Mystery Books

  1. Past Reason Hated
  2. Never Say Die
  3. Fear of the Dark
  4. The Players And The Game
  5. Drop Shot
  6. Dune to Death
  7. Tender Trap
  8. Death Angel
  9. More...

Mystery Movies

  1. Lost
  2. Arlington Road
  3. Prometheus
  4. 12 Monkeys
  5. Fight Club
  6. More...

Mystery Authors

  1. Maurice Leblanc
  2. E. C. Bentley
  3. Jeffrey Archer
  4. Isaac Asimov
  5. Walter Mosley
  6. P. D. James
  7. Ken Follett
  8. More...

The Best Mystery Books - Top 100

BOOKSELLERS 100 FAVORITE MYSTERIES OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY


Members of the Independent Mystery Booksellers Association compiled a list released in January 2000 of their 100 Favorite Mysteries of the century. It was agreed that each author would appear on the list only once. The Association is a trade association for owners of businesses wholly or substantially devoted to the sale of mysteries. As of January 2000 the group represented 58 stores in the United States and Canada.

cover Title Author Detective Genre Year
1 Dreaming Of The Bones Deborah Crombie 1998
2 On Beulah Height Reginald Hill Andy Dalziel and Peter Pascoe novel 1998
3 Deaths Bright Angel Janet Neel 1998
4 Dead Right US title, Blood at the Root Peter Robinson Inspector Banks novels 1997
5 Darkness Take My Hand Dennis Lehane The Kenzie-Gennaro novels novels 1996
6 One for the Money Janet Evanovich Stephanie Plum novels 1994
7 The Concrete Blonde Michael Connelly Harry Bosch series novels 1994
8 Booked To Die John Dunning 1992
9 The Ice House Minette Walters 1992
10 Bootleggers Daughter Margaret Maron 1992
11 The Silence Of The Lambs Thomas Harris 1989
12 Black Cherry Blues James Lee Burke Dave Robicheaux novels 1989
13 The Monkey's Raincoat Robert Crais Elvis Cole / Joe Pike novel 1988
14 Old Bones Aaron Elkins Gideon Oliver novel 1988
15 Presumed Innocent Scott Turow novels 1987
16 Tourist Season Carl Hiaasen novels 1986
17 The Ritual Bath Faye Kellerman Peter Decker & Rina Lazarus novels 1986
18 When the Sacred Ginmill Closes Lawrence Block Matt Scudder novels 1986
19 Rough Cider Peter Lovesey 1986
20 When The Bough Breaks Jonathan Kellerman Alex Delaware novels 1985
21 Sleeping Dog Dick Lochte 1985
22 Strike Three Youre Dead Richard Rosen 1984
23 Deadlock Sara Paretsky Warshawski novel 1984
24 Death by Sheer Torture AKA Sheer Torture Robert Barnard Perry Trethowan, Scotland Yard inspector in London novel 1981
25 Looking for Rachel Wallace Robert B. Parker Spenser novels 1980
26 Whip Hand Dick Francis 1979
27 Chinamans Chance Ross Thomas Artie Wu and Quincy Durant, a couple of soldiers of fortune for their company, WuDu Ltd : novel 1978
28 Edwin Of The Iron Shoes Marcia Muller Sharon McCone 1977
29 An Unsuitable Job for a Woman Faber and Faber P. D. James novel 1972
30 The Laughing Policeman Sjowall & Wahloo 1971
31 In The Heat Of The Night John Ball 1966
32 The Chill Ross Macdonald Lew Archer novels 1964
33 The Spy Who Came in from the Cold John LeCarre novel 1963
34 The Hours Before Dawn Celia Fremlin 1960
35 A Dram Of Poison Charlotte Armstrong 1957
36 The Tiger in the Smoke Margery Allingham novels 1952
37 AN ENGLISH MURDER (The Christmas murder) Cyril Hare novel 1951
38 Smallbone Deceased Michael Gilbert novels 1950
39 Brat Farrar Josephine Tey novels 1949
40 Cat of Many Tails Ellery Queen Ellery Queen novel 1949
41 The Fabulous Clipjoint Fredric Brown novel 1947
42 The Moving Toyshop Edmund Crispin novel 1946
43 The Big Sleep Raymond Chandler Philip Marlowe novel 1939
44 Some Buried Caesar Rex Stout Nero Wolfe novel 1939
45 The Beast Must Die Nicholas Blake 1938
46 HAMLET REVENGE! Michael Innes novel 1937
47 The Three Coffins (UK Title: The Hollow Man) John Dickson Carr Dr. Gideon Fell' novel 1935
48 Murder Must Advertise Dorothy Sayers Lord Peter Wimsey novel 1933
49 The Sands of Windee Arthur W. Upfield :novel 1931
50 The Maltese Falcon Dashiell Hammett novel 1930
51 The Murder Of Roger Ackroyd Agatha Christie Hercule Poirot Novel 1926
52 The Circular Staircase Mary Roberts Rinehart Miss Cornelia Van Gorder 1907
53 The Hound of the Baskervilles Arthur Conan Doyle novels 1902
54 Dark Nantucket Noon Jane Langton 0
55 Blue Lonesome Bill Pronzini 0
56 Thus Was Adonis Murdered Sarah Caudwell 0
57 The 39 Steps John Buchan 0
58 Track Of The Cat Nevada Barr 0
59 The Killings At Badgers Drift Caroline Graham 0
60 Sadie When She Died Ed McBain 0
61 A Coffin For Demetrios Eric Ambler 0
62 The Deep Blue Goodbye John MacDonald 0
63 To Kill A Mockingbird Harper Lee 0
64 Vanishing Act Thomas Perry 0
65 The Postman Always Rings Twice James M. Cain 0
66 Mallorys Oracle Carol O'Connell 0
67 If I Ever Return Pretty Peggyo Sharyn McCrumb 0
68 Aunt Dimitys Death Nancy Atherton 0
69 A Great Deliverance Elizabeth George 0
70 Get Shorty Elmore Leonard 0
71 The Yellow Room Conspiracy Peter Dickinson 0
72 The Man Who Liked Slow Tomatoes K. C. Constantine 0
73 The Beekeepers Apprentice Laurie King 0
74 One Corpse Too Many Ellis Peters 0
75 Cotton Comes To Harlem Chester Himes 0
76 Devil In A Blue Dress Walter Mosley 0
77 Ldquoardquo Is For Alibi Sue Grafton 0
78 Death Of A Peer Ngaio Marsh 0
79 Who In Hell Is Wanda Fuca G. M. Ford 0
80 A Test Of Wills Charles Todd 0
81 Rebecca Daphne DuMaurier 0
82 The Club Dumas Arturo Perez-Reverte 0
83 The Talented Nr Patricia Highsmith 0
84 The Man With The Load Of Mischief Martha Grimes 0
85 The Sunday Hangman James McClure 0
86 The List Of Adrian Messenger Philip MacDonald 0
87 The Last Good Kiss James Crumley 0
88 Crocodile On The Sandbank Elizabeth Peters 0
89 The Thin Woman Dorothy Cannell 0
90 The Thief Of Time Tony Hillerman 0
91 Child Of Silence Abigail Padgett 0
92 Green For Danger Christianna Brand 0
93 Stranger In My Grave Margaret Millar 0
94 Sanibel Flats Randy Wayne White 0
95 Time And Again Jack Finney 0
96 The Wrong Murder (1940) Craig Rice John J. Malone novel