Mystery Books

  1. The Mermaids Singing
  2. Alma Mater
  3. Forever Odd
  4. Dark Descent, the
  5. THE APPLEBY FILE
  6. Nighttime Is My Time
  7. In the Moon of Red Ponies
  8. Maximum Ride The Angel Experiment
  9. More...

Mystery Movies

  1. Orphan
  2. Fight Club
  3. Flight Plan
  4. Contact
  5. Inception
  6. More...

Mystery Authors

  1. P. D. James
  2. Cornell Woolrich
  3. Ken Bruen
  4. Randall Garrett
  5. Donald Westlake
  6. Stephen King
  7. Colin Dexter
  8. More...

The Best Mystery Books - Top 100

BARZUN AND TAYLOR'S CLASSIC CRIME NOVELS


Jacques Barzun and Wendell Hertig Taylor in their A Catalogue of Crime (Rev. & Enl. Edition, 1989) include descriptions of works the authors consider Classics of Crime, 1900-1975. Ninety novels are selected by them and are listed below. In the Preface to their indispensable book, the authors write:"...the novice eager to explore can by browsing through our pages discover examples of the type of story he might like. The brief comments give a glimpse of contents and quality, and by stressing certain points help to develop a critical taste. As for the collector who regularly scans dealers' catalogues, he can, by consulting the index and the entry, ascertain facts to guide his purchases. Finally, students of the literature - a growing body inside and outside the academy - will find here a storehouse of materials usable in teaching and research."

cover Title Author Detective Genre Year
1 The Big Clock, Harcourt Kenneth Fearing novel 1980
2 Never Pick Up Hitch Hikers Ellis Peters 1976
3 The Man Who Liked To Look At Himself K. C. Constantine 1973
4 The Night Hunters John Miles 1973
5 Finding Maubee A.H.Z. Carr 1971
6 The Fly On The Wall Tony Hillerman 1971
7 High Tide P. M. Hubbard 1970
8 On The Shady Side Frank Swinnerton 1970
9 Just What The Doctor Ordered Colin Watson 1969
10 Swift To Its Close Simon Troy 1969
11 Gideons River John Creasey (J. J. Marric) 1968
12 Murder Makes The Wheels Go Round Emma Lathen 1966
13 The Crayfish Dinner Or The Elusive Epicure Carlton Keith 1966
14 Salt Is Leaving J.B. Priestley 1966
15 Johnny Under Ground Patricia Moyes 1965
16 In The Last Analysis Amanda Cross 1964
17 A Sad Song Singing Thomas Blanchard Dewey 1963
18 The Bronze Perseus Or The Tender Killer S.B. Hough 1962
19 Killed By Scandal Simon Nash 1962
20 Dead Cert Dick Francis 1962
21 Cover Her Face Faber and Faber P. D. James novel 1962
22 The Dead Past Jean Scholey 1961
23 Death Finds A Foothold Glun Carr 1961
24 Furious Old Women Leo Bruce 1960
25 Swan Song Or The Chinese Goose Helen Robertson 1960
26 Too Much Of Water Bruce Hamilton 1958
27 Suffer A Witch Nigel Fitzgerald 1958
28 Murder Of A Wife Henry Kuttner 1958
29 The Second Man Edward Grierson 1956
30 The Pub Crawler Maurice Proctor 1956
31 Stone Cold Dead In The Market Christopher Landon 1955
32 Exit Charlie Alex H. Atkinson 1955
33 The Hammersmith Maggot Or Small Venom William Mole 1955
34 The Missing Man Hillary Waugh 1954
35 The Narrowing Circle Julian Symons 1954
36 Such Friends Are Dangerous Walter Tyrer 1954
37 Dead Low Tide John MacDonald 1953
38 The Singing Sands Josephine Tey novels 1953
39 The Key To Nicholas Street Stanley Ellin 1952
40 The Body In The Beck Joanna Cannan 1952
41 Oneman Show Michael Innes 1952
42 The Deep End Fredric Brown novel 1952
43 A Banner For Pegasus Or Not In The Script John & Emery Bonett 1951
44 Smallbone Deceased Michael Gilbert novels 1950
45 Death And Letters Elizabeth Daly 1950
46 The Congo Venus Matthew Head 1950
47 The Drowning Pool Ross Macdonald Lew Archer novels 1950
48 No Tears For Hilda Andrew Garve 1950
49 Strip Death Naked Norman Longmate 1949
50 Buried for Pleasure Edmund Crispin novel 1949
51 Engaged To Murder M. Heberden 1949
52 A Wreath For Rivera Ngaio Marsh 1949
53 The Dark River Philip Clark 1949
54 WHEN THE WIND BLOWS (The wind blows death) Cyril Hare Francis Pettigrew novel 1949
55 Blood On The Bosom Divine Thomas Kyd 1948
56 Minute For Murder Nicholas Blake 1947
57 The Horizontal Man Helen Eustis 1946
58 Pick Your Victim Patricia McGerr 1946
59 The Shadowy Third Marco Page 1946
60 Measure For Murder Clifford Witting 1945
61 The Birthday Murder Lewis Lange 1945
62 Alarum And Excursion Virginia Perdue 1944
63 The Case of the Crooked Candle Erle Stanley Gardner novel 1944
64 The Lady In The Lake Raymond Chandler Philip Marlowe novel 1943
65 THE DAFFODIL AFFAIR Michael Innes novel 1942
66 Beyond A Reasonable Doubt C.W. Grafton 1940
67 The African Poison Murders Elspeth Huxley 1939
68 A Blunt Instrument Georgette Heyer 1938
69 Too Many Cooks Rex Stout Nero Wolfe novel 1938
70 A Funeral In Eden Or Burial Service Paul McGuire 1938
71 The Bone Is Pointed Arthur W. Upfield :novel 1938
72 Dancers in Mourning apa Who Killed Chloe Margery Allingham novels 1937
73 The Jury Gerald Bullett 1935
74 The Mummy Case Mystery Or The Mummy Case Dermot Morrah 1933
75 Was It Murder James Hilton 1933
76 The Division Bell Mystery Ellen Wilkinson 1932
77 Death Under Sail C.P. Snow 1932
78 Found Drowned Eden Phillpotts 1931
79 Who Is The Next Henry K. Webster 1931
80 The Secret Of High Eldersham Miles Burton 1930
81 Strong Poison Dorothy Sayers Lord Peter Wimsey novel 1930
82 Murder In The Moor Thomas Kindon 1929
83 The Purple Sickle Murders Or The Box Office Murders Freeman Wills Crofts 1929
84 The Murder At Crome House G.D.H. Cole & R. Postgate 1927
85 The Murder Of Roger Ackroyd Agatha Christie Hercule Poirot Novel 1926
86 The Red House Mystery A.A. Milne 1922
87 In Accordance With The Evidence Oliver Onion 1915
88 Trent's Last Case E. C. Bentley novel 1913
89 The Hound of the Baskervilles Arthur Conan Doyle novels 1902
90 The Circular Study Anna Katharine Green novel 1900