If you liked this post on the Goodreads Choice Mystery Awards 2024, check out some more Bookish Bites:
The Goodreads Choice Mystery Awards 2024 nominee list has been released! In this post we’ll check out the 20 nominated mystery and thriller titles! From pulse-pounding whodunits to dark psychological twists, this year’s lineup is full of fan-favourites to add to your reading list!
With high-stakes plots, fascinating detectives, and secrets lurking around every corner, these books are ones you won’t want to miss. So grab your notepad, TBR cart and book bags and let’s get reading!
How many of the books on the Goodreads Choice Mystery Awards list for 2024 have you read?
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Series or Standalone? :
This is a standalone novel.
"All the Colours of the Dark" Book Blurb:
Late one summer, the town of Monta Clare is shattered by the abduction of teenager Joseph ‘Patch’ Macauley. Nobody more so than Saint Brown, who will risk everything to find her best friend. But when she does: it will break her heart. Patch lies alone in a pitch-black room – until he feels a hand in his. Her name is Grace and, though they cannot see each other, she lights their world with her words. But when he escapes: there is no sign she ever even existed. Left with only her voice and her name, he paints her from broken memories – and charts an epic search to find her. As years turn to decades, and hope becomes obsession, Saint will shadow his journey – on a darker path to hunt down the man who took them – and set free the only boy she ever loved. Even if finding the truth means losing each other forever.
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Series or Standalone? :
This is a standalone novel.
"Darling Girls" Book Blurb:
It’s not just secrets buried at Wild Meadows. For as long as they can remember, Jessica, Norah and Alicia have been told how lucky they are. Rescued from family tragedies and raised by a loving foster mother on an idyllic farming estate, they were given an elusive second chance of a happy family life. But their childhood wasn’t the fairytale everyone thinks it was. And when a body is discovered under the home they grew up in, the foster sisters find themselves thrust into the spotlight as key witnesses. Or are they prime suspects?
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Series or Standalone? :
This is a standalone novel.
"First Lie Wins" Book Blurb:
At a party with her fiancé Ryan Sumner, Evie Porter is not looking for trouble. But trouble has found her. A woman approaches. She’s using her name. And Evie knows it’s a warning. Because Evie Porter is not her real name. It’s her job. Ryan Sumner is not her future husband. He’s her target. And this woman showing up now can only mean one thing. Her employer is watching. One mistake and she’s dead. To save herself, and escape her employer for good, Evie must set the last perfect trap. Which means using herself as bait.
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Series or Standalone? :
This is a standalone novel.
"Home is Where the Bodies Are" Book Blurb:
Beth’s life hasn’t worked out the way she planned. After her father walked out on their family with a note simply saying ‘I’m sorry’, she became obsessed with finding him. An obsession that destroyed her relationship with her husband and her daughter. She just has her dying mother left, Beth taking care of her as best she can until she breathes her final, shocking words: Your father. He didn’t disappear. Don’t trust. Still processing these words, Beth receives a surprise call to say her sister has been attacked and rushed to hospital. Soon after, she finds both estranged sister and brother moving back into the family home. She makes sure to lock her bedroom door at night. Her sister can’t be trusted. Desperate to revisit happier memories, the siblings find themselves watching home videos of their childhood. It feels like a good idea, until the footage cuts to a dead girl in the woods at night, their father covered in blood, their mother’s voice panicked. They’d love to believe it’s fake, but they know the little girl in the video. It’s their old neighbour, Emma Harper, who vanished in 1999. Burying their mother is already hard enough, but will Beth and her siblings survive the truth of what really happened to that little girl?
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Series or Standalone? :
This is a standalone novel.
"House of Glass" Book Blurb:
8-year-old Rose Barclay refuses to talk after the shocking death of her nanny in the midst of her parents’ acrimonious divorce. Attorney Stella Hudson is determined to help Rose speak, and discover what really happened. As Stella unravels the secrets of the Barclay family, the past and present collide with shocking consequences. Everyone is a suspect in the nanny’s murder. Even Rose. Is the person Stella’s supposed to protect the one she may need protection from?
