What’s happening in the mystery genre world? Book awards, classic whodunnit recommendations, a readathon, feelings on final girls in the Scream franchise, and a dive into mystery book covers.
On one final girl
For Reactor, Emmet Asher-Perrin wrote about Gale Weathers being the best final girl of the Scream franchise. “…Gale Weathers is better than any Final Girl. She’s the one who never has to be here and always chooses it anyhow. And that means something very different than being chosen by fate and forced to reckon with the broken nature of things.” And now I need to go watch Scream again.
Trans Rights Readathon
Join the Trans Rights Readathon, March 17-31. The annual call to action is for readers and book lovers to support Trans Day of Visibility (TDOV), which is the last day of the readathon, March 31st. You can get more info here, and follow along on Bluesky, Instagram, and TikTok. If you’re looking for recs, my most recent five-star read is Woodworking by Emily St. James. For backlist in the mystery genre, definitely check out Robyn Gigl’s legal series and Justine Pucella Winans’ YA mystery, Bianca Torre Is Afraid Of Everything.
The 2026 Libby Book Award winners
Sherry Thomas’ The Librarians won the Best Mystery award, and Liann Zhang’s Julie Chan Is Dead Is Dead won for Best Thriller in this year’s Libby Book Awards. You can check out all 21 books that won at their official announcement.
Love a good whodunit?
Elle rounded up 26 mystery novels that follow the traditional whodunit trope. From classics like The Conjure-Man Dies to translated works like The Decagon House Murders, I spotted plenty of great novels on this list that will keep you entertained and sleuthing.
A backlist post on book cover art that is still worth the read
Here’s a still interesting look at crime novel covers and why sometimes you’ll see the same image on a ton of covers via AIGA: Why Do So Many Book Covers Look the Same? Blame Getty Images
All Access Bonus: Behind the Scenes of The Best Mystery/Thriller Books of the Century So Far
Earlier this month, we released our Best Fantasy and Best Romance Books of the Century So Far, the first two installments in an ongoing series on the Best Books of the Century So Far. Last week, we dropped the mystery/thriller list, and today, we’re giving All Access members a look at both the selection process and a list of titles that didn’t make the final cut.
As with all of these lists, the 50 titles that made that final cut were chosen from an initial list that was almost twice as long. We started with nominations from our contributors and staff, then cleaned that up (the only easy part of this whole thing)—ensuring the publication dates for the nominated titles are indeed within this century—removed duplicate submissions, and more.
The hard part was whittling the list down with so many fantastic books in front of us. We considered the impact of titles and series, and whether books established subgenres or redefined existing ones. Did the book make a huge splash, or start off slowly before becoming a sleeper hit? Did it contain a twist we simply did not see coming, or was the whydunit/howdunit just as interesting (or more!) than the whydunit itself? Did the titles we selected represent a diverse array of perspectives? After much deliberation that felt like picking our favorite children, we’re proud of the final list! But we want to show some love to the titles that almost made it, too.
A Master of Djinn by P. Djèlí Clark
Allegedly by Tiffany D. Jackson
Angels & Demons by Dan Brown
Auntie Poldi and the Sicilian Lions by Mario Giordano
Blood Grove by Walter Mosley
Blood Sisters by Vanessa Lillie
City Under One Roof by Iris Yamashita
Confessions by Kanae Minato
Dare Me by Megan Abbott
Detective Beans: The Case of the Missing Hat by Li Chen
Devil’s Chew Toy by Rob Osler
Liar’s Beach by Katie Cotugno
Mister Magic by Kiersten White
Mistress of the Art of Death by Ariana Franklin
My Favorite Thing is Monsters by Emil Ferris
Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo
Out by Natsuo Kirino
Pride & Premeditation by Tirzah Price
Queenpin by Megan Abbott
Remember Me Tomorrow by Farah Heron
Sadie by Courtney Summers
Secret Identity by Alex Segura
She Rides Shotgun by Jordan Harper
The Confessions of Frannie Langton by Sara Collins
The Dry by Jane Harper
The Girls I’ve Been by Tess Sharpe
The Lost Man by Jane Harper
The Mimicking of Known Successes by Malka Ann Older
The Nothing Man by Catherine Ryan Howard
The Old Woman with the Knife by Gu Byeong-mo
The Ones We’re Meant to Find by Joan He
The Parker Inheritance by Varian Johnson
The Seven and a Half Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton
The Silence of Bones by June Hur
The Swifts: A Dictionary of Scoundrels by Beth Lincoln
The Weight of Blood by Tiffany D. Jackson
The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware
The Woman in the Library by Sulari Gentill
Truly Devious by Maureen Johnson
Undercover Latina by Aya de León
When You Look Like Us by Pamela N. Harris
Where’d You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple
Whidbey by T Kira Madden
Get access to exclusive content and features with an All Access subscription on Book Riot. Unlimited members-only content The New Release Index, a powerful tool for finding your next favorite book Community features like commenting and poll participationJoin All Access to unlock members-only content
Browse the books recommended in Unusual Suspects’ previous newsletters on this shelf, and see 2026 releases! Until next time, come talk books with me on Bluesky, Goodreads, Litsy, and Multitudes Contained.
If a mystery fan forwarded this newsletter to you or you read it on bookriot.com and you’d like to get it right in your inbox, you can sign up here.
English (US) · 