Popular Asian Mystery Books

Find mystery books written by authors from Asia for the next part of the Read Around The World Challenge. (48)

21.

Now You See Us by Balli Kaur Jaswal EN

Rating: 4 (3 votes)
Country: Asia / Singapore flag Singapore
Description:
We are invisible: we clean your houses, we look after your children, we know your secrets. But now you know one of ours...

22.

Patron Saints of Nothing by Randy Ribay EN

Rating: 5 (2 votes)
Country: Asia / Philippines flag Philippines
Description:
A NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST "Brilliant, honest, and equal parts heartbreaking and soul-healing." --Laurie Halse Anderson, author of SHOUT "A singular voice in the world of literature." --Jason Reynolds, author of Long Way Down A powerful coming-of-age story about grief, guilt, and the risks a Filipino-American teenager takes to uncover the truth about his cousin's murder. Jay Reguero plans to spend the last semester of his senior year playing video games before heading to the University of Michigan in the fall. But when he discovers that his Filipino cousin Jun was murdered as part of Presi... continue

23.

Queen of the Tiles by Hanna Alkaf EN

Rating: 5 (1 vote)
Country: Asia / Malaysia flag Malaysia
Description:
Fifteen-year-old Najwa Bakri is forced to investigate the mysterious death of her best friend and Scrabble Queen, Trina, a year after the fact when her Instagram comes back to life with cryptic posts and messages.

24.

Rashōmon and Seventeen Other Stories by Ryūnosuke Akutagawa EN

Rating: 5 (1 vote)
Country: Asia / Japan flag Japan
Description:
Ryunosuke Akutagawa (1892-1927) is one of Japan's foremost stylists - a modernist master whose short stories are marked by highly original imagery, cynicism, beauty and wild humour. "Rashomon" and "In a Bamboo Grove" inspired Kurosawa's magnificent film and depict a past in which morality is turned upside down, while tales such as "The Nose", "O-Gin" and "Loyalty" paint a rich and imaginative picture of a medieval Japan peopled by Shoguns and priests, vagrants and peasants. And in later works such as "Death Register", "The Life of a Stupid Man" and "Spinning Gears", Akutagawa drew from his own... continue

25.

Searching for Sylvie Lee by Jean Kwok EN

Rating: 4 (1 vote)
Country: Asia / China flag China
Description:
NAMED A MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK OF 2019 BY Marie Claire • Nylon • Huffington Post • CrimeReads • Bookbub • Book Riot • Debutante Ball “Like all most compelling mysteries, Jean Kwok’s Searching for Sylvie Lee has a powerful emotional drama at its heart. A twisting tale of love, loss and dark family secrets.” — Paula Hawkins, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Girl on the Train and Into the Water A poignant and suspenseful drama that untangles the complicated ties binding three women—two sisters and their mother—in one Chinese immigrant family and explores what happens when the eldest dau... continue

26.

Smaller and Smaller Circles by F.H. Batacan EN

Rating: 4 (2 votes)
Country: Asia / Philippines flag Philippines
Description:
This harrowing mystery, winner of the Philippine National Book Award, follows two Catholic priests on the hunt through Manila for a brutal serial killer Payatas, a 50-acre dump northeast of Manila’s Quezon City, is home to thousands of people who live off of what they can scavenge there. It is one of the poorest neighborhoods in a city whose law enforcement is already stretched thin, devoid of forensic resources and rife with corruption. So when the eviscerated bodies of preteen boys begin to appear in the dump heaps, there is no one to seek justice on their behalf. In the rainy summer of 1997... continue

27.

South of the Border, West of the Sun by Haruki Murakami EN

Rating: 4 (1 vote)
Country: Asia / Japan flag Japan
Description:
A moving, thoughtful story of long-lost love and second chances. Growing up in the suburbs in post-war Japan, it seemed to Hajime that everyone but him had brothers and sisters. His sole companion was Shimamoto, also an only child. Together they spent long afternoons listening to her father's record collection. But when his family moved away, the two lost touch. Now Hajime is in his thirties. After a decade of drifting, he has found happiness with his loving wife and two daughters, and success running a jazz bar. Then Shimamoto reappears. She is beautiful, intense, enveloped in mystery. Hajime... continue


29.

The Decagon House Murders by Yukito Ayatsuji EN

Rating: 5 (1 vote)
Country: Asia / Japan flag Japan
Description:
"Ayatsuji's brilliant and richly atmospheric puzzle will appeal to fans of golden age whodunits... Every word counts, leading up to a jaw-dropping but logical reveal" — Publishers Weekly A hugely enjoyable, page-turning murder mystery sure to appeal to fans of Elly Griffiths, Anthony Horowitz, and Agatha Christie, with one of the best and most-satisfying conclusions you'll ever read. A classic in Japan, available in English for the first time. From The New York Times Book Review: "Read Yukito Ayatsuji’s landmark mystery, The Decagon House Murders, and discover a real depth of feeling beneath t... continue

30.

The Devil's Disciple by Shirō Hamao EN

Rating: 3 (1 vote)
Country: Asia / Japan flag Japan
Description:
Two stories originally published in Japanese in 1929 in issues of Shinseinen.