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The Best Mystery Books - Top 100

WINKS' PERSONAL FAVORITES IN DETECTIVE FICTION

In the Appendix to his Detective Fiction, A Collection of Critical Essays, Robin W. Winks includes "A Personal List of Favorites." He writes that “the following list of titles is provided … as a point of entry; authors are limited to no more than three titles. The editor regards all of the books as good, although for a variety of reasons. Not all have contributed to the history of the field and not all are written with equal grace, but each has substantial merit, whether for plot, well-realized setting, characterization, detection, or even trickery. For the most part, books from the early classic period (pre-1930) are omitted.”

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 Cobalt Nathan Aldyne1982
A Choice of Enemies Ted Allbeury1973
 The Crime at Black Dudley Margery Allingham1929
 Dancers in Mourning Margery Allingham1937
The Tiger in the Smoke Margery Allingham1952
Godey's Last Stand Charles Alverson1975
 Background to Danger Eric Ambler1937
A Coffin for Demetrious Eric Ambler1939
 Journey into Fear Eric Ambler1940
Affair of the Blood-Stained Egg Cosy James Anderson1975
Death of a Hittite Sylvia Angus1969
Murder at the ABA Isaac Asimov1976
 High Citadel Desmond Bagley1965
 Running Blind Desmond Bagley1970
 The Enemy Desmond Bagley1976
In the Heat of the Night John Ball1965
The Rembrandt Panel Oliver Banks1980
Death of an Old Goat Robert Barnard1977
Death of a Literary Widow Robert Barnard1979
The Kremlin Letter Noel Behn1966
The Running Man Ben Benson1957
 Trent's Last Case E.C. Bentley1912
The Big Kiss Off of 1944 Andrew Bergman1974
Trial and Error Andrew Berkeley1937
Repeat the Instructions R. Vernon Beste1967
The Abominable Snowman Nicholas Blake1940
Minute for Murder Nicholas Blake1947
 The Sins of the Fathers Lawrence Block1976
 Ficciones Jorge Luis Borges1962
The Case of the Seven of Calvary Anthony Boucher1937
Death in the Fifth Position Edgar Box1952
 Green for Danger Christianna Brand1945
Wilders Walk Away Herbert Brean1948
The Fabulous Clipjoint Frederic Brown1947
The Lenient Beast Frederic Brown1956
 The Thirty-Nine Steps John Buchan1915
 John Macnab John Buchan1925
Mountain Meadow John Buchan1941
 Saving the Queen William F. Buckley1976
Mongoose R John F. Buckley
The Pyx John Buell1959
 Tremor of Intent Anthony Burgess1966
Angle of Attack Rex Burns1979
Ground Money Rex Burns1986
Or Be He Dead James Byrom1958
 The Postman Always Rings Twice James M. Cain1934
 Double Indemnity James M. Cain1936
Finding Maubee A.H.Z. Carr1971
 The Three Coffins John Dickson Carr1935
The Case of the Constant Suicides John Dickson Carr1941
Thus Was Adonis Murdered Sara Caudwell1981
 The Big Sleep Raymond Chandler1939
 Farewell, My Lovely Raymond Chandler1940
 The Lady in the Lake Raymond Chandler1953
 The Innocence of Father Brown G.K. Chesterton1911
 The Riddle of the Sands Erskine Childers1903
 The Murder of Roger Ackroyd Agatha Christie1926
The Little Niggers Agatha Christie1939
The Patriotic Murders Agatha Christie1940
 The Hunt for Red October Tom Clancy1985
The Third Side of the Coin Francis Clifford1965
All Men Are Lonely Now Francis Clifford1967
Wisteria Cottage, 1948 Robert M. Coates
 Bad Company Liza Cody1982
 Drink to Yesterday Manning Coles1940
 A Toast to Tomorrow Manning Coles1941
The Blank Page K.C. Constantine1974
The Man Who Likes Slow Tomatoes K.C. Constantine1982
Murder's Burning S.H. Courtier1967
The Trial of Lobo Icheka David Creed1971
The Moving Toy Shop Edmund Crispin1946
The Cheyne Mystery Freeman Wills Crofts1926
Death of a Train Freeman Wills Crofts1946
 Poetic Justice Amanda Cross1970
 Death in a Tenured Position Amanda Cross1981
 The Last Good Kiss James Crumley1978
Sylvia E.V. Cunningham1960
Out of the Dark Ursula Curtiss1964
Night of Wenceslas Lionel Davidson1960
 The Rose of Tibet Lionel Davidson1962
Killed in the Ratings William L. DeAndrea1978
 The Ipcress File Len Deighton1962
 SS-GB Len Deighton1978
The Sunlit Ambush Mark Derby1955
 The Silent World of Nicholas Quinn Colin Dexter1977
