Mysteries and thrillers reviewed here in 2021

Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line by Deepa Anappara—A deeply affecting tale of child trafficking in India today

Three Hours in Paris by Cara Black—A suspenseful World War II espionage thriller set in Paris

Death by Disputation (Francis Bacon #2) by Anna Castle—Religious conflict in Elizabethan England fuels this gripping spy story

A Spy in the Struggle by Aya de León—From Aya de León, a brilliant thriller that exposes the FBI’s illegal tactics

The Historians by Cecilia Ekbäck—A spellbinding WWII thriller set in neutral Sweden

A Tip for the Hangman by Allison Epstein—This historical spy story ignores history

Joe Country (Slough House #8) by Mick Herron—Mick Herron’s latest spy thriller will keep you guessing

The Other Americans by Laila Lalami—The immigrant experience in America through many eyes

Devil in a Blue Dress (Easy Rawlins #1) by Walter Mosley—The suspenseful first Easy Rawlins detective novel

Sleep Well, My Lady (Emma Djan #2) by Kwei Quartey—The truth lies undercover in this Ghana murder mystery

Red April by Santiago Roncagliolo—The brutal legacy of terrorism in the Andes

The Abominable Man (Martin Beck #7) by Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö—In the original Nordic noir series, the police come off poorly

Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk—A strange murder mystery set in Poland