a traditional detective novel, but it is a particularly high-stakes detective story. The story follows former FBI profiler Will Graham, who decides to help the authorities apprehend a notorious serial killer known as The Dragon. Graham reluctantly seeks aid from ex-psychiatrist and cannibalistic serial killer Hannibal Lecter, whom he had previously captured. The two share a strained dynamic, as Graham had to seek psychological help after his traumatizing encounter with Hannibal. Even so, the imminent threat of The Dragon puts Graham on yet another dangerous mission, which can only be completed with the help of Hannibal’s cryptic clues.
The cat-and-mouse aspect of Red Dragon is palpable enough for it to be a fast-paced page-turner. Harris forces us to consider the killer’s perspective as well, giving us a rare glimpse into his twisted psyche. Graham’s primary perspective isn’t rainbows and sunshine either, as our ex-FBI profiler is still haunted by his extraordinary ability to empathize with the deadliest serial killers. This version of Will handles “pure empathy” differently than Hugh Dancy’s Will in NBC’s Hannibal, as the show takes a more preternatural approach to this troubling gift. Lecter’s presence is also used sparingly in the book, which makes every interaction deeply unpredictable, with Graham constantly on edge.
5
The Big Sleep (1939), by Raymond Chandler
A classic hard-boiled detective mystery, Raymond Chandler’s The Big Sleep has been adapted to film twice, and for good reason. The story follows alcoholic private eye Philip Marlowe, who is contacted by the wealthy General Sternwood with regard to a blackmail attempt. A bookseller named Arthur Geiger seems to be the culprit, while Sternwood explains further complications related to his daughters Carmen and Vivian. Marlowe’s investigation opens up the seedy underbelly of Los Angeles, leading to a twisted mystery filled with secrets and double-crossing.
Chandler’s ability to write labyrinthine plots turns The Big Sleep into a messy, layered web of unsavory motivations. Most of the characters are not what they seem, and loyalty seems to be a mythical concept in the bustling city. Everybody is out to make a quick buck at somebody else’s expense, or take advantage of trust or naivety without remorse. Marlowe finds himself in immediate danger, but his cynical worldview is tempered with a brilliantly quick-witted nature. Marlowe understands human hypocrisy better than most, helping us immerse into the corruption-ridden lives of those around him.