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Series or Standalone? :
This is Book One of the ‘Castle Knoll Files’.
"How to Solve Your Own Murder" Book Blurb:
In 1965, Frances Adams was told by a fortune teller that one day she’d be murdered. Frances spent the next sixty years trying to prevent the crime that would be her eventual demise. Of course, no one took her seriously – until she was dead. For Frances, being the village busybody was a form of insurance. She’d spent a lifetime compiling dirt on every person she met, just in case they might turn out to be her killer. In the heart of her sprawling country estate lies an eccentric library of detective work, where the right person could step in and use her findings to solve her murder. When her great-niece Annie arrives from London and discovers that Frances’ worst fear has come true, Annie is thrust into her great-aunt’s last act of revenge against her sceptical friends and family. Frances’ will stipulates that the person who solves her murder will inherit her millions. Can Annie unravel the mystery and find justice for Frances, or will digging up the past lead her into the path of the killer?
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Series or Standalone? :
This is a standalone novel.
"Listen for the Lie" Book Blurb:
Lucy Chase can’t remember anything about the night her best friend was murdered. Lucky her, you’re probably thinking. Who would want that to be their last memory of someone they love? But for Lucy, it’s become an issue. Because everyone thinks she did it. But that was five years ago, and Lucy has put it all behind her. Or at least, she thought she had, until an interfering yet not bad-looking podcaster offers her the opportunity to join his investigation into the night she forgot. On the one hand, if she’s a murderer, it’s probably better to know – right? On the other, if she didn’t do it, she’ll be putting herself back in the sights of the person who did. And either way, if you’ve already killed once, what’s to stop you from doing it again?
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Series or Standalone? :
This is a standalone novel.
"Middle of the Night" Book Blurb:
On July 15, 1994, ten-year-old Ethan and his best friend Billy fell asleep together in their quiet New Jersey cul de sac. In the morning, Ethan woke up alone. The tent was sliced open, and Billy was gone, taken. He was never seen again. Thirty years later, Ethan has returned to Hemlock Circle, still desperate for answers. Who took Billy? Plagued by bad dreams and insomnia, he begins to notice strange things happening on the street under the cover of darkness. Someone is prowling the cul-de-sac when no one is awake to see them. Are they still out there? This isn’t a bad neighbourhood. These aren’t bad people. What if they are?
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Series or Standalone? :
This is a standalone novel.
"Not What She Seems" Book Blurb:
After years of self-exile, Jacinda “Jac” Brodie is back in Brook Haven, South Carolina. But the small cliffside town no longer feels like home. Jac hasn’t been there since the beloved chief of police fell to his death―and all the whispers said she was to blame. That chief was Jac’s father. Racked with guilt, Jac left town with no plans to return. But when her granddad lands in the hospital, she rushes back to her family, bracing herself to confront the past. Brook Haven feels different now. Wealthy newcomer Faye Arden has transformed the notorious Moor Manor into a quaint country inn. Jac’s convinced something sinister lurks beneath Faye’s perfect exterior, yet the whole town fawns over their charismatic new benefactor. And when Jac discovers one of her granddad’s prized possessions in Faye’s office, she knows she has to be right. But as Jac continues to dig, she stumbles upon dangerous truths that hit too close to home. With not only her life but also her family’s safety on the line, Jac discovers that maybe some secrets are better left buried.
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Series or Standalone? :
This is a standalone novel.
