The Thrill of the Hunt: Mysteries and Thrillers Featuring Hidden Treasure

There’s something eternally captivating about the idea of hidden treasure, conjuring images of sunken ships and secret passageways, coded maps, and skeletal guardians. So it’s only natural that so many writers of mystery and suspense have turned to the trope when crafting their narratives. The stakes are bound to be high and motives plentiful when you’re dealing with life-changing riches.

In my adult mystery debut, The Treasure Hunters Club, three strangers in transition cross paths in a small coastal town in Nova Scotia that’s best known as the site of a legendary missing pirate treasure. It’s a story that has long fascinated locals and attracted countless treasure seekers and adventurers to the area hoping to strike it rich, and the three protagonists soon find themselves drawn into the mystery. But when people begin to turn up dead, there’s suddenly much more at stake than just the missing gold.

As an imaginative child growing up in Nova Scotia, I was well aware of the story of the Oak Island Treasure. It’s one of the world’s most famous tales of missing treasure, and people are still searching for it today. When it came time to turn my head to writing my adult mystery debut, I knew it would be set in an atmospheric seaside village, and a buried treasure seemed like a natural backstory.

The five novels below feature characters in search of hidden riches, and they all have one thing in common: greed can drive people to do desperate and often terrible things.

Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson

It would be impossible to write a list of treasure hunting novels without including Treasure Island, the timeless classic that’s inspired countless adaptations and sparked a genre of adventure stories. It follows the young Jim Hawkins, who stumbles upon an old pirate’s treasure map in the chest of a deceased seaman. Drawn into a world of swashbuckling pirates, secret plots, and the search for buried treasure, Jim finds himself on a dangerous expedition to Skeleton Island. In Stevenson’s deft hands, the missing treasure becomes more than just gold, as Jim learns the price of loyalty and becomes captivated by the allure of the unknown.

The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown

While The Da Vinci Code is most known for its thrilling pace and exploration of religious and historical enigmas, at its heart is a search for hidden treasure. But the treasure isn’t a cache of gold or jewels—it’s the Holy Grail, believed to be one of the most elusive and significant artifacts in history. The novel follows symbologist Robert Langdon as he deciphers a series of cryptic messages left in the artwork of Leonardo da Vinci. Each clue propels Langdon and cryptologist Sophie Neveu deeper into a conspiracy involving secret societies, religious authorities, and a treasure that could reshape the foundations of Christianity. As Langdon and Sophie race against time and a murderous antagonist, readers are pulled into a whirlwind of puzzles, codes, and theological debates.

The Skeleton Key by Erin Kelly

I’ve read and loved everything Erin Kelly has written over the years, but The Skeleton Key in particular checked a lot of boxes for me, from 1970s bohemians to books filled with riddles. The story revolves around the Finch family, whose patriarch, Frank, created an elaborate treasure-hunting book back in the seventies. The Golden Bones featured a series of clues that purportedly pointed to real-life treasure buried around England, sparking a controversial global hunt. Decades later, the Finch family is preparing to celebrate the anniversary of the book, when old wounds resurface, and new dangers emerge as it turns out that some are still desperate to find the missing piece of treasure.

The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin

One of the most beloved middle grade novels of all time, The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin is a mystery novel centered around the eccentric millionaire Samuel Westing and his unusual will. Sixteen heirs, who are all seemingly strangers, are invited to live in Sunset Towers, a luxury apartment building. When Westing dies under suspicious circumstances, they are tasked with solving the mystery of his murder to inherit his vast fortune. Partnered in pairs, the heirs are given cryptic clues and must navigate secrets, twists, and unexpected connections between them. The novel blends puzzle-solving, humor, and sharp character studies as the heirs compete to figure out who among them might be a murderer.

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline is a sci-fi adventure set in a dystopian future where most of humanity escapes their harsh reality by living in the virtual world of the OASIS. The story follows Wade Watts, a teenager obsessed with winning a contest created by the OASIS’s late founder, James Halliday. The contest involves solving puzzles based on 1980s pop culture, with the prize being control of the OASIS and Halliday’s immense fortune. As Wade races to find the hidden Easter egg, he must outsmart other players and the powerful IOI corporation, who will stop at nothing to take control of the OASIS. A mile a minute thriller with a big heart and an appealing, nostalgic vibe, Ready Player One is a virtual treasure hunt that feels entirely appropriate for an increasingly online society.

About The Treasure Hunters Club by Tom Ryan:

For nearly a century, people have ventured to the idyllic seaside town of Maple Bay in search of a legendary lost pirate treasure, but locals know there’s more than just gold buried in the sand. As the paths of three strangers converge in Maple Bay, the truth is about to be blown wide open. But not before the bodies start to pile up.

Peter Barnett is rapidly approaching 40 with little to show for it when a mysterious letter invites him to Maple Bay and the mansion his estranged family has called home for generations.

Seventeen-year-old Dandy Feltzen is isolated and adrift following the death of her beloved grandfather, until his final request and a tantalizing clue sets her on a mission to solve the mystery he spent his entire life chasing.

Cass Jones has given up on her dream of being a successful author when an unexpected opportunity lands in her lap: a housesitting gig in remote Maple Bay, where she stumbles on the perfect subject matter for her breakout book–and the handsome sailor who might be just the person to help her research it.

Peter, Dandy, and Cass have never met, but they’re on a collision course with each other and the mystery that has defined Maple Bay for two centuries, and none of them are prepared for the shocking truths that may or may not still be buried there.