Check out this list of recommended titles from one of our librarians!

Films

The Bourne Identity (2002) Found with two bullets in his back, Jason Bourne discovers that he has the skills of a very dangerous man and no memory of his violent past. Racing to unlock his secret identity, he discovers that he’s an elite government agent that his government no longer trusts.

Clue (1985) Who killed Mr. Boddy? Was it Colonel Mustard in the study with the gun? Miss Scarlet in the billiard room with the rope? Or was it Wadsworth the butler?

Dial M for Murder (1954) A man devises a plan to murder his wife for her money.

Flypaper (2011) A nervous bank customer has a crush on beautiful teller. They and the other staff and customers become hostages when two very different groups of crooks hit the bank simultaneously. When people begin mysteriously dying one by one, everyone involved begins to wonder if there’s someone else in the bank up to no good.

Locker 13 (2014) An anthology feature film comprised of five vignettes. Each story is connected by a mysterious locker 13.

The Maltese Falcon (1941) Detective Sam Spade goes in search of a priceless statuette after the death of his partner.

Memento (2000) An intricate crime story about a man who has lost his short term memory due to a rare brain disorder. Now he is out to catch his wife’s murderer, whose identity he cannot ever know for sure. The more he tries to figure out what is true and real, the more he sinks deeper into a multi-layered abyss of uncertainty and surprises.

Murder by Decree (2003) Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson conduct a gruesome and dangerous search through London’s squalid east end for the legendary Jack the Ripper. They soon discover that he is no ordinary murderer, but one with influential and determined friends.

Non-Stop (2014)  During a transatlantic flight from New York City to London, U.S. Air Marshal Bill Marks receives a series of cryptic text messages threatening to kill a passenger every 20 minutes unless $150 million is transferred into an off-shore account. With lives of hundreds of passengers hanging in the balance, Marks must use every nuance of his training to uncover the killer traveling on the aircraft.

Out of the Furnace (2014)  When Rodney Baze mysteriously disappears and law enforcement doesn’t follow through fast enough, his older brother, Russell, takes matters into his own hands to find justice.

Reach Me (2014) A motivational book written by a mysterious man quickly gains popularity, inspiring a group of people that includes a journalist, his editor, a former inmate, a hip-hop mogul, an actor and an undercover cop to re-evaluate their choices and decisions by confronting their fears in hopes of creating more positive lives.

Restless (2015)  Haunted by the death of her brother at the hands of fascist thugs, Russian émigré Eva is recruited to be a British secret agent by a shadowy figure. After proving her merit in the field, she is sent on the most dangerous mission of her life. She must use any means necessary to manipulate the American press and draw the States into World War II.

Sherlock Holmes (2009) After finally catching serial killer and occult ‘sorcerer’ Lord Blackwood, legendary sleuth Sherlock Holmes and his assistant Dr. Watson can close yet another successful case. After his execution, Blackwood mysteriously returns from the grave and resumes his killing spree, Holmes must take up the hunt once again.

A Time to Kill (1996) A murder trial brings a small Mississippi town’s racial tension to the flashpoint. Amid a frenzy of activist marches, Klan terror, media clamor and brutal riots, an unseasoned but idealistic young attorney mounts a stirring courtroom battle for justice.

The Two Mrs. Carrolls (1947) A psychopathic artist paints his wives as angels of death before poisoning them.

The Usual Suspects (1995) Police investigating an exploded boat on a San Pedro pier discover the only survivors are a severely burned Hungarian terrorist and Roger Kint, a crippled con-man. Reluctantly, Kint explains what happened. His story begins six weeks earlier with five criminals being dragged in by police desperate for suspects in a truck highjacking, and ends with the possible identification of a criminal mastermind.

Vertigo (1958) Scottie Ferguson, a recently retired San Francisco police detective, is hired to shadow a rich shipbuilder’s tragically suicidal wife. After he saves her from drowning in the San Francisco Bay, Scottie’s interest in the beautiful but icy blonde shifts from business to romance. But when tragedy strikes again, Scottie must overcome the vertigo that haunts his dreams in order to unravel the secrets of the past and find the key to his future.

A Walk Among the Tombstones (2015) Private investigator Matthew Scudder is hired by a drug kingpin to find out who kidnapped and murdered his wife.

 

 

Television Series

Agatha Christie’s Poirot (1990 -) With the his razor-sharp mind and the aid of the affabel Captain Hastings, Poirot unravels the thorniest cases without mussing a hair of his famously sculpted mustache.

Grantchester (2014) It’s 1953 and Sidney Chambers is vicar of Grantchester, a village just outside Cambridge, England. Sidney’s is a quiet life. He tends to his flock, keeps up with his jazz collection, and does his best to contain his passion for beautiful heiress Amanda Kendall. But when one of his parishioners dies in suspicious circumstances, Sidney quickly finds that people confide things in a parish priest that they would never tell police.

Murder on the Home Front (2014) During the London Blitz of 1940, people live life in the moment–and criminals use the blackout and devastation to hide their darkest activities. As the Luftwaffe drop their bombs, people below are literally getting away with murder.

Murdoch Mysteries (2009 -) In the 1890’s, Detective William Murdoch adopts modern techniques like ‘finger marks’ and forensics to track Toronto’s most sinister killers. Though derided by his skeptical boss, Murdoch finds friends and allies in a lovely pathologist and an eager-to-learn constable.

Sherlock (2010) Offers a contemporary take on Arthur Conan Doyle’s classic tales.

A Touch of Frost (1992 -) Detective Inspector Jack Frost is a policeman with a knack for trouble. In the dreary town of Denton, he approaches each case with his characteristic wit and sense of moral justice.