The Glass-Sided Ant's Nest Peter Dickinson1968
One Foot in the Grave Pater Dickinson1980
Hindsight Peter Dickinson1983
The Long Escape David Dodge1950
Rebecca's Pride Donald McNutt Douglass1957
The Q Document Robert Duncan1964
 The Name of the Rose Umberto Eco1983
The Eighth Circle Stanley Ellin1958
Very Old Money Stanley Ellin1985
The Glass Highway Loren D. Estleman1983
The Horizontal Helen Eustis1946
 The Big Clock Kenneth Fearing1946
Pursuit Robert L. Fish1979
I Wake Up Screaming Steve Fisher1941
 From Russia with Love Ian Fleming1957
 Eye of the Needle Ken Follett1978
 Payment Deferred C.S. Forester1926
 The Day of the Jackal Frederick Forsyth1971
 Dead Cert Dick Francis1962
 Blood Sport Dick Francis1967
 Forfeit Dick Francis1969
Love in Amsterdam Nicholas Freeling1962
Apres de ma Blonde Nicholas Freeling1972
The Case of the Caretaker's Cat Erle Stanley Gardner
The D Erle Stanley Gardner
 The Case of the Crooked Candle Erle Stanley Gardner1944
 The Liquidator John Gardner1964
 The Cuckoo-Line Affair Andrew Garve1953
The Galloway Case Andrew Garve1958
The Ascent of D-13 Andrew Garve1968
The Judas Pair Jonathan Gash1977
The Day of the Ram William Campbell Gault1956
The Wind Chill Factor Thomas Gifford1975
Death Has Deep Roots Michael Gilbert1951
Death in Captivity Michael Gilbert1952
Death Drop B.M. Gill1979
 Marathon Man William Goldman1974
The River Gets Wider R.L. Gordon1974
 Stamboul Train Graham Greene1932
 Brighton Rock Graham Greene1938
 The Ministry of Fear Graham Greene1943
Fatal Obsession Stephen Greenleaf1983
 The Dirty Duck Martha Grimes1984
 The Night of the Hunter Davis Grubb1953
Wild Pitch A.B. Guthrie1973
The Telemann Touch William Haggard1958
Venetian Blind William Haggard1959
The Scorpion's Tail William Haggard1975
 The Quiller Memorandum Adam Hall1965
The Tango Briefing Adam Hall1973
The Mandarin Cypher Adam Hall1975
Exit Sherlock Holmes Robert Lee Hall1977
The Search for Joseph Tully William Hallahan1975
Death of a Citizen Donald Hamilton1960
The Ravengers Donald Hamilton1964
 Red Harvest Dashiell Hammett1929
 The Maltese Falcon Dashiell Hammett1930
Early Graves Joseph Hansen1987
An English Murder Cyril Hare1951
The Bellamy Trial Frances Noyes Hart1927
Ritual Murder S.T. Haymon1982
The Staked Goat Jeremiah Healy1986
 A Taste for Honey H.F.A. Heard1941
Through the Dark and Hairy Wood Shaun Herron1973
 A Blunt Instrument Georgette Heyer1938
 The Friends of Eddie Coyle George V. Higgins1972
 Ruling Passion Reginald Hill1973
 Deadheads Reginald Hill1984
 The Blessing Way Tony Hillerman1970
 The Ghostway Tony Hillerman1984
Cotton Goes to Harlem Chester Himes1964
Florentine Finish Cornelius Hirschberg1963
 Rogue Male Geoffrey Household1939
A Rough Shoot Geoffrey Household1951
Dance of the Dwarfs Geoffrey Household1968
Ossian's Ride Fred Hoyle1959
Trotsky's Run Richard Hoyt1982
Ride the Pink Horse Dorothy B. Hughes1946
From Cuba, With Love E. Howard Hunt1964
Murder on Safari Elspeth Huxley1938
 Before the Fact Francis Iles1932
 The Wreck of the Mary Deare Hammond Innes1956
Hamlet Revenge! 1937 Michael Innes
 Cover Her Face P.D. James1962
 Shroud for a Nightingale P.D. James1971
 An Unsuitable Job for a Woman P.D. James1972
Beat Not the Bones Charlotte Jay1954
The Yellow Turban Charlotte Jay1955
A Rush on the Ultimate H.R.F. Keating1961
The Perfect Murder H.R.F. Keating1964
The Spoilt Kill Mary Kelly1961
Friday the Rabbi Slept Late Harry Kemmelman1964
Court of Crows Robert A. Knowlton1961
Floater Joseph Koenig1986
Emily Dickinson is Dead Jane Langton1984
Death Shall Overcome Emma Lathen1966
Murder Against the Grain Emma Lathen1967
Passport to Oblivion James Leasor1965
The Spy Who Came in from the Cold John LeCarre1963
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy John LeCarre1974
 Swag Elmore Leonard1976
La Brava Elmore Leonard1983
Night Cover Michael Lewin1976
The Man in the Middle Norman Lewis1984
 The Defection of A Robert Littell
 The Debriefing Robert Littell1979
 The Amateur Robert Littell1981
 Wobble to Death Peter Lovesey1970
 The False Inspector Dew Peter Lovesey1982
One More Unfortunate Edgar Lustgarten1947
