Marisha Pessl
A searing take-down of privileged New York Society, but also a mystery unto itself. Capote's final unfinished novel in essence destroyed his life when it was published in excerpt-form in Esquire magazine. Though Capote claimed at the time he was almost finished with the novel (and that it would be his life's crowning achievement), after his death, chapters he insisted existed -- and could describe in great detail -- have never been found. His editor believed they only existed in his head. Others believe the pages are locked away in a vault or security box, location unknown. Nobody knows for certain.
2.) Lolita, Vladimir Nabokov
A book so textually rich and multi-layered, no matter how many times you come back to it, you find something you've never seen before.
Chandler gave life to the timeless hardboiled detective Philip Marlowe in this seminal crime novel about blackmail, kidnapping, and 1930's L.A, creating an archetype out of the world-weary but lovable loner seeking the truth.
4,) The Alienist, Caleb Carr
This historical thriller about a serial killer and the first forensic criminologist is a blast, unfolding at breakneck speed against a backdrop of raunchy, seedy 1896 New York.
