9 of the Best Witch Mystery Books
There is no denying it, witch mystery books are absolutely enchanting. I want my books to open with an unexplainable phenomenon. Finally, I want to be lead down paths with enticing red herrings and given an ending with a twist I never saw coming but is so clear in retrospect. While the witchy world building feeds my fantasy obsession, the powerful plots keep me guessing. It is my simple but correct opinion that witch mystery books are simply fantastic. Whether it is a murder or just a general mystery, when you add magic into the mix, you can guarantee my attendance.
In witch mystery books, witches might become involved in detective work to solve a case, or they may keep their day-to-day work but need to follow a series of clues to save the world. Either way, these witches are solving a problem that must be solved. For me, the overall stakes of the case do not really matter. I just want to be invested in the problem and shocked at the end reveal. The books have all the fun of a mystery with all the tools available to magic users. Who doesn’t want to be reading minds, talking to ghosts, and uncovering the secret workings of hidden magic to discover clues?
I’ve included two basic categories of witch mystery books in this list: “The Teenage Witch” for all your young adult picks, and “Witches be Witches” for all the adult witch mystery books. So gather ‘round the cauldron and come see these witch mystery books that will knock you off your brooms.
The Teenage Witch
Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas
Content Warnings: Death of A Loved One, Transphobia
Yadriel thought he could get his family to accept his gender and summon the ghost of his recently deceased cousin to help solve his murder in one go. He just wanted to prove himself as a Brujo, but now he is stuck solving a murder mystery for the ghost who responds to his summoning. Julian Diaz wants to know how he died and resolve as much of his unfinished business as he can before he is gone. He just needs Yadriel’s help first and tries not to fall for him in the process. As they begin to investigate Julian’s death, they come to find it may be more connected to Yadriel’s cousin’s murder than they ever could’ve imagined. If you are looking for a queer YA witch mystery, look no further. This is the book for you.
Legendborn by Tracy Deonn
Content Warnings: Past Trauma, Parent Death, Memory Manipulation, Racism
Rootcraft, Arthurian Legend, and teen mystery collide in this young adult urban fantasy novel. When Bree got into a residential program for high schoolers at a local college, she never expected to find a secret society of Legendborn students who fight invisible monsters and manipulate magic. And, more importantly, they have something to do with her mother’s death. Bree Matthews needs to know the real way her mother died and she will go undercover to reveal the truth. To get into an insular, white, and privileged secret society, she needs someone who they trust, a student and Legendborn just like Nick. Bree will need to fight the monsters that surround her if she wants to get to the bottom of her mother’s mystery.
Witches be Witches
The Year of the Witching by Alexis Henderson
Content Warnings: Racism, Misogyny, Sexual Assault, Animal Death
One diary unlocks the secrets the Church and Bethel would have kept hidden forever. Immanuelle Moore went into the forbidden forest that surrounds her strict but safe settlement where she meets the spirits of four witches who give her her dead mother’s diary. She must discover how her mother is connected to the witches and what the real history behind her settlement is. The Prophet, who maintains Bethel’s law and order, will not accept anything less than absolute submission, obedience, and conformity, and has always preached the dangers the witches bring to their community. But when the plague comes into town, Immanuelle begins to piece together the truths from her mother’s diary and it will be up to her to solve the mystery before the infection destroys them all.
Her Majesty’s Royal Coven by Juno Dawson
Content Warnings: Animal Death, Kidnapping, Transphobia, Racism
This queer, witchy book has a compelling mystery thrown into a modern magical matriarchy in the UK. Childhood best friends thought their time saving the world ended when they won the magic war years ago. Now they live separate lives as a priestess of HMRC, a “normal” stay-at-home mom, a countryside vet, and a revolutionary leader of a racially and sexually inclusive Coven — a Coven that opposes the exclusionary practices of the witches’ coven and the warlocks’ cabal that work for the British government in secret. But, when HMRC oracles foresee a magical teen ending life as they know it, they must decide the new roles they want to play. They just have to figure out who is going to end the world before something happens to the hapless teen in their care.
The Inheritance of Orquídea Divina by Zoraida Córdova
Content warning: Death of A Loved One
As the matriarch of the Montoyas, Orquídea Divina never had an average life, and she certainly did not have an average death. Instead, she became a ceiba tree, and years later, she is still giving out mysterious blessings, powers, and gifts to her descendants. The only way they will be able to uncover all of Orquídea’s secrets and their strange inheritance is by going to Ecuador and digging up the truth for themselves. The two timelines that span Orquídea’s past and her family’s present slowly reveal a complicated and dangerous mystery. Magical realism brings the story about generational legacies to life as their family secrets become a shared history.
Burn The Dark by S.A. Hunt
Content Warnings: Body Horror, Homophobia, Racism, Parental Death
No one thinks YouTube celebrity, Robin, is actually hunting down and killing witches in her vlogs. It’s just really good practical effects and CGI right? Robin doesn’t want people to know the AdSense on her videos helps support her lifelong vendetta against the creatures that killed her mother. So, she lets people think it’s all smoke and mirrors. Meanwhile, she can hunt the witches that prey on luck, magic, and life energy wherever they decide to live. The coven that killed her mother is still in her rural hometown, and now that Robin is all trained up, she is ready to return and finally get revenge. As long as a dark, mysterious, deadly creature doesn’t get in her way first.
Magic For Liars by Sarah Gailey
Content Warnings: Parental Death, Body Horror
A macabre murder occurs in the library of Ivy Gamble’s twin sister’s magic high school, so she tries to solve a case no one else is qualified to investigate. She ends up leaving with more information than she bargained for, though. After a lifetime of small, cruel magic she knows she can never wield, Ivy is fed up with the magical world. But someone is dead, and they need her help, so of course, she says yes and goes to the school anyways. She will need to call upon a past she would rather forget if she wants to solve the case and leave in one piece.
Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo
Content Warnings: Sexual Assault, Child Abuse and Abandonment, Death of A Loved One
This dark academia novel is noted for its innovative world-building and unexpected twists. Its version of Yale has a litany of magical secret societies and monitors who manage their rituals. And, after surviving a multiple homicide, Alex is given a priceless education in exchange for taking up the difficult role of a magic monitor on campus. There she meets Darlington, a preppy mentor who tries to teach her the ropes, but underneath this ivy league school’s shiny exterior is a magical mystery that would make any normal person shriek in fear. When the price of truth is this high, is finding someone willing to pay it even possible?
Witchmark by C.L. Polk
Content Warnings: Suicidal Thoughts, Suicide, Enslaved People, Torture, Parental Death, Torture
This witchy Queernorm steampunk urban fantasy novel investigates a murder mystery that might just change the nation. In a magical, post-war Edwardian England, the witch-in-hiding, Miles, is working as a psychiatrist who helps wounded soldiers. One day, as he is making his rounds at the hospital, he encounters a dying witch who leaves him with a mission to solve his murder. When a handsome man offers to help him investigate, he is not in a position to refuse. Everything Miles knows about his magic, his family, and his nation will change as he investigates the real consequences of the war.
Fly Away With These Witch Mystery Books
When it comes to witch mystery books, these are only a small selection of everything available, but they are some of the best. I am happy witches are back in style from witchy romances to YA to general witchy reads. Personally, I will never get enough of the magic, mayhem, and mystery only witches can provide.