Best Sci Fi Mystery Books (2024 Updated)

What an absolute mind binder! This book took me on a journey from point A to point B in a way I never saw coming. I have never been so invested in a story before. Filled with characters that absolutely jumped from the pages as their dreams, desires, fears and failures consumed me.

“Life is nothing how he expected it would be when he was young and living under the delusion that things could be controlled. Nothing ca be controlled. Only endured. ” I thought I knew what I was getting into when I began this book.

Now that I’ve finished it, I wonder how the heck this author did this to me. I definitely feel as if I’ve been tossed out into the universe, reeled back in, only to be tossed out again, repeatedly. While my brain feels like mush and I’m sure I’ll have a book hangover, I already want to jump into this world again and again.

This is a story that will captivate you from the first page to the last. I do not consider this a romance, although there is a wonderful romance that runs through a portion of this story, one that actually made my heart beat faster because of what these characters had to endure.

It’s actually one of the most beautiful tales of love I’ve ever read when you break the story down. I urge you to go in blind with nothing but the blurb to guide you. If sci-fi, super science stories are your thing, you definitely need to look into this one.

If sci-fi, super science, and a love that lasts through the ages is your thing, you need to one click immediately. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book provided by NetGalley and Crown Publishing.

All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Okay, I LOVE some Blake Crouch, I got hooked on him after reading either Dark Matter or the Pines series. This was a great story, based on the existence of time travel and what happens when we alter things when we do it.

It’s complete and utter delicious chaos. I feel like it had a lot of elements similar to Dark Matter but I’m okay with that, it was still good. It’s a great fiction read and I’m sure if this one is great for you, his other ones will be too!.

I wasn’t expecting this book to be one of my new favorites. I love oarado\ time travel movies like terminator, triangle, predestination, back to the future, deja vu, the butterfly effect, groundhog day, in the shadow of the moon, and the tv series DARK.

, so I was blown away to read this book. I’d describe it as closer to butterfly effect, than groundhog day. Enjoy.

This was one of the best books in the series, Cemetary of Lost Books, by Carlos Zafon. He not only writes a compelling drama, but manages to impart historical and philosophical works in his writings.

This book led me to copy and keep some of his philosophy ideas regarding religion and the compulsion of people to join a community in which they can become a part of with each individuals thoughts.

The Subterranean Press editions of Carlos Ruiz Zafons novels are beautiful. The production values are great. If you are already a fan of these books then these are real collectors editions.

This is one of a trio of books and is an excellent read. Once you start it is almost unputdownable. Grips you right from the start, the characterisation is fantastic and pulls you right in. It is almost a disappointment to come to the end of the book! Can’t recommend it highly enough!.

I have all CJ Box books that I can get my hands on used. They are terrific by a talented writer. I especially enjoy the roughness of the job of the game warden, Joe Pickett. He loves his family and close friends , Nate and Liv and baby.

Joe has gone to bat for Nate on many occasions and Nate has come to Joe’s rescue many times. Great Friends!!!! I highly recommend this book and look forward to a new one.

The gripping juxtaposition of wild nature and social media values makes for a scary struggle for Joe Pickett and his family and friends. In many ways it epitomises the dilemmas that face the divided US and the choices that have to be made.

I loved the attention to the description of the mountain terrain of Wyoming, the challenges it presents to locals and visitors who come in search of adventure.

Book was recommended by a friend. Quite different from my usual murder mysteries. Learned lots about wildlife and life in that area, the work of a ranger. Interesting. Looking forward to the next book.

Dead Until Dark is the first book in the Sookie Stackhouse series by popular American author, Charlaine Harris. A cocktail waitress at Sam Merlotte’s bar in Bon Temps, Louisiana, Sookie Stackhouse meets her first vampire when he sits as one of her tables.

Bill Compton is trying to live in the mainstream since vampires “came out of the coffin” some four years before. Sookie has a unique (dis)ability that allows her to read minds, so she finds it quite refreshing to hear nothing at all from Bill’s mind.

