Home - Mystery Story as Literature - M. Sullivan - LibGuides at Big Bend Community College

FROM THE LIBRARY

The Arraignment by Steve Martini
ISBN: 0399148787

A San Diego criminal defense lawyer investigates a crime surrounding an insurance claim.
The Bishop's Wife by Mette Ivie Harrison
ISBN: 9781616954765

The wife of a Mormon bishop, mother of five boys, senses something amiss in the church and discovers a twisted crime.
Citizen Vince by Jess Walter
ISBN: 9780060989293

A sorry criminal gets caught in a complex web of characters in this novel set in Spokane, Wa.
The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith
ISBN: 9780316206846

A successful first crime novel, written under a pseudonym, by none other than the creator of Harry Potter. (More in this series on the shelves)
The Edge of Nowhere by Elizabeth George
ISBN: 9780670012961

The author in the Inspector Lynley novels tries her hand at the young adult genre in this mystery set on Whidbey Island, WA.
Engleby by Sebastian Faulks
ISBN: 9780385524056

The unsolved case of a missing woman comes back into a young journalist's life to trouble him years later in this psychological English mystery.
Get Shorty by Elmore Leonard
ISBN: 9780062120250

Mob-connected loan shark Chili Palmer is sick of the Miami grind -- plus his "friends" have a bad habit of dying there. So when he chases a deadbeat client out to Hollywood, Chili figures he might like to stay
The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins
ISBN: 9781594633669

Did she see something happen from the train? This unreliable English narrator thinks she has and it could have something to do with murder.
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson; Reg Keeland (Translator)
ISBN: 9780307269751

Swedish murder mystery, family saga, and modern love story combine in this novel, the first in a trilogy.
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
ISBN: 9780307588364

Popular American mystery about a missing wife (with a twist or two along the way).
Green Sun by Kent Anderson
ISBN: 9780316466806

Officer Hanson, a Vietnam veteran, has abandoned academia for the life-and-death clarity of police work. He chooses to live in the same town where he works. He forges a friendship with the drug king of East Oakland and a streetwise eleven-year-old who is primed to become a dope dealer. Then an off-duty shooting forces Hanson to finally face who he is, and which side of the law he belongs on.
Incognegro by Mat Johnson; Warren Pleece
ISBN: 9781401210977

Graphic novel, noir style.
Inherent Vice by Thomas Pynchon
ISBN: 9781594202247

Reluctantly investigating a kidnapping threat against his ex-girlfriend's billionaire beau, Doc Sportello tackles a bizarre tangle of nefarious characters before stumbling on a mysterious entity that may actually be a tax shelter for a dental group.
Iron River by T. Jefferson Parker
ISBN: 9780525951490

U.S./Mexico border town crime novel with an L.A. Sherriff's deputy named Charlie Hood at the helm.
A Man Came Out of a Door in the Mountain by Adrianne Harun
ISBN: 9780670786107

When girls from a small town in the Pacific Northwest begin vanishing and mysterious strangers arrive soon after, it seems as if the devil himself had a hand in things.
Motherless Brooklyn by Jonathan Lethem
ISBN: 0385491832

In NYC, a reluctant detective with Tourette's syndrome attempts to find out who murdered his tough-guy friend.
Mr Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan
ISBN: 9780374214913

A web-designer cum bookstore clerk discovers some increasingly curious things happening in the store where he works.
Night Film by Marisha Pessl
ISBN: 9781400067886

The lives of a veteran journalist and reclusive cult horror-film director collide in this suspenseful thriller.
No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy
ISBN: 0375406778

Delightfully dark and creepy mystery story set in the West. Tells of a poor choice gone terribly, terribly wrong.
Nowhere to Run by C. J. Box
ISBN: 9780399156458

Game wardens and elk hunting are involved in this mystery that takes place in the mountain town of Baggs, Wyoming.
Perfidia by James Ellroy
ISBN: 9780307956996

