Best Mystery and Suspense Books of 2016

We are rapidly approaching the end of 2016 so what are the best Mystery and Suspense Books you have read in 2016? Could be the top 10 / 20 or whatever number you come up with based on your reading.

Please share 😊

My 5 Star Mystery Reads 2016
1. ✔The Corners of the Globe by Robert Goddard - 499 pages - 1/19/16 - ★★★★★
2. ✔Thin Air by Ann Cleeves - Sumburgh, Scotland - 400 pages - 1/12/16 - ★★★★★
3. ✔The Crow Trap by Ann Cleeves - 535 pages - 1/31/16 - ★★★★★
4. ✔The Ends of the Earth by Robert Goddard - February - ★★★★★ - 2/14/16
5. ✔Dying Fall by Elly Griffiths - February - ★★★★★ - 2/15/16
6. ✔The Outcast Dead by Elly Griffiths - ★★★★★ - 4/11/16
7. ✔The Blood Gospel by James Rollins and Rebecca Cantrell - ★★★★★ - 4/28/16
8. ✔Hidden Depths by Ann Cleeves : - May - ★★★★★ - 5/22/16
9. ✔Innocent Blood by James Rollins and Rebecca Cantrell - ★★★★★ - 5/31/16
10. ✔The Ghost Fields by Elly Griffiths - ★★★★★ - 6/13/16
11. ✔Blood Infernal by James Rollins and Rebecca Cantrell - ★★★★★ - 6/22/16
12. ✔The Templar Legacy by Steve Berry - ★★★★★ - 6/29/16
13. ✔Silent Voices by Ann Cleeves : #4 in the Vera Stanhope Series - July - 5 stars - 7/22/16
14. ✔The Woman In Blue by Elly Griffiths - ★★★★★ - 9/20/16
15. ✔The Crucifix Killer by Chris Carter : #1 in the Robert Hunter Series - ★★★★★ - 10/31/16
16. ✔Beyond Recall by Robert Goddard - ★★★★★ - 11/21/16
17. ✔Six Sacred Stones by Matthew Reilly - Treasure Hunt - ★★★★★ - 5/18/16
18. ✔Clouded Vision by Linwood Barclay - 96 pages - 2/6/16 - ★★★★★ - New England, USA
19. ✔Those Who Wish Me Dead by Michael Koryta - 388 pages - 5/30/16 - ★★★★★
20. ✔Fool Me Once by Harlan Coben - 390 pages - 6/5/16 - ★★★★★ - Paterson, NJ
21. ✔Runaway by Peter May - 327 pages - 7/31/16 - ★★★★★ - Glasgow, Scotland
22. ✔Nine Lives by Tom Barber - Terrorist Thriller - ★★★★★ - 7/23/16
23. ✔Among The Wicked by Linda Castillo Woman Detective - August - ★★★★★ - 8/3/16
24. ✔Thrice the Brinded Cat Hath Mew'd a Flavia de Luce novel by Alan Bradley - ★★★★★ - 9/24/16
25. ✔A Time To Kill by John Grisham - 664 pages - ★★★★★ - 2/29/16
26. ✔Entry Island by Peter May - 534 pages - ★★★★★ - 4/16/16
27. ✔The Shining by Stephen King - 497 pages - 1/1/16 - ★★★★★ - Boulder, Colorado
28. ✔No One Knows by J.T. Ellison - 362 pages - ★★★★★- 4/4/16
29. ✔Blacklight Blue by Peter May - ★★★★★ - 12/9/16
30. ✔Last Words by Michael Koryta - 420 pagess - ★★★★★ - 2/19/16
31. ✔No Safe House by Linwood Barclay - 512 pages - ★★★★★ - 2/26/16
32. ✔Far From True (Promise Falls, #2.0) by Linwood Barclay- ★★★★★ - 3/13/16
33. ✔The British Lion by Tony Schumacher - ★★★★★ - 3/28/16
34. ✔The 5 Greatest Warriors by Mattherw Reilly - ★★★★★ - 5/26/16
35. ✔A Great Reckoning by Louise Penny - ★★★★★ - 9/11/16
36. ✔The Last Mile by David Baldacci - ★★★★★ - 9/15/16
37. ✔The Kept Woman by Karin Slaughter - ★★★★★ - 9/28/16
38. ✔City of Screams by James Rollins and Rebecca Cantrell - 96 pages - ★★★★★ - 4/29/16
39. ✔Edge of Black by J.T. Ellison - 368 pages - ★★★★★ - 4/30/16
40. ✔Coffin Road by Peter May - ★★★★★ - 10/11/16
41. ✔Darkest Fear #7 Myron Bolitar by Harlan Coben - ★★★★★ - 10/27/16
42. ✔Promise Me by Harlan Coben - ★★★★★ - 11/27/16
43. ✔Smoke and Mirrors by Elly Griffiths - ★★★★★ - 4/20/16
44. ✔Library of the Dead by Glenn Cooper - ★★★★★ - 6/14/16
45. ✔Direct Hit The Blitz Detective #1 by Mike Hollow - ★★★★★ - 8/14/16
46. ✔Fifth Column The Blitz Detective #2 by Mike Hollow - ★★★★★ - 8/16/16
47. ✔The One Man by Andrew Gross - ★★★★★ - 9/8/16
49. ✔Playing With Fire by Tess Gerritsen - ★★★★★ - 9/16/16

