Mystery

Seven Shakespearean acting students. One elite conservatory. A friendship that ends in murder. Oliver Marks has just been released from prison after serving ten years for the death of one of his closest friends. Now, the detective who helped put him behind bars wants to know what really happened. A decade earlier, at the secluded Dellecher Classical Conservatory, Oliver and six fellow actors were inseparable, their lives blurring the line between the roles they played onstage and the people they became off it. But when fierce rivalries turn into jealousy, betrayal, and violence, their final year takes a deadly turn. Dark, atmospheric, and steeped in Shakespeare, If We Were Villains explores the dangerous consequences of obsession and the stories we tell ourselves to survive.

One summer evening in 1989, seventeen-year-old Silva Vela disappears from a small coastal village in Dalmatia. At first, the police suspect she has run away, but as Yugoslavia begins to unravel, her disappearance becomes a mystery that will haunt two families for decades. Silva’s brother, Mate, refuses to give up searching for her, while the investigation exposes buried secrets, fractured loyalties, and the quiet transformations of a society caught between socialism, war, and capitalism. Spanning thirty years, Red Water is more than a gripping crime novel: it is a portrait of a community slowly changing beyond recognition. Against the backdrop of Croatia’s turbulent recent history, Pavičić explores how a single disappearance can reshape lives, reveal uncomfortable truths, and leave a wound that never quite heals.

Set in Bombay in 1921, The Widows of Malabar Hill introduces Perveen Mistry, one of India’s first female lawyers. Educated in England and working in her father’s legal practice, Perveen encounters an unusual inheritance case involving three Muslim widows who live in seclusion and communicate with the outside world through male representatives. When she discovers inconsistencies in the documents governing their late husband’s estate, she begins to suspect that the women may be vulnerable to manipulation or exploitation. Her investigation becomes more dangerous when a murder draws her deeper into the case. Alongside the mystery, Perveen’s own experiences reveal the limitations placed on women in colonial Indian society, particularly in matters of marriage, education, and professional independence. Massey combines historical detail with a compelling detective story, exploring women’s rights, religious traditions, and the pursuit of justice in a changing society.

Sleep Well, Mommy, also published in English as The Only Child, is a psychological thriller that explores the disturbing connections between childhood, violence, and the origins of evil. Seonkyeong, a criminal psychologist, receives an unexpected opportunity when Yi Byeongdo, a notorious serial killer who has refused to speak publicly, agrees to be interviewed by her. At the same time, her husband brings his eleven-year-old daughter, Hayeong, to live with them following the mysterious deaths of the grandparents who had been raising her. Seonkyeong initially tries to welcome the girl into their home, but Hayeong’s unsettling behaviour soon begins to trouble her. As Seonkyeong investigates the pasts of both the killer and her stepdaughter, she discovers disturbing similarities between them. The more she learns, the more she questions what she thought she understood about Hayeong and the circumstances surrounding her family’s deaths. Blending domestic suspense with criminal psychology, Seo’s novel examines the relationship between childhood trauma, family secrets, and the nature of evil.

Set in a remote Polish village near the Czech border, Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead follows Janina Duszejko, an eccentric older woman who lives in isolation, cares for summer houses, studies astrology, and feels a deep connection with animals and the natural world. When several men in the surrounding community die under mysterious circumstances, Janina develops her own theory about the killings, believing that the animals are taking revenge on those who have harmed them. However, the local authorities dismiss her ideas, partly because of her gender, age, and unconventional beliefs. As the investigation unfolds, the novel combines the structure of a murder mystery with philosophical reflections on justice, morality, and humanity’s relationship with other living creatures. Through dark humour and an unsettling narrative, Tokarczuk challenges assumptions about who deserves sympathy and whose suffering matters. The novel questions human dominance over nature and explores the blurred boundaries between justice, vengeance, and madness.

In 1901, a deadly plague reaches Mingheria, a fictional island in the eastern Mediterranean and the twenty-ninth province of the declining Ottoman Empire. Home to both Muslim and Greek Orthodox communities, the island is already divided by religious tensions and political rivalries. As the epidemic spreads, the Ottoman authorities send experts to impose quarantine measures, but suspicion, resistance, and competing loyalties threaten to undermine every attempt to contain the disease. When a mysterious murder complicates the crisis, the island descends into a struggle involving religious leaders, government officials, scientists, and ordinary people desperate to survive. As the Ottoman administration loses control, the epidemic becomes a catalyst for rebellion and the emergence of a new national identity. Blending historical epic, detective story, and political satire, Nights of Plague explores how fear reshapes societies and how crises expose the fragility of authority. Through an imagined history of an Ottoman island, Pamuk examines nationalism, religious conflict, scientific reasoning, and the human tendency to choose ideology over evidence.

