39 Books Like Last Seen Leaving

I love mysteries with a sensitive protagonist who sees what no one else sees and cares enough to get at the truth when everyone else has dismissed it. Penelope Marin is dealing with grief by collecting trinkets. When she recognizes a trinket in a market stall that had belonged to a murdered young woman, she becomes obsessed with finding out the truth of what happened to her, even though it means putting herself into dangerous situations. Penelope (“Lo”) is brave and determined and doesn’t let anyone else’s disbelief stop her from caring about a murdered woman whom no one else cares about and has written off as unsolved. This is the kind of story that always has me riveted.

I have always been interested in the Jack the Ripper lore. If you feel the same, Stalking Jack the Ripper does not disappoint. The book follows Audrey Rose Wadsworth in Victorian-era England as she hunts Jack the Ripper. Audrey is not the typical Victorian lady. She has a passion for forensic medicine and doesn’t mind the sight of corpses. Maniscalco does a fantastic job of presenting the widely known case details while putting her own spin on it and even adding a few details.

I love anything Sherlock Holmes. So a YA teen detective story with the present-day descendants of Sherlock Holmes with mysterious deaths to solve? The title alone got me, then when I read the blurb, I was on it. Sherlock Holmes’ great great great granddaughter, Charlotte Holmes, already a brilliant sleuth consulting with Scotland Yard and Jamie Watson, the great great great grandson of John Watson are in America where they have ended up in the same boarding school. When a student dies under mysterious circumstances, Jamie and Charlotte’s paths cross, throwing them together, and they can only trust each other in a world where the enemy lurks very close… If I was a fish and you wanted to catch me, put this book on a hook and dangle it.

This book by Barry Lyga absolutely captivated me with its intense, dark narrative.

The story centers around Jasper "Jazz" Dent, who grew up as the son of the country’s most notorious serial killer. (Talk about a family tree!) Having been exposed to gruesome lessons in murder from a very young age, Jazz is haunted by the fear that he might follow in his father’s footsteps.

It helps explore the terrifying notion of nature versus nurture. Jazz’s battle with his own potential for evil is chilling, and it makes the read not just a thriller but a deep dive into his fight for a normal life. As bodies start appearing in Jazz's small town, he recognizes patterns that match his father’s killings, and so he starts to help the police. The pacing is superb, intertwining Jazz’s personal demons with a gripping murder investigation.

What really makes this novel stand out for… show more.

This book is made for Criminal Minds addicts.

Every breadcrumb is important and kept me trying to solve the clues left by the Unknown Subject (UNSUB) nicknamed the Prophet. The killer’s ciphers and methods echoed those of the Zodiac. And somehow, despite the level of detail in the Prophet’s crime scenes and writings, Gardner’s pacing is a stomp on the gas pedal that doesn’t let up. It’s a tricky balance I aspire to achieve.

The Prophet’s poetic fantasies bleeding into reality while the clock counted down kept me wondering how, and if, Detective Caitlin Hendrix would stop this ruthless killer right up until the surprise-filled final showdown.

I absolutely devoured this book in just a few hours. 

This Christian family drama crosses over into mystery/suspense. In a family with three sisters and one brother, no one seems to be able to get it all together. One sister is a writer, but she’s being blackmailed for what she’s writing about. The other sister is notorious for one-night stands, the third sister is mostly stable with a husband and two kids.

Their brother? He’s going through a divorce. Only problem is that when he went to visit his soon-to-be ex-wife, he found her dead. With a shared son and a dying mother-in-law, who should have custody over the child? It seemed simple until the brother was listed as a person of interest for his wife’s death. The sisters all put on their detective hats to help their brother out.

I laughed at the sibling rivalry in this book and… show more.

This contemporary romance touched me deeply. The heroine is coming back from an abusive marriage. We find her leaning heavily on her family as she re-established herself personally and financially, having left the high life of the city – and the mess of her divorce – behind.

The domestic abuse issues are mostly handled off-page. The protagonist’s internal dialogue resonated with me a lot. Same goes for her hero, who’s going through a rough time with his family as well. I liked how insecure they both were in parts – and how leaps of faith were made on either side.

Mostly, this novel reminded me that learning to trust intimately again takes time and patience. It helped me reflect on my own situation and to be kinder to myself.

Pierre the Maze Detective is a series of books, that, unlike my four other recommendations, combines maze solving with a narrative. I could have picked any book from the series, but I particularly liked the Mystery of the Empire Maze Tower. Each spread is a beautifully detailed illustration, somewhat similar to Where’s Waldo?, at first glance, the maze is not obvious, but on closer inspection, through the busyness, you can spy a series of paths subtlety woven into the illustration. I think this book (and the others in the series) offers a wonderful extra dimension to a slightly older solver, someone who can immerse themselves in the story, solve the mazes, and solve the crime!

I've read a few of Lee Child's Jack Reacher novels and I have to say this was probably my favorite. I found Reacher’s humor a little drier in this one, and there was a lot less of Child's sometimes painfully slow narrative.

I liked the characters and the plot moved well, with a couple of cool twists to keep you guessing right until the end. For me, it was a fun read!

This book resonates for me because it successfully lands a very adult approach to detective work in the hands of a young female character.

Many of the tropes of Chandler and Hammett are employed, such as the seedy dive of an office, the spooky house, and others to build an atmosphere suitable for young readers, but that will also appeal to parents.