5 Literary Novels That Are Also Alluring Mysteries

As a writer of mysteries and thrillers, I devour dozens of suspense novels every year, and I absolutely love the rush they deliver. But sometimes, I crave something slower, more contemplative—that’s why I’m also a devoted reader of contemporary literary fiction. With these books, I’m willing to trade a jaw-dropping twist for in-depth character development, prose so rich you often pause to better savor it and plots that defy formula — sometimes in wonderfully quirky ways (I’m looking at you, All Fours).

But that kind of trade isn’t alwaysnecessary. Many literary novels still involve a profound mystery and the protagonist’s drive to uncover the truth — because isn’t that at the heart of being human? As Jack Burden says in Robert Penn Warren’s All the King’s Men: “There’s the cold in your stomach, but you open the envelope, you have to open the envelope, for the end of man is to know.”

When I’m reading a literary novel with a mystery smack in the center, I feel like I’m getting the best of both worlds. Here are five of my favorites in this genre. They’re so good that, like me, you might decide to read them a second time even though the mystery has already been solved.

While I Was Gone by Sue Miller

Jo Becker seems to have a charmed life — a devoted husband, three daughters and a successful career as a veterinarian — until she runs into Eli, a former housemate from her time in a commune that ended after another resident, Jo’s friend Dana, was brutally murdered. Reconnecting with Eli stirs Jo’s buried restlessness and leads to a dangerous flirtation that threatens her carefully built life. And looming over everything is the unsettling question from the past that gives the novel its quiet menace: Who really killed Dana?

The Pilot’s Wife by Anita Shreve

Kathryn Lyons is awakened in the middle of the night by someone bringing devastating news: the plane her husband, Jack, was piloting from London has exploded, killing everyone on board. What first appears to be a tragic accident soon turns darker when investigators reveal the aircraft was brought down by a bomb. As disturbing details about Jack emerge — mysterious notes, unexplained receipts, and evidence he wasn’t where he claimed to be — Kathryn becomes a reluctant sleuth. Her search for answers takes her to both London and Ireland, where she discovers that the man she loved for years may have been a stranger.

Asymmetry by Lisa Halliday

This brilliant debut novel unfolds in three sections. “Folly” follows Alice, a young American getting her start in book publishing, and her relationship with Ezra Blazer, a famous, much older novelist whose Philip Roth–like presence initially dazzles her but ultimately leaves her feeling diminished. The equally compelling “Madness” shifts to Amar, an Iraqi American man detained by immigration officers while traveling to Kurdistan and forced to spend the final weekend of 2008 in a holding room at Heathrow Airport. So, what’s the mystery? Though both sections explore the corrosive effects of power imbalances, the reader is left wondering why two such disparate stories are side by side. The answer arrives in the brief final section — a fictional BBC interview with Ezra — which reveals the startling connection between Alice’s and Amar’s narratives.

The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes

Tony Webster, a 60-something retiree, leads a quiet, orderly life until a mysterious inheritance from the mother of a former girlfriend forces him to revisit his past. Decades earlier, Tony ended his relationship with Veronica badly — especially after she began dating his closest friend, Adrian, and Tony responded by sending Adrian a cruel, resentful letter. As Tony reconnects with Veronica, he confronts how profoundly he has misremembered events and how deeply he has buried his guilt. When the novel’s central and stunning secret is revealed, Tony must acknowledge that although he was not directly responsible for the tragedy that followed, his actions helped set it in motion.

A Separation by Katie Kitamura

In this mesmerizing, slow-burn novel, a young woman agrees to a quiet separation from her unfaithful husband, Christopher, keeping the rupture hidden from others. When her mother-in-law reveals that Christopher has vanished during a trip to Greece, she reluctantly agrees to look for him — partly because refusing would mean admitting the marriage is over. Staying in the same hotel, she moves through the unfamiliar landscape like a detective, gathering fragments and sensing that others know more than they say. The novel ultimately weaves together two compelling investigations: the search for Christopher and the narrator’s urgent attempt to understand her own motivations and desires.