I do not read straightforward mysteries too often, but I do enjoy a good whodunit from time to time. The best I’ve read in the last few years (and perhaps ever), is Val McDermid’s A Place of Execution. Structurally, it is about as fine as you get for a mystery novel. Well-written, suspenseful, atmospheric, with enough twists and turns to satisfy even the most particular reader, this one is a gem.