10 Great Fantasy Mystery Books

It’s no mystery we love fantasy. But did you know we also love fantasy mysteries? Sher—lock the door and all the windows, but that might not keep certain creatures out!

Whether cozy, hardboiled, or something in between, mysteries really pickle our red herrings! (Whatever that means...) The books in the list below aren’t all 100% mystery-focused, but they do all have a certain amount of sleuthing.

Without further ado, the game, er, list is afoot!

1. The Ghost Bride by Yangsze Choo: Li Lan, a young woman in 1890s Malaya, is asked to become a ghost bride to a wealthy family’s deceased son and is drawn into the Chinese afterlife to uncover the truth behind his death and secure her own future.

2. Between Two Thorns (The Split Worlds #1) by Emma Newman: Born in the Fae-touched mirror-world, the Nether, Cathy doesn't want to be a debutante, so she runs away to the human world. She's dragged back toward an arranged marriage but ends up helping a border-patroller named Max unravel a high-profile disappearance.

3. Sorcery & Cecilia by Patricia C. Wrede and Caroline Stevermer: Two cousins in an alternate Regency England uncover a magical conspiracy through their witty letter correspondence, all while navigating romance, social scandal, and dangerous enchantments.

4. Fear the Drowning Deep by Sarah Glenn Marsh: Bridey Corkill, a girl terrified of the sea, must confront her fear and unravel the mystery of dangerous sea creatures appearing near her island home while navigating her growing feelings for a mysterious boy who washes ashore.

5. Death Warmed Over by Kevin J. Anderson: Detective Dan Chambeaux is a zombie private eye who, alongside his ghostly girlfriend and eccentric lawyer partner, investigates strange cases in a city where the living and the undead coexist.

6. Half a Soul (Regency Faerie Tales #1) by Olivia Atwater: Dora, a young woman with only half a soul and thus immune to typical emotions, navigates the challenges of Regency society and the faerie world while unraveling a dangerous magical mystery with the help of a grumpy but brilliant sorcerer.

7. For the Emperor by Sandy Mitchell: Reluctant hero Commissar Ciaphas Cain is swept into a deadly political and military crisis on a troubled world, where he must navigate intrigue, alien threats, and his own cowardice to save the Imperium—largely by accident.

8. I Am Not a Serial Killer (John Cleaver #1) by Dan Wells: John Cleaver has the classic traits of a serial killer but is determined not to become one. His unique insight allows him to help the police solve a mystery and save his town from a monster.

9. The Fox Wife by Yangsze Choo: A mysterious fox spirit seeks vengeance for her child’s death, and a retired detective is drawn into her path. Their intertwined journeys unfold across early 20th-century China and Japan in a tale of love, loss, and the supernatural.

10. The Peculiar (The Peculiar #1) by Stefan Bachmann: Changeling siblings Bartholomew and Hettie, wanted by neither fae nor humans, keep to themselves to survive. But that all changes when a mysterious lady whisks away their neighbor in a flurry of feathers, and they’re pulled into a magical mystery.


What’s your favorite fantasy mystery book? Tell us in the comments!

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