Mysteries and thrillers reviewed in 2020
Victim 2117 (Department Q #8) by Jussi Adler-Olson—The latest Department Q police procedural takes on terrorists
The Decent Inn of Death (John Madden #6) by Rennie Airth—Retired Scotland Yard detectives face off with a suspected war criminal
The Long and Faraway Gone by Lou Berney—A prize-winning novel of suspense probes the impact of trauma
A Double Life by Flynn Berry—A thriller that falls prey to the curse of the second novel
The Secret Guests by Benjamin Black—Booker Award winner Benjamin Black returns to historical fiction
The Gang That Couldn’t Shoot Straight by Jimmy Breslin—Jimmy Breslin’s hilarious classic novel about the Mafia
To Shield the Queen (Ursula Blanchard #1) by Fiona Buckley—A worthy murder mystery set in the court of Queen Elizabeth I
A Game of Lies (Hannah Vogel #3) by Rebecca Cantrell—Undercover at the 1936 Berlin Olympics
Murder by Misrule (Francis Bacon Mystery #1) by Anna Castle—A lawyer is murdered in the Elizabethan Age
Mexico Set (Bernard Samson #2) by Len Deighton—In Len Deighton’s classic spy series, Bernard Samson goes to Mexico
Moscow Sting (Anna Resnikov #2) by Alex Dryden—A former British intelligence officer imagines a female Russian superspy
House on Fire (Nick Heller #4) by Joseph Finder—Joe Finder’s excellent novel about the family that started the opioid epidemic
Prince of Spies (Richard Prince #1) by Alex Gerlis—British spies and the Nazi V-2 rocket
Groucho Marx and the Broadway Murders (Groucho Marx Mysteries #4) by Ron Goulart—Groucho Marx solves two baffling murders
Groucho Marx, Secret Agent (Groucho Marx Mysteries #5) by Ron Goulart—Groucho Marx exposes Nazi spies in Hollywood
Groucho Marx, King of the Jungle (Groucho Marx Mysteries #6) by Ron Goulart—Groucho Marx solves another baffling murder
The Comedians by Graham Greene—Expatriates observe Haiti’s reign of terror in a classic Graham Greene novel
Camino Winds by John Grisham—A hurricane, a murder, and a nursing home scam
The Humans by Matt Haig—Kurt Vonnegut lives in Matt Haig’s novel
The Case of the Love Commandos (Vish Puri #4) by Tarquin Hall—India’s #1 private detective and the Love Commandos
Jade Dragon Mountain (Li Du #1) by Elsa Hart—An intriguing murder mystery set in 18th century China
The Catch (Slough House #9) by Mick Herron—About that billionaire who committed suicide in prison
The Talented Mr. Ripley (Ripley #1) by Patricia Highsmith—A classic mystery novel about a creepy criminal
Clean Hands by Patrick Hoffman—A diabolically clever thriller about corporate espionage
Hi Five (IQ #4) by Joe Ide—Multiple personalities, neo-Nazis, and a psychopathic arms dealer
Agents of Innocence by David Ignatius—The CIA and the PLO in Cold War Beirut
The Paladin by David Ignatius—The latest from David Ignatius is a little hard to believe
Death of a Dissident (Inspector Porfiry Rostnikov #1) by Stuart M. Kaminsky—A grim murder mystery set in the USSR
The Fire Witness (Joona Linna #3) by Lars Kepler—Nordic Noir at its best
Scandinavian Noir: In Pursuit of a Mystery by Wendy Lesser—Down the rabbit hole of Nordic noir
The Lady in the Lake by Laura Lippman—Laura Lippman’s shifting point of view in her latest novel
A Spectacle of Corruption (Benjamin Weaver #2) by David Liss—Rampant political corruption in 18th century England
The Cutting Season by Attica Locke—Attica Locke’s brilliant second mystery novel
Black Water Rising (Jay Porter #1) by Attica Locke—Corporate crime and political corruption dominate this promising debut
An Expensive Education by Nick McDonell—Special Forces are up to no good in Somalia
The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides—The Silent Patient underwhelms as a psychological thriller
Death in the East (Wyndham & Banerjee #4) by Abir Mukherjee—A murder mystery in the British Raj
Lover Man (Artie Deemer #1) by Dallas Murphy—An accidental detective solves not one mystery but several
Nairobi Heat by Mukoma Wa Ngugi—An African American detective investigates the Rwanda genocide
Beijing Payback by Daniel Nieh—Dirty money from China is at the root of this thriller
Dead Land (V. I. Warshawski #21) by Sara Paretsky—The private eye as investigative reporter
The Godwulf Manuscript (Spenser #1) by Robert B. Parker—The first Spenser novel by the “Dean of American Crime Fiction”
Heresy (Giordano Bruno #1) by S. J. Parris—An historical spy thriller in the Elizabethan Age
The Leper of St. Giles (Brother Cadfael #5) by Ellis Peters—Brother Cadfael stars in a gripping medieval murder mystery
The Virgin in the Ice (Brother Cadfael #6) by Ellis Peters—Organized crime medieval style, in a complex Brother Cadfael mystery
Disappearing Earth by Julia Phillips—A mystery set in a remote corner of Siberia
The Missing American (Emma Djan #1) by Kwei Quartey—A nitty-gritty view of Ghana today in this inventive detective novel
East of Hounslow (Jay Qasim #1) by Khurrum Rahman—Undercover, a small-time drug dealer becomes an accidental jihadist for MI5
The Collaborator of Bethlehem (Omar Yussef #1) by Matt Rees—A murder in Palestine exposes the fault lines in the refugee community
Masked Prey (Prey #30) by John Sandford—John Sandford’s millionaire investigator takes on the alt-right
Provisionally Yours by Antanas Sileika—A fascinating spy story set in Lithuania following World War I
The Fire Engine That Disappeared (Martin Beck #5) by Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö—A gripping tale in the original Nordic Noir series
The Coldest Warrior by Paul Vidich—Project MK-Ultra and the scientist who fell to his death
The End of October by Lawrence Wright—An all-too timely thriller about a pandemic