A Japanese family is found dead right after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. The investigation will draw four unlikely people together, a brilliant Japanese American forensic chemist; an adventurous young woman, a police officer, and an arch villain. As their lives intertwine, we are given a story of war and of consuming romance, a searing expose of the Japanese internment, and a homicide investigation.
The Right Madness by James Crumley
ISBN: 0670034061

A melancholy, seen-it-all detective investigates crime in a small Montana town.
Ross MDdonald by Ross Macdonald; Tom Nolan (Editor)
ISBN: 9781598533767

One of noir's greatest writers offers 4 exciting novels in this collection.
Since We Fell by Dennis Lehane
ISBN: 9780062129383

A domestic thriller that is as much about relationships as it is about the mystery.
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy by John le Carré
ISBN: 9780143120933

Understated British espionage. (More by this author on the shelves).
Train by Pete Dexter
ISBN: 0385505914

Suspenseful mystery set in 1953 that begins in an L.A. country club. (More by this author on the shelves).
The Witch Elm by Tana French
ISBN: 9780735224629

Toby surprises two burglars who beat him and leave him for dead. Struggling to recover from his injuries, beginning to understand that he might never be the same man again, he takes refuge at his family's ancestral home to care for his dying uncle Hugo. Then a skull is found in the trunk of an elm tree in the garden. As detectives close in, Toby is forced to face the possibility that his past may not be what he has always believed.

FROM THE LIBRARY

The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton
ISBN: 9781492657965

Doomed to repeat the same day over and over, Aiden Bishop must solve the murder of Evelyn Hardcastle in order to escape the curse in a world filled with enemies where nothing and no one are quite what they seem.
The Age of Doubt by Andrea Camilleri; Stephen Sartarelli (Translator)
ISBN: 9780143120926

Italian Inspector Montalbano investigates a death on a yacht in this Sicilian crime novel. (More in this series on the shelves)
The Alienist by Caleb Carr
ISBN: 0679417796

In the late 1800's a dark serial killer stalks in this creepy Jack-the-Ripper-ish novel.
The Beige Man by Helene Tursten; Marlaine Delargy (Translator)
ISBN: 9781616956233

Beginning with a car race in Sweden and including a number of sordid secrets being revealed, this unsettling Swedish noir stars a female detective.
Broken Harbor by Tana French
ISBN: 9780143123309

Mick "Scorcher" Kennedy, Ireland murder squad's top detective, pursues the murderer of a family which also sends him down the dark roads of his own childhood.
Charcoal Joe by Walter Mosley
ISBN: 9780385539203

Set in LA in the 1960's, Mosely's charismatic detective, Easy Rawlins, jumps into a case involving a friend that turns out to be more than he bargained for.
Christine Falls by Benjamin Black
ISBN: 9780805081527

A pathologist in 1950's Dublin gets involved in a dark story through his work the morgue.
The Dying Detective by Leif G. W. Persson; Neil Smith (Translator)
ISBN: 9780307907639

A famous but retired detective tries to solve a cold case from his bed in the recovery room after suffering a stroke.
Finding Nouf by Zoë Ferraris
ISBN: 9780547237787

A mystery set in Saudi Arabia. A desert guide Nayir al-Sharqi, is hired by wealthy friends to find their missing daughter. When the girl turns up dead, apparently drowned in a flash flood in the desert, Nayir suspects that all is not as it seems.
Ill Will by Dan Chaon
ISBN: 9780345476043

Past and present crimes merge in this chilling thriller that also involves satanic cults.
Indian Killer by Sherman Alexie
ISBN: 087113652x

A serial murderer terrorizes Seattle in this thriller. (More by this author on the shelves).
Junkyard Dogs by Craig Johnson
ISBN: 9780143119531

A real Western mystery, with cowboys, indians, ranches, hard living, and murder. (More by this author on the shelves).
The Long Good-Bye by Raymond Chandler
ISBN: 9780394757681

Hard-boiled private eye Philip Marlowe takes on a complex case in the rich suburbs of 1930's L.A. and gets into trouble of all sorts in this noir-ish classic.
Lush Life by Richard Price
ISBN: 9780374299255