My 4.5 Star Mystery Reads 2016
1. ✔No Second Chance by Harlan Coben - ★★★★.5 - 3/28/16
2. ✔Dark Watch by Clive Cussler : #3 in the Oregon Files Series - ★★★★.5 - 7/14/16
3. ✔Caught in the Light by Robert Goddard : Standalone - August - ★★★★.5 - 8/23/16
4. ✔Ice Hunt by James Rollins - ★★★★.5 - 9/29/16
5. ✔The Alexandria Link by Steve Berry : #2 in the Cotton Malone Series - ★★★★.5 - 10/21/16
6. ✔Harbour Street by Ann Cleeves : #6 in the Vera Stanhope Series - ★★★★.5 - 11/6/16
7. ✔The Moth Catcher by Ann Cleeves : #6 (Series finished up to date) - ★★★★.5 - 12/12/16
8. ✔The Venetian Betrayal by Steve Berry: #3 in the Cotton Malone Series - ★★★★.5 - 12/22/16
9. ✔The Memory Man by David Baldacci - Professional Sleuth - ★★★★.5 - 7/19/16
10. ✔Sycamore Row by John Grisham - October - Lawyer Thriller - ★★★★.5 - 10/3/16
11. ✔The English Assassin by Daniel Silva - November - Assassins - ★★★★.5 - 11/3/16
12. ✔Turning Angel by Greg Iles - ★★★★.5 - 12/6/16
13. ✔Freeze Frame by Peter May- ★★★★.5 - 12/28/16
14. ✔Live Wire by Harlan Coben - ★★★★.5 - 12/17/16
15. ✔The Fifth Petal by Brunonia Barry - Early Reviewer - ★★★★.5 - 12/16/16
16. ✔The Romanov Prophecy by Steve Berry - ★★★★.5 - 11/22/16
17. ✔The Keepers of the Library by Glenn Cooper - ★★★★.5 - 10/23/16
18. ✔Book of Souls #2 Will Piper by Glenn Cooper - ★★★★.5 - 10/5/16
19. ✔The Trespasser by Tana French - ★★★★.5 - 10/11/16
20. ✔The Twenty-Three A Promise Falls Novel by Linwood Barclay - ★★★★.5 - 11/24/16
21. ✔Contest by Matthew Reilly - ★★★★.5 - 10/3/16
22. ✔The Critic by Peter May - ★★★★.5 - 11/27/16

