I love all kinds of mysteries, but my favorites are the funny ones. I’ll devour mysteries where the detective is a cat or the murderer kills people with poison cookies from her little purse. It feels about as close to “watching TV” as reading a book can get, but you’re still reading a book, which is intellectual. I can say this because I wear glasses.
But murder mysteries and comedy aren’t so far apart. Think about movies like Knives Out and Clue, television shows like Pokerface and The Residence, and plays like Shear Madness. They all make the mystery genre feel lighthearted and fun. What comedy and mystery have in common is the tension. Whether it’s solving a case or ending a joke, it’s about surprising people and finally releasing that tension. So why not double the surprise with murder and jokes? That’s partially what inspired me to write Murder on Sex Island. It’s a murder mystery that takes place on the set of a reality show called Sex Island where people compete to be “the best at sex.” The private detective, unfortunately, has to work undercover as one of the contestants. I set out to write a steamy novel riddled with sex and violence, but I ended up with a comedic murder mystery with almost no sex in it. What can you do. You write what you know.
Now there are very funny books out there that do not involve anyone getting killed, and I recommend reading those, too. Aparna Nancherla, Maria Bamford, Maeve Higgins, Rachel Dratch, Ziwe — all of these authors have written hilarious books that are murder-free. Read, laugh, sleep well at night. But maybe you’re one of those sickos who doesn’t want to sleep well, maybe you have some nightmares you need to catch up on. Then allow me to recommend the following laugh out loud mysteries:
You’d Look Better As A Ghost by Joanna Wallace
This book was scary, I won’t downplay it. There are some gory scenes, for example, the slicing/dicing of a human body or two. Nevertheless, you’re on the main character’s side almost immediately (and she’s the one killing everybody). You don’t want her to get caught, and you may even want her to keep going! Kill more, you think to yourself while reading. Don’t change! Her dry takedowns of the people around her (before she kills them) are hilarious. The book has a core message about loneliness and cycles of abuse, but that’s not the funny part, I swear.
The Spellman Files by Lisa Lutz
This book is about a dysfunctional family of private investigators, with 28-year-old Izzy at the helm. Izzy is a mess and so is her family, but the stories about them are charming. They’re such good private investigators, they are constantly tailing and wiretapping each other. It’s a cozy and quick read.
Siracusa by Delia Ephron
Two couples go on vacation in Italy together. In the midst of a messy love triangle, one couple decides to bring their precocious ten-year-old child. Delia Ephron has a very funny track record, and this did not disappoint. Plus, there are beautiful descriptions of coastal Italy and Ionian Sea, it almost makes you want to visit until you read the end.
The Marlow Murder Club by Robert Thorogood
A group of three women band together to solve a murder. They are all great characters in their own right, but my favorite has to be the brassy dog walker named Suzie. It all takes place in a small town called Marlow, right off the River Thames. You get to know the townspeople, the local politics, and the amateur detectives frequently stop for tea and cake. I accidentally read the second one in the series before this first one, but the characters are all so well defined, I had no trouble getting into this series. But why not start with the first one, treat yourself right.
I Have Some Questions for You by Rebecca Makkai
This woman, Bodie Kane, returns to her old prep school to teach a true crime podcasting class and ultimately uncover a decades-old murder from her time there as a student. The writing is dark and funny and the twists are very unexpected. Makkai manages to satirize the true crime genre in full, skewering both its fans and its creators. As I read this one, I think I said out loud, “THIS IS DELICIOUS!”
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