The 52 Book Club: 2026 Challenge discussion

What is the Mystery Genre Challenge?
Welcome to our very first full-sized genre-specific challenge. This challenge is similar in premise to our annual 52 Book Club reading challenges, with a few key differences:

1) This challenge must be completed using one genre only. All books read for this challenge must be mysteries.

2) There is no timeline for completing this challenge. Take as long or as short as you like.

Our mystery challenge contains fifty different “cases” (we usually call them “prompts”). Match one mystery to each case for a total of fifty different books. Cases are related to different mystery elements and tell you what to look for in a book. Cases are loosely connected to their chapter heading but can be completed in any order.


Chapter Five: The Reveal
41. A “Howdunit” or “Whydunit” (list)
42. Features a courtroom scene (list)
43. From a completed series (list)
44. An ending that surprised you (list)
45. More than 4 stars on Goodreads (list)
46. A house on the cover (list)
47. Collection of true crime mysteries (list)
48. Recommended by an author on this challenge (list)
49. Suspects all gathered for a big reveal (list)
50. Published this year (list)


41. A “Howdunit” or “Whydunit". Unlike a “whodunit,” in which readers try to figure out who committed the crime, a “howdunit” is when readers know who the perpetrator is, but the focus is on how the crime was done. A “whydunit” is focused on why a crime was committed, the motivation. Alternate interpretations could include non-fiction featuring true crime cases that have been solved, or books that explore different methods of murder used by popular murder mystery writers, etc.

42. Features a courtroom scene. For this prompt, we’re looking for a mystery that features a courtroom scene. The entire book may be built around a trial, have a lawyer or judge as the protagonist, or simply feature a smaller court scene somewhere within the book.

43. From a completed series. Pick any book from a completed series. (A series where all installments have been released).

44. An ending that surprised you. You won’t be able to plan for this prompt. (Unless you choose to re-read a book that surprised you the first time around). The good news is that one of the main goals of the mystery genre is to surprise you! Unless you’re a super sleuth, you should be able to fill this prompt pretty easily. Tackle other prompts first. When you find a book with an ending that surprised you, slide it into this prompt instead.

Another option is to try popular reads that other mystery lovers said surprised them.

How the ending surprised you will be different for each of us – it could be a big twist or surprise reveal, a solution you didn’t predict, an ending you surprisingly hated after having loved the rest of the book, etc.

45. More than 4 stars on Goodreads: For this prompt, we’re looking for a book with more than four stars on Goodreads. (A rating of 4.01 or higher!) This is based on the average rating from the community of Goodreads reviewers. As a creative twist, you may choose a mystery that you’ve personally rated more than four stars on Goodreads.

46. A house on the cover. Choose any mystery with a house on the cover. This can be any type of house: apartment, trailer, farmhouse, cottage, etc. It could be a single house or a neighbourhood of homes. It may be the full home or a portion of the home. (Ex: A front door or an upstairs window). It could also be the word “house,” “apartment,” “cabin,” etc, in the title or subtitle.

47. Collection of true crime mysteries. We’re going non-fiction with this prompt and tackling a collection of true crime mysteries. These may be solved or unsolved, and may be about any type of mystery. Rather than one large mystery, this prompt is specifically for a collection of shorter mysteries.

48. Recommended by an author on this challenge. Grab a mystery recommendation from one of the authors you’ve already read for this challenge. This may be a book that they’ve provided a cover endorsement for, a book they mentioned in an article or podcast, a book they’ve shared on their social media, an author they’ve said was their favourite or inspired them, etc.

49. Suspects all gathered for a big reveal. It wouldn’t be a mystery challenge if we didn’t get all the suspects gathered together for the big, final reveal! In this trope, a detective gathers the main suspects together and walks through the case and clues before sharing “whodunit.” For this prompt, choose any book that features a scene where this happens.

50. Published this year. For your final book of the challenge, pick any mystery published this year!

Because this challenge can be completed at any time, you may complete the challenge across several years. Whenever you decide to start this case, pick a book that was published that year. (For example: I might start this challenge in 2026, but not get to case number 50 until 2028. Therefore, I’d read a book published in 2028.)

Would Four Red Sweaters: Powerful True Stories of Women and the Holocaust count for collection of true crime mysteries?

41. A “Howdunit” or “Whydunit”
42. Features a courtroom scene
43. From a completed series
44. An ending that surprised you
45. More than 4 stars on Goodreads The Housemaid
46. A house on the cover
47. Collection of true crime mysteries
48. Recommended by an author on this challenge
49. Suspects all gathered for a big reveal
50. Published this year

41. A “Howdunit” or “Whydunit”
42. Features a courtroom scene
✅43. From a completed series - The Minor Third
44. An ending that surprised you
45. More than 4 stars on Goodreads
46. A house on the cover
47. Collection of true crime mysteries
48. Recommended by an author on this challenge
49. Suspects all gathered for a big reveal
50. Published this year