But something she does hear from his drinking companions sees her actually saving his life (if that’s possible with someone who is effectively dead until dark). Bill has been restoring old Jessie Compton’s house near the cemetery and close to Sookie’s grandmother, Adele’s house.

His age and Civil War activity make him of interest to Adele and her friends, while Bill and Sookie can’t deny an attraction between them. But Bill’s vampire friends have Sookie concerned, and when young women start turning up strangled, with vampire bites on them, suspicion turns to the undead.

Then another shocking murder has Sookie afraid for her own life. This first book of the series introduces some of the regular characters and establishes some of the ground rules for the world Harris has created.

Her heroine is a feisty woman, a likeable person with a strong sense of independence who is, nonetheless, not immune to a bit of romance. Readers who enjoy this installment will be pleased to know there are a further twelve books in the series, as well as four associated books.

Vampire fun!.

Great copy. Great condition. I did find a surprise school photo of an adorable child tucked away in the back few pages. I’m well pleased with my purchase. 10/10. Would buy from here again. Cheers.

I picked up Charlaine Harris’s Dead Until Dark after reading an article about the author in the Arkansas Times. Harris is an Arkansas native and I wanted to see how she captured the south in her writing.

Dead Until Dark takes place in a small town in Louisiana and follows a young woman named Sookie Stackhouse through her seemingly ordinary life as a waitress. The interesting twist of the novel is that this is a world where vampires are very much real and have “come out of the coffin” to the human public and are trying to live side by side.

The story has a great mix mystery, romance, and humor that creates a great page turner! And it’s an added bonus that this is just the beginnings of a series of books which was turned into a hit HBO series.

I would definitely still read the novel separate to watching the show, while the first few seasons follow the books pretty well, they both go off in different directions that deserve separate (but equal) love and attention!.

It’s a 6 book collection and I haven’t read it yet.

a truly good read at an affordable price extra bonus of being delivered too

Great book series .You get the complete series for a great price.

Superb author who never fails to keep up her fantastic standard of writing. This book kept my attention all through,just like all of the other books by her.

Another in the Brighton Mysteries series and it doesn’t disappoint. Great price and service as always from WoB.

Again very good hard backed copy, in very best of condition, considering this book was second hand.

A great book and the puzzles are definitely ingenious. When I first read it, I missed a couple of puzzles – just thought they were decorations on the wall/ceiling. Would never guessed the culprit. so obvious (to an adult anyway).

Graeme Base’s “The Eleventh Hour” is one of the most-clever and entertaining books I have ever read. I can think of no other book (consisting only of 31 pages!) that can succeed in holding my rapt attention for several hours! Honestly, if you pick up this book, I guarantee you will be pouring over it for at LEAST three hours afterward (and loving every minute of it!).

This book has an adorable storyline that flows rhythmically through its thirty one pages in rhyming verses. It tells the playful story of an elephant’s 11th birthday party. But the happy story ends in an intriguing mystery; a mystery that is left to the readers to solve.

Going back to the beginning, readers explore and study each of the beautiful and skillfully detailed illustrations in order to find clues hidden amidst puzzles and riddles which eventually lead to the mystery’s conclusion.

Base succeeds in creating riddles that are challenging, but not impossible. And there are three or four different methods of coming across the solution to the mystery, which subtly offers several ranges of difficulty, making the mystery solvable for many different ages.

I will always give this book the highest rating available, due to its immense entertainment capabilities and it’s clever storyline. I would not classify this as strictly a “children’s book”, for though young children can have the story read to them, and enjoy it and the colorful pictures; a young child is not likely to solve the mystery on his/her own without a generous amount of help from someone older (or the “top secret solution pages” at the end of the book).

On top of that, I wouldn’t call this a “children’s book” because I have seen grown adults reading, decoding, and loving this book for hours and hours on end! It’s a terrific book that I would recommend to any individual who fancies him or herself a good sleuth with a clever mind and a sharp eye.

It would also be a wonderful idea for a gift. This book is a good way to teach children contemplation and problem-solving skills. Plus, children who follow the mystery to its clever conclusion will find a thrilling sense of satisfaction at seeing something difficult to its end.