Set in Jaipur in 1969, The Secret Keeper of Jaipur follows Malik, a young man who returns to the city where he grew up to begin an apprenticeship at the royal palace. Under the guidance of Lakshmi, the former henna artist who has become a respected figure in the community, Malik hopes to build a promising future. His work brings him into contact with the wealthy and influential people overseeing the construction of a modern cinema. When the cinema’s balcony collapses on opening night, the resulting tragedy exposes corruption, concealed interests, and the unequal distribution of power. Suspecting that the disaster was not simply an accident, Malik begins investigating the truth, putting himself at risk as he challenges those determined to protect their reputations. Joshi examines social inequality, ambition, and the influence of wealth and privilege in a rapidly changing India.

The Time of the Flies follows Inés, a woman rebuilding her life after spending fifteen years in prison for murdering her former husband’s lover. Released into a society that has changed considerably during her imprisonment, Inés struggles to understand the new social landscape, including shifting attitudes toward gender, sexuality, and women’s rights. She establishes a small fumigation business with another formerly imprisoned woman, hoping to achieve independence and leave her troubled past behind. However, an unexpected request draws her into a new mystery that threatens the fragile stability she has created. Blending crime fiction, dark humour, and social commentary, Piñeiro explores punishment, reintegration, and the difficulties women face when attempting to begin again. The novel asks whether freedom is simply the absence of prison walls or the more complicated ability to shape one’s own future.

Wahala follows three Nigerian-British women—Ronke, Simi, and Boo—who have been friends since university and are navigating their thirties in London. Ronke longs for a family of her own, Simi is trying to balance her marriage with her ambitions, and Boo struggles with the demands of motherhood and a life that feels increasingly disconnected from her former self. Their carefully balanced friendship begins to unravel when Isobel, a glamorous woman with Nigerian roots, enters their lives. As Isobel becomes increasingly involved in their relationships, long-buried insecurities, secrets, and rivalries begin to surface. Blending dark humour with suspense, Nikki May’s novel explores the complexities of female friendship, cultural identity, race, class, and the expectations placed on women. Moving between British and Nigerian cultural influences, Wahala examines how the desire to belong—and the fear of being left behind—can make even the closest relationships vulnerable to manipulation and betrayal.

One anonymous post. One devastating accusation. One month until the wedding. Ola Olajide has built her career exposing powerful men accused of misconduct. As a successful journalist at Womxxxn magazine, she knows exactly what women should do when allegations surface—and what happens when they stay silent. Now, just weeks before her wedding, Ola wakes up to a message that threatens to destroy the future she has imagined: her fiancé, Michael Koranteng, has appeared on a viral online list of men accused of abusive behaviour. Until now, Ola and Michael have been the couple everyone admires. But as the allegations spread, their carefully curated love story begins to unravel. Ola must decide whether to stand by the man she loves or risk becoming the very kind of woman she has spent her career criticising. Meanwhile, Michael insists he is innocent, and the relentless online speculation leaves little room for uncertainty. Sharp, unsettling, and impossible to dismiss, The List explores what happens when the court of public opinion delivers its verdict before all the facts are known. Yomi Adegoke delves into the collision between feminism, accountability, loyalty, and the unforgiving machinery of social media. When the internet decides who you are, can the truth still save you?

Set in Fiji in 1914, A Disappearance in Fiji follows Akal Singh, a 25-year-old Indian police sergeant whose promising career in Hong Kong has been derailed by a professional mistake. Transferred to the British colonial outpost of Fiji as punishment, Akal feels isolated and longs to return to India or Hong Kong. His prospects change when an Indian woman named Kunti disappears from a sugarcane plantation, prompting accusations of kidnapping and attracting unwanted public attention. Assigned to investigate, Akal encounters conflicting accounts from plantation owners, Indian indentured labourers, and Indigenous Fijians. As he uncovers inconsistencies in their stories, he begins to suspect that the disappearance reveals something far more troubling than a simple missing-persons case. Blending historical mystery with social commentary, Rao explores colonial racism, caste prejudice, and the exploitation of indentured Indian workers. Through Akal’s investigation, the novel reveals the inequalities underpinning colonial Fiji while examining how a detective’s understanding of justice can change when he confronts the realities of those living under oppressive systems.

The Name of the Rose is a historical mystery set in an Italian Benedictine abbey in 1327. William of Baskerville, a Franciscan friar with a sharp analytical mind, arrives with his young assistant Adso of Melk just as a series of mysterious deaths begins to trouble the monastery. As William investigates, he discovers that the abbey’s extraordinary library contains forbidden knowledge and that disagreements over religious doctrine have created dangerous rivalries among the monks. The investigation becomes a struggle over the relationship between faith, reason, and the control of information. Eco combines medieval history, detective fiction, and philosophical debate to explore censorship, institutional authority, and the power of books. The novel asks whether knowledge can remain free when institutions fear the consequences of questioning established beliefs, revealing how the pursuit of truth can become dangerous in a world governed by rigid authority.