Mystery Books

  1. Bitter Finish
  2. Hand Me A Fig Leaf
  3. Phantom Prey
  4. Break No Bones
  5. Shattered
  6. Leave A Message for Willie
  7. Fox Evil
  8. Potshot
  9. More...

Mystery Movies

  1. Jacob's Ladder
  2. The Prestige
  3. Sphere
  4. Prometheus
  5. A Beautiful Mind
  6. More...

Mystery Authors

  1. Edgar Allan Poe
  2. Bill Pronzini
  3. Mary Daheim
  4. Kate Wilhelm
  5. Fredric Brown
  6. Lincoln Child
  7. Randall Garrett
  8. More...

The Best Mystery Books - Top 100

HAYCRAFT-QUEEN CORNERSTONES, A DEFINITIVE LIBRARY OF DETECTIVE, CRIME AND MYSTERY FICTION 1748-1952


In 1941, Howard Haycraft compiled a list of detective stories for a book entitled Murder for Pleasure: The Life and Times of the Detective Story. The list was prepared for “unpretentious detective story fans who may care to assemble for their own pleasure ‘cornerstone’ libraries of the best and most influential writing in the medium.” Ellery Queen (the writing team of Frederic Dannay and Manfred B. Lee) revised the Haycraft list several times expanding it to include a broader range of crime and mystery fiction. The list below is the final revision and includes books from 1748 to 1952. Any entry followed by an * indicates it was added by Ellery Queen.