A Lower East side hipster is shot by a street kid in New York City in this story of urban crime fiction.
Mr. White's Confession by Robert Clark
ISBN: 0312204264

Set in Minnesota, 1939. A dime-a dance girl is found murdered. The chief suspect is an eccentric recluse with a journal-keeping habit.
Mystic River by Dennis Lehane
ISBN: 0688163165

3 boys from Boston encounter something terrible that changes their lives. As they grow older and apart, each deals with the past in his own way and there the trouble begins. A tense, psychological Lehane thriller that brings the underside of South Boston to life.
Over Tumbled Graves by Jess Walter
ISBN: 0060393866

Beginning on a riverbank in Spokane, the female detective Carolyn Mabry, tracks a serial killer through the city. (More by this author on the shelves).
Rising Sun by Michael Crichton
ISBN: 0394589424

Business and murder mix in this Japanese novel of twisted intrigue.
The Savage Detectives by Roberto Bolaño; Natasha Wimmer (Translator)
ISBN: 9780374191481

This Latin American ambitious tour de force tells the tale of 2 survivors of an underground literary movement.
The Secret History by Donna Tartt
ISBN: 9781400031702

A group of college students from a small, elite New England college challenge the boundaries of morality and discover a disturbing truth about themselves.
Target in the Night by Ricardo Piglia; Sergio Waisman (Translator)
ISBN: 9781941920169

A passionate political and psychological thriller set in a remote Argentinean Pampas town, This novel is an intense and tragic family history reminiscent of King Lear, in which the madness of the detective is integral to solving crimes.
Two Girls Down by Louisa Luna
ISBN: 9780385542494

When two young sisters disappear from a strip mall parking lot in a small Pennsylvania town, their devastated mother hires an enigmatic bounty hunter, Alice Vega, to help find the girls. Immediately shut out by a local police department already stretched thin by budget cuts and the growing OxyContin and meth epidemic, Vega enlists the help of a disgraced former cop, Max Caplan. Cap is a man trying to put the scandal of his past behind him and move on, but Vega needs his help to find the girls, and she will not be denied.
The Walking Tour by Kathryn Davis
ISBN: 0618082387

A walking tour in Wales goes awry, and ends in a trial.
Watchmen by Alan Moore; Dave Gibbons (Illustrator)
ISBN: 9780930289232

Graphic novel and super-hero type mystery.
You Should Have Known by Jean Hanff Korelitz
ISBN: 9781455599493

A therapist in NYC encounters her own mistakes in a dramatic way when her husband is accused of something terrible and her whole world is thrown off balance.

FROM THE LIBRARY

Cold Lessons by Michael McCulloch
ISBN: 9781594145247

A crime takes place involving a high school teacher, set in Montana.
The Eleventh Plague by John S. Marr; John Baldwin
ISBN: 0060187778

The subtitle calls it a novel of medical terror. This mystery has a noted virologist detective tracking down a brilliant serial killer with a knowledge of toxins and an obsession with biblical retribution.
The Fig Eater by Jody Shields
ISBN: 0316785644

"When a young woman's body is discovered in the summer of 1910 Vienna, the Inspector's wife is certain the figs found in her stomach during the autopsy are the clue to the identity of the murderer--for there are no fresh figs in Vienna at this time of year." ~Amazon
The Forgers by Bradford Morrow
ISBN: 9780802123213

A literary thriller about the dark side of the rare book world.
The Glass Rainbow by James Lee Burke
ISBN: 9781439128299

Louisiana detective Dave Robicheaux is pulled into investigating the brutal murders of seven young women in a neighboring parish.
The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty
ISBN: 9780399159343

Cecilia Fitzpatrick has achieved it all; she is an incredibly successful businesswoman, a pillar of her small community, and a devoted wife and mother. Her life is as orderly and spotless as her home. But the discovery of letter is about to change everything, and not just for her:
Into the Water by Paula Hawkins
ISBN: 9780735211209

A single mother turns up dead at the bottom of the river that runs through town. Earlier in the summer, a vulnerable teenage girl met the same fate. They are not the first women lost to these dark waters, but their deaths disturb the river and its history, dredging up secrets long submerged.
Iron River by T. Jefferson Parker
ISBN: 9780525951490

