--- description: Find out why 'Morituri' by Yasmina Khadra made the list. title: Morituri: The 100 Best Mystery and Thriller Books image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte998c72561cb2283/698a407c09208f711541ab9b/Morituri.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- Oct 03, 2023 # Morituri by Yasmina Khadra by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close  Mohammed Moulessehoul originally published _Morituri_ under the pseudonym Yasmina Khadra to avoid military censorship as a high-ranking official in the Algerian army, an experience that deeply informed his 1997 novel, which was translated to English by David Herman in 2004\. _Morituri_ centers on the dangers faced by police detective Superintendent Llob as he searches for the daughter of one of the most powerful men in Algiers in the midst of the havoc wreaked by the civil war. As Llob investigates the circumstances of her disappearance, he uncovers a deeper and darker web of corruption, political unrest, and violence. Moulessehoul, one of Algeria’s preeminent novelists and the author of more than 40 novels, offers a thriller that encapsulates nuances and complexities of the Arab world at a critical moment in time. —_Cady Lang_ **Buy Now:** _Morituri_ on [Amazon](https://amzn.to/3ELUPxl "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collections/best-mystery-thriller-books/6309203/morituri/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collections/best-mystery-thriller-books/6309203/morituri/"},"headline":"Morituri","datePublished":"2023-10-03T11:50:06.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-03T00:20:18.237Z","description":"","url":"https://time.com/collections/best-mystery-thriller-books/6309203/morituri/","keywords":["Books"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte998c72561cb2283/698a407c09208f711541ab9b/Morituri.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"creator":"TIME Staff","articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte998c72561cb2283/698a407c09208f711541ab9b/Morituri.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collections/best-mystery-thriller-books/6309203/morituri/","name":"Morituri"}}]}] ```