Movies like The Secret of the Notebook (1981)
The best movies like The Secret of the Notebook (1981) are The Limits of Control (2009), The Locksmith (2023) and Suburbicon (2017). If The Secret of the Notebook hooked you with its mystery and crime, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedI Am All Girls (2021)6.5/10 from 335 votes
- NewestAll the Devils Are Here (2025)Released 2025
The Limits of Control (2009)
A mysterious stranger works outside the law and keeps his objectives hidden, trusting no one. While his demeanor is paradoxically focused and dreamlike all at once, he embarks on a journey that not only takes him across Spain, but also through his own consciousness.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Locksmith (2023)
A thief fresh out of prison, tries to work his way back into the life of his daughter and ex-fiancé. Determined, he is forced to use the skills he has as a gifted locksmith. Things take a tumultuous turn after an unexpected disappearance.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery & crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisSuburbicon (2017)
In the quiet family town of Suburbicon during the 1950s, the best and worst of humanity is hilariously reflected through the deeds of seemingly ordinary people. When a home invasion turns deadly, a picture-perfect family turns to blackmail, revenge and murder.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & mystery
SnoozefestMovies like thisAurora Teagarden Mysteries: Reunited and It Feels So Deadly (2020)
Aurora's high school reunion turns deadly when a body is found in the hotel pool. Aurora and her Real Murders Club help investigate which classmate was most likely to kill.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisReal Murders: An Aurora Teagarden Mystery (2015)
Aurora finds a member of her crime buff group, the Real Murders Club, killed in a manner that eerily resembles the crime the club was about to discuss. As other brutal "copycat" killings follow, Aurora will have to uncover the person behind the terrifying game.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThirteen at Dinner (1985)
Actress Jane Wilkinson wants a divorce, but her husband, Lord Edgware, refuses. She convinces Hercule Poirot to use his famed tact and logic to make her case. Lord Edgware turns up murdered, a well-placed knife wound at the base of his neck. It will take the precise Poirot to sort out the lies from the alibis - and find the criminal before another victim dies.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & mystery
SnoozefestMovies like thisMurder in Three Acts (1986)
In Acapulco, Hercule Poirot attends a dinner party in which one of the guests clutches his throat and suddenly dies. The causes seem to be natural until another party with most of the same guests produces another corpse.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThey Call Me Mister Tibbs! (1970)
A police detective's investigation of a prostitute's murder points to his best friend.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & mystery
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Julius House: An Aurora Teagarden Mystery (2016)
Aurora Teagarden is a beautiful young librarian with a passion for solving murders. After an exhaustive search for the perfect home, Aurora finally purchases her dream house, unaware of its murky history. As she prepares to move in, Aurora discovers that the family who once lived there mysteriously disappeared without a trace.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAll the Devils Are Here (2025)
After a heist, four criminals lay low in a remote safehouse, waiting for orders. As paranoia builds, one thing becomes clear — the real threat may not be outside, but among them.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Bundle of Trouble: An Aurora Teagarden Mystery (2017)
Aurora Teagarden and her boyfriend Martin are thrilled when they get an unexpected visit from his niece and her new baby. Their excitement is short lived when his niece disappears and the baby is left behind. Once again, Aurora finds herself drawn into a deadly investigation as she risks it all to help Martin reunite with his family.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Interview (1998)
A duel between a suspected murderer and a detective pressed by people who want results. But whose skin is really wanted?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisI Am All Girls (2021)
A special crimes investigator forms an unlikely bond with a serial killer to bring down a global child sex trafficking syndicate.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDead Over Heels: An Aurora Teagarden Mystery (2017)
Librarian and real crime buff Aurora “Roe” Teagarden never liked Detective Sergeant Jack Burns, but she also never wanted to see him dead. When his body is found outside of Aurora’s home, she then becomes the main suspect. Determined to find the killer and clear her name, Aurora can't help but to get involved once again.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisShimmer Lake (2017)
Shot in reverse day-by-day through a week—a local sheriff embarks on a quest to unlock the mystery of three small-town criminals and a bank heist gone wrong.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAbsolution (2024)
An aging ex-boxer gangster working as muscle for a Boston crime boss receives an upsetting diagnosis. Despite a faltering memory, he attempts to rectify the sins of his past and reconnect with his estranged children. He is determined to leave a positive legacy for his grandson, but the criminal underworld isn’t done with him and won’t loosen their grip willingly.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & mystery
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Execution (2022)
When the police finally catch an elusive serial killer, no one can prove his guilt, resulting in the lead detective making it personal.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKiller Heat (2024)
