Best Mystery Books of 2020
Last updated: November 08, 2024
2020 saw a slew of new books in the mystery genre. At Five Books, we ask experts to recommend the best books in their field, but it's hard for any one individual to keep abreast of all the books that are published in this genre. And of course, tastes vary from individual to individual: from readers who love scalpel-waving forensic pathologists to those who cringe at anything more gruesome than a game of Cluedo. As a result, we base our mystery book recommendations partly on the judgements of major prizes—like the Edgars (shortlist announced in January) in the US, or the Dagger Awards (announced in July) in the UK, that aspire to be more 'objective.' We'll also include any other mysteries that come to our attention as being particularly brilliant or interesting and published in 2020.
This list is part of our best books of 2020 series.
For more recent books, please consult our best mystery books of 2024 list.
The Glass House
by Eve Chase
A new mystery novel from the author of Black Rabbit Hall and The Vanishing of Audrey Wilde. In Eve Chase's The Glass House (published as The Daughters of Foxcote Manor in the US and Canada), a baby girl is discovered in the woods outside a beautiful country manor. Within days a dead body will lie in its grounds. A dark and gripping family drama that will keep you guessing right to the end.
Magpie Lane
by Lucy Atkins
“That’s what I love about suspense when it’s done well: it’s really powered by oddness and creepiness and things that are just a bit off and unsettling,” author Lucy Atkins told us in her interview on the best classic thrillers. That’s exactly what she achieves in Magpie Lane, a psychological thriller set in Oxford, England.
Many thanks to novelist Adele Geras for bringing Magpie Lane to our attention.
“The Searcher takes us to a village in Ireland and a retired Chicago cop who has just moved there and is doing up a rundown old house. His character is completely credible, and I can see him in front of his house, sanding down a piece of wood, as I write this. The book is slow-moving but absolutely absorbing.” Read more...
Sophie Roell, Journalist
The Thursday Murder Club
by Richard Osman
☆Shortlisted for the 2021 Edgar Allan Poe Awards
The Thursday Murder Club is a relentless parody of a classic, cosy murder mystery, written by British TV presenter and comedian Richard Osman. It is laugh-out-loud funny at times, though it’s hard to know how well that humour travels beyond UK borders, so it may be worth reading a sample before committing. It’s a light and enjoyable read, set in an upscale retirement village, with the upshot that many of the main protagonists are aged 70+, which is oddly empowering.
“What’s not to love? Four 70-somethings living in the same retirement village meet every Thursday in the Jigsaw Room to discuss unsolved crimes—until a local developer turns up dead and the Thursday Murder Club confronts their first ‘live’ case. The entire scenario and cast is delicious. Lots of narratives are witty and worth a sardonic smile here and there, but The Thursday Murder Club is funny, compassionate, and completely entertaining—an utter treat to read.” Read more...
Tosca Lee, Novelist
Troubled Blood
by Robert Galbraith
***Shortlisted for the 2021 CWA Gold Dagger***
Given the high quality of all previous four books by Robert Galbraith (aka JK Rowling) in the Cormoran Strike series—as well as their tendency to get better with each new one that comes out—we’re confidently adding the fifth book, Troubled Blood, to our best mysteries of 2020 list.
Editor’s note, September 21st 2020: this book was published last week and we now have a full review.
Perfect Kill
by Helen Fields
Perfect Kill by Helen Fields is the 6th book in a series featuring Edinburgh-based police detectives Luc Callanach and Ava Turner. If you’re very squeamish about your mystery books, you might find them a tough read, but if you’ve got the stomach for a few horrific crimes, they’re real page-turners. Perfect Kill is no exception, though if you haven’t read any, you could start at the beginning, with Perfect Remains.
The Stranger Diaries
by Elly Griffiths
***Winner Best Novel 2020 Edgar Allan Poe Awards***
The Stranger Diaries is a Gothic take on a modern mystery, with a fictional Victorian author, RM Holland, as a central part of the plot. The book has won a number of accolades, as well as being a Richard & Judy Bookclub pick, suggesting it’s also a relatively easy read. That said, it is educational: the book pulls you along, but you also feel the need to look up the ghost stories of MR James (on whom, one can’t help but presume, RM Holland is based), and reread Wilkie Collins.
