10 Best Desert Island Mystery Books on Survival on a Deserted Island
Alright fellow literary buffs, get your hammocks ready, because today, we're diving headfirst into the realm of desert island mysteries. These are the kind of books that'll have you perched at the edge of your seat, anxiety peeking, breath hitching, as the protagonist battles unfamiliar terrain, uncharted territories and unending questions. In the midst of the vast blue ocean, on a speck of land, they're forced to use their wit, courage and sheer willpower to survive.
From spine-chilling mysteries that leave you gasping for breath to action-packed quest narratives that inspire awe, these books cover the gamut. But these aren't your average 'desert island survival' tales, oh no. Thrown into the mix is the mystery element - an unexplained occurrence, a puzzling phenomenon, perhaps even a strange inhabitant of the island. Slowly but surely, clues unfold, tensions rise, and an exhilarating race to unravel the truth begins.
We've handpicked the crème de la crème of this genre, novels and comics that'll take you on a wild ride of thrills, chills, surprises, and all-encompassing enigmas. So buckle up, dear readers. The island awaits. Grab a book, dive right in, and let the mysteries of the island captivate you. Are you ready for the adventure of a lifetime?
『The Beach』
The irresistible novel that was adapted into a major motion picture starring Leonardo DiCaprio. The Khao San Road, Bangkok -- first stop for the hordes of rootless young Westerners traveling in Southeast Asia. On Richard's first night there, in a low-budget guest house, a fellow traveler slashes his wrists, bequeathing to Richard a meticulously drawn map to "the Beach." The Beach, as Richard has come to learn, is the subject of a legend among young travelers in Asia: a lagoon hidden from the sea, with white sand and coral gardens, freshwater falls surrounded by jungle, plants untouched for a thousand years. There, it is rumored, a carefully selected international few have settled in a communal Eden. Haunted by the figure of Mr. Duck -- the name by which the Thai police have identified the dead man -- and his own obsession with Vietnam movies, Richard sets off with a young French couple to an island hidden away in an archipelago forbidden to tourists. They discover the Beach, and it is as beautiful and idyllic as it is reputed to be. Yet over time it becomes clear that Beach culture, as Richard calls it, has troubling, even deadly, undercurrents. Spellbinding and hallucinogenic, The Beach by Alex Garland -- both a national bestseller and his debut -- is a highly accomplished and suspenseful novel that fixates on a generation in their twenties, who, burdened with the legacy of the preceding generation and saturated by popular culture, long for an unruined landscape, but find it difficult to experience the world firsthand.
Author | Alex Garland |
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Price | $4.99 |
Publisher | Penguin |
Release Date | Jul 05, 2005 |
Source | Google Books |
『The Island of Dr. Moreau』
Following a shipwreck, a young naturalist finds himself on an island run by a mad scientist intent on creating a strain of beast men
Author | Herbert George Wells |
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Price | unknown |
Publisher | Courier Corporation |
Release Date | Jan 01, 1996 |
Source | Google Books |
『Lord of the Flies』
William Golding’s unforgettable classic of boyhood adventure and the savagery of humanity comes to Penguin Classics in a stunning Graphic Deluxe Edition with a new foreword by Lois Lowry As provocative today as when it was first published in 1954, Lord of the Flies continues to ignite passionate debate with its startling, brutal portrait of human nature. William Golding’s compelling story about a group of very ordinary boys marooned on a coral island has been labeled a parable, an allegory, a myth, a morality tale, a parody, a political treatise, and even a vision of the apocalypse. But above all, it has earned its place as one of the indisputable classics of the twentieth century for readers of any age. This Penguin Classics Graphic Deluxe Edition features an array of special features to supplement the novel, including a foreword by Lois Lowry, an introduction by Stephen King, an essay by E. M. Forster, an essay on teaching and reading the novel and suggestions for further exploration by scholar Jennifer Buehler, and an extended note by E. L. Epstein, the publisher of the first American paperback edition of Lord of the Flies. For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.
Author | William Golding |
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Price | $10.99 |
Publisher | Penguin |
Release Date | Nov 15, 2016 |
Source | Google Books |
『Echoes』
"Fast-paced and thrilling. ECHOES is a heart-pounding and addictive love story." —Mia Siegert, author of Jerkbait They wake on a deserted island. Fiona and Miles, high school enemies now stranded together. No memory of how they got there. No plan to follow, no hope to hold on to. Each step forward reveals the mystery behind the forces that brought them here. And soon, the most chilling discovery: something else is on the island with them. Something that won't let them leave alive. Echoes is a thrilling adventure about confronting the impossible, discovering love in the most unexpected places, and, above all, finding hope in the face of the unknown. The Echoes series is best enjoyed in order. Reading Order: Book #1 Echoes Book #2 Fractures
Author | Alice Reeds |
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Price | $5.99 |
Publisher | Entangled: Teen |
Release Date | Aug 07, 2018 |
Source | Google Books |
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Author | |
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Price | unknown |
Publisher | |
Release Date | |
Source | Google Books |
『The Islands at the End of the World』
In this fast-paced survival story set in Hawaii, electronics fail worldwide, the islands become completely isolated, and a strange starscape fills the sky. Leilani and her father embark on a nightmare odyssey from Oahu to their home on the Big Island. Leilani’s epilepsy holds a clue to the disaster, if only they can survive as the islands revert to earlier ways. A powerful story enriched by fascinating elements of Hawaiian ecology, culture, and warfare, this captivating and dramatic debut from Austin Aslan is the first of two novels. The author has a master’s degree in tropical conservation biology from the University of Hawaii at Hilo. Praise for Islands at the End of the World: “A riveting tale of belonging, family, overcoming perceived limitations, and finding a home.”--School Library Journal, Starred "Aslan’s debut honors Hawaii’s unique cultural strengths--family ties and love of home, amplified by geography and history--while remaining true to a genre that affirms the mysterious grandeur of the universe waiting to be discovered."--Kirkus Reviews, Starred "Aslan’s debut is a riveting tale of belonging, family, overcoming perceived limitations, and finding a home."--School Library Journal, Starred
Author | Austin Aslan |
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Price | unknown |
Publisher | Ember |
Release Date | Aug 04, 2015 |
Source | Google Books |
『Hatchet』
A 13 year-old boy crashlands, alone in the Canadian wilderness. All that stands between living and dying is a hatchet. Somehow he must learn to use this one tool to fend off starvation, wild animals and many other hazards.
