Mystery & Thriller

If you love cozy mysteries and want gay protagonists who are smart, funny, and refreshingly drama-free, Charlie Cochrane's got you covered. The Best Corpse for the Job and Jury of One are charming, well-plotted, and spice-free—but they deliver exactly what they promise: a damn good time.

Greg Herren's Murder in the Rue Dauphine delivers exactly what a good mystery should: a compelling plot, a likable protagonist, and a sense of place so vivid you can feel the French Quarter humidity. It's not perfect—the dialogue could be sharper, the twists more intricate—but it's a damn good read for anyone who wants a gay PI navigating New Orleans noir without the story being about being gay.

Levi and Dominic hunt a serial killer through the neon-soaked streets of Vegas, and Kingsbridge nails the sense of place. The mystery kept me hooked, the romance worked, but after five books I was ready for some variety—in the plot and the bedroom. A fun, escapist thriller that could've been outstanding at three books instead of five.

Big, bookish, emotionally complicated—Will Darling is everything. The third book in KJ Charles's 1920s espionage series delivers the best mystery, the sharpest banter, and a romance that knows the difference between taking your clothes off and actually letting someone in. Murder, mayhem, and a buff guy who runs a bookshop. What more do you want?

Will Darling and Kim Secretan are back for another round of blackmail, conspiracy, and the kind of yearning that makes you want to throw the book across the room (in a good way). If you loved Slippery Creatures, this 1920s adventure deepens everything that worked—and sets up a finale you won't want to miss.

A gay WWI vet running a bookshop gets tangled up with a charming disgraced aristocrat, and the banter alone is worth the price of admission. The mystery's solid, the chemistry's electric, and I'm already halfway through book two.

Cut & Run might be the dumbest murder mystery I’ve ever read—so obvious, so ridiculous, so confidently wrong about everything that it almost becomes entertaining. This M/M romance has a devoted fanbase, but I spent the entire book wondering if I was being punk'd by the mystery genre itself.

John Boyne's A Ladder to the Sky: A brilliant, unsettling literary thriller about morally bankrupt characters in the publishing world. Disturbing, compelling, and impossible to put down.

M.L. Rio's If We Were Villains brings gorgeous Shakespeare integration and compelling queer romance, but loses momentum in its second half. A C+ dark academia read that promises more than it delivers.

A wickedly smart, double-layered whodunnit that serves up classic crime fiction with a wink, a twist, and a killer reveal.

A brooding, sharply written gay mystery where old wounds, new crimes, and unresolved desire collide under the weight of a small town that never forgets.

Jane Pek’s debut blends amateur sleuthing with themes of queerness, identity, and data ethics—smart and engaging, if not entirely satisfying.

A violent, deeply emotional thriller about two fathers avenging their murdered gay sons—Razorblade Tears is part Southern noir, part reckoning, and completely unforgettable.

A taut, emotionally grounded noir where gay lives aren’t hidden—they’re central, complex, and fully realized.

Published in 1970, Fadeout is a slow-burn mystery with a groundbreaking gay detective and a tone that’s both gritty and quietly profound.

A light and lively gay mystery featuring a missing dancer, a charmingly awkward sleuth, and a dog you’ll wish you could adopt.

A darkly funny take on creative ambition and self-sabotage, 'I Might Be in Trouble' explores guilt, identity, and the messy lines between art and morality. Aleman’s sharp dialogue and emotional undercurrents add weight to a plot that sometimes strains credulity—but still offers moments of insight and heart.

Reading Kellerman's debut in 2025 is like discovering a fascinating time capsule – dated in some ways, surprisingly progressive in others, and providing the first glimpse of what would become one of crime fiction's most significant gay characters. The psychology is rich, the mystery compelling, and watching the seeds of Alex and Milo's partnership take root is worth the occasionally slow pace.