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

SYMONS 100 BEST CRIME STORIES


Julian Symons was awarded the British Crime Writer's Association Cartier Diamond Dagger for lifetime achievement, named a Grand Master by the Mystery Writers of America, served as President of the Detection Club in London and was a distinguished critic of the mystery genre. In 1957-58, Julian Symons selected the 100 Best Crime Stories for the London Sunday Times. That list follows.

cover Title Author Detective Genre Year
1 The Big Clock, Harcourt Kenneth Fearing novel 1980
2 From Russia, with Love Ian Fleming James Bond novels 1963
3 Compulsion Meyer Levin 1957
4 The Blunderer Patricia Highsmith 1956
5 Mystery Stories Stanley Ellin 1956
6 A Tangled Web Nicholas Blake 1956
7 The Lord Have Mercy Shelley Smith 1956
8 The Man Who Didnrsquot Fly Margot Bennett 1955
9 A Beast In View Margaret Millar 1955
10 THE MAN FROM THE SEA Michael Innes novel 1955
11 The Man With Two Wives Patrick Quentin 1955
12 The Long Goodbye Raymond Chandler Philip Marlowe novel 1954
13 A Kiss Before Dying Ira Levin 1953
14 Last Seen Wearinghellip Hillary Waugh 1953
15 Reputation For A Song Edward Grierson 1952
16 The Ivory Grin aka Marked for Murder Ross Macdonald Lew Archer novels 1952
17 My Name Is Michael Sibley John Bingham 1952
18 Maigret In Montmartre Georges Simenon 1951
19 Venetian Bird Victor Canning 1951
20 The Daughter Of Time Josephine Tey novels 1951
21 Smallbone Deceased Michael Gilbert novels 1950
22 Mischief Charlotte Armstrong 1950
23 Cat And Mouse Christianna Brand 1950
24 The Asphalt Jungle W. R. Burnett 1949
25 The Department Of Dead Ends Roy Vickers 1949
26 With My Little Eye Roy Fuller 1948
27 Devil Take The Bluetail Fly John Franklin Bardin 1948
28 A Case To Answer Or One More Unfortunate Edgar Lustgarten 1947
29 The Moving Toyshop Edmund Crispin novel 1946
30 The Horizontal Man Helen Eustis 1946
31 Phantom Lady William Irish 1945
32 Death Comes As The End Agatha Christie None Novel 1944
33 The Lodger Georges Simenon 1943
34 The High Window Raymond Chandler Philip Marlowe novel 1942)
35 Laura Vera Gaspary 1942
36 Payment Deferred C.S. Forester 1942
37 TRAGEDY AT LAW Cyril Hare Inspector Mallett novel 1942
38 Never Come Back John Mair 1941
39 Hangover Square Patrick Hamilton 1941
40 Verdict Of Twelve Raymond Postgate 1940
41 The Mask Of Demetrios Eric Ambler 1939
42 Rogue Male Geoffrey Household 1939
43 The Nursemaid Who Disappeared Warrant For X Philip MacDonald 1938
44 Rebecca Daphne du Maurier 1938
45 The Lady In The Morgue Jonathan Latimer 1937
46 Hamlet Revenged Michael Innes 1937
47 A Gun For Sale Graham Greene 1936
48 The Wheel Spins Ethel Lina White 1936
49 Overture To Death Ngaio Marsh 1936
50 The Case Of The Sleepwalkerrsquos Niece Erle Stanley Gardner 1936
51 The Adventures Of Ellery Queen Ellery Queen 1935
52 Gaudy Night Dorothy Sayers Lord Peter Wimsey novel 1935
53 We The Accused Ernest Raymond 1935
54 The Three Coffins (UK Title: The Hollow Man) John Dickson Carr Dr. Gideon Fell' novel 1935
55 Fer-de-Lance Rex Stout Nero Wolfe novel 1934
56 Death of a Ghost Margery Allingham novels 1934
57 A Pin To See The Peepshow F. Tennyson Jesse 1934
58 Murder Must Advertise Dorothy Sayers Lord Peter Wimsey novel 1933
59 The Greek Coffin Mystery Ellery Queen Ellery Queen novel 1932
60 Sanctuary William Faulkner 1931
61 Above The Dark Circus Hugh Walpole 1931
62 The Glass Key Dashiell Hammett novel 1931
63 Malice Aforethought: The Story of a Commonplace Crime Anthony Berkeley written as Frances Iles novels 1931
64 The Pleasantries Of Old Quong Thomas Burke 1931
65 Mr Fortune Speaking H. C. Bailey 1929
66 The Poisoned Chocolates Case Anthony Berkeley Roger Sheringham novels 1929
67 The Greene Murder Case S. S. Van Dine Philo Vance novel 1928
68 Ashenden The British Agent W. Somerset Maugham 1927
69 The Bellamy Trial Frances Noyes Hart 1927
70 The Murder Of Roger Ackroyd Agatha Christie Hercule Poirot Novel 1926
71 The House Of The Arrow AEW Mason 1924
72 The Red House Mystery A.A. Milne 1922
73 The Crimson Circle Edgar Wallace 1922
74 The Pit-Prop Syndicate Freeman Wills Crofts novel 1922
75 Bulldog Drummond Sapper 1920
76 The Thirtynine Steps John Buchan 1915
77 Max Carrados Ernest Bramah 1914
78 Trentrsquos Last Case E. C. Bentley 1913
79 The Singing Bone R. Austin Freeman short stories 1912
80 The Innocence Of Father Brown G. K. Chesterton collections 1911
81 At The Villa Rose AEW Mason 1910
82 The Old Man In The Corner Baroness Orczy 1909
83 The Seven of Hearts Maurice Leblanc collections 1908
84 The Thinking Machine Jacques Futrelle 1907
85 The Mystery of the Yellow Room Gaston Leroux novels 1907
86 The Hound of the Baskervilles Arthur Conan Doyle novels 1902
87 Raffles E. W. Hornung 1899
88 The Three Impostors Arthur Machen 1895
89 The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes Arthur Conan Doyle collections 1893
90 The Mystery Of A Hansom Cab Fergus Hume 1886
91 The New Arabian Nights Robert Louis Stevenson 1882
92 The Mystery of Edwin Drood Charles Dickens :Novels 1870
93 THE MOONSTONE Wilkie Collins novels 1868
94 Le crime d'Orcival - The Mystery of Orcival / Crime at Orcival Emile Gaboriau novel 1867 (tr. by M. Villiers)
95 Crime And Punishment Fyodor Dostoevsky 1866
96 Uncle Silas Sheridan Le Fanu 1864
97 THE WOMAN IN WHITE Wilkie Collins novels 1860
98 Tales Of Mystery And Imagination Edgar Allan Poe 1845
99 The Adventures Of Caleb Williams William Godwin 1794
100 The Postman Always Rings Twice James M. Cain 0