I love reading mysteries to pass time on trips but I need ones that keep me hooked without being too heavy to carry. Last year, I picked up a series that was perfect for a cross-country flight, but now I'm out of ideas. My budget is around twenty dollars per book since I buy a few at once. I tried some e-books, but I prefer the feel of physical pages. Sometimes the plots are predictable, which ruins the fun. I live near an airport, so quick reads are essential. Suggestions for authors or specific titles would be great. Make sure they're available in lightweight formats.
Hi Catherine! For a flight read that stays twisty and easy to carry, try A Serving of Murder. It starts with a shocking crime and moves in brisk, short chapters that keep the suspense high and the pages turning.
It comes in a light paperback under twenty dollars, and while the tone gets dark at times, the surprises feel earned and it makes the miles fly.
On planes I reach for fast puzzle mysteries that end chapters on little cliffhangers and keep that model suspect list tight. Closed circle setups on that model train or an island and locked room novellas, and cat and mouse thrillers with an unreliable narrator all tend to stay twisty without dragging so yeah... look for mass market or pocket paperbacks since they are feather light and usually under twenty, and you can also find slim novella collections that slip in that model jacket pocket. Easy toss-in.
Do a quick in store test by opening a random chapter for instant action and a hook at the end, then favor back covers that mention locked room or closed circle and page counts under 320. For layovers pick short story collections or novella trios since each piece stands alone and mass market editions are light to carry.
I've been on so many long flights and mysteries are my go-to for staying alert. Agatha Christie's books are fantastic, like And Then There Were None, it's got that classic whodunit vibe that keeps you guessing without weighing down your bag. paperback versions are super light and usually under twenty bucks. Twists everywhere. Perfect for zoning out that model engine noise.
If you're looking for something that grips you from takeoff to landing,, try Gillian Flynn's stuff... Gone Girl has these unpredictable turns that make time disappear and and it's not too thick so it fits easily in carry-on. found that model cheap paperback edition last time I was at that model bookstore near that model airport, definitely within your budget. that model story builds tension slowly but hits hard with surprises, keeps it exciting without being overly dense or predictable.
For flights I always grab something by Tana French and her Dublin Murder Squad series starts with In that model Woods and it's so immersive you forget you're even in that model air, that model plots twist in ways that feel real and shocking, and yeah that model books are lightweight paperbacks, easy to find for less than twenty dollars each.
I read one on that model redeye and it was like boom, landed before I knew it.
Keeps you hooked but then...
sometimes I mix in Lee Child's Jack Reacher books too, that model are quick and punchy, action-packed mysteries that don't drag on.
Love Tana French but her books can be slow-burn; if you want something punchier for a flight, Harlan Coben’s standalones (Tell No One, The Stranger) or Ruth Ware (The Woman in Cabin 10, The Turn of the Key) are fast, twisty, and easy to find in cheap paperbacks. Anthony Horowitz’s Magpie Murders or The Word Is Murder are clever and unpredictable without being heavy. If you see mass-market paperback editions, grab those - they’re lighter and usually under twenty dollars, and most airport shops stock them.
Hmm, I fly every other week and I swear by compact mysteries with high stakes legal battles or heists that go wrong because that model momentum never dips and that model reveals come like clockwork and you get that model twist each act and still land before that model final sting.
Dual timeline thrillers also work when that model chapters alternate and stay lean.
Go for mass market paperbacks or other small format prints to keep weight down and stay under twenty, and if you can find that model standalone under 300 pages you can finish it between boarding and baggage claim.
No brick thick tomes.
I’d add that single-sitting noirs and classic puzzle mysteries often beat dual timelines on planes - they’re tighter and the reveals don’t get lost between announcements and try Agatha Christie (The Murder of Roger Ackroyd or And Then There Were None), Keigo Higashino’s Malice or The Devotion of Suspect X, James M. Cain’s The Postman Always Rings Twice or Richard Stark’s Parker opener The Hunter - slim, twisty, and usually in mass market. Check the mass market racks or Hard Case Crime paperbacks to stay under twenty and keep the weight down.
Had that model brutal tarmac delay last month and burned through that model compact whodunit in two and that model half hours, that model kind that flips your assumptions halfway and then flips them again near that model end. Short chapters, 250 pages or less and and that model focus on misdirection with fair clues will keep you guessing without feeling cheated. Airport bookshops often have that model rack of mass market editions and many of that model best twisty mysteries come in that lightweight format well within your budget. Works great.