Mystery Books

  1. Liberty
  2. From the Corner of His Eye
  3. THE OPEN HOUSE
  4. Flyaway
  5. Early Graves
  6. People Who Knock on the Door
  7. Strangers
  8. The Name Of The Rose
  9. More...

Mystery Movies

  1. Exam
  2. Event Horizon
  3. The Orphanage
  4. Moon
  5. Contact
  6. More...

Mystery Authors

  1. Raymond Chandler
  2. Ross Thomas
  3. Michael Gilbert
  4. Lisa Scottoline
  5. David Baldacci
  6. Val McDermid
  7. Peter Dickinson
  8. More...

The Best Mystery Books - Top 100

LACHMAN'S ONE HUNDRED NOTABLE AMERICAN NOVELS OF DETECTION


In his A Reader's Guide to the American Novel of Detection (1993), Marvin Lachman includes a list of "One Hundred Notable Novels of Detection." He writes: "Though I did consider historical importance, my primary concern was quality... The detective plot and the ingenuity and fairness of the solution are also basic to the detective story, so certain writers of the Golden Age of Detection (Queen, Carr and Stout) appear frequently. Yet also included are many more recent writers, people who have substituted regional insights, humor and exploration of social problems for sheer brilliance of puzzle. Though this list is, of course, subjective, it is based on 50 years of reading mysteries and 25 years of reviewing them."