cover Title Author Detective Genre Year
1 The Little Tales Of Smethers Lord Dunsany 1952
2 A Gentle Murderer Dorothy Salisbury Davis 1951
3 Blues For The Prince Bart Spicer 1950
4 Mischief Charlotte Armstrong 1950
5 The People Against Ohara Eleazar Lipsky 1950
6 The Motive Evelyn Piper 1950
7 Nightmare In Manhattan Thomas Walsh 1950
8 The Simple Art Of Murder Raymond Chandler 1950
9 Through A Glass Darkly Helen McCloy 1950
10 The Department Of Dead Ends Roy Vickers 1949
11 The Moving Target Ross Macdonald Lew Archer novels 1949
12 Intruder In The Dust William Faulkner 1948
13 Love Lies Bleeding Edmund Crispin novel 1948
14 The Franchise Affair Josephine Tey novels 1948
15 Dreadful Summit Stanley Ellin 1948
16 A Case To Answer Edgar Lustgarten 1947
17 The Horizontal Man Helen Eustis 1946
18 Dr Sam Johnson Detector Lilian De la Torre 1946
19 The Moving Toyshop Edmund Crispin novel 1946
20 The Unsuspected Charlotte Armstrong 1946
21 The Curse of the Bronze Lamp (UK Title: Lord of the Sorcerers) John Dickson Carr Sir Henry Merrivale novel as carter dickson 1946
22 Blood Upon The Snow Hilda Lawrence 1944
23 The Adventures Of Sam Spade Dashiell Hammett 1944
24 Rocket To The Morgue Anthony Boucher 1942
25 Payment Deferred C.S. Forester 1942
26 Laura Vera Gaspary 1942
27 The Just And The Unjust James Gould Cozzens 1942
28 Calamity Town Ellery Queen Ellery Queen novel 1942
29 A Taste For Honey H.F.A. Heard 1941
30 The Bride Wore Black Cornell Woolrich novel 1940
31 Pray Silence Manning Coles 1940
32 The Norths Meet Murder Richard & Francis Lockridge 1940
33 The Patience Of Maigret Georges Simenon 1940
34 Drink To Yesterday Manning Coles 1940
35 The So Blue Marble Dorothy Hughes 1940
36 Verdict Of Twelve Raymond Postgate 1940
37 Farewell, My Lovely Raymond Chandler Philip Marlowe novel 1940
38 The Big Sleep Raymond Chandler Philip Marlowe novel 1939
39 The Mysterious Mickey Finn Eliot Paul 1939
40 The Mask of Dimitrios Eric Ambler novel 1939
41 Death From A Top Hat Clayton Rawson 1938
42 LAMENT FOR A MAKER Michael Innes novel 1938
43 The Beast Must Die Nicholas Blake 1938
44 The Nursemaid Who Disappeared Philip MacDonald 1938
45 The Judas Window (Also published as: The Crossbow Murder) John Dickson Carr Sir Henry Merrivale novel as carter dickson 1938
46 The Listening House Mabel Seely 1938
47 Brighton Rock Graham Greene 1938
48 The Crooked Hinge John Dickson Carr Dr. Gideon Fell' novel 1938
49 Trial and Error Anthony Berkeley novels 1937
50 Overture To Death Ngaio Marsh 1936
51 The League Of Frightened Men Rex Stout 1935
52 No Hero John P Marquand 1935
53 The Murder Of My Aunt Richard Hull 1935
54 The Nine Tailors Dorothy Sayers Lord Peter Wimsey novel 1934
55 Death of a Ghost Margery Allingham novels 1934
56 Fer-de-Lance Rex Stout Nero Wolfe novel 1934
57 The Case of the Sulky Girl Erle Stanley Gardner novel 1933
58 The Case of the Velvet Claws Erle Stanley Gardner novel 1933
59 The Fatal Five Minutes RAJ Walling 1932
60 Re Clemence and Helen Simpson Dane 1932
61 The Red Castle H. C. Bailey Joshua Clunk novel & shorts 1932
62 Before The Fact Francis Iles 1932
63 The Tragedy Of X Ellery Queen Ellery Queen novels witten under the name barnaby ross 1932
64 The Tragedy Of Y Ellery Queen Ellery Queen novels witten under the name barnaby ross 1932
65 Murder At School James Hilton 1931
66 The Penguin Pool Murder Stuart Palmer novel 1931
67 Death Walks in Eastrepps Francis Beeding novel 1931
68 Guys And Dolls Damon Runyon 1931
69 The Cape Cod Mystery Phoebe Atwood Taylor 1931
70 The Glass Key Dashiell Hammett novel 1931
71 The Maltese Falcon Dashiell Hammett novel 1930
72 The Hammersmith Murders David Frome 1930
73 The Documents in the Case Dorothy Sayers shorts 1930
74 The Book Of Murder Irving Anderson, Frederick 1930
75 Murder By The Clock Rufus King 1929
76 Clues Of The Caribbees TS Stribling 1929
77 The Patient In Room 18 Mignon G Eberhart 1929
78 Little Caesar W. R. Burnett 1929
79 Detective Duff Unravels It Harvey J O’Higgins 1929
80 The Poisoned Chocolates Case Anthony Berkeley Roger Sheringham novels 1929
81 The Roman Hat Murder Ellery Queen 1929
82 The Murders In Praed Street John Rhode 1928
83 Ashenden Or The British Agent W. Somerset Maugham 1928
84 Meet The Tiger Leslie Charteris 1928
85 The Canary Murder Case S. S. Van Dine Philo Vance novel 1927
86 The Bellamy Trial Frances Noyes Hart 1927
87 The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes Arthur Conan Doyle collections 1927
88 The Murder Of Roger Ackroyd Agatha Christie Hercule Poirot Novel 1926
89 The Benson Murder Case S. S. Van Dine Philo Vance novel 1926
90 An American Tragedy Theodore Dreiser 1925
