Top 20 Short Mystery Fanfics
Ranked by AO3 kudos. Each fic is tagged with mystery and falls in the 10,000–50,000 words range.
An Issue of Consequence
by Faith Wood (faithwood)
Draco has woken up in an alternate universe. Or he has woken up utterly insane. Nothing else can possibly explain why Harry Potter suddenly seems to think he's Draco's boyfriend.
Draco Malfoy, It's Your Lucky Day
by Faith Wood (faithwood)
Even though he's unarmed, injured, lost in the Forbidden Forest, and facing a possible murder charge, Draco Malfoy gets lucky.
Those Who Favor Fire
by marywhale
Lup goes missing. Taako goes looking for her. If people would stop befriending him it'd probably go a lot faster.
The Late Llewellyn Drake
by wanna_have_fun
BILLIONAIRE DOOFUS DRAKE FOUND DEAD IN MANSION ON ANNIVERSARY OF WIFE’S DISAPPEARANCE; PRESUMED SUICIDE Webby stared at her laptop screen in shock. She knew that name, though she hadn't heard it in years, since before... well. Before a lot of things. Before everyone got quiet and started walking on
Something In The Shadows
by sequelseagull
Jaskier built his career on monster legends, travelling the country as the host of a cryptid documentary series, chasing things that probably don't exist into places he probably shouldn't be. Geralt is his bodyguard, hired to keep him alive through increasingly unwise filming decisions. What Jaskier
Change Your Way
by WritingIsMyCoffee
In which P5R's secret semester also affected the lives of other persona users, and Goro Akechi (unwillingly) becomes responsible for fixing Takuto Maruki's mess. Featuring Junpei Iori (Ace Detective), and Naoto Shirogane (actual detective). [A rewrite of Untitled Goro Akechi Redemption Fic ]
It's Gonna Get Weird
by iknowwhyulikeoscarwilde
In the small town of Hunter Falls, Illumi is able to flourish. Out from under his parents' thumb, he can finally live as his authentic self and explore the mysteries of the town along with his boyfriend Hisoka. But when Illumi leans too close into the mysteries of the town, he runs the risk of being
Hústeron Próteron
by Genesister (papirini)
Mother and Father, If I’m not back from my run today, it’s because the special boon I received today worked! So I will be spending a few days up on the surface helping out Melinoe! Don’t worry, I’ll be back once it wears off. And please don’t tell her, I want it to be a nice surprise for her. -Z P.S
Can I pay you to pretend this never happened?
by Rat_l0rd113
Guess who’s going back to their favorite summer getaway? The Pines twins return for all new mysteries and adventures. Definitely not a return of a lot of trauma.
Hijos del Velo Roto
by Z_Kaku
Hace sesenta años, el mundo cambió para siempre. Algo rompió el velo entre los mitos y la realidad, y desde entonces, los dioses volvieron... no como figuras físicas, sino como fuerzas que habitan los sueños, los dones y el destino de las personas. Cada humano porta un poder, y unos pocos —los Víncu
So I Return To You
by Sanska
Upon discovery, they do not return, these wives and lovers of humankind. For they are not human, with human wills and emotions, and their true natures are instead imbued with a singular divine purpose. Do not find fault in yourself, my lord. They must forsake you, bound to this end by the laws that
The Disappearance of Gavin Reed
by sekorosa
Hank Anderson has no love for Gavin Reed. The man's an asshole, always has been. But an entire cop goes missing for three weeks and nobody — not the department, not his friends, not a single person — can point to his ghost?That doesn't sit right with him.And neither, unfortunately, does the android.
For a Hundred Years, I've Thought of You
by sei_tnn
After a long and sublime courtship, stealing kisses in the most secluded corners of the Domain, Sidon finally decides to ask Link to marry him and become his queen, his omega.The knight, of course, admits that he loves him too... but, to both their misfortune, he cannot accept the proposal.He is bon
The day I died - RE IMAGINED
by Onyxiton
After dying while protecting his family, Ichigo Kurosaki is thrust into the hidden world of Soul Reapers, where he must navigate a life he never asked for while uncovering mysteries surrounding his own existence, Soul Society, and the people closest to him.
In Bad Times and in Worse
by Manerenam
Nearly a decade after graduating from the academy, a series of regrettable events leads Team Maka to an unconventional assignment. Surveillance and subtlety, it turns out, do not count among their strengths. Luckily for the two of them, they make for a rather convincing married couple - endless bick
Heterochromia Iridis
by janinech
Just another ordinary day collecting body parts from the morgue... At least that’s what it should have been when Molly left work early for once in over a month. She’d expected he would have left her alone and gone back to his routine, but a call from a pleading father led her back to 221B. Sherlock
What Kind of Man
by HouseOfFlies
Lucy Scott did what she had to in order to survive. A petty thief, a loner and a nobody; she had no business in the real underworld. But there she was, having mistakenly and uncontrollably stumbled into his territory and how could he resist such tempting bait?Set before Series One of BBC Sherlock
Tooru and Hajime: Annotated Edition
by riverdaze
When a marriage offer from the powerful Seijoh landed at the small kingdom of Kitagawa's walls, it was too tempting, and perhaps dangerous, for the Iwaizumis to refuse. Upon arrival, the alpha Prince Hajime found Seijoh as grand as he imagined, and his new husband and potential mate, the omega Princ
Digging Up Stones
by mostmagical
A long-term ground mission on Hackett’s orders in the wake of the war. Traveling across forgotten wastelands and destroyed communities with just a ground car and Garrus, Shepard can’t help but let exhaustion and frustration get to her. Even on the open road, she’s never felt more trapped. And with t
Have a Nice Death
by Frost5ive
Find My Body. After hearing those cryptic words from a girl he encountered in the gents', Alastor finds himself thrust into a time loop. He gathers clues during the day and finds her missing body parts at night, all while evading a girl who is out for blood. He's not alone, though. Accompanying him
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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 20short Mystery fanfics spans 534,801 total words. Kudos range from 16 on the newest entries to 49,906 on the most established. Most entries are ongoing works, so subscribe on AO3 for update notifications. The most common rating is Mature (7 of 20 fics).
Recurring tags across this list: Mystery · Romance · Angst · Slow Burn · HP: EWE.
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