An expat PI is hired to investigate a suspicious death in Crete, Greece, where jealousies run deep amongst the victim's powerful family.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisBlindfire (2020)
A police officer who while responding to a violent hostage call, kills the African American suspect only to later learn of his innocence. Sensing this was a set-up, and facing repercussions, he must track down the person responsible while examining his own accountability and the ingrained racism which brought him to this point.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisInside Man (2023)
Based on true events. A disgraced police detective seeking redemption goes undercover to expose a violent crime syndicate. But as he sinks deeper into the mob, the price for absolution may be higher than he can afford.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDead Time (2007)
A police and a journalist uncover series of murders that lead into one problem: A treasure many parties were fighting for and caused many casualties.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & mystery
American Fetish (2010)
When the son of an alleged killer inherits a "blue movie" that may be the key to solving a 50 year old murder, he finds himself drawn into a forbidden world of sexual obsession. But the closer he gets to the heart of the mystery, the more the past threatens to reach out into the present and reveal terrifying truths that lead him to the brink of madness.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both mystery & crime
The Reckoning (2021)
Ben wakes up from an artificial coma after a failed mission. The personal protector has to deal with the fact that he could not prevent the death of a little girl. In order to recover, the BKA officer takes a break from the police service and drives to the Baltic Sea with his girlfriend Marion. He spent happy days there as a child. The first visit to his parents in years is at the same time the return to the place of painful memories, because back then his best friend Timmi was killed in a mysterious accident. To his astonishment, he now learns that Timmi, now an adult, is alive and lying in a hospital as a coma patient. Together with Marion, a doctor who specializes in this diseases, Ben wants to reach Timmi with the help of MRI technology. Perhaps the trauma can be resolved if the cause can be brought to light. Unlike Ben, however, neither Timmi's father nor the village cop Nolting seem interested in it. A web of guilt, lies and deception has to be unraveled to clue to the puzzle.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & mystery
Burglar (1987)
Bernice "Bernie" Rhodenbarr is a burglar by trade, and she runs a bookstore as well. Her friend Carl Hefler is a dog groomer. After a successful burglary, it's discovered that a dead body was in the house she burgled. As she's the only one who can be placed at the scene of the crime, she has to use her criminal skills to clear her name of the murder AND avoid getting charged with the burglary.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisCosh Boy (1953)
Roy Walsh is a brash and enterprising thug who bullies his friends into subservience. He and his gang assault and rob people on the street, but things get increasingly dangerous when their behavior escalates to larger crimes.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
Pet Shop Days (2025)
On the run from his unforgiving father in Mexico, Alejandro finds himself in New York City, where he meets Jack, a pet store employee with similar parental baggage. Together the two enter a whirlwind romance sending them down the rabbit hole of drugs and depravity in Manhattan’s underworld. When Alejandro’s past threatens to catch up with him, Jack is forced to choose between his family and a life on the run.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
Shahoshika (2021)
A rape victim has been fighting for her own justice so that a powerful businessman's son can get his punishment at the court.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
Protect and Serve (2010)
A pair of bumbling French cops team up to take on the underworld.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Forbidden Door (2009)
A successful sculptor's life is turned upside down when he starts to receive mysterious messages from someone asking for his help. As he digs deeper, he discovers a boy is being abused and has to choose between saving the boy or losing everything.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Wives He Forgot (2006)
When a man, beaten and bloody, stumbles into the law office of Charlotte Saint John, she discovers that he has amnesia. She takes him in as a guest, hoping that his memory will recover once his wounds heal. While she helps nurse him to health, the two start falling in love. But everything changes when his wife comes to get him. When another woman comes forward claiming to be Jay's wife as well, he's put on trial for bigamy and Charlotte defends him.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both mystery
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Secret of the Notebook?
The closest matches to The Secret of the Notebook are The Limits of Control (2009), The Locksmith (2023) and Suburbicon (2017). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Secret of the Notebook?
Start with The Limits of Control (2009), the closest match to The Secret of the Notebook.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Secret of the Notebook?
I Am All Girls (2021), rated 6.5/10 by 335 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Secret of the Notebook?
All the Devils Are Here (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
How are movies similar to The Secret of the Notebook chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Secret of the Notebook, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.