Not to mention, it is hours worth of fun rolled up into something that isnt a video game or movie. Buy this book, and I assure you, you will not regret the purchase!.

Ok so. I was scanning another book and found this. A cherished childhood memory. Wow. This book was so fun. Great story great illustrations. Fun riddles and server puzzles hidden within the pages. I need to buy this again for the kids now.

Bought this after watching the inferior TV series based on the book. Much better than the TV adaption. A real page turner. Enjoyed this book very much.

Very good book. I have enjoyed all of Harlan Coben’s books so far. Always a surprise ending.

Harlan Coben has an exceptional gift; he is able to take a plot, twist and turn it so much that you are astonished by the ending. His characters are likeable, believable and three dimensional. You really CARE about them.

well, the good ones anyway. LOL. I notice that he is bringing some secondary characters from previous novels back, which is nice. The plots COULD actually happen, given the right set of circumstances; no fantasies, space aliens, or demons here.

I think that’s one of the things that gets to you; this could HAPPEN! I simply have not read anything by this man that I didn’t like. THE WOODS is no different. I read the book in one weekend. If you like mysterious thrillers that make your eyes fly over the page, then Coben is the author for you.

You will not be disappointed; I promise.

Jude Deveraux did a great job on all 3 of the Medlar Mysteries. Good plot/storyline, action adventure with edge-of-your-seat scenes thrown in. I’d recommend all 4 of them if you can find the 4th book.

I have read all 3 medlar series books the first two were the best. Solving the mystery in this book was easier then the first two.Still will buy next book in this series.

Fabulous Book! Jude Deveraux does it again. Very compelling enjoyed the twists and turns!

Really??? R A Salvotore, you are going to leave us with that ending! It’s a good thing I waited until this part of Drizzt’s story was completely finished before starting to read it. I have Relentless waiting on my shelf ready to go.

Otherwise that cliffhanger would be unbearable.

Ive been reading R.A. Salvatore since 1989 and like a fine wine Mr. Salvatore has only gotten better, thanks for giving me a great read and great characters that will forever be a part of my life!

James Patterson is a brilliant writer. I have now read books 1 – 10 of this series and they are all excellent and impossible to put down.

Love James Patterson, he is the only author I read because I am not a huge book reader but he can always grab my attention. The 10th book of the womens murder mystery series does not let you down. It has just as many twists and turns (if not more) than all the others.

I bought this book because it was about 75% off the retail price. Shipped here FAST too. If I couldn’t find this book at this price I would of waited for the local library to get it. But I love owning it.

I would recommend all James Patterson books especially the women’s murder mystery series.

I’m reading this book right now, but the condition was good for a used book. This whole series is excellent and am enjoying this one too.

I love this book. I have wanted a copy for a while, and really enjoyed getting the book. The plot is awesome. Would definitely recommend.

Love this series. Brings back good memories from reading it back when I was in high school. The books are all good.

Very suspenseful! Lots of great cliffhangers, kept me on edge the whole time!

Anthony Horowitz once again displays his admirable talents and razor-sharp wit with Mayflower Murders, the second of his Susan Ryeland/Atticus Pund Mysteries. As in the first of the series, Magpie Murders, Horowitz generously offers two mysteries in one in this sequel.

This outing reintroduces Susan Ryeland, a former book editor who worked with famous author Alan Conway, now serving as a small hotel owner in Crete. She is exhausted by the daily grind of her new life and uncertain about her future relationship with co-owner and lover Andreas.

As she is pondering her options and regretting leaving the publishing world, she is approached by a couple with an intriguing proposition. The Trehearnes are looking for their missing daughter, whose last known activities included discovering something revelatory in one of Conway’s books.

Apparently, Conway’s “Atticus Pund Takes the Cake” is a mystery heavily influenced by a true crime that took place eight years ago at their hotel, Farlingaye Hall. Their daughter, Cecily, was married on the same day as a murder took place on the property in Suffolk.

The case was quickly closed with the arrest of an immigrant employee. Cecily hinted that she was researching something she found in the fictional story that convinced her that it was a wrongful conviction.

