Amateur sleuths books
Amateur sleuths books to start from. Open one to see books like it, or tell BookSense what you loved for four picks made for you.
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New to the genre? These 5 are the books to read first.
The Murder at the Vicarage
Agatha ChristieThe first novel featuring Miss Jane Marple, establishing the archetype of the elderly village observer whose grasp of human nature solves local murder.
Whose Body?
Dorothy L. SayersIntroduces Lord Peter Wimsey, establishing the aristocratic gentleman-dilettante tradition of Golden Age amateur sleuths.
A Morbid Taste For Bones
ellis petersThe first Brother Cadfael chronicle, popularizing the historical amateur detective through a 12th-century Benedictine monk.
The Cat Who Could Read Backwards
Lilian Jackson BraunIntroduced reporter Jim Qwilleran and his Siamese cat Koko, helping establish the pet-centered cozy mystery model.
The Word Is Murder
Anthony HorowitzA modern meta-mystery in which the author writes himself into the narrative as a reluctant sidekick to a disgraced consultant.
Chosen and described with AI from our notes on the genre.
More amateur sleuths books
- Strong Poison
Strong PoisonDorothy L. Sayers - Auntie Poldi and the Sicilian Lions
Auntie Poldi and the Sicilian LionsMario Giordano - This Pen for Hire
This Pen for HireLaura Levine - Restoration HeightsRestoration HeightsWil Medearis
- Park Lane South, Queens
Park Lane South, QueensMary Anne Kelly - A Good Girl's Guide to Murder
A Good Girl's Guide to MurderHolly Jackson2019 - The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-TimeMark Haddon2002 - The Inheritance Games
The Inheritance GamesJennifer Lynn Barnes2020 - A morbid taste for bones
A morbid taste for bonesEdith Pargeter1977 - The cat who ate Danish modern
The cat who ate Danish modernLilian Jackson Braun1967 - Paws and Effect
Paws and EffectSofie Kelly2016 - Death by Tiara
Death by TiaraLevine, Laura2015