10 Mystery novels and authors that still keep us guessing

You’ve probably imagined yourself as a detective at least once and wondered if you would trust your instincts or question every clue. Quite possibly one of these world-famous mystery authors should have written a story about you. Today, we will be looking at 10 of the best intrigue masters who keep readers on the edge of their seats with thrilling stories of secrets and riddles that must be solved sooner rather than later.

If you love constant intrigue, then Agatha Christie (1890-1976) is an essential read. She is a world-famous British writer and the undisputed Queen of Mystery, having written 66 novels that keep readers on their toes with ingenious misdirection and shocking plot twists, leaving generations of readers guessing right up to the final page.

And Then There Were None is her must-read novel. Published on November 3, 1939, it is the world’s best-selling mystery novel where 10 strangers are lured to an isolated island off the Devon coast by an intriguing host. While accused of past crimes, they are killed one by one, following a nursery rhyme.

Logic isn’t the only thing that leads to solving mysteries. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1930) created none other than the world's most famous consulting detective, Sherlock Holmes, and proved that. Holmes appeared in four novels and 56 short stories, alongside his loyal friend and narrator, Dr. John Watson, and changed mystery fiction forever.

Published in 1902, The Hound of the Baskervilles is a masterpiece of detective fiction that comes to life through Sherlock's sharp mind; alongside his research of supernatural myths, it became a timeless story of suspense and surprise.

Success can sometimes come at a dangerous price. John Grisham, born February 8, 1955, brought this to light by writing many popular legal thrillers that feel very real. He used his own professional experience as a lawyer in a small-town Mississippi firm to build authentic courtroom scenes, flawed human characters, and high-pressure, controversial moral dilemmas.

The Firm, his novel published in 1991 and made into a film starring Tom Cruise, is deeply mysterious and suspenseful, centering on a young lawyer who joins a secretive law firm that offers massive wealth, only to uncover deep, dark secrets, suspicious deaths, and a Mafia conspiracy.

More often than not, the people closest to you hold secrets you wouldn’t imagine possible. Mary Higgins Clark (1927-2020) was a widely acclaimed American author, known as the "Queen of Suspense," who reflected this in her work. Her thrillers are known for being wholesome, avoiding gory or explicit descriptions, and for having self-reliant female heroines in stories filled with relatable fears such as domestic tensions, memory loss, and threats to family or children.

Following those themes, her first novel, Where Are the Children?, published in 1975, became a breakout hit and helped build a legacy defined by clean, fast-paced, and gripping psychological books.

If you prefer your mysteries dark, gritty, and morally complex, then Raymond Chandler (1888-1959), a British-American author best known for his novels and screenplays, is the answer. He helped define what is known as "hard-boiled" detective fiction through his complex plots, including his private-eye detective, Philip Marlowe, set against the dark side of the American dream, where deceit and corruption lurk beneath the Los Angeles sun.

He spent his early years in England and later wrote classic crime noir novels, such as his 1939 classic, The Big Sleep, where inspector Marlowe is hired by a wealthy general to investigate a blackmail scheme involving his daughter. In doing so, Chandler’s lead detective dives into the shadowy world of murder, deceit, and corruption.

Sometimes it feels like every letter could bring a new secret to light. Sue Grafton (1940—2017) brought this feeling to life in her Alphabet Series, a widely celebrated collection of hard-boiled detective stories featuring a female private investigator and former cop, Kinsey Millhone.

Kicking off with A Is for Alibi in 1982 and concluding with Y Is for Yesterday in 2017, the bestselling series spans 25 books, was inspired in part by Edward Gorey’s alphabet-based book The Gashleycrumb Tinies, and is set in the fictional California town of Santa Teresa (modeled after Santa Barbara).

We don’t often think of a detective as both tough and thoughtful, but Robert B. Parker (1932-2010) was a master of modern American crime fiction, who reshaped the detective genre by combining tough-guy action with sharp wit and a deep moral code.

Spenser, for example, is his leading investigator who cooks, quotes poetry, and loves his partner, Susan Silverman. The Godwulf Manuscript (1973) is the first Spenser book, introducing this character as a wisecracking private investigator searching for a stolen medieval university manuscript.

The best mysteries are those layered with emotion and insight. P.D. James (1920-2019) was such a masterful British crime fiction writer who achieved both and was known by many as the "Queen of Crime". Her books present clever puzzles mixed with a deeper human understanding, making her famous for her thoughtful style amidst dark plots.

Cover Her Face is her 1962 debut crime novel, introducing her famously clever and sensitive Scotland Yard detective Adam Dalgliesh, as he investigates the shocking murder of an ambitious young housemaid in an English country manor.

