Feast on Twisty Murder Mysteries from Our Mystery Menu
An actual mystery menu might not be a great idea (mystery meat, anyone?) but our Mystery Menu offers a feast for anyone hungry for a thrilling, suspenseful escape. Our Mystery Menu is filled with captivating murder mysteries that you can read or listen to, for free, with Hoopla. Make a meal of some of our favorite mystery books to whip yourself up a mysterious feast.
Click on the buttons below to sample each enticing course!
Appetizer: Bite-Sized Short StoriesKick off your literary meal with some quick, suspenseful flavor! Select this button to explore a collection of short mystery books available as instant eBooks or immersive audiobooks.
Ready for the heavy-hitting course? Tap here to sink your teeth into the freshest, most popular murder mystery books of the year
Finish your meal with something visually stunning. Click this button to browse our dessert selection of mystery comics. These gorgeous, atmospheric stories combine incredible artwork with twisty plots that will keep you guessing until the very last frame.
Appetizer: Bite-Sized Short Stories
Every good meal starts with a tempting first course. These bite-sized mysteries offer a flavorful introduction to the thrills ahead, with just enough suspense to whet your palate.
Murder at the Black Cat Cafe by Seishi Yokomizo and read by Eric Michael Summerer and Cindy Kay
Clocking in at just five hours, this audiobook takes place in postwar Tokyo as the city is recovering from bombing. A cop passing the Black Cat Café finds a woman’s body in a shallow grave with a dead black cat. Her face is unrecognizable. Meanwhile, the café’s black cat is very much alive. Detective Kosuke Kindaichi digs into secrets around the cafe’s owner, Itoshima, and the enigmatic Madam Oshima.
Three Bengal Kittens by Philipp Schott and read by Miles Meili
Just under seven hours. Dr. Peter Bannerman’s brother Sam adopts three Bengal kittens after their neighbor is found dead in a Winnipeg apartment building. Though ruled an accident at first, Sam is arrested for murder. Peter sets out to prove his innocence, while Sam worries more about a missing kitten.
Death by Chocolate Ladyfingers by Sarah Graves
In Eastport, Maine, bakery owners Jake and Ellie from the Chocolate Moose are busy catering a high school reunion. Things turn dark when Cindy Munson is found murdered, and her ex, Terry Lawson, becomes the main suspect. Jake takes in Terry’s daughter Ivy while she and Ellie investigate, uncovering old grudges and dangerous secrets someone wants buried. Just over 250 pages.
Main Entrée: Latest and Greatest Novels
With your appetite fully awakened, it’s time for the main event. These full-length mysteries are rich, satisfying, and packed with enough twists to keep you guessing to the very end.
Murder by Cheesecake by Rachel Eckstrom Courage
How have we lasted so long without a Golden Girls mystery series? Here’s the first installment. Dorothy’s bad date turns up dead in a hotel freezer, ruining a cheesecake and causing chaos at Rose’s St. Olaf-themed wedding in Miami. With the groom’s family being snobby and tensions high, things get messy fast. As suspects pile up (including Dorothy!), the girls team up to find the killer and save the wedding.
The Retired Assassin’s Guide to Country Gardening by Naomi Kuttner and read by Thomas Barker
Dante moves to the small coastal town of Te Kohe, New Zealand, for a fresh start. He just wants peace, privacy, and to forget his past dealing with dead bodies—no B&Bs or romance. But the town has other ideas, and trouble keeps finding him.
Grandma Ruth Doesn’t Go to Funerals by Sharon J. Mondragon
In a gossip-filled small town, bedridden Mary Ruth McCready runs the show from her bed, meddling in everyone’s business. When her friend Charlotte’s dying husband drops a scandalous secret, Mary Ruth and her granddaughter Sarah dig for answers through old gossip and funeral cards. Then Camilla shows up with claims to the inheritance, stirring even more drama as hidden secrets come out, and nothing stays buried for long.
Spellbound by Murder by Stacie Ramey and read by Brenda Scott Wlazlo
Veronica Blackthorne moves her teen daughter to Mystic Hollow, Connecticut, to help run her injured grandmother’s struggling bookstore. She tries to save it by bringing in author Adam Whitford for a festival. But he turns up murdered, and she becomes the main suspect. To clear her name and save the shop, Veronica investigates herself…until she learns the bookstore is magical and that a failed love spell may be behind everything.
Dessert: Graphic Novel Selections
No mystery feast would be complete without a final indulgence. These graphic novels close out the menu with cinematic artwork, atmospheric storytelling, and just the right amount of darkness.
Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees written and illustrated by Patrick Horvath
Don’t kill the locals—that’s Samantha Strong’s rule. She’s a small-town serial killer bear (yes, bear!) living a cozy life in Woodbrook, preferring city victims nearby. But when a mysterious murder hits her town, she has to track the rival killer before everything unravels and suspicion falls on her.
I Am Their Silence written and illustrated by Jordi Lafebre
Eva is a brilliant psychiatrist, but she’s struggling with a bipolar episode while getting pulled into a wealthy wine-making family’s drama. Her patient Penelope invites her to a villa gathering for a will reading, but things go wrong when a family member turns up dead. Now a suspect herself, Eva starts investigating to clear her name, all while dealing with her own unstable mind and eerie visions as she hunts the killer.
The One Hand & The Six Fingers by Ram V. and Dan Watters and illustrated by Laurence Campbell, Sumit Kumar, and Lee Loughridge
In The One Hand, grizzled detective Ari Nasser is about to retire when a murder appears that matches the “One Hand Killer,” a case he already closed twice. In The Six Fingers, archaeology student Johannes Vale is tied to a brutal killing in the style of a historic serial killer, but he can’t remember doing it. Both stories intertwine as the truth drags them deeper into a dark futuristic city full of secrets.
Chew on a Good Mystery
Create your own feast of mystery stories with our Mystery Menu, and then go back for seconds! Happy reading and happy feasting.
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