Spend some time with these crime-solving couples in these 5 mystery books starring husband and wife detective teams.

1. The Thin Man by Dashiell Hammett

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“In Dashiell Hammett’s famous crime novel, we meet one of the detective-story master’s most enchanting creations, Nick and Nora Charles, a rich, glamorous couple who solve homicides in between wisecracks and martinis. At once knowing and unabashedly romantic, The Thin Man is a classic murder mystery that doubles as a sophisticated comedy of manners.”

2. The Bilbao Looking Glass by Charlotte MacLeod

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“According to Max Bittersohn, he and Sarah Kelling have witnessed enough murder and unhappiness, so it’s high time they got married. And though Sarah hasn’t yet agreed to such drastic measures, she invites Max to summer with her at Ireson’s Landing. But they haven’t been in the house ten minutes when they stumble upon summer’s first mystery—a mint-condition, antique Spanish mirror that is tremendously rare and valuable. Sarah has never seen it before and she doesn’t know how it ended up in the summerhouse, but the sleuthing couple will soon find this looking glass to be more troublesome than anything Lewis Carroll ever invented. As the zany Kelling clan descends on Ireson’s Landing, Sarah and her beau try to uncover the mystery of the Bilbao looking glass—a quest that is disrupted when a vicious next-door neighbor is found hacked to death with a woodshed ax. By summer’s end, Sarah and Max will learn that some murders can be solved simply by looking in the mirror.”

3. Pot Luck: A James Emerson Harris Mystery by David L. Gersh

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“Things always seem to go wrong for Jimmy Harris. The small coastal town of San Buenasara is gripped in a recession. Jimmy’s law practice is in the tank.

“Wee Willy’s is the hot pot company in town. And perhaps a way to stay afloat. Willy wants him to be president. To think, him a president.

“Alas, things are not what they seem. Mysterious shell companies own the stock. The company is broke, even though boxes of cash keep arriving. Jimmy finds himself up to his eyebrows in a struggle between the law and shadowy people who will do anything to get their way. Is it the drug cartel? The Mafia? Or is it the FBI?

“He stumbles. He bumbles. He’s arrested for murder. He needs to find a way through this maze. The alternatives are unthinkable.

“With the help of his once and future wife, Karen, and the resourcefulness of his law partner Clyde, maybe he can find a way out. And of course, Bruno, Karen and Jimmy’s long-haired dachshund, wants to help. He has a nose for mysteries.”

4. Callendar Square by Anne Perry

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When two dead infants are dug up in the Callander Square gardens, the upper-class residents dismiss the burials as the desperate act of a low-born girl and resent the intrusion of Inspector Thomas Pitt into their well-ordered lives. Pitt is not convinced that the case should be so easily dropped. Also intrigued by the mystery, Pitt’s well-born wife, Charlotte, pursues her own investigation into places Thomas would never have access—the parlors and inner chambers of the mansions on the fashionable square. With her sister Emily, Lady Ashworth, who lives on Callander Square, she delves into the lives and secrets of the residents. Thomas and Charlotte, now expecting their first child, form the perfect sleuthing couple. Elegant closets soon spill their skeletons exposing long-hidden secrets—secrets that could lead even the most upright aristocrat to kill. But will Pitt’s keen investigative skills and Charlotte’s insights into the workings of high-class society solve the mystery in time to save the innocent residents of Callander Square from the murderer among them?

5. Busman’s Honeymoon by Dorothy Sayers

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“It took several near-death experiences for Lord Peter Wimsey to convince Harriet Vane to be his wife, but she has finally relented. When the dapper detective marries Britain’s most popular mystery author—just a few short years after rescuing her from the hangman’s noose—the press could not be more excited. But Lord Peter and his bride have no interest in spending their wedding night surrounded by reporters. They sneak out of their own reception to begin their honeymoon early, out of sight of the world. Unfortunately, for some couples, calamity is inescapable. On their 1st morning together, the newlyweds discover the house’s caretaker bludgeoned to death in the manor’s basement. If they thought finding a few minutes alone was difficult, they’re up against even steeper odds. In a house full of suspects, identifying the killer won’t be easy.”

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