The Best Mystery Books on Hoopla
I listen to a lot of audiobooks and read a lot of ebooks, and mystery is one of my favorite genres, so today I’m going to share ten of the best mystery books on Hoopla. Hoopla is my go-to for listening to audiobooks or reading ebooks—it’s free to access through many libraries across the country, and it makes it so you can listen to an audiobook or read an ebook on your phone, your tablet, or your computer.
In no particular order, here are
10 of the Best Mystery Books on Hoopla (in audiobook and/or ebook):
Part 1: Mysteries available as Audiobooks
Lives Laid Away by Stephen Mack Jones
This novel features an ex-cop living in Mexicantown in Detroit, who takes it on himself to right wrongs in his community. It’s a thrilling, pulse-racing novel, filled with action and gritty intensity.
Saving Grace by Debbie Babitt
This suspense novel features the first female sheriff in a small town, and a disappearance that brings up decades-old crimes and threatens to fracture the community.
The Secret Life of Miss Mary Bennet by Katherine Cowley
This mystery novel features Mary Bennet, the dull, plain, overlooked sister of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice… but there is more in store for Mary, and when there is a murder at Castle Durrington, she becomes a spy, intent on unravelling the mystery.
(Disclaimer: I’m the author of this book. I’m including it because the narrator is an incredible British comedian who has narrated the entire works of Jane Austen, and she brings the characters and the story to life.)
When No One is Watching by Alyssa Cole
This is an intense Edgar award-winning thriller novel that gives up Hitchcock Rear Window vibes. Neighbors are moving and the neighborhood is becoming gentrified, but the reasons may be sinister…
The Haunting of Tram Car 015 by P. Djèlí Clark
This fantastic mystery novella is only three hours long, and is perfect if you’re in need of a short listen. It’s also perfect for those who like a little fantasy mixed in with their mystery—it features detectives in an alternate history Egypt dealing with djinn and trying to resolve a high-profile tram haunting.
Part 2: Mysteries available as both Audiobooks and Ebooks
The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner
This is a compelling dual-timeline mystery, in which a modern-day woman runs to London—away from her cheating husband—and discovers a clue in the River Thames to a centuries-old mystery. It’s available in ebook and audiobook—I listened to the audiobook, and I loved the three narrators, one for each of the three main characters.
Mango, Mambo, and Murder by Raquel V. Reyes
Culinary mysteries hold a special place in my heart—food and murder, both things that must be shared, right? This is a Caribbean Kitchen mystery, with a dead body at a luncheon…the mystery of which must be solved by our food anthropologist heroine.
The Stranger Diaries by Elly Griffiths
This is a modern Gothic mystery book featuring a high school teacher, Clare Cassidy. Someone is found dead, and on the body is a line from one of Clare’s favorite Gothic stories. The boundaries between reality and fiction become blurred as Clare is drawn into the mystery.
The 7 and ½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton
This book is Groundhog Day meets an Agatha Christie closed-door whodunnit. The investigator must relive a certain day in different bodies as he tries to discover the solution to an impossible murder.
Listen to The 7 and 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle on Hoopla
The Cutting Season by Attica Locke
This is a gripping thriller with two interwoven mysteries—the death of a migrant worker at an antebellum plantation turned tourist attraction, and a missing slave from a hundred years before. Locke is a master storyteller, and the book has been a finalist for a number of awards.
The Best Mysteries on Hoopla: The Classics
You can’t talk about the best mystery books on Hoopla without addressing the classics. A number of classic mystery novels are available, including Elizabeth Peters’ Crocodile on the Sandbank, a huge number of Agatha Christie’s novels, many Sherlock Holmes stories, and the works of Edgar Allan Poe.
Do you have other favorite mystery novels on Hoopla? If so, share in the comments!
Other Mystery Audiobooks
I wrote a new post with my recommendations for full length mystery audiobooks. Some are available on Hoopla; others are available on Libby, Audible, and Libro.fm.
Oooo… I need to listen to The Secret Life of Miss Mary Bennett! Having a good narrator can really enhance a book. An audiobook classic I’ve enjoyed recently is Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier (on Hoopla). It’s suspense rather than mystery but an excellent listen.