7 Mystery & Thriller Books to Read for Virgo Season

Stephanie Plum doesn't take anything lying down. As of late, she's out of work and low on cash, so she strong-arms her bail-bondsman cousin Vinnie into letting her work as an apprehension agent.

She doesn't entirely know what the job entails, but she figures her new buddy, bounty hunter Ranger, can show her the ropes. 

Her first gig is to catch former vice cop Joe Morelli, who's dodging a charge of murder one. Unfortunately, Stephanie has some fairly intimate history with Joe—and their chemistry adds some complications to the chase.

While Virgos are now more commonly referred to as the sign of the Maiden, they are also known as the sign of the Virgin. This title has nothing to do with their chasteness, but rather their tendency toward hyper-independence.

Stephanie's take-charge attitude and refusal to throw the towel in will speak to Virgo's self-sufficient and stubborn nature.

In 1857, a militant group of Mormons called the Avenging Angels attacked a wagon train in Utah, killing 140 people. Men, women, and children were slaughtered in the Mountain Meadows Massacre, and the answers to the crime may lie in their skulls.

Present-day forensic artist Gwen Marcey is tasked with reconstructing the faces of the recently unearthed victims of the infamous massacre, she makes a startling discovery. Some of the remains belong to a college student who was ritualistically murdered.

As she works to uncover old truths, she must also unravel fresh fundamentalist terrors. It seems she has a cover-up on her hands that dates back to the beginning of the Mormon Church.

Now a secret society is determined to not only fulfill a prophecy, but to vengefully right old wrongs.

Virgos love information, and a cold case really gets under their skin. Forensics are especially interesting to their analytical and detail-oriented minds.

This books serves as the ultimate puzzle to stimulate their overworking brains.

A year into Jane Darrowfield's retirement, she's already traveled the world, planted a garden, and organized everything from her photos to her spices. And now with plenty of life ahead of her, she's left with nothing else to do.

When Jane helps a friend deal with a complicated personal problem, rumors of her skills jump from her bridge club to the rest of West Cambridge, Massachusetts. Suddenly Jane is the go-to gal when anyone needs a problem discreetly handled.

Her favors escalate to a paid gig when the director of a 55 and up condo community asks her to wind down the hostilities between residents. Moving into the community undercover, Jane soon finds that cliques and immaturity can flourish at any age.

When one of the popular residents is bludgeoned to death and the sprinklers wash away the evidence, Jane must put her skills to the test to catch a killer.

Virgos definitely struggle with minding their own business, and plenty have been accused of offering unwanted advice. Critical and chronically curious, Virgos will love the busybody at the heart of this cozy mystery.

One night, the Tanner sisters—15-year-old Cass and 17-year-old Emma—disappeared. Then three years later Cass returns without Emma, telling a dark tale of kidnapping, betrayal, and a mysterious island.

Forensic psychiatrist Dr. Abby Winter listens to Cass's story and finds that the details just don't add up. She decides to take a deeper look at this messy family, where she finds blurred boundaries and a narcissistic parent.

And, surprisingly, the return of one sister may just be where the crime begins.

It's easy to pick a book featuring a mystery protagonist that a Virgo might relate to. But what about an antagonist that brings out all the worst in them?

In an unflattering light, Virgos are often criticized for being control freaks. This book is a cautionary tale of just how badly things can go wrong when you don't ease up on your need for perfection.

Everything seems bleak when seven-year-old Amanda Chapman is brought to the hospital with acute renal failure. But hope glimmers when the young girl is accepted into a special treatment program at a private hospital in Scotland.

Unfortunately, sinister secrets are hiding within the solemn halls of the hospital. It's up to ex-Special Forces medic Dr. Stephen Dunbar to go undercover and put an end to it.

One of the best professions for a Virgo is a doctor, so a medical thriller will have a natural draw for this earth sign. While other mysteries may rely on emotional elements, medical thrillers heavily rely on facts, symptoms, and logic, which is a Virgo's bread and butter.

Lana Rubicon is a brilliant woman with great taste—and a flourishing Los Angeles real estate empire to show for it. But bad-ass businesswoman or not, she's got a cancer diagnosis determined to stop her in her tracks.

Now she's tucked away in a coastal town 300 miles north of the city, convalescing under the watch of her adult daughter, Beth, and her teenage granddaughter, Jack. She's not sure which is worse: the boredom or the disease.

Boredom is quickly thrown out the window when Jack discovers a dead body while she's out kayaking. Suddenly the teen becomes the center of a murder investigation.

While Beth wants her mother to focus on recovering, Lana would rather throw on a wig and find the real killer, not only to clear her granddaughter's name, but to prove she's still got control over something. With Jack and Beth at her side, Lana sorts through lies, vendettas, and dangerous disputes.

The women in this book are perfect examples of Virgo's “do-it-myself” attitude. After all, why leave it to the professionals when there's a perfectionist on the scene?

Virgos also bring a lot of maternal energy to the table, so this tale of generations of women will connect to their strong feminine spirit.

Ike Randolph may have been out of jail for 15 years with a clean slate, but as a Black man, cops at the door are never a good thing. This time they bring news of his son Isiah's murder, along with his white husband, Derek.

Ike never understood or accepted his son, but his loss shatters him. Derek's father, Buddy Lee, was in a similar position as Ike, except his son was just as embarrassed of him for his criminal past.

Now the two ex-cons who have nothing to bind them beyond their shady history and their painful love for their lost sons band together for revenge. Confronting the truth and their own prejudices, these men are determined to honor their sons in death as they never could in life.

Virgos have a reputation for being harsh and judgmental, and this book offers a beautiful exploration of prejudice and the struggle to overcome it through love and pain.