Many folks have described mysteries and thrillers as puzzles where readers must piece together the clues to figure out whodunit (or howdunit, depending on the book).
Some books are described as chess matches where rivals try to outmaneuver other characters.
Of course, it makes sense that mysteries and thrillers use games, like puzzles or board games, as the central focus of their books.
Here are seven recent mysteries and thrillers that bring puzzles and games into their stories.
The Library Game: A Secret Staircase Novel (Secret Staircase Mysteries Book 4)
It’s book four of the Secret Staircase Mystery series. Former magician Tempest Raj is enjoying working for her dad’s business, Secret Staircase Construction.
That hidden door behind the bookcase? Their business crafts those—but they take it even further making people’s homes and places of work into architectural marvels.
It seems like a dream come true that they are working on the Gray House Library, where the owner wants to host a literary escape room along with a murder mystery dinner.
But someone takes the game too far when one of the actors dies and their body disappears.
Now Tempest has to flex her magic logic skills to figure out how the crime was committed—and why.
Picking Up the Pieces
When Katie Chambers returned to her hometown of Cedar Bay, Washington to help her widowed father, she hadn’t expected that part of her work would be to clear his name.
He is accused of murdering a puzzle artist employed at Cedar Bay Puzzles, where Katie has taken over her mom’s old role.
With her fellow jigsaw puzzle club and help from her ex-boyfriend, Katie tries to put together the clues to see the overall picture to clear her father’s name.
Killer Cube (A Board Game Shop Mystery Book 2)
The second in the Board Game Shop Mystery series, in Killer Cube Ben Rosencrantz is working to make sure the family board game shop, Of Dice and Decks, is a success. All while figuring out his relationship with his ailing dad and his boyfriend.
When their friend, Kit, the non-binary brewery owner, is invited to compete in a Rubik’s Cube competition, they decide to go out to support him.
But when one of their fellow competitors is found burned to death, Ben has to try to clear his friend’s name and find out why anyone would want the puzzler dead.
How to Book a Murder
Here’s another book to continue the theme of murder mystery games. Emma Starrs has returned home to her hometown to help her family’s bookstore, Starlit Bookshop.
Things are not going well, and her sister and aunt need help. So, they decide to add events to their services, which go as badly as you can imagine.
She’s hired to plan a murder mystery theme party for her high school enemy Tabitha Baxter, who is very demanding and nasty at every turn.
But when Tabitha’s husband is found dead during the party, Tabitha is quick to point the finger at Emma and her family. Now Emma has to find a way to keep the bookstore afloat and keep herself and her family out of jail.
The second book in this delightful bibliomystery series, In the Event of Murder, came out in 2024.
The Puzzle Box
Puzzle genius Mike Brink has one mission: open the Dragon Box. Inside, it contains an Imperial secret and has not been opened for 150 years.
The only people who know how to open it have long been dead. So, every 12 years, the Imperial family has a competition to open the box.
But everyone who has tried to open it has died.
Despite the risks, Brink believes he can open the box despite rivals piling against him.
It’s the second in the Puzzle series featuring Mike Brink.
Dominoes, Danzón, and Death
It’s the fourth installment of A Caribbean Kitchen Mystery and it’s a banger. Miriam Quiñones-Smith is busy but loves her life in Miami.
She’s got two children, a successful culinary show (Abuela Approved) and her parents are nearby. Her son Manny is becoming a bit of a virtuoso in dominoes and cooking, which makes Miriam full of pride.
But things are never peaceful for long. First, an arrogant tour guide is found dead in a closed theatre nearby, and Miriam’s good friend and producer is suspected of a crime of passion.
Then, a skeleton is unearthed at her husband’s hotel project. And finally, a fake skeleton with the name “Smith” is found in the bay.
With several mysteries to solve, can Miriam get to the bottom of it all?
Peg and Rose Solve a Murder
Last but not least, we’ve got a book that’s perfect for bridge aficionados. It’s the first in the Senior Sleuth series. Rose Donovan is a dog show judge, and her sister-in-law is a former nun.
They haven’t been able to see eye to eye but are trying to build a friendship. They decide to join the bridge club, but find that there’s more drama there than they have in their relationship.
But when one of the regulars is found shot in his home, Peg and Rose decide to take their new partnership to get to the bottom of it all.
The third book in the series Peg and Rose Play the Ponies came out last year.