"Society of Lies" Book Blurb:
Maya has returned to Princeton for her college reunion – it’s been a decade since she graduated, and this visit is special because she will also be attending the graduation of her little sister, Naomi. But what should have been a dream weekend becomes Maya’s worst nightmare when she receives the news that Naomi is dead. The police are calling it an accident, but Maya suspects that there is more to the story than they are letting on. As Maya pieces together what happened in the months leading up to her sister’s death, she begins to realise how much Naomi hid from her. Despite Maya’s warnings, Naomi had joined Sterling Club, the most exclusive social club on campus – the same one Maya belonged to. And if she had to guess, Naomi was likely tapped for the secret society within it. Maya knows that her sister isn’t the first person in the society to turn up dead. Now every clue is leading Maya back to the past and to the secret she’s been keeping all these years.
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Series or Standalone? :
This is a standalone novel.
"The Boyfriend" Book Blurb:
She’s looking for the perfect man. He’s looking for the perfect victim. Sydney Shaw, like every single woman in New York, has terrible luck with dating. She’s seen it all- men who lie in their dating profile, men who stick her with the dinner bill, and worst of all, men who can’t shut up about their mothers. But finally, she hits the jackpot. Her new boyfriend is utterly perfect. He’s charming, handsome, and works as a doctor at a local hospital. Sydney is swept off her feet. Then the brutal murder of a young woman-the latest in a string of deaths across the coast-confounds police. The primary suspect? A mystery man who dates his victims before he kills them. Sydney should feel safe. After all, she is dating the guy of her dreams. But she can’t shake her own suspicions that the perfect man may not be as perfect as he seems. Because someone is watching her every move, and if she doesn’t get to the truth, she’ll be the killer’s next victim.
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Series or Standalone? :
This is a standalone novel.
"The God of the Woods" Book Blurb:
Some said the family deserved it. That they never even thanked the searchers who stayed out for five nights in the freezing forest trying to help find their missing son. Some said there was a reason it took the family so long to call for help. That they knew what happened to the boy. Now, fifteen years later, the Van Laars’ teenage daughter has gone missing in the same wilderness as her brother. Some say the two disappearances aren’t connected. Some say they are.
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Series or Standalone? :
This is a standalone novel.
"The Heiress" Book Blurb:
When Ruby McTavish Callahan Woodward Miller Kenmore dies, she’s not only North Carolina’s richest woman, she’s also its most notorious. The victim of a famous kidnapping as a child and a widow four times over, Ruby ruled the tiny town of Tavistock from Ashby House, her family’s estate high in the Blue Ridge Mountains. But in the aftermath of her death, her adopted son, Camden, wants little to do with the house or the money – and even less to do with the surviving McTavishes. Instead, he rejects his inheritance, settling into a normal life as an English teacher in Colorado and marrying Jules, a woman just as eager to escape her own messy past. Ten years later, his uncle’s death pulls Cam and Jules back into the family fold at Ashby House. Its views are just as stunning as ever, its rooms just as elegant, but the legacy of Ruby is inescapable. And as Ashby House tightens its grip on Jules and Camden, questions about the infamous heiress come to light. Was there any truth to the persistent rumours following her disappearance as a girl? What really happened to those four husbands, who all died under mysterious circumstances? And why did she adopt Cam in the first place? Soon, Jules and Cam realise that an inheritance can entail far more than what’s written in a will – and that the bonds of family stretch far beyond the grave.
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Series or Standalone? :
This is a standalone novel.
"The Last One at the Wedding" Book Blurb:
Frank Szatowski hasn’t seen his daughter Maggie in years, and it breaks his heart every day. So when she calls him out of the blue, to tell him that she’s getting married and he’s invited, Frank is overjoyed. Maggie is marrying into one of the richest families in the country, and Frank finds himself overwhelmed by the social circle she now moves in. He’ll do anything to reconnect, though, and arrives at their New Hampshire estate ready to bond however he can with Maggie’s in-laws. But as the wedding weekend gets underway, it becomes clear to Frank that although they have spared no expense, there’s something strange about Maggie’s fiancé. And maybe Frank shouldn’t be celebrating just yet.
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Series or Standalone? :
This is a standalone novel.