She disappeared before she could tell anyone what she had discovered. Since Conway is deceased, the Trehearnes hope that Susan might be able to help them uncover what Cecily may have deduced from the Pund novel.

Her curiosity piqued, Susan views this timely invitation as way to take some time to re-evaluate her choices, make some much-needed cash, and learn a bit more about her former irascible author. She is also moved by Cecily’s story and wants to help find out what has happened to the young woman.

Upon arriving at Farligaye Hall, Susan feels distinctly unwelcome. As she digs into the history of the true crime, she also begins poring through the Atticus Pund novel searching for.

Anthony Horowitz once again delivers another brilliant murder mystery with Moonflower Murders. Continuing his book-within-a-book format, Moonflower Murders features two novels the present day story of former book editor Susan Ryeland and Atticus Pund Takes the Case, one of the novels she edited for author Alan Conway.

When the daughter of hoteliers Lawrence and Cecily goes missing, they reach out to Susan as they fear her disappearance relates to a murder from eight years ago that occurred at their hotel and is also loosely featured in the third Atticus Pund novel.

As Susan reacquaints herself with the novel, she digs into the murder at the hotel, trying to decipher if the wrong man was convicted of the crime, and what that has to do with the disappearance of daughter Cecily.

Moonflower Murders contains a very strong Agatha Christie vibe. Horowitz sprinkles several Christie-esque Easter eggs throughout the story. Atticus Pund, the detective in the fictional novel featured in the middle of this book, is very reminiscent of Christies Hercule Poirot.

Horowitz does an incredible job of weaving together two different plots that also tie into each other. He builds two sets of incredible characters, and is amazing at delivering enough red herrings to keep the reader guessing for two different mysteries! Fans of Christie and other classic whodunnits will love this book.

Disclaimers: it does contain some crass language and also references sexual circumstances. Five stars out of five. HarperCollins Publishers provided this complimentary copy through NetGalley for my honest, unbiased review.

Another excellent novel from Anthony Horowitz. Well written , every page interesting and rather gripping. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a literary mystery.

This was a great dark academia novel! This is a novel about the main character, Stevie, attempting to solve Ellingham Academy’s famous mystery. When the Academy first opened, the founder and his family faced a tragic fate.

Their lives, a mystery to many for a generation, fascinated Stevie. Now, that she’s attending the Academy, she’s determined to find out what happened to the founder all those years ago. The main character was smart and interesting.

Her goal was to solve the mystery and she actively does whatever she can to reach her goal. There’s so much intrigue and mystery surrounding the Academy and it almost makes me wish I was studying there as well.

The secondary characters, the locations and all the ambition in this novel were executed perfectly. This novel also has some great portrayals of mental illness/ mental health. Highly recommended.

A mysterious remote school high in the Vermont mountains, a mystery that has remained so for generations, and a true-crime aficionado who is determined to put an end to the mystery once and for all – that is if she doesn’t end up part of a whole new one before solving the old.

Stevie Bell arrives at Ellingham Academy ready to perfect her Sherlock deductions and solve a cold case which has haunted the school for decades. Years before the wife and daughter of the founder of the school were mysteriously kidnapped and a ransom was demanded.

Left in the wake of the kidnappings was a clue in the form of a riddle signed Truly Devious. No one has managed to unravel the clues and reveal the true perpetrator of the crime and now Stevie feels it’s her mission to solve but shortly after her arrival at the school, more mysterious events begin to transpire and it now appears her old friend Truly Devious has returned to reek more havoc and death than they did the first time around.

My Thoughts This for me felt like a classic WHO-DONE-IT – lots of twists and turns and enough mystery to keep the reader guessing. I listened on audio and the narrator did a terrific job bringing a large cast to life with convincing differences in tone and inflection.

My only caution with this title (as others have mentioned) is that it is literally part 1 of 3 and while the end wasn’t as abruptly cut off as I had worried reading some of the reviews before I started – but is still very much a TO BE CONTINUED rather than a closing of one part satisfactorily and opening another.

Be prepared to read the next book and I expect book 3 because there is no grand reveal of our murderer Truly Devious in book 1. There is a twist right at the end which does give Book 1 enough ending to not feel completely cheated but I can deeply sympathise with those who read this before the release of Book’s 2 and 3 at the feeling of an excruciatingly long wait to continue the series, I also loved the intricate plotting with our story flipping back and forward from part to present day and slowly unravelling the story of the mystery and the subsequent murder of a student and the reasons for this.

It was skilfully written and let the murder mystery play out naturally and in a structured time line with not all the Information being info-dumped by a character (IE: the baddie) at the end. I hope this style continues.

Midway through the story I was hovering in a near DNF stage but gladly pushed through and was glad I did with the 2 cliffhanger endings a surprise all around. If you love a good who done it – don’t mind investing in a definite 3 book reading session and enjoy a good YA novel – then this could be the one for you.

Truly Devious by Maureen Johnson is a tantalising mystery with interesting, contemporary characters and a fascinating setting. My only criticism about the book is that it’s part of a series (with the mystery not solved until the third book), but the fault is with me for not doing more research!.

I have read all but one of the Shardlake series and I bought this as a gift for someone. The series is a fantastic read. The storylines are compelling, complex and very well woven into the history of the time.

But the ‘small mans’ history of these cruel and turbulant times times of great times, as well as the great political upheavals are vibrant and alive. These books are very well researched and considered.

Beautiful book. I wanted a hardback copy as it is one of my favourite series of books. Reasonable price and fantastic condition. WOB is definitely my favourite bookseller

Although the author had good recommendations, I didn’t rate his style. Its a sort of “history” book novel, but unless you are a lover of history, its not for you! I have read hundreds of novels and non-fiction books in my life and this was one of the least satisfying.

“The Martian Chronicles” by Ray Bradbury is a collection of short stories in a dystopian world and when put together portray humankind’s colonization of Mars. Earth is spiraling down the drain and is on the brink of a nuclear war.

The last resort is to abandon it all and search for new beginnings on Mars. In the first expedition, a Martian woman had dreamed about the human settlers and shortly they were killed by her husband. The next expedition the travelers were killed by a Martian phycologist.

Consequently, the third expedition conducted by the Earthmen led the Martians to retaliate by using their telepathy forces to trick the men into believing their dead relatives were amongst them. The expeditions repeatedly failed and the crews were faced with the ultimate consequence of their own lives.

Surprisingly, things took a turn in favor of the Earthmen on the fourth attempt as they found out that the majority of the Martian race was exterminated as if they were parasites. Chickenpox a common human disease but not so common to the Martians gave the Earthmen the opportunity to inhabit the planet and convert it into essentially a second Earth.

Settlers had tried making the planet more like home by planting trees to create oxygen, changing the names of places, constructing buildings, and trying to convert what was left of the Martian population.

Some people went back to Earth after being radioed for help because of the ongoing war. The chronicles ended with a family of five going to Mars to start a new life starting with the father burning anything related to Earth.

I would recommend this book to anyone into nostalgia and not into gory science fiction movies.

There are some books that defy classification — they slip from the clenched fists of genre’s restrictive grasps, and seem almost above critique. Their sums are greater and longer lasting, more impactful than their parts.

They represent some of the best of what the human mind can create, and remain strangely timeless despite the fact that science or culture may surpass their literal truths. The Martian Chronicles is one such book.

Famously referred to by author Ray Bradbury as “a book of stories pretending to be a novel”, the disparate parts somehow come together to form something more than a novel. Like Tolkien’s war of the ring, this story of the settlement of Mars and its aftermath transcends genre-fiction and somehow becomes more like fictional history — or, in this case, a cautionary fable.

Throughout these stories, the reader encounters themes of xenophobia, imperialism, censorship, war, and racism (though the story dealing with this most directly, “Way in the Middle of the Air”, where, back on Earth, all black people decide to emigrate to Mars, is stupidly cut from many of the later editions).

Although Bradbury tends to stick to these broad strokes throughout, rather than focusing on individual characters, there are also stories that chronicle the more personal struggles of violence, fear, loneliness, and isolation.