It’s not often that we see a character solving a crime while answering their own personal questions, but Tana French, born May 10, 1973, is an acclaimed Irish author who explores such scenarios. She is known by many as the "First Lady of Irish Crime," renowned for her psychological mystery style that focuses intensely on human flaws, memory, guilt, and the deep emotional impacts of a crime, rather than just procedural puzzle-solving.

In the Woods, published in 2007, is her debut psychological mystery novel, and the first book in the Dublin Murder Squad series. It follows detective Rob Ryan as he investigates a young girl’s murder, echoing some of his own childhood trauma.

Besides the characters, the landscape can also hold secrets, and sometimes tradition can reveal what evidence cannot. Tony Hillerman (1925 - 2008) was a best-selling writer and journalist, famous for his detective novels set in the American Southwest, who brought these ideas to the table. His stories take place in the Navajo Nation, starring tribal police officers Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee. His books intertwine classic crime puzzles with a deep respect for Native American ways and desert landscapes.

Published in 1970, The Blessing Way was his debut novel, set across Arizona and New Mexico, centering on a baffling murder with no tracks in the sand, while blending local fears of the skinwalker (or "Wolf Witch") with modern Cold War surveillance methods.

We just know that we know nothing

12 facts that people often get wrong

No one can claim to know everything, but most people go through life confident about certain things. However, some of these widely held beliefs are not actually correct, despite their popularity. Let’s have a look at some "facts" you might have gotten wrong!

The idea that insects—particularly mosquitoes—are not animals is widespread, but it’s also incorrect. In fact, insects are the most diverse group within the Animal kingdom, with more than a million species described and representing more than half of the animal population of the planet.

The mistake comes from not considering that "fruit" is not only a culinary term but also a botanical one. Botanically, a fruit is the part of a plant that develops from a flower and contains seeds. This makes tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, eggplants, and many other foods that we call vegetables actually fruits in the scientific sense.

Countries have a political delimitation, while continents are divided according to geographical criteria. The Russian Federation is the largest country on Earth, bordering fourteen other countries and extending across eleven time zones. It spans across a good part of Eastern Europe, but also across the Ural mountains—one of the recognized borders between Europe and Asia—and stretches deep into northern Asia.

While cold weather isn’t harmless, it is not the direct cause of illnesses like the flu, which are caused by viruses. In colder months, people tend to spend more time indoors and often avoid ventilating rooms, creating conditions that make it easier for viruses to spread and cause illness.

Bats might not prefer to be out during bright daylight, but this does not mean that they are blind. In fact, many species have excellent eyesight, though it is adapted to low-light or nighttime conditions. On top of that, bats also use echolocation, which allows them to navigate and hunt with remarkable precision in complete darkness.

The belief that you must wait a full day before reporting someone missing is a myth popularized by movies and TV shows. In reality, the law does not require a waiting period. In fact, law enforcement agencies stress that the first 24 hours are often the most critical, so a missing person should be reported immediately.

Some man-made structures are visible from space without magnification, but despite popular belief, the Great Wall of China is not one of them. While it is quite long, being over 13,000 miles long, it is relatively narrow, and its earthy colors blend in with the surrounding landscape, making it nearly impossible to spot with the naked eye from orbit.

This one is tricky: Mount Everest is the highest mountain on Earth (29,032 feet)… if you measure the distance from sea level to peak. For the actual tallest mountain, the answer might vary depending on how you measure. Measured from base to summit, Mauna Kea in Hawaii is the tallest at 33,474 feet—though much of it is underwater. Mount McKinley (Denali) in Alaska rises about 18,000 feet from its base to the peak, making it the tallest mountain entirely above sea level. And Ecuador’s Mount Chimborazo, while shorter in height, is the farthest point on Earth from the planet’s center due to the equatorial bulge.

The Earth is tilted on an axis, which causes the amount of sunlight each hemisphere receives to change as it orbits the Sun. Because of this tilt, when the Northern Hemisphere is tilted toward the Sun and experiences summer, the Southern Hemisphere is tilted away and experiences winter—and vice versa. This is why the Southern Hemisphere celebrates Christmas during summer.

Standard medical advice is to gently guide a sleepwalker back to bed rather than waking them, but not because waking them is inherently dangerous. People tend to sleepwalk during deep sleep, so waking them up might startle them or cause confusion and disorientation.

Hair color and thickness are determined by genetics, not by shaving. Hair naturally gets thin at the ends, so when you shave it, the hair shaft appears to be thicker and darker because of the blunt cut. But it's just an optical illusion; the natural size of the shaft remains unchanged.

Coffee is a natural diuretic, meaning it can increase trips to the bathroom. However, the water in brewed coffee still contributes to your hydration and offsets its mild diuretic effect. If you consume coffee in moderation—3 to 5 cups a day, depending on your tolerance—you should be alright. However, drinking extra water on the side is never a bad idea.