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

KEATINGS 100 BEST CRIME AND MYSTERY BOOKS


H. R. F. Keating was the crime books reviewer for the London Times for 15 years, a former chairman of the British Crime Writers’ Association, and a past president of the Detection Club. His 100 Best Crime and Mystery Books was published 1987. Keating provides a page discussion of each of the titles that are listed below.
cover Title Author Detective Genre Year
1 The Artful Egg James McClure 1984
2 To Make A Killing June Thomson 1982
3 The False Inspector Dew Peter Lovesey 1982
4 All On A Summers Day John Wainwright 1981
5 The Glitter Dome Joseph Wambaugh 1981
6 Death In A Tenured Position Amanda Cross 1981
7 Kill Claudio P. M. Hubbard 1979
8 Skinflick Joseph Hansen 1979
9 The Green Ripper John MacDonald 1979
10 A Pinch of Snuff Reginald Hill Andy Dalziel and Peter Pascoe novel 1978
11 A Judgement in Stone Ruth Rendell novels 1977
12 Nobodys Perfect Donald Westlake 1977
13 Laidlaw William McIlvanney 1977
14 A Death In The Life Dorothy Salisbury Davis 1976
15 Sleeping Murder: Miss Marple's Last Case Agatha Christie Miss Marple Novel 1976
16 The Investigation Dorothy Uhnak 1976
17 The Blue Hammer Ross Macdonald Lew Archer novels 1976
18 The Black Tower Faber and Faber P. D. James novel 1975
19 The Naked Nuns Or Six Nuns And A Shotgun Colin Watson 1975
20 The Long Shadow Celia Fremlin 1975
21 Fletch Gregory McDonald 1974
22 The Poison Oracle Peter Dickinson novels 1974
23 Dance Hall of the Dead Tony Hillerman Lieutenant Joe Leaphorn novel 1973
24 The Players And The Game Julian Symons 1972
25 The Friends Of Eddie Coyle George V. Higgins 1972
26 Mirror Mirror On The Wall Stanley Ellin 1972
27 Beyond This Point Are Monsters Margaret Millar 1970
28 Young Man I Think Youre Dying Joan Fleming 1970
29 Blind Man With A Pistol Chester Himes 1969
30 The Tremor Of Forgery Patricia Highsmith 1969
31 The Glasssided Ants Nest Peter Dickinson 1968
32 Mr Splitfoot Helen McCloy 1968
33 Roseanna Sjowall & Wahloo 1967
34 Murder Against The Grain Emma Lathen 1967
35 The Last Best Friend George Sims 1967
36 The Man Who Killed Himself Julian Symons 1967
37 R S V P Murder E. B. Eberhart 1966
38 POP. 1280 Jim Thompson novel 1964
39 The Expendable Man Dorothy Hughes 1963
40 Gun Before Butter Nicholas Freeling 1963
41 THE NEW SONIA WAYWARD Michael Innes novel 1960
42 Maigret In Court Georges Simenon 1960
43 Gideons Week John Creasey (J. J. Marric) 1956
44 Mystery Stories Stanley Ellin 1956
45 The Talented Mr Ripley Patricia Highsmith 1955
46 The Beast In View Margaret Millar 1955
47 The Long Goodbye Raymond Chandler Philip Marlowe novel 1954
48 The Party At No 5 Shelley Smith 1954
49 Five Roundabouts To Heaven John Bingham 1953
50 Post Mortem Guy Cullingford 1953
51 The Tiger in the Smoke Margery Allingham novels 1952
52 Last Seen Wearing Hillary Waugh 1952
53 The Daughter Of Time Josephine Tey novels 1951
54 The Stain On The Snow The Snow Was Black Georges Simenon 1950
55 Smallbone Deceased Michael Gilbert novels 1950
56 The Asphalt Jungle W. R. Burnett 1949
57 My Friend Maigret Georges Simenon 1949
58 Devil Take The Bluetail Fly John Franklin Bardin 1948
59 The Franchise Affair Josephine Tey novels 1948
60 More Work for the Undertaker Margery Allingham novels 1948
61 The Fabulous Clipjoint Fredric Brown novel 1947
62 Murder Among Friends Elizabeth Ferrars 1946
63 The Moving Toyshop Edmund Crispin novel 1946
64 The Horizontal Man Helen Eustis 1946
65 APPLEBY'S END Michael Innes novel 1945
66 The High Window Raymond Chandler Philip Marlowe novel 1942)
67 TRAGEDY AT LAW Cyril Hare Inspector Mallett novel 1942
68 Calamity Town Ellery Queen Ellery Queen novel 1942
69 The Bride Wore Black Cornell Woolrich novel 1940
70 Surfeit Of Lampreys Or Death Of A Peer Ngaio Marsh 1940
71 The Beast Must Die Nicholas Blake 1938
72 The Wheel Spins Ethel Lina White 1936
73 The League Of Frightened Men Rex Stout 1935
74 The Hollow Man T Three Coffins John Dickson Carr 1935
75 Murder On The Orient Express Agatha Christie Hercule Poirot Novel 1934
76 The Nine Tailors Dorothy Sayers Lord Peter Wimsey novel 1934
77 The Case of the Sulky Girl Erle Stanley Gardner novel 1933
78 Before the Fact Anthony Berkeley written as Frances Iles novels 1932
79 The Sands of Windee Arthur W. Upfield :novel 1931
80 The Documents in the Case Dorothy Sayers shorts 1930
81 The Maltese Falcon Dashiell Hammett novel 1930
82 Death Of My Aunt C. H. B. Kitchin 1929
83 Red Harvest Dashiell Hammett novel 1929
84 The Murder Of Roger Ackroyd Agatha Christie Hercule Poirot Novel 1926
85 The Mind Of J G Reeder Edgar Wallace 1925
86 Uncle Abner Melville Davisson Post 1918
87 The Innocence Of Father Brown G. K. Chesterton collections 1911
88 The Thinking Machine Jacques Futrelle 1907
89 The Circular Staircase Mary Roberts Rinehart Miss Cornelia Van Gorder 1907
90 The Hound of the Baskervilles Arthur Conan Doyle novels 1902
91 The Amateur Cracksman E. W. Hornung 1899
92 The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes Arthur Conan Doyle collections 1892
93 The Mystery of Edwin Drood Charles Dickens :Novels 1870
94 THE MOONSTONE Wilkie Collins novels 1868
95 Green For Danger Christianna Brand 0
96 The Postman Always Rings Twice James M. Cain 0
97 Sadie When She Died Ed McBain 0