Yet somehow it never manages to get mired down in its own bleak moralizing. Bradbury knows when to apply a light touch, and it never feels as if he is lecturing or proselytizing. In fact, sometimes the tone of the book, while sometimes drifting into Bradbury’s trademark syrupy and sentimental nostalgia, sometimes swings unexpectedly into the other extreme, describing deaths, plague, genocide, and near-extinction with an irreverent, almost flippant tone.

It’s a harsh dichotomy that he employs to great effect throughout these stories. Although Bradbury had one time said, of Kurt Vonnegut, “He couldn’t see the world the way I see it. I suppose I’m too much Pollyanna, he was too much Cassandra,” and I generally agree with this assessment (Vonnegut could never have written Dandelion Wine, Bradbury could never have written Breakfast of Champions) I think they were occasionally more alike than he realized.

As I said earlier, the sum total of the effect of reading these stories is greater than any individual tale might work as a standalone, but there are definitely some highlights. “The Third Expedition”, where Martians use their psychic abilities to greet the arriving Earthlings by projecting images of the hometowns of their childhoods and appearing as their long-lost loved ones in order to lure them into a false sense of complacency before killing them would not be out of place in any horror collection.

“Usher II” is a tongue-in-cheek cautionary tale about the dangers of censorship and book burning, where reading the stories of Edgar Allan Poe would literally have saved the lives of several murder victims.

“The Silent Towns” is a dry tale of gallows humor where the last man on Mars seeks out the last woman, and then runs from her when he realizes she is unattractive. The real emotional punch, though, comes in the last three stories, where we are shown the grim reality of the fact that we have carelessly destroyed not one, but two planets.

In true Bradbury fashion, however — and perhaps this is his most stark difference when contrasted with Vonnegut — he leaves us with one last glimmer of hope, in one of the most beautiful ending scenes ever written in a sci-fi novel.

Or any novel. The Martian Chronicles is a mirror — or rather, a twisted series of funhouse mirrors, showing us the uncomfortable and grotesque images of the worst parts of ourselves stretched and distorted and put under a harsh, glaring light.

Mars is the backdrop, but is largely inconsequential — its a stage for Bradbury to put our species on display. Even after the characters and events in these stories start to fade out of your mind, there is something about this work as whole that stays with you for years after reading it.

This will be one of those books that you return to periodically at different stages in your life. Reading this now in my 20’s was a very different experience from reading it as a 12 year old, and I’m sure reading it again in my 30’s will bring an even deeper understanding.

In its Hirsohima-inspired penultimate story, “There Will Come Soft Rains,” Bradbury uses the 1920 poem by Sara Teasdale against a chilling backdrop of a silent post-fallout Earth, and these words sum up Bradbury’s message here far better than I ever could.

Rating: A There will come soft rains and the smell of the ground, And swallows circling with their shimmering sound; And frogs in the pools, singing at night, And wild plum trees in tremulous white, Robins will wear their feathery fire, Whistling their whims on a low fence-wire; And not one will know of the war, not one Will care at last when it is done.

Not one would mind, neither bird nor tree, If mankind perished utterly; And Spring herself, when she woke at dawn, Would scarcely know that we were gone.

Ray Bradbury’s tale of Mars’ colonization mixes philosophy and mysticism to reveal the motivations and faces of the real Martians.

Huge book. settle down with a glass or two of something and be prepared to engross yourself in a masterful mystery. The format is imaginative, the story fascinating and the detection and eventual unravelling worth the effort.

Great book.

A complex murder mystery, keeps you guessing from very early on in the book. Similar in structure to its forerunner ‘Magpie Murders’, it is simply a joy to read and a real page turner.

A great start to a trilogy. I finished the series in about a week. I DEVOURED these books. They’re kooky, charming, and relatable, all while also going back to the silver age of Hollywood.

This books contents were amazing and I would recommend it to anyone and everyone because of its amazing story line. However, i did receive this book with a tear in the covering of it, I didn’t pursue it because the book took a while to come in and I didn’t want to have to return it and wait even longer.

So i’m a little disappointed with booktopia for that.