Official Mystery Books Lists From Known Mystery Writers and Organizations:

Here you will find lists of recommended mystery books. It is a good start into the mystery genre. I haven't read all the books listed but the lists are written by mystery writers, organizations, book clubs, readers votes, etc. so they should be a good source. What is more many books appear in almost every list( ex: The Murder Of Rodger Acroyd") which is a good sign that only the top mystery books are listed. There are also lists of more recent books if you are interested in that.

 

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Lehman's Recommended Detective Novels And Stories ( 85 Books )
In his book, The Perfect Murder: A study in Detection (1989), David Lehman provides a list of recommended titl ...

Booksellers 100 Favorite Mysteries Of The Twentieth Century ( 96 Books )
Members of the Independent Mystery Booksellers Association compiled a list released in January 2000 of their 1 ...

Keatings 100 Best Crime And Mystery Books ( 97 Books )
H. R. F. Keating was the crime books reviewer for the London Times for 15 years, a former chairman of the Brit ...

Bourgeau's Classic Mystery Books ( 209 Books )
In his Mystery Lovers Companion of 1986, Art Bourgeau uses a rating scheme of one to five daggers to indicate ...

Winks' Personal Favorites In Detective Fiction ( 304 Books )
In the Appendix to his Detective Fiction, A Collection of Critical Essays, Robin W. Winks includes "A Personal ...

Barzun And Taylor's Classic Crime Novels ( 90 Books )
Jacques Barzun and Wendell Hertig Taylor in their A Catalogue of Crime (Rev. & Enl. Edition, 1989) include des ...

Haycraft-queen Cornerstones, A Definitive Library Of Detective, Crime And Mystery Fiction 1748-1952 ( 182 Books )
In 1941, Howard Haycraft compiled a list of detective stories for a book entitled Murder for Pleasure: The Lif ...

Agatha Award For Best Cozy Mystery Novel ( 22 Books )
"The Agatha Awards, named for MALICE inspiration Agatha Christie, are awarded for the Best Novel, First Myster ...

Symons 100 Best Crime Stories ( 100 Books )
Julian Symons was awarded the British Crime Writer's Association Cartier Diamond Dagger for lifetime achieveme ...

Anthony Award For Best Mystery Novel ( 24 Books )
This award for the Best Novel of the Year is named for Anthony Boucher, a writer, critic, and fan of the myste ...

John Creasey Memorial Award For Best First Crime Novel ( 37 Books )
While the Crime Writers' Association of Great Britain began presenting awards for excellence in crime writing ...

Crime Writers' Association's Macallan Gold Dagger For Fiction ( 53 Books )
The Crime Writers Association of Great Britain was founded in 1953 and is open to published writers of crime f ...

Edgar Allan Poe Award For Best First Mystery Novel ( 65 Books )
Founded in 1945, the Mystery Writers of America is the preeminent American organization of mystery writers. Ea ...

Edgar Allan Poe Award For Best Mystery Novel ( 57 Books )
The Edgar awards are presented in the year after that of the publication of the work. The following is the lis ...

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