Good Girl, Bad Girl: A Novel
by Michael Robotham
***Winner 2020 CWA Gold Dagger***
***Shortlisted for the 2020 Edgar Allan Poe Awards***
The title of this book is not ideal, seemingly jumping on the bandwagon of books with ‘girl’ in the title. But once you’ve set aside that prejudice, it’s a great read, mainly seeing the world through the eyes of forensic psychologist Cyrus Haven. The audiobook is not immediately engaging, but quickly becomes quite addictive. (Perhaps best to first test a sample to see if you like it)
Walk the Wire
by David Baldacci
There’s a genre of mysteries/thrillers that focus on the FBI and threats to national security which many readers love. David Baldacci writes quite a few of them, and his books are eminently readable. An added bonus is that you often get to learn a lot about the place they’re set. Walk the Wire is one of Baldacci’s most recent books, and is a fascinating depiction of what it’s like in a North Dakota fracking town.
We have an interview with David Baldacci on his favourite classic mystery books (where he also talks his literacy charity, the Wish You Well Foundation).
Forced Confessions
by John Fairfax
***Shortlisted for the 2020 CWA Gold Dagger***
Forced Confessions is probably best classified as a legal thriller, with courtroom drama playing a key part in the action. The main character, William Benson, is a barrister (a trial lawyer in the English legal system). He is also a convicted murderer, who may or may be innocent of the crime he was sent to prison for.
November Road
by Lou Berney
***Shortlisted for the 2020 CWA Gold Dagger***
November Road by Lou Berney has been shortlisted for the 2020 Gold Dagger award, though it was first published in 2018, so you may have come across it already (and indeed it made our list of best thrillers of 2019). It’s not exactly a mystery, it’s more of a chase story, combined with historical fiction, since the plot doesn’t exactly revolve, but mostly stems from the assassination of John F Kennedy. The main character works for a gangster, so if you prefer your mysteries not to include organized crime, it probably shouldn’t be top of your list. That said, it’s still reasonably light and enjoyable.
“November Road blew me away. It’s crime fiction at its best: heartfelt, thrilling, and leaves you with a lump in your throat.” Read more...
Anthony Franze, Thriller and Crime Writer
Death in the East
by Abir Mukherjee
***Shortlisted for the 2020 CWA Gold Dagger***
This is book number 4 in a historical mysteries series set in India during the Raj, with book no.3 already nominated for an Edgar. You could also read the series in order, but if you want to sample just one, Death in the East is particularly gripping. The story alternates between East London (before World War I) and a hill station in India (after World War I), with the two plotlines weaving together nicely.
Joe Country
by Mick Herron
***Shortlisted for the 2020 CWA Gold Dagger***
Joe Country by Mick Herron is the 6th book in a series of what appears to be more spy thriller than mystery books. It’s an interesting, but decidedly odd, book. It was hard to tell why anyone was doing anything they were doing, which could, perhaps be taken as a metaphor for the human condition, or alternatively, a sign that this is not a series to jump into and that you need to start at the beginning. That said, it was still an enjoyable, if peculiar, read.
What You Pay For
by Claire Askew
***Shortlisted for the 2020 CWA Gold Dagger***
What You Pay For by Claire Askew is a police procedural set (as so many are these days) in Edinburgh, Scotland. The action takes place over the course of a week and it is quite gripping, a book you want to go back to reading. What’s it not strong on is mystery. This is partly the publisher’s fault: the blurb on the cover means there are basically no surprises in the first 100 pages and one excellent, really suspenseful passage is ruined by the fact you already know who is breaking into Detective Inspector Birch’s house. But it’s also not a book that particularly strives to have a clever plot: it’s more about emotional anguish and tiredness—and how you could accidentally end up as a gangster—than thrilling twists and turns.
Fake Like Me
by Barbara Bourland
***Shortlisted for the 2020 Edgar Allan Poe Awards***
We’re putting Fake Like Me on this list because it’s been shortlisted for an Edgar, but it’s not a mystery in the traditional sense. Yes, there’s a plot twist, but you have to wait a long time for it, and there’s no particular buildup to it. What it is is a vivid description of being a young artist, trying to make it in the world.
The River: A Novel
by Peter Heller
***Shortlisted for the 2020 Edgar Allan Poe Awards***
It’s true that The River: A Novel by Peter Heller has been nominated for an Edgar, but somewhat like Fake Like Me, which also made the shortlist in 2020, it probably should not be classified primarily as a mystery or thriller. What it’s mainly about is two young men going canoeing in Canada and their relationship. That combination of the great outdoors, two men, as well as the writing, makes it slightly reminiscent of Brokeback Mountain (without the sex).
