Best Murder

Dial M for Murder is a 1954 crime thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, adapted from the successful stage play of the same name by Frederick Knott. The plot centers on Tony Wendice, a former professional tennis player who discovers his wife's affair and devises an elaborate blackmail scheme to...

Mystic River is a psychological thriller novel written by Dennis Lehane and published in 2001. The story follows three childhood friends from Boston whose lives are shattered by a traumatic event in their youth and are later reunited following a murder. It explores themes of grief, trauma, and venge...

The Secret in Their Eyes is a 2009 Argentine psychological thriller directed by Juan José Campanella and based on the novel by Eduardo Sacheri. Starring Ricardo Darín, the film follows a retired legal counselor who decides to write a novel about an unresolved homicide case from decades prior. The na...

Based on the novel by Dennis Lehane, this crime drama directed by Clint Eastwood examines how childhood trauma resurfaces when a murder investigation reconnects three former friends in a Boston neighborhood. The film received six Academy Award nominations, with Sean Penn winning Best Actor and Tim R...

Big Little Lies is an American television drama series created by David E. Kelley that premiered on HBO in 2017. Based on the novel by Liane Moriarty, the first season follows a group of wealthy mothers in Monterey, California, whose seemingly perfect lives unravel after a mysterious murder occurs a...

Broadchurch is a British crime drama series created by Chris Chibnall that premiered on ITV in March 2013. The first season follows detectives Alec Hardy (David Tennant) and Ellie Miller (Olivia Colman) as they investigate the death of 11-year-old Danny Latimer in a fictional close-knit coastal town...

In the Woods is a 2007 psychological mystery novel by Irish author Tana French. It follows Detective Rob Ryan and his partner Cassie Maddox as they investigate the murder of a twelve-year-old girl in a Dublin suburb. The case becomes complicated when Ryan realizes the crime scene is near the locatio...

The Secret History by Donna Tartt explores the lives of a close-knit group of Classics students at Hampden College in Vermont. The novel details their involvement in an accidental death and the subsequent unraveling of their carefully constructed world. Notable for its atmospheric prose and psycholo...

Directed by Woody Allen, this 2005 thriller set in London follows a social climber who commits murder, notable for its themes of luck and moral ambivalence.

The Dry is a 2016 psychological thriller by Australian author Jane Harper, notable for its outback setting and exploration of buried secrets in a drought-stricken farming community.

This 1948 American psychological thriller directed by Alfred Hitchcock is famous for its experimental use of long takes to appear as a single continuous shot.

Adapted by David E. Kelley from Scott Turow's novel, this legal thriller follows a chief deputy prosecutor who becomes the prime suspect in his colleague's murder.

The Kind Worth Killing is a 2015 psychological thriller by American author Peter Swanson. On a flight from London to Boston, businessman Ted Severson tells Lily Kintner that his wife is unfaithful, and their conversation develops into a plan for murder. The novel uses alternating viewpoints and reve...

Search Party is a television series examining the lives of millennial friends in New York City. The show centers on their involvement in an escalating investigation surrounding a missing woman and her subsequent exploration of dark humor and criminal behavior. It’s notable for its satirical portraya...

Directed by Alan J. Pakula, this 1990 adaptation of Scott Turow's novel stars Harrison Ford as a prosecutor accused of murdering his colleague.

This Night's Foul Work is a detective novel by French writer Fred Vargas featuring Commissaire Jean-Baptiste Adamsberg. First published in French in 2006, it follows Adamsberg and his Paris-based police team as they investigate disturbing deaths whose connections emerge only gradually. Grave desecra...

A Time for Mercy is a 2020 legal thriller by John Grisham and the third novel centered on attorney Jake Brigance, following A Time to Kill and Sycamore Row. Set in the fictional town of Clanton, Mississippi, it follows Brigance as he is appointed to defend sixteen-year-old Drew Gamble, who is accuse...

The Greenbrier Ghost is the alleged spirit of Zona Heaster Shue, whose reported 1897 appearance helped prompt a murder inquiry in West Virginia.

Paul Verhoeven directed this 1992 American neo-noir erotic thriller, infamous for its controversial interrogation scene and exploration of manipulative relationships.

The Guardians is a 2019 legal thriller by John Grisham about wrongful convictions and the American death-penalty system. Its protagonist, Cullen Post, is a lawyer and Episcopal minister working for Guardian Ministries, a small nonprofit that represents prisoners believed to be innocent. The central...

Adapted from William Landay's novel, this legal crime drama centers on a Massachusetts assistant district attorney whose teenage son is accused of murder.

Dark Places is a 2009 psychological thriller by Gillian Flynn, exploring the aftermath of a family massacre through the perspective of the surviving daughter.

Bodies Bodies Bodies is a 2022 American black comedy psychological thriller directed by Halina Reijn, satirizing Gen Z culture during a hurricane party.

John Grisham's 2004 novel set in 1970s Mississippi, following a young newspaper publisher who covers a brutal murder trial and its violent aftermath.

Scott Turow's 2002 Kindle County legal thriller in which a death-row inmate's appeal surfaces new evidence pointing to a different killer years after his conviction.

Wolf to the Slaughter is a 1967 detective novel by Ruth Rendell and the third book in the Inspector Wexford series. Set in the fictional Sussex town of Kingsmarkham, it follows Wexford and Inspector Mike Burden as they investigate the apparent disappearance and possible murder of a young woman. The...

The Girl on the Train is a 2015 psychological thriller novel by British author Paula Hawkins, notable for its intertwining narratives and massive commercial success.

The Guest List is a 2020 psychological thriller by Lucy Foley, notable for its isolated Irish island setting and a murder mystery format featuring a multi-character narrative.

Directed by Richard Marquand, this 1985 courtroom thriller stars Glenn Close and Jeff Bridges, notable for its plot twists and iconic jagged weapon.