8 Gripping Mystery/Thrillers by Asian Authors

2 years ago 110

This contented contains affiliate links. When you bargain done these links, we whitethorn gain an affiliate commission.

From cozy mysteries to tense mystery/thrillers, Asian writers are penning immoderate of the champion and astir unsocial stories successful the transgression genre. I person to confess that I’m much of a newbie to transgression stories. I lone precocious started to work much mysteries and thrillers, but I rapidly learned that I truly bask those written by Asian writers. They negociate to marque acquainted tropes consciousness wholly new, beryllium it with their humanities settings oregon their detective fiction. That’s wherefore contiguous I wanted to speech astir immoderate of the astir gripping mystery/thrillers by Asian authors you tin read! 

A fewer things earlier we leap consecutive into the list. There are tons of fantastic mystery/thrillers by Asian authors you tin read, some successful translation and written primitively successful English — some of which I chose to see successful this list. I particularly wanted to see translated fabrication due to the fact that Asian countries person their ain tropes and genres and they marque for precise unsocial and breathtaking stories. Nevertheless, this database is by nary means broad oregon definitive. There are galore much mysteries and thrillers by Asian authors that are perfectly worthy reading! 

But without further ado, let’s leap into 8 astonishing mystery/thrillers by Asian writers you should decidedly work ASAP.

cover representation  of Your House Will Pay by Steph Cha publication  cover

Your House Will Pay by Steph Cha

Let’s footwear things disconnected with a tense thriller acceptable successful ’90s L.A. Your House Will Pay follows 2 families arsenic they conflict with the aftermath of their ain convulsive pasts, which are resurfacing acknowledgment to the hostility brought connected by a constabulary shooting. The Parks are Korean American. Their girl Miriam isn’t talking to them and her sister Grace can’t recognize why. Then determination are the Matthewses, a Black household who mislaid 1 of their ain to different constabulary shooting. As tensions escalate successful the city, the destiny of some families volition collide arsenic they face their ain pasts. 

Unusual Suspects Newsletter

Sign up to Unusual Suspects to person quality and recommendations for mystery/thriller readers.

Thank you for signing up! Keep an oculus connected your inbox.

By signing up you hold to our terms of use

under fastener  and skeleton cardinal  cover

Under Lock & Skeleton Key by Gigi Pandian

Cozy mysteries tin beryllium conscionable arsenic gripping arsenic regular mystery/thrillers, which is wherefore I couldn’t disregard Under Lock & Skeleton Key for this list! The communicative begins erstwhile Tempest Raj’s beingness is turned upside down, prompting her to spell backmost to her parents’ location successful California. Her begetter has a operation company, and erstwhile she visits his latest renovation project, she finds the dormant assemblage of her erstwhile signifier double. It was hidden wrong a partition that has supposedly been sealed for a period — truthful thing weird is intelligibly going on. And it’s up to Tempest to find retired the truth. 

Cover of Lady Joker

Lady Joker, Volume One by Kaoru Takamura

Moving connected to the archetypal publication successful translation connected this list. Originally written successful Japanese, Lady Joker is inspired by a existent lawsuit known arsenic “the Monster with 21 Faces.” Volume 2 is astir to beryllium published arsenic well! The communicative follows 5 men who person precise small successful common, but for their societal struggles successful a post-War Japan. Because of that, the 5 articulation forces to get their revenge against society. To bash it, they program to kidnap the CEO of Japan’s largest brew conglomerate and inquire for a immense ransom from the company’s corrupt members. 

Cover of The Bangalore Detectives Club

The Bangalore Detectives Club by Harini Nagendra

Next comes different cozy transgression story, which kicks disconnected an breathtaking humanities enigma acceptable successful 1920s Bangalore. The Bangalore Detectives Club follows a young, clever, pistillate named Kaveri, who moves to Bangalore successful bid to wed a handsome doctor. There, she attends a lavish enactment that soon turns into a transgression scene. Kaveri saw an uninvited impermanent lurking astir during the party, truthful she takes it upon herself to analyse and assistance the susceptible pistillate who is present tied to the case. 

Cover of The Old Woman with the Knife by Gu Byeong-mo

The Old Woman With The Knife by Gu Byeong-mo

There are tons of thrillers successful translation from Korean you tin work close now. One of the astir unique, The Old Woman with the Knife, was published successful English this year. It follows a 65-year-old assassin named Hornclaw. She has done her occupation easy and efficiently for the past 4 decades, acknowledgment to the information that she knows precise small astir her victims. But everything changes with her latest job. Hornclaw gets injured, which leads her to a young doctor. The assassin gets attached to him and his family, and due to the fact that emotions are unsafe for anyone successful her enactment of work, her full beingness volition beryllium turned upside down. 

The Good Son by You-jeong Jeong screen  image

The Good Son by You-Jeong Jeong

The Good Son is specified a gripping intelligence thriller translated from Korean, I person to speech astir it today. The communicative follows Yu-jin, a young antheral who often has representation problems and adjacent suffers from seizures. One day, helium wakes up to the odor of humor and a frantic telephone from his brother, which leads to Yu-jin uncovering his mother’s dormant assemblage astatine the bottommost of their duplex’s stairs. Yu-jin can’t retrieve thing from past night, but has a vague representation of his parent calling his name. Was she calling for assistance oregon begging him for her life? 

cover of Things We Do successful  the Dark

Things We Do successful the Dark by Jennifer Hillier

The adjacent large mystery/thriller by an Asian writer is Things We Do successful the Dark. This publication tells the communicative of Paris Peralta, who is accused of sidesplitting her personage husband. But for her, this isn’t the worst thing. She present has a ton of unwanted media attention, which volition astir apt pull the attraction of idiosyncratic from her hidden past. That idiosyncratic is Ruby Reyes, who knows Paris’s existent individuality and is threatening to exposure it. Paris mightiness beryllium capable to look one execution charge, but not the 2nd 1 that volition travel if Ruby does talk. 

The Forest of Stolen Girls cover

The Forest of Stolen Girls by June Hur

Last but not slightest is simply a humanities enigma acceptable during the Joseon dynasty successful Korea! The Forest of Stolen Girls begins erstwhile Hwani and her sister went missing, lone to beryllium recovered days aboriginal — adjacent to a transgression country and with nary memories. Years later, much girls are disappearing again. Hwani’s begetter is simply a detective, truthful helium goes backmost to municipality to investigate. But helium goes missing too. So present it’s up to Hwani to find retired what happened to her each those years agone and prevention her begetter too.


Want to work much mystery/thrillers? Check retired 19 award-winning enigma novels that are perfectly worthy reading. Or dive into our Archives for each kinds of transgression fabrication content.

Read Entire Article