Book Lists: Four Mystery Novels That Define the Last Two Decades

A New Yorker critic has released a personal ranking of the best mystery novels published in the twenty-first century. The list includes four major works from the past twenty years and one bonus anthology. The selection prioritizes stories that explore the gap between legal systems and human justice.

The top pick is “The Trespasser” by Tana French. French has written ten novels, including the Dublin Murder Squad series and the Cal Hooper trilogy. Nine of her books were selected by readers for a recent New York Times list of the best thrillers of the century. “The Trespasser” was the only French novel left off that list. The critic defends the choice, noting that the book about a young Irish woman murdered in her home remains the one that sticks with them most often. They have reread the final interrogation scene multiple times.

Kate Atkinson’s “When Will There Be Good News?” takes the second spot. This is the third book in the Jackson Brodie series and is set largely in Scotland. The plot follows the disappearance of a woman and her baby after a family murder. A babysitter named Reggie Chase pulls the detective into the case. Chase later becomes a detective herself in subsequent Atkinson novels. The critic cites the author’s control over chaotic narrative structures as a key strength of the book.

Stieg Larsson’s “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” rounds out the main four. The critic admits to initial ambivalence when first reading the novel, citing hype and the book’s presentation of responses to sexual trauma. However, a rereading this summer changed their mind. They now find the work more nuanced and multilayered than remembered. The novel’s impact includes spawning two sequels, two movies, and a template for hacker-detective stories. It also accelerated the rise of Nordic Noir.

The final main entry is “Wild Dark Shore” by Charlotte McConaghy. This novel crosses into climate fiction. It takes place at a scientific station on an Antarctic island that must be evacuated due to rising sea levels. A shipwrecked woman investigates a missing researcher, an unexplained grave, and beached whales. The critic describes it as a locked-seed-bank mystery that offers a different vision of resilience compared to Larsson’s work.

The bonus pick is a boxed set titled “Women Crime Writers: Eight Suspense Novels of the 1940s & 50s.” The set is edited by Sarah Weinman with notes. It includes novels by Vera Caspary, Dorothy B. Hughes, and Patricia Highsmith. These works fall outside the twenty-year timeframe of the main list, but the new grouping provides a look at mid-century American suspense.

The critic notes that their usual beat is political and legal commentary. They believe the best mysteries share overlaps with politics, specifically regarding skewed balances of power and the tension between public and private identities. They ask for the forbearance of genre specialists, acknowledging they are not the authority on specific sub-series like the Chief Inspector Gamache books.

In other literary news, the movie “The Mosquito Bowl” opens in theaters this weekend. The film stars Nicholas Galitzine, Bill Skarsgård, Ray Nicholson, and Tom Francis. It is based on Buzz Bissinger’s book about a World War II football game between the 4th and 29th Marine Regiments.

Louise Kennedy’s novel “Stations” is scheduled for release on November 3. Set in 1980s Ireland, the book traces the connection between two teenage friends. The title has appeared on multiple lists of anticipated works. Gary Shteyngart’s first collection of personal essays, “The Sensualist: Adventures in Pure Pleasure,” publishes on October 17.

Min Jin Lee recommends Charlotte Brontë’s “Jane Eyre” to readers. She describes the capacity to know a character so intimately from that era as unusual and beautiful.