US/Mexican border mystery involving drugs, guns, and money.
The Life We Bury by Allen Eskens
ISBN: 9781616149987

A college student gets in deep when he interviews a Vietnam vet and accused convict for a paper.
Maigret and the Man on the Boulevard by Georges Simenon; Eileen Ellenbogen (Translator)
ISBN: 9780143112839

When Maigret, a slightly dour and portly french detective, begins to reconstruct a dead man's last days, he discovers that for three years the man had lived a secret life while his wife believed he was at work.
Mr. Gwyn by Alessandro Baricco; Ann Goldstein (Translator)
ISBN: 9781938073960

Former author Mr. Gwyn disappears and leaves behind a lifetime's worth of clues for his devoted assistant to unravel.
The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco; William Weaver (Translator); David Lodge (Introduction by)
ISBN: 9780307264893

An erudite murder mystery set in 1327
Nobody Move by Denis Johnson
ISBN: 9780374222901

Featuring the trials of a guy named Jimmy Luntz, a barbershop chorus singer and compulsive gambler who owes money to a guy named Ernest Gambol. This novel is written in the wisecracking style of American noir by master storyteller Denis Johnson.
O' Artful Death by Sarah Stewart Taylor
ISBN: 9780312307646

An art historian (with an interest in death) from Boston traces the past drowning death of a young girl to an artist's colony on Vermont.
Old Bones by Aaron Elkins
ISBN: 0445406879

Gideon Oliver, a forensic anthroplogist, is brought in to investigate when the bones of a missing patriarch that are found under a stone floor.
Quiet Dell by Jayne Anne Phillips
ISBN: 9781439172537

The fictional account of a real event involving the vicious crimes of a serial killer and the brave woman who investigates them.
The Round House by Louise Erdrich
ISBN: 9780062065247

A reservation boy struggles to solve a crime committed against his mother.
The Silkworm by Robert Galbraith
ISBN: 9780316206877

When novelist Owen Quine goes missing, his wife calls in private detective Cormoran Strike. At first, Mrs. Quine just thinks her husband has gone off by himself for a few days--as he has done before--and she wants Strike to find him and bring him home. But as Strike investigates, it becomes clear that there is more to Quine's disappearance than his wife realizes.
Slipping into Darkness by Peter Blauner
ISBN: 9780316098663

In the aftermath of murder convict Julian Vega's release on a technicality, detective Francis X. Loughlin is forced to enlist the man's assistance in a case involving baffling DNA evidence and tactics similar to Vega's.
Smilla's Sense of Snow by Peter Hoeg; Tiina Nunnally (Translator)
ISBN: 0374266441

Beginning in Copenhagen and ending in remote Greenland, this suspenseful tale follows a stubborn female investigator through a series of secrets and cover-ups.
Snake Agent by Liz Williams
ISBN: 9781480481077

Detective Inspector Chen deals with both human and supernatural criminals in a city much like Singapore in this other-wordly mystery surrounding the kidnapping of a 14 year old girl
The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley
ISBN: 9780385343497

When Flavia de Luce finds a dying man in a cucumber patch, it sparks a mystery that hits close to home. Flavia, using her understanding of science, is armed with more than enough knowledge to tie two distant deaths together, to examine new suspects, and begin a search that will lead her all the way to the King of England himself.
Tokyo Year Zero by David Peace
ISBN: 0307263746

1946, one year after the Japanese surrender, Detective Minami looks into why women are turning up dead all over Tokyo.
Tourist Season by Carl Hiaasen
ISBN: 9780446695718

Brian Keyes, reporter turned private eye, must move from muckraking to rooting out murder, in a caper set in Florida that mixes explosive devices, football players, politicians, and police with a group of fanatics and a very hungry crocodile.
Zia Summer by Rudolfo A. Anaya
ISBN: 0446518433

Blending Spanish, Mexican and Indian cultures, this story follows a fledgling PI, Sonny Braca as he investigates a murder in New Mexico.