The Best Crime Novels of 2024

Like many readers who enjoy crime, there are authors whose books I look out for every year. I was delighted to see, in September, a new book by the Swiss novelist Joël Dicker. Dicker writes in French and his books are quickly translated into other European languages, but are often slower to appear in English. The Alaska Sanders Affair is the third book he’s written that features Marcus Goldman, an American writer who always seems to end up investigating crimes. The first book is The Truth About the Harry Quebert Affair, which it may be worth reading first, though it’s not strictly necessary. Dicker’s style is quirky but the book has the feel of a traditional detective novel, with a good number of unexpected twists.

Also among my favourite crime novels this year was The Hunter by Tana French, a sequel to her book The Searcher (which it’s probably best to read first). The main protagonist, Cal Hooper, is a retired Chicago police detective who ends up living in the Irish countryside. Like The Searcher, The Hunter is an extremely slow-burn mystery, as much about the relationships between various characters in a small Irish village as it is about the crime that gets committed.

I’ve read a couple of psychological thrillers this year with strong female main characters which I really enjoyed. First Lie Wins by Ashley Elston was first recommended to me as an audiobook by Michele Cobb of AudioFile magazine. It’s a lot of fun, with the main character making her way in the world by pretending to be various made-up characters. You’re wishing her well all the way, in awe at her bravado as she carries out criminal activities.

Another highlight was Listen for the Lie by Amy Tintera, which revolves around a main character who does not know whether or not she committed the crime of murdering her best friend. Everyone else, however, thinks she did it. Five years later, a true crime podcaster gets involved and all is revealed. Again, the main character is strong with a wry sense of humour, and you find yourself wanting to be as blunt as she is.

I’m a big fan of some of the British crime writers who come out with books every year or so. The Midnight Feast is the latest by Lucy Foley, set at a luxury manor on the Dorset coast. It’s a satire of wellness retreats and at times very funny, but also an affecting story of growing up, and the mistakes you can make as a teenager.

Ruth Ware, meanwhile, has a new book out called One Perfect Couple, where the sinister plot unfolds from a reality TV show set on an Indonesian island. Like many of Ware’s books, it’s quite dark but a good read.

On the extremely sinister side is The Profiler by Helen Fields. Fields is the author of a series of novels featuring Edinburgh-based police detective duo Luc Callanach and Ava Turner. These are excellent, but quite tough in the awful crimes they revolve around. The Profiler is equally scary because of the technology mixed with corporate greed it depicts. As I read it, I couldn’t help thinking, ‘This isn’t happening yet, but it will…’

If you’re into more cozy crime, Nita Prose has a new book out featuring Molly, the star of The Maid. It’s called The Mystery Guest and I found it as delightful as the first. The audiobook, narrated by Lauren Ambrose, is really nicely done. In The Mystery Guest, a writer drops dead while visiting the Regency Grand hotel and Molly, now head maid, again falls under some sort of suspicion.

On the subject of writers getting murdered, it’s worth mentioning that Jean Hanff Korelitz has published a sequel to The Plot, her 2021 bestseller. It’s called The Sequel with Anna, the villain (heroine?) of The Plot, as the main character. I haven’t finished it yet, but am enjoying it so far, propelled along (much like in The Talented Mr Ripley) by not wanting the main character to get caught. Like The Plot, it is very focused on satirizing writers and the publishing world, which may not be everyone’s cup of tea.

Finally, I should mention that while I read a lot of crime novels as they come out, I am a big fan of older books. New to me this year was Margaret Millar, and her book A Stranger in My Grave. Although it was published in 1960, this definitely qualifies as one of my favourite crime reads of 2024, not least because it’s so fascinating to be taken back to the California of nearly three-quarters of a century ago.