About the Mystery Lovers’ Book Club

Finding Great Stories Since 2014

Mystery Lovers’ Book Club is focused on mysteries (as the name implies), usually meeting the third Thursday of every month since March 20, 2014. MLBC continues as a casual group of serious readers located (mostly) in Founders’ Grove, a Central Illinois neighborhood filled with character and characters. We’re not formal or focused on prepared questions, but avid readers who chat about and around what’s on the page. It’s no problem if everyone hasn’t read the book, but spoilers rip after fair warning. One (or two or three or none) might bring drinks or snacks, but it’s loose without R.S.V.P.s or meeting sign-ups. In any case, our discussion is always engaging.

Mystery Lovers’ Book Club Reading List

2022

February: Clark and Division by Naomi Hirahara
March: Harlem Shuffle: A Novel by Colson Whitehead
April: A Town Called Solace by New York Times bestselling author Mary Lawson
May: The Postscript Murders by Elly Griffiths
June: The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave
July: Who is Maud Dixon by Alexandra Andrews
August: The Man Who Died Twice by Richard Osman
September: How to Find Your Way in the Dark by Derek B. Miller
October: Lemon by Kwon Yeo-Sun
November: Dial A for Aunties by Jesse Q. Sutanto
December (or January 2023?): Girl, 11 by Amy Suiter Clarke

2021

February: Blacktop Wasteland by S.A. Cosby
March: The Searcher by Tana French
April: Gentleman Thief by Arsene Lupin
May: Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
June: Iron Lake by William Kent Krueger
July: Deal Breaker by Harlan Coben
August: The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman
September: When We Believed in Mermaids by Barbara O’Neil
Oct: Mrs.Sherlock Holmes: Missing Girl Case that Captivated a Nation by Brad Ricca
November: Kindest Lie by Nancy Johnson

2020

February: Blanch on the Lam by Barbara Neely
March: Drive Your Plow over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk
April: Dark Adapted Eye by Barbara Vine
May: I’ll Be Gone in the Dark by Michelle McNamara
June: Big Sky by Kate Atkinson
July: Memory Police by Yoko Ogawa
August: The Island by Ragnar Joannason
September: The Passenger by Lisa Lutzhttps
October: Temper by Layne Fargo
November: A Murder at Rosamund’s Gate by Susanna Calkins

2019

January: The Perfect Nanny by Leila Slimani
February: Give me Your Hand by Megan Abbott
March: The Mystery of Three Quarters: The New Hercule Poirot Mystery (Hercule Poirot Mysteries)
April: Caged (Agent Sayer Altair #1) by Ellison Cooper
May: The Frangipani Tree Mystery by Ovidia Yu
June: Beneath a Ruthless Sun: A True Story of Violence, Race, and Justice Lost and Found by Gilbert King
July: Arthur and George by Julian Barnes
August: The Intuitionist by Colson Whitehead
September: The Feral Detective by Jonathan Lethem,
October: Lies the Mushroom Pickers Told by Poso Wells
November: The Word Is Murder by Anthony Horowitz
December: The Widows of Malabar by Sujata Massey

2018

February: Human Acts by Han Kang
March: Faceless Killers by Henning Mankell
April: A Rage in Harlem by Chester Himes
May: The Alice Network by Kate Quinn
June: Woman in the Window by A. J. Finn
July: My Sister’s Grave by Robert Dugoni
August: Triptych by Karin Slaughter
September: Her Last Day by Jessie Cole
October: Himself by Jess Kid

2017

January: Last Police Man by Ben H. Winters
February: A Share in Death by Deborah Crombie
March: Cuckoo’s Calling by J.K. Rowling
April: Darktown by Thomas Mullen
May: The Alienist by Caleb Carr
June: Lady Copy Makes Trouble by Amy Stewart
July: The Day I Died by Lori Rader-Day
August: The Quiet Game by Greg Iles
September: Shall We Not Revenge by Diane Pirrone
October: The Year of the Gadfly by Jennifer Miller
November: Blind Submission by Debra Ginsberg
December: Jar City by Amaldur Indridason

2016

January: The Other Typist: A NOVEL by Suzanne Rindell
February: Gun Street Girl by Adrian McKinty
March: You will Know Me by Meghan Abbott
April: Daughter of Time by Josephine They
May: Design for Dying by Renee Patrick
June: The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen
July: Mr. Churchill’s Secretary by Susan Elia
August: Divers clothes lie empty by Vendela Vida
September: Indemnity Only by Sara Paretsky
October: Mr. Churchill’s Secretary by Susan Elia

2015

January: Horrorstor: A Novel by Grady Hendrix
February: The Killing Circle by Andrew Paper
April: Death by Hitchcock by Elissa D. Grodin
May: In the Woods by Tana French
June: Dog On It: A Chet and Bernie Mystery by Spencer Quinn
July: Belessing Way by Tony Hillerman
August: Death at La Fenice by Donna Leon
September: A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry

2014

March: How to Cook a Cherry Tart by
April: Chump Change by G.M. Ford
September: Tea Time for the Traditionally Built by Alexander McCall Smith
October: Arthur and George by Julian Barnes
November: Invisible Murder by Lene Kaaberbol and Agnete Friis