My 4 Star Mystery Reads 2016
1. ✔The Hour Game by David Baldacci - ★★★★ - 7/31/16
2. ✔The Book of Fate by Brad Meltzer - ★★★★ - 8/13/16
3. ✔The Glass Room by Ann Cleeves : #5 in the Vera Stanhope Series - August - ★★★★ - 8/31/16
4. ✔Skeleton Coast by Clive Cussler & Jck DuBrul - ★★★★ - 9/11/16
5. ✔Simple Genius by David Baldacci : #3 in the King and Maxwell Series - ★★★★ - 10/12/16
6. ✔Hunters by Chris Kuzneski- ★★★★ - 11/30/16
7. ✔One False Move by Harlan Coben - Missing Person Book - ★★★★ - 1/28/16
8. ✔The Silver Pigs by Lindsey Davis -★★★★ - 2/2/16 - Historical Mystery
9. ✔Above Suspicion by Helen MacInnes - ★★★★ - 3/30/16 - Espionage Mystery Genre Challenge
10. ✔A Deeper Darkness by J.T. Ellison - ★★★★ - 4/9/16 - Forensic Mystery
11. ✔Complicity by Iain Banks - 313 pages - 1/2/16 - ★★★★ - Edinburgh, Scotland
12. ✔Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy - 381 Pages - 1/5/15 - ★★★★ - Cambridge Circus, England
13. ✔Career of Evil by Robert Galbraith - 489 pages - 1/7/15 - ★★★★ - Yorkshire, England
14. ✔The Ruins by Scott Smith - 509 pages - 1/9/16 - ★★★★
15. ✔The Girl in the Spider Web by David Lagerrantz - 400 pages - 1/18/16 - ★★★★
16. ✔Sparkling Cyanide by Agatha Christie - 268 pages - ★★★★ - 2/8/16
17. ✔Season of Fear by Brian Freeman - 448 pages - ★★★★ - 2/24/16
18. ✔The Sixth Idea by P.J. Tracy - ★★★★ - 8/26/16
19. ✔The Final Detail #6 Myron Bolitar by Harlan Coben - ★★★★ - 10/22/16
20. ✔The Great Zoo of China by Matthew Reilly - ★★★★ - 11/7/16
21. ✔Hawkwood by James McGee - ★★★★ - 8/6/16
22. ✔Behind Closed Doors by B.A. Paris - ★★★★ - 12/25/16
23. ✔So Much Pretty by Cara Hoffman - 304 pages - ★★★★ - 5/9/16
24. ✔Underground Airlines by Ben H. Winters - ★★★★ - 8/18/16
25. ✔Forever Gentleman by Roland Colton - ★★★★ - 8/23/16
26. ✔Conclave by Robert Harris - ★★★★ - 12/2/16
27. ✔Long Lost by Harlan Coben - ★★★★ - 12/7/16

That's some list! 😊

>3 Andrew-theQM:
2016 was a good reading year for me!

My M&S 5 star reads 2016, which also earned the coveted ❤️, :D

10 February 2016 - The Ends of the Earth by Robert Goddard ❤️5★s❤️ (group read)
16 February 2016 - Dying Fall by Elly Griffiths 5★s ❤️ (group read)
24 February 2016 - Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear 5★s❤️
6 March 2016 - One False Move by Harlan Coben 5★s ❤️ (round tuit)
23 June 2016 - Blood Infernal by James Rollins and Rebecca Cantrell 5★s ❤️ (group read)
3 August 2016 - Death Comes to Kurland Hall by Catherine Lloyd 5★s ❤️
30 October 2016 - To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee 5★s ❤️ (reread)
31 October 2016 - The Crucifix Killer by Chris Carter 5★s ❤️ (group read)

>5 Sergeirocks: Another great list!

I've been rather stingy with the five stars this year - and they mostly went to SFF and non fiction. The best mysteries were:
The Ends of the Earth by Robert Goddard
The Whisperer by Donato Carrisi
The Son by Jo Nesbo
Fragile by Lisa Unger

Although not 5 stars for me but still pretty good, these were my best M&S reads for 2016:

Defending Jacob by William Landay
Career of Evil by Robert Galbraith aka J. K. Rowling
The Nature of the Beast by Louise Penny
The Devil's Star by Jo Nesbo
One Second After by William R. Forstchen

Here's my 5 star list for 2016:

The Rainmaker by John Grisham
This Body of Death by Elizabeth George
This House is Haunted by John Boyne (got 4.5 stars rounded to 5)
And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie
The Good Girl by Mary Kubica
The Labours of Hercules by Agatha Christie
The Under Dog and Other Stories by Agatha Christie (got 4.5 stars rounded to 5)

>7 sushicat: It's a long time since we read the Robert Goddard books but he seems to be making all our lists, there is a new one due out in this series in June.

>8 gaylebutz: I keep meaning to get to Louise Penny, hopefully in 2017.

>9 jguidry: The Rainmaker was my first John Grisham and got me hooked on his early books.

These are my five star reads for the year in date order, with a heart to signify where they made my favourites list.