The Most Dangerous Game Gavin Lyall1964
Midnight Plus One Gavin Lyall1965
Castles Burning Arthur Lyons1980
 Hail to the Chief Ed McBain1973
Ice Ed McBain1983
 The Miernik Dossier Charles McCarry1973
The Steam Pig James McClure1971
The Artful Egg James McClure1985
 Fletch's Fortune Gregory McDonald1978
Dead Low Tide John D. MacDonald1953
The Drowner John D. MacDonald1963
 The Quick Red Fox John D. MacDonald1964
 The List of Adrian Messenger Philip Macdonald1959
 The Galton Case Ross Macdonald1959
 The Far Side of the Dollar Ross Macdonald1964
 The Goodbye Look Ross Macdonald1969
Bogmail Patrick McGinley1981
 Laidlaw William McIlvanney1977
 Above Suspicion Helen MacInnes1941
The Venetian Affair Helen MacInnes1963
 South by Java Head Alistair MacLean1958
The Satan Bug (As Ian Stuart), 1962 Alistair MacLean
Gideon's Week J.J. Marric1956
Gideon's River J.J. Marric1968
 Enter a Murderer Ngaio Marsh1935
Thin Air William Marshall1977
An Oxford Tragedy J.C. Masterman1933
The Pass Beyond Kashmir Berkely Mather1960
 Ashenden, the British Agent W. Somerset Maugham1927
The Seven Percent Solution Nicholas Meyer1974
Beast in View Margaret Millar1955
The Soft Talkers Margaret Millar1957
 The Red House Mystery A.A. Milne1922
 The Third Policeman Flann O'Brien1967
 The Great Impersonation E. Phillips Oppenheim1920
 Indemnity Only Sara Paretsky1982
 God Save the Child Robert B. Parker1974
 Mortal Stakes Robert B. Parker1975
 Looking for Rachel Wallace Robert B. Parker1980
 The Outside Man Richard North Patterson1981
 Dreamland Lake Richard Peck1973
 The Butcher's Boy Thomas Perry1982
 One Corpse Too Many Ellis Peters1980
 Verdict of Twelve Raymond Postgate1940
Other Paths to Glory Enthony Price1975
The Pub Crawler Maurice Proctor1956
The Stalker Bill Pronzini1971
The Roman Hat Mystery Ellery Queen1929
The Tragedy of X Ellery Queen1932
 Calamity Town Ellery Queen1942
 Death in the Morning Sheila Radley1978
The Euro-Killers Julian Rathbone1980
A Demon in my View Ruth Rendell1976
 The Bat Mary Robert Rinehart1926
The Red Right Hand Joel Townsley Rogers1945
Sacrificial Pawn Francis Ryck1973
 The First Deadly Sin Lawrence Sanders1973
 Strong Poison Dorothy Sayers1930
 The Nine Tailors Dorothy Sayers1934
 Gaudy Night Dorothy Sayers1935
The Listening House Mabel Seely1938
 The Man Who Watched the Trains Go By Georges Simenon1946
The Big Fix Roger L. Simon1973
 Roseanna Wahloo Sjowall1967
 The Fire Engine that Disappeared Wahloo Sjowall1970
The Ballad of the Running Man Shelley Smith1961
The Day of the Dead Bart Spicer1955
 Too Many Cooks Rex Stout1938
 And Be a Villain Rex Stout1948
 Plot it Yourself Rex Stout1959
The 31st of November Julian Symons1950
 The Man Who Killed Himself Julian Symons1967
A Criminal Comedy Julian Symons1986
The Dutch Blue Error William G. Tapply1985
The Marine Corpse William G. Tapply1986
 A Shilling for Candles Josephine Tey1936
 The Daughter of Time Josephine Tey1951
The Family Arsenal Paul Theroux1976
 The Cold War Swap Ross Thomas1966
The Seersucker Whipsaw Ross Thomas1967
Brass Go-Between Ross Thomas
The Killer Insude Me Jim Thompson1952
Death Cap June Thomson1977
 The Eiger Sanction Trevanian1972
Deep and Crisp and Even Peter Turnbull1981
 The New Shoe Arthur Upfield1951
 The Bachelors of Broken Hill Arthur Upfield1958
Life's Work Jonathan Valin1986
Fire Lake Jonathan Valin1987
 The Mind Murders Janwillem Van de Wetering1981
Stateline John Van der Zee1976
 The Benson Murder Case S.S. Van Dine1926
 The Chinese Bell Murders Robert Van Gulik1961
 The Chinese Nail Murders Robert Van Gulik1961
The Department of Dead Ends Roy Vickers1949
 The Four Just Men Edgar Wallace1911
Last Seen Wearing Hillary Waugh1952
Death and Circumstance Hillary Waugh1963
 The Hot Rock Donald E. Westlake1970
Victims Colin Wilcox1984
 New Hope for the Dead Charles Willeford1985
The Catfish Tangle Charles Williams1963
The Bride Wore Black Cornell Woolrich1940
Tree Frog Martin Woodhouse1966
 Smoke Detector Eric Wright1984
Death in the Old Country Eric Wright1985
 The Suspect L.R. Wright1985
The Fifth Passenger Edward Young1963
Hazell Plays Solomon P.B. Yuill1974