Top 14 One-Shot Mystery Fanfics
Ranked by AO3 kudos. Each fic is tagged with mystery and falls in the short stories under 10,000 words range.
25,244
by mediocre_kazoo_player
Nobody likes Kokichi Ouma. When he drops out of Hope's Peak after junior year, a ding-dong-the-witch-is-dead sense of relief pervades class 79....Things are a little different for Saihara, who hates himself for deciding to hold off on confessing (yes, confessing) to Ouma until their senior year. Ste
Join me in death
by Sylveonnx
Satoru Gojo is a world-famous model, known for a beauty that seems unaffected by time and a history of relationships that always end in a strangely consistent way. When journalist Suguru Geto begins to investigate the patterns behind these stories, a series of deaths and disappearances becomes incre
I've Been Shot
by cc_cappy1
The room had stayed deadly silent for a full minute before Fanboy spoke. “.....Did I just get sniped?”
How my heart bleeds
by fairicherry
El suspects Max is a vampire
And Yet Something Feels Missing, No?
by saltshakergirl18
One quick glance and he could tell that smile was off. Not exactly fake or empty, but, just, off. Restless. Like an Electrike that has the energy to run around the world five times over but its paws are stuck to the ground, keeping it in place until it eventually explodes from the build up.
The Batman of Gotham
by utterlychangedintofire
The Batman. Year One. A mysterious invitation draws Bruce Wayne into a much larger world than he anticipated.
His Butler, On The Case
by Niamh_Kavanagh
It had been months ago that the Young Master had set Lau on the case of a seal, curiously shaped and wrought in black wax. The letter arrived in the evening, slipped through the letterbox by an unseen hand. Perhaps the spidery threads of a new mystery might alleviate the Young Master's sulky mood. (
Alternative unirverse: Kuroshitsuji
by Coffeee_357
An alternate universe of Kuroshitsuji where his parents and brother are alive, and Ciel is now called Lucien. Tired of being locked in the mansion, Lucien decides to go to high school. As he adapts to his new school life, he must discover with Finny and Sullivan a mystery that he wishes he had never
This town, Hometown
by redspah
(Deltarune Chapter 5 Weird Route Spoilers!)In the aftermath of Kris and Noelle's disappearance, the tight-knit community of Hometown is struggling to figure out what happened. The local police force, now thoroughly understaffed, is at a complete loss. They need help.And who better to help, than a pa
School of Athens
by flaming_tilapia
Fatalities are typically expected of a natural disaster. What isn’t expected, the suspect of a cold case being discovered and reopening a years old investigation. The victim being a well beloved architect. In a case that hits personal for General Mahamatra Cyno and his forest expert Tighnari, the tw
Forgotten Tides
by seaglassgirl
The girl arrived with the storm, she had no memories, no idea where she was from, except her name: Kairi. As she slowly builds a life on Destiny Islands, fragments of her past begin to resurface, revealing that her forgotten life is tied to a darkness that was never truly gone.
In The Fray
by BellaDonnaslove
When Rudy Bennett is assassinated outside Town Hall, his daughter Bonnie inherits a mayorship she never wanted, a town deep in grief, and a murder no one seems interested in solving.With six weeks until a special election and his opponent Silas pulling ahead in the polls, the last thing Bonnie needs
Luz's Bizarre Adventure (Vol. 2)
by OrphicOdyssey
A continuation of my The Owl House x Jojo's Bizarre Adventure fusion fic. This volume will cover over half of the content of season 2 of The Owl House with some additional scenes added to flesh out some of the more underutilized characters.
The Front Is a Lemon Avenue Flying Straightly
by m9b2
In the final generation before the Clone Wars, the Jedi Council receives reports of a Sith on the remote planet of Perquan. The Council dispatches Arza Cote, a young Jedi Knight, to respond, joined by local detective and interpreter Lann Relfalliya. But as Arza investigates a strange disturbance in
More One-Shot Mystery Fics on AO3
AO3's search bar accepts custom word-count ranges. We've pre-filled the short stories under 10,000 words range for you. Then read offline with Fanfict Reader.
About Mystery
Something is wrong and someone must work out what: disappearances, ciphers, impossible crimes, and secrets with bodies attached. Mystery fic includes whodunits, slow-unraveling secrets, and stories where the reader solves alongside the characters.
A fair-play mystery makes the reader a participant, and fandom's deep character knowledge makes the misdirection more fun — you know these people, and you're still wrong.
Common scenarios: A small-town disappearance that the visiting protagonist can't leave alone, or an inheritance with conditions that get stranger the closer anyone looks.
About This List
This list of 14one-shot Mystery fanfics spans 74,022 total words. Kudos range from 2 on the newest entries to 2,801 on the most established. Most entries are ongoing works, so subscribe on AO3 for update notifications. The most common rating is Mature (5 of 14 fics).
Recurring tags across this list: Mystery · Horror · Slow Burn · Alternate Universe.
Read one-shot mystery fanfiction on the go
Fanfict Reader is the best way to browse, search, and read AO3 fanfiction on your iPhone. Download for free and start reading your favorite stories today.