21 of the best :

The Blissfully Dead by Mark Edwards and Louise Voss ❤
Thin Air by Ann Cleeves ❤
The Corners of the Globe by Robert Goddard ❤
Dead Man's Time by Peter James ❤
Want You Dead by Peter James
The Ends of the Earth by Robert Goddard ❤
A Dying Fall by Elly Griffiths ❤
No Second Chance by Harlan Coben ❤
The Falls by Ian Rankin ❤
The Last Coyote by Michael Connelly
The Confessor by Daniel Silva ❤
The Forgotten Holocaust by Scott Mariani
Nine Lives by Tom Barber
The Martyr's Curse by Scott Mariani ❤
Love You Dead by Peter James ❤
The Crucifix Killer by Chris Carter
Live Wire by Harlan Coben ❤
Home by Harlan Coben ❤
This Was a Man by Jeffrey Archer ❤
Beyond Recall by Robert Goddard
When the Music's Over by Peter Robinson

This was obviously a great reading year in the genre as I have another 53 books with 4 1/2 stars, let alone the 4 star reads. I also still have two on the go that could make 4 1/2 or more stars!

Lynda's 15 Favorite 5 Star Mysteries

I had many more I could have included.

Thin Air by Ann Cleeves
The Corners of the Globe by Robert Goddard
Want You Dead by Peter James
You are Dead by Peter James
The Ends of the Earth by Robert Goddard
The Kept Woman by Karin Slaughter
Criminal by Karin Slaughter
Black Widow by Daniel Silva
Fallen Angel by Daniel.Silva
Bottom of Your Heart by Maurizio de Giovanni
By My Hand by Maurizio de Giovanni
Everyone in Their Place by Maurizio de Giovanni
Kingdom of Strangers by Zoe Ferraris
Among the Wicked by Linda Castillo
Wrong Side of Goodbye by Michael Connelly

>12 Olivermagnus: An excellent list, 10 of these I have yet to read so still plenty of excellent books to target!

I read 20 mysteries in 2016.

My favorite was I Let You Go by Clare Mackintosh. British thriller with lots of twists!

>14 nrmay: Not one I know, will have to check it out.

>15 Andrew-theQM: I think you would like this book, Andrew. She was with one of the British police forces and her writing is very much in line with actual police work. She's got a second book coming out next month.

>16 Carol420: Thanks for the feedback Carol. This isn't even an author I've heard of! The good news is the library has a physical copy of this. :)

>17 Andrew-theQM: Go figure. She wrote one book thus far and in 2014 at that... and the library has a copy. Not just "A" copy but three copies. Chris Carter and Chris Kuzneski wrote twenty books and I have to have them order every book I get by them and the library has to move Heaven and Earth to find them.

>18 Carol420: Very strange what is and isn't available. I've had great trouble getting hold of some Daniel Silva books and terrible problems of getting hold of Silent Prey, not available anywhere! I also see a lot of books recommended by my American friends that I just can't get hold of anywhere which is what puts me off being more involved in the Blind Date feature.

When I come across a new to me series and need earlier books in the series I usually have no problem using Awesome Books to fill in the gaps. They are pretty reasonable price wise and although they are used they are acceptable condition.

They have a copy of silent prey but it's a bit high. Thrift books.com has a cheaper price but I don,t know if they ship internationally.

Have finally managed to get hold of an audio copy, but thanks for the hints debavp >21 debavp: 😊

I really enjoyed The Kind Worth Killing by Peter Swanson

Sorry don't know why touchstones didn't work.

>23 pollux: I don't see the brackets around the title. That might be why it didn't work. I'm having problems making the check mark and the stars thing work. A little thing but frustrating.

I did put brackets around the title and author. However I had a spelling mistake in the title and corrected it. I have noticed before, that if I make a change after bracketing, the touchstones don't work.

>23 pollux: The Kind Worth Killing This is the touchstone for the book that seems to be working okay now.

>24 Carol420: Carol, I use the emoticons keyboard for the check mark and stars, makes it much easier.

My favorites & 5* reads for this category in 2016 include:

The Dogs of Riga by Henning Mankell; (July)
The Hours Before Dawn by Celia Fremlin; (July)
Uncle Silas: A Tale of Bartram-Haugh by J. Sheridan Le Fanu; (October)
We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver; (October)
The Double Bind by Chris Bohjalian; (October)

I think that I read more books by & about women than mysteries/suspense last year.

>27 rainpebble: - It's difficult to say "I loved We Need to talk about Kevin" but it was one of my favorites in 2015. I even rented the movie after I was done reading it. I think about it quite often and recommend it to anyone who might be interested in that type of story.

>27 rainpebble: An interesting list and certainly some books I need to get to.