91 The Viaduct Murder Ronald Knox novel 1925
92 The Mind Of J G Reeder Edgar Wallace 1925
93 The Informer Liam O’Flaherty 1925
94 The House Without A Key Earl Derr Biggers 1925
95 The Paddington Mystery John Rhode 1925
96 The House Of The Arrow AEW Mason 1924
97 The Rasp Philip MacDonald 1924
98 Inspector French's Greatest Case Freeman Wills Crofts novel 1924
99 Whose Body? Dorothy Sayers Lord Peter Wimsey novel 1923
100 The Brooklyn Murders GDH and M Cole 1923
101 The Red House Mystery A.A. Milne 1922
102 The Eight Strokes of the Clock Maurice Leblanc series 1922
103 The Grey Room Eden Phillpotts 1921
104 The Cask Freeman Wills Crofts novel 1920
105 Tutt And Mr Tutt Arthur Train 1920
106 Call Mr. Fortune H. C. Bailey Reggie Fortune shorts 1920
107 The Mysterious Affair At Styles Agatha Christie Hercule Poirot Novel 1920
108 Bull Sapper 1920
109 The Great Impersonation E. Phillips Oppenheim novels 1920
110 The Middle Temple Murder JS Fletcher 1918
111 Uncle Abner Melville Davisson Post 1918
112 His Last Bow Arthur Conan Doyle collections 1917
113 Limehouse Nights Thomas Burke 1916
114 The Thirtynine Steps John Buchan 1915
115 The Lone Wolf Louis Joseph Vance 1914
116 Max Carrados Ernest Bramah 1914
117 The Valley of Fear Arthur Conan Doyle novels 1914
118 The Lodger Marie Belloc Lowndes 1913
119 Trent's Last Case E. C. Bentley novel 1913
120 The Singing Bone R. Austin Freeman short stories 1912
121 The Silent Bullet Arthur B Reeve 1912
122 The Innocence Of Father Brown G. K. Chesterton collections 1911
123 The Eye of Osiris R. Austin Freeman novels 1911
124 The Extraordinary Adventures of Arsene Lupin Gentleman Burglar Maurice Leblanc series 1910
125 813 Maurice Leblanc series 1910
126 The Achievements Of Luther Trant William & Edwin Balmer MacHarg 1910
127 At The Villa Rose AEW Mason 1910
128 John Thorndyke's Cases R. Austin Freeman novels 1909
129 The Clue Carolyn Wells 1909
130 Through The Wall Cleveland Moffett 1909
131 The Old Man In The Corner Baroness Orczy 1909
132 The Perfume Of The Woman In Black Gaston Leroux 1908
133 The Mystery Of Dr Fu Sax Rohmer 1908
134 The Gentle Grafter O Henry 1908
135 The Circular Staircase Mary Roberts Rinehart Miss Cornelia Van Gorder 1907
136 The Red Thumb Mark R. Austin Freeman novels 1907
137 The Man Who Was Thursday G. K. Chesterton novels 1907
138 The Secret Agent Joseph Conrad 1907
139 The Thinking Machine Jacques Futrelle 1907
140 The Mystery of the Yellow Room Gaston Leroux novels 1907
141 Tracks In The Snow GR Benson 1906
142 The Triumphs Of Eugene Valmont Robert Barr 1906
143 The Scarlet Pimpernell Baroness Orczy 1905
144 The Return of Sherlock Holmes Arthur Conan Doyle collections 1905
145 The Riddle Of The Sands Erskine Childers 1903
146 The Hound of the Baskervilles Arthur Conan Doyle novels 1902
147 The Amateur Cracksman E. W. Hornung 1899
148 Dracula Bram Stoker 1897
149 Prince Zaleski MP Shiel 1895
150 The Tragedy Of Puddnhead Wilson Mark Twain 1894
151 Martin Hewitt Investigator Arthur Morrison 1894
152 The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes Arthur Conan Doyle collections 1893
153 The Big Bow Mystery Israel Zangwill 1892
154 The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes Arthur Conan Doyle collections 1892
155 The Sign Of The Four Arthur Conan Doyle 1890
156 The Mystery Of A Hansom Cab Fergus Hume 1886
157 The Strange Case Of Dr Jekyll And Mr Hyde Robert Louis Stevenson 1886
158 New Arabian Nights Robert Louis Stevenson 1882
159 The Leavenworth Case Anna Katharine Green novel 1878
160 The Expressman And The Detective Allan Pinkerton 1874
161 Old Sleuth The Detective Harlan Page Halsey 1872
162 The Mystery of Edwin Drood Charles Dickens :Novels 1870
163 Monsieur Lecoq Emile Gaboriau novel 1868
164 THE MOONSTONE Wilkie Collins novels 1868
165 Le crime d'Orcival - The Mystery of Orcival / Crime at Orcival Emile Gaboriau novel 1867 (tr. by M. Villiers)
166 File No 13 Emile Gaboriau 1867
167 The Dead Letter Regester Seeley 1866
168 The Widow Lerouge Emile Gaboriau 1866
169 Crime And Punishment Fyodor Dostoevsky 1866
170 The Dead Letter Regester Seeley 1866
171 Les Miserables Victor Hugo 1862
172 THE WOMAN IN WHITE Wilkie Collins novels 1860
173 Recollections Of A Detective Police Officer William Russell Waters 1856
174 Bleak House Charles Dickens 1853
175 Tales Edgar Allan Poe 1845
176 Memoirs De Vidocq Francois Eugene Vidocq 1828
177 The Adventures Of Caleb Williams William Godwin 1794
178 Zadig Voltaire 1748
179 Rebecca Daphne DuMaurier 0
180 The Postman Always Rings Twice James M. Cain 0
181 Wisteria Cottage 1948 Robert M. Coates 0
182 Trial by Fury (1941) Craig Rice John J. Malone novel