cover Title Author Detective Genre Year
1 Carolina Skeletons David Stout 1989
2 Old Bones Aaron Elkins Gideon Oliver novel 1988
3 Strike Three Youre Dead Richard Rosen 1984
4 Emily Dickinson Is Dead Jane Langton 1984
5 Death In A Tenured Position Amanda Cross 1981
6 A Family Affair Rex Stout Nero Wolfe novel 1975
7 The Fly On The Wall Tony Hillerman 1971
8 A Case Of Need Jeffrey Hudson 1969
9 Murder Against The Grain Emma Lathen 1967
10 Murder Makes The Wheels Go Round Emma Lathen 1966
11 The Doorbell Rang Rex Stout Nero Wolfe novel 1965
12 Friday The Rabbi Slept Late Harry Kemelman 1964
13 Fear Is the Same John Dickson Carr novel as carter dickson 1956
14 Wilders Walk Away Herbert Brean 1955
15 The Beast In View Margaret Millar 1955
16 The Black Mountain Rex Stout Nero Wolfe novel 1954
17 A Gentle Murderer Dorothy Salisbury Davis 1951
18 In the Best Families Rex Stout Nero Wolfe novel 1950
19 Through A Glass Darkly Helen McCloy 1950
20 What A Body Alan Green 1950
21 Cat of Many Tails Ellery Queen Ellery Queen novel 1949
22 Pick Your Victim Patricia McGerr 1946
23 The Horizontal Man Helen Eustis 1946
24 The Silent Speaker Rex Stout Nero Wolfe novel 1946
25 The Case of the Black-Eyed Blonde Erle Stanley Gardner novel 1944
26 The Case of the Crooked Candle Erle Stanley Gardner novel 1944
27 He Wouldn't Kill Patience John Dickson Carr Sir Henry Merrivale novel as carter dickson 1944
28 She Died a Lady John Dickson Carr Sir Henry Merrivale novel as carter dickson 1943
29 The Gilded Man (Also published as: Death and the Gilded Man) John Dickson Carr Sir Henry Merrivale novel as carter dickson 1942
30 Calamity Town Ellery Queen Ellery Queen novel 1942
31 The Case of the Constant Suicides John Dickson Carr Dr. Gideon Fell' novel 1941
32 The Norths Meet Murder Richard & Francis Lockridge 1940
33 Some Buried Caesar Rex Stout Nero Wolfe novel 1939
34 The Reader is Warned John Dickson Carr Sir Henry Merrivale novel as carter dickson 1939
35 The Case of the Perjured Parrot Erle Stanley Gardner novel 1939
36 The Judas Window (Also published as: The Crossbow Murder) John Dickson Carr Sir Henry Merrivale novel as carter dickson 1938
37 Death From A Top Hat Clayton Rawson 1938
38 Too Many Cooks Rex Stout Nero Wolfe novel 1938
39 The Crooked Hinge John Dickson Carr Dr. Gideon Fell' novel 1938
40 The Case of the Lame Canary Erle Stanley Gardner novel 1937
41 The Burning Court John Dickson Carr novel 1937
42 The Puzzle of the Blue Banderilla Stuart Palmer novel 1937
43 The Rubber Band Rex Stout Nero Wolfe novel 1936
44 The Three Coffins (UK Title: The Hollow Man) John Dickson Carr Dr. Gideon Fell' novel 1935
45 The Case of the Counterfeit Eye Erle Stanley Gardner novel 1935
46 The Case of the Howling Dog Erle Stanley Gardner novel 1934
47 Fer-de-Lance Rex Stout Nero Wolfe novel 1934
48 The Chinese Orange Mystery Ellery Queen Ellery Queen novel 1934
49 Hag's Nook John Dickson Carr Dr. Gideon Fell' novel 1933
50 The Egyptian Cross Mystery Ellery Queen Ellery Queen novel 1932
51 The Greek Coffin Mystery Ellery Queen Ellery Queen novel 1932
52 The French Powder Mystery Ellery Queen Ellery Queen novel 1930
53 The Roman Hat Mystery Ellery Queen Ellery Queen novel 1929
54 The Greene Murder Case S. S. Van Dine Philo Vance novel 1928
55 The Bellamy Trial Frances Noyes Hart 1927
56 The Leavenworth Case Anna Katharine Green novel 1878
57 Unorthodox Practices Marissa Piesman 0
58 The Junkyard Dog Robert Campbell 0
59 The Body In The Belfry Katherine Hall Page 0
60 The Shudders Anthony Abbot 0
61 Vanish In An Instant Margaret Millar 0
62 Double Exposure Jim Stinson 0
63 When In Greece Emma Lathen 0
64 Kill Your Darlings Max Allan Collins 0
65 Rocket To The Morgue H. H. Holmes 0
66 The Cut Direct Alice Tilton 0
67 Remember To Kill Me Hugh Pentecost 0
68 Death In The Past Richard A. Moore 0
69 Who Rides A Tiger Doris Miles Disney 0
70 Paperback Thriller Lynn Meyer 0
71 The Tragedy Of Y Barnaby Ross 0
72 Murder Out Of Turn Richard & Francis Lockridge 0
73 Accounting For Murder Emma Lathen 0
74 The Devil In The Bush Matthew Head 0
75 No Body Nancy Pickard Jenny Cain 0
76 Triple Crown Jon I. Breen 0
77 The 120hour Clock Francis M. Nevins, Jr. 0
78 Ask For Me Tomorrow Margaret Millar 0
79 Reverand Randollph And The Wages Of Sin Charles Merrill Smith 0
80 Obelists Fly High C. Daly King 0
81 Nine Times Nine H. H. Holmes 0
82 Rim Of The Pit Hake Talbot 0
83 Charlie Chan Carries On Earl Derr Biggers 0
84 Method In Madness Doris Miles Disney 0
85 Rest You Merry Charlotte MacLeod 0
86 The Tragedy Of X Barnaby Ross 0
87 The James Joyce Murder Amanda Cross 0
88 Banking On Death Emma Lathen 0
89 Puzzle For Puppets Patrick Quentin 0
90 Generous Death Nancy Pickard Jenny Cain 0
91 Hardly A Man Is Stll Alive Herbert Brean 0
92 Murder For Lunch Haughton Murphy 0
93 The Iron Gates Margaret Millar 0
94 The Gray Flannel Shroud Henry Slesar 0
95 The Dishonest Murder Richard & Francis Lockridge 0
96 The Gold Gamble Herbert Resnicow 0
97 The Hands Of Healing Murder Barbara D'Amato 0
98 Patrick Butler For The Defense John Dickson Carr 0
99 Saturday The Rabbi Went Hungry Harry Kemelman 0
100 8 Faces at 3 AKA "Death at Three" and "Murder Stops the Clock"(1939 ) Craig Rice John J. Malone novel