Author | Gary Paulsen |
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Price | unknown |
Publisher | Simon and Schuster |
Release Date | Sep 25, 2007 |
Source | Google Books |
『Gone』
The first in New York Times bestselling author Michael Grant's breathtaking dystopian sci-fi saga, Gone is a page-turning thriller that invokes the classic The Lord of the Flies along with the horror of Stephen King. In the blink of an eye, everyone disappears. Gone. Except for the young. There are teens, but not one single adult. Just as suddenly, there are no phones, no internet, no television. No way to get help. And no way to figure out what's happened. Hunger threatens. Bullies rule. A sinister creature lurks. Animals are mutating. And the teens themselves are changing, developing new talents—unimaginable, dangerous, deadly powers—that grow stronger by the day. It's a terrifying new world. Sides are being chosen, a fight is shaping up. Townies against rich kids. Bullies against the weak. Powerful against powerless. And time is running out: on your birthday, you disappear just like everyone else. . . . “A potent mix of action and thoughtfulness—centered around good and evil, courage and cowardice—renders this a tour de force that will leave readers dazed, disturbed, and utterly breathless.” —ALA Booklist (starred review) Read the entire series: Gone Hunger Lies Plague Fear Light Monster Villain Hero
Author | Michael Grant |
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Price | $12.99 |
Publisher | Harper Collins |
Release Date | May 19, 2009 |
Source | Google Books |
『The Troop』
Once every year, Scoutmaster Tim Riggs leads a troop of boys into the Canadian wilderness for a weekend camping trip. This year, something is waiting in the darkness. Something wicked ... An intruder stumbles upon their campsite like a wild animal. He is shockingly thin, disturbingly pale, and voraciously hungry. Within his body is a bioengineered nightmare, a horror that spreads faster than fear. One by one, the boys will do things no person could ever imagine ...
Author | Nick Cutter |
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Price | unknown |
Publisher | Simon and Schuster |
Release Date | Jun 06, 2023 |
Source | Google Books |
『The Island』
From the New York Times bestselling author of The Chain comes a pulse-pounding thriller about a family that must face their darkest fears--and deepest secrets--when they go on the run for their lives. INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER · A NEW YORK TIMES "BEST THRILLER OF 2022" "Unrelenting suspense." —Stephen King “Extraordinary.” —T. J. Newman, New York Times bestselling author of Falling "You'll never go on vacation the same way again." —Don Winslow, New York Times bestselling author of City On Fire IT WAS JUST SUPPOSED TO BE A FAMILY VACATION. A TERRIBLE ACCIDENT CHANGED EVERYTHING. YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE CAPABLE OF UNTIL THEY COME FOR YOUR FAMILY. After moving from a small country town to Seattle, Heather Baxter marries Tom, a widowed doctor with a young son and teenage daughter. A working vacation overseas seems like the perfect way to bring the new family together, but once they’re deep in the Australian outback, the jet-lagged and exhausted kids are so over their new mom. When they discover remote Dutch Island, off-limits to outside visitors, the family talks their way onto the ferry, taking a chance on an adventure far from the reach of iPhones and Instagram. But as soon as they set foot on the island, which is run by a tightly knit clan of locals, everything feels wrong. Then a shocking accident propels the Baxters from an unsettling situation into an absolute nightmare. When Heather and the kids are separated from Tom, they are forced to escape alone, seconds ahead of their pursuers. Now it’s up to Heather to save herself and the kids, even though they don’t trust her, the harsh bushland is filled with danger, and the locals want her dead. Heather has been underestimated her entire life, but she knows that only she can bring her family home again and become the mother the children desperately need, even if it means doing the unthinkable to keep them all alive. SOON TO BE A HULU ORIGINAL SERIES “Gripping and unpredictable. No one does high-stakes tension like McKinty . . . Prepare to be hooked.” —Sarah Pearse “A haunting masterpiece.” —Steve Cavanagh “McKinty has written another irresistible and pulse-pounding thriller about the surprising places evil hides and just how far we’ll go for those we love.” —Karin Slaughter
Author | Adrian McKinty |
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Price | $11.99 |
Publisher | Little, Brown |
Release Date | May 17, 2022 |
Source | Google Books |
In wrapping up, we've covered ten stunning novels and comics that tastefully weave the elements of mystery, survival, and the intrigue of life on a deserted island. Each selection on this list offers its unique twists that break free from the traditional clichés, offering readers multifaceted characters and plausible storylines. They capture the essence of resilience, wit, and resourcefulness needed to navigate the uncharted challenges of island life. The sun-soaked landscapes, the trials faced by the characters, the unraveled mysteries, all make this engaging theme a distinctive genre. For those captivated by stories of survival and the solitary beauty of deserted islands, these selections are like a treasure chest waiting to be discovered. Each narrative, gritty and compelling, stands as a testament to the human will to survive against all odds. So, whether you're a seasoned bookworm or a newly minted comic enthusiast, there's a wealth of adventure waiting for you within these pages. Break free of the usual fare and embrace the thrill of these desert island survival mysteries. Enjoy the journey!
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