"The Midnight Feast" Book Blurb:
Midsummer, the Dorset coast. In the shadows of an ancient wood, guests gather for the opening weekend of The Manor: a beautiful new countryside retreat. But under the burning midsummer sun, darkness stirs. Old friends and enemies circulate among the guests. And the candles have barely been lit for a solstice supper when the body is found. It all began with a secret, fifteen years ago. Now the past has crashed the party. And it’ll end in murder.
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Series or Standalone? :
This is Book 2 in the ‘Molly the Maid‘ series.
"The Mystery Guest" Book Blurb:
Molly Gray wears her Head Maid badge proudly for every shift at the Regency Grand Hotel, plumping pillows, sweeping up the guests’ secrets, silently restoring rooms to a state of perfection. But when a renowned guest – a famous mystery writer – drops very dead in the grand tea room, Molly has an unusual clean-up on her hands. As rumours and suspicion swirl in the hotel corridors, it’s clear there’s grime lurking beneath the gilt. And Molly knows that she alone holds the key to the mystery. But unlocking it means thinking about the past, about a dusty old house, and everything else she’s tidied away in her memory. Because Molly knew the dead guest once upon a time – and she knows his secrets too.
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Series or Standalone? :
This is a standalone novel.
"The Night We Lost Him" Book Blurb:
One beautiful Californian evening, a wealthy businessman falls to his death from his secluded cliff-top house onto the rocks below. A tragic accident? Or murder? Nora and her half-brother Sam suspect it may be the latter, and team up to uncover the truth of what really happened that night. But their relationship has never been easy, and it is about to be tested to the limit as they start to question how well either of them really knew their elusive father. Unravelling his mysterious past takes them back to a world they knew nothing about, to a tangled love affair and a web of relationships that other people would far rather stay buried.
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Series or Standalone? :
This is a standalone novel.
"The Return of Ellie Black" Book Blurb:
It’s been twenty years since Detective Chelsey Calhoun’s sister vanished when they were teenagers, and ever since she’s been searching: for signs, for closure, for other missing girls. But happy endings are rare in Chelsey’s line of work. Then a glimmer: local teenager Ellie Black, who disappeared without a trace two years earlier, has been found alive in the woods of Washington state. But something is not right with Ellie. She won’t say where she’s been, or who she’s protecting, and it’s up to Chelsey to find the answers. She needs to get to the bottom of what happened to Ellie: for herself, and for the memory of her sister, but mostly for the next girl who could be taken–and who, unlike Ellie, might never return.
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Series or Standalone? :
This is a standalone novel.
"The Teacher" Book Blurb:
Eve has a good life. She gets up each day, gets a kiss from her husband Nate, and heads off to teach math at the local high school. All is as it should be. Except last year, Caseham High was rocked by a scandal, with one student, Addie, at its centre. And this year, Eve is dismayed to find the girl in her class. Addie can’t be trusted. She lies. She hurts people. She destroys lives. At least, that’s what everyone says. But nobody knows the real Addie. Nobody knows the secrets that could destroy her. And Addie will do anything to keep it quiet.
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Series or Standalone? :
This is Book One in the ‘We Solve Murders’ series.
"We Solve Murders" Book Blurb:
Steve Wheeler is enjoying retired life. He does the odd bit of investigation work, but he prefers his familiar habits and routines: the pub quiz, his favourite bench, his cat waiting for him when he comes home. His days of adventure are over: adrenaline is daughter-in-law Amy’s business now. Amy Wheeler thinks adrenaline is good for the soul. As a private security officer, she doesn’t stay still long enough for habits or routines. She’s currently on a remote island keeping world-famous author Rosie D’Antonio alive. Which was meant to be an easy job. Then a dead body, a bag of money and a killer with their sights on Amy have her sending an SOS to the only person she trusts. A breakneck race around the world begins, but can Amy and Steve stay one step ahead of a deadly enemy?
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If you liked this post on the Goodreads Choice Mystery Awards 2024, check out some more Bookish Bites:
