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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.

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 Zadig Voltaire1748
 The Adventures of Caleb Williams Godwin, William1794
Memoirs De Vidocq Vidocq, Francois Eugene1828
 Tales Poe, Edgar Allan1845
 Bleak House Dickens, Charles1853
Recollections of a Detective Police Officer Waters, William Russell1856
 The Woman in White Collins, Wilkie1860
 Les Miserables Hugo, Victor1862
The Widow Lerouge Gaboriau, Emile1866
The Dead Letter Seeley, Regester1866
 Crime and Punishment Dostoevsky, Fyodor1866
The Dead Letter Seeley, Regester1866
File No 13 Gaboriau, Emile1867
 The Moonstone Collins, Wilkie1868
The Mystery Of Orcival Gaboriau, Emile1868
 Monsieur Lecoq Gaboriau, Emile1869
 The Mystery of Edwin Drood Dickens, Charles1870
Old Sleuth, the Detective Halsey, Harlan Page1872
The Expressman and the Detective Pinkerton, Allan1874
The Leavenworth Case Green, Anna Katharine1878
 New Arabian Nights Stevenson, Robert Louis1882
 The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde Stevenson, Robert Louis1886
 The Mystery of a Hansom Cab Hume, Fergus1887
 The Sign of the Four Conan Doyle, Sir Arthur1890
 The Big Bow Mystery Zangwill, Israel1892
 The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes Conan Doyle, Sir Arthur1894
 The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes Conan Doyle, Sir Arthur1894
 Martin Hewitt, Investigator Morrison, Arthur1894
The Tragedy of Pudd’nhead Wilson Twain, Mark1894
Prince Zaleski Shiel, MP1895
 Dracula Stoker, Bram1897
The Amateur Cracksman Hornung, EW1899
 The Hound of the Baskervilles Conan Doyle, Sir Arthur1902
 The Riddle of the Sands Childers, Erskine1903
 The Return of Sherlock Holmes Conan Doyle, Sir Arthur1905
 The Scarlet Pimpernel Orczy, Baroness1905
 The Triumphs of Eugene Valmont Barr, Robert1906
Tracks in the Snow Benson, GR1906
 The Red Thumb Mark Freeman, R Austin1907
 The Thinking Machine Futrelle, Jacques1907
 Arsene Lupin, Gentleman Leblanc, Maurice1907
 The Mystery of the Yellow Room Leroux, Gaston1907
 The Secret Agent Conrad, Joseph1907
 The Circular Staircase Rinehart, Mary Roberts1908
 The Mystery of Dr Fu Rohmer, Sax1908
The Man Who Was Thursday Chesterton, GK1908
 The Gentle Grafter Henry, O1908
The Perfume of the Woman in Black Leroux, Gaston1908
 The Old Man in the Corner Orczy, Baroness1909
The Clue Wells, Carolyn1909
John Thorndyke’s Cases Freeman, R Austin1909
Through the Wall Moffett, Cleveland1909
“813” Leblanc, Maurice1910
At the Villa Rose Mason, AEW1910
The Achievements of Luther Trant MacHarg, William & Edwin Balmer1910
The Innocence of Father Brown Chesterton, GK1911
 The Eye of Osiris Freeman, R Austin1911
The Singing Bone Freeman, R Austin1912
 The Silent Bullet Reeve, Arthur B1912
Trent’s Last Case Bentley, EC1913
The Lodger Lowndes, Mrs Belloc1913
Max Carrados Bramah, Ernest1914
The Lone Wolf Vance, Louis Joseph1914
 The Thirty Buchan, John1915
 The Valley of Fear Conan Doyle, Sir Arthur1915
Limehouse Nights Burke, Thomas1916
 His Last Bow Conan Doyle, Sir Arthur1917
The Middle Temple Murder Fletcher, JS1918
 Uncle Abner Post, Melville Davisson1918
Call Mr Fortune Bailey, HC1920
The Cask Crofts, Freeman Wills1920
 The Mysterious Affair at Styles Christie, Agatha1920
 The Great Impersonation Oppenheim, E Phillips1920
Bull Sapper,1920
 Tutt and Mr Tutt Train, Arthur1920
 The Grey Room Phillpotts, Eden1921
 The Eight Strokes of the Clock Leblanc, Maurice1922
The Red House Mystery Milne, AA1922
The Brooklyn Murders Cole, GDH and M1923
 [Whose Body?] Sayers, Dorothy L1923
Inspector French’s Greatest Case Crofts, Freeman Wills1924
The Rasp MacDonald, Philip1924
The House of the Arrow Mason, AEW1924
 The House Without a Key Biggers, Earl, Derr1925
 The Viaduct Murder Knox, Ronald A1925
The Paddington Mystery Rhode, John1925
 The Mind of J G Reeder Wallace, Edgar1925
 An American Tragedy Dreiser, Theodore1925
The Informer O’Flaherty, Liam1925
 The Murder of Roger Ackroyd Christie, Agatha1926
The Benson Murder Case Van Dine, SS1926
Payment Deferred Forester, CS1926
 The Case Conan Doyle, Sir Arthur1927
The Bellamy Trial Hart, Frances Noyes1927
The Canary Murder Case Van Dine, SS1927
Meet the Tiger Charteris, Leslie1928
Ashenden: or The British Agent Maugham, W Somerset1928
The Murders in Praed Street Rhode, John1928
The Poisoned Chocolates Case Berkeley, Anthony1929
The Patient in Room 18 Eberhart, Mignon G1929
The Roman Hat Murder Queen, Ellery1929
Little Caesar Burnett, WR1929
Murder by the Clock King, Rufus1929
Detective Duff Unravels It O’Higgins, Harvey J1929
Clues of the Caribbees Stribling, TS1929
The Book of Murder Anderson, Frederick, Irving1930
The Hammersmith Murders Frome, David1930
 The Maltese Falcon Hammett, Dashiell1930
The Documents in the Case Sayers, Dorothy L & Eustace, Robert1930
 The Penguin Pool Murder Palmer, Stuart1931
 The Cape Cod Mystery Taylor, Phoebe Atwood1931
Death Walks in Eastrepps Beeding, Francis1931
 The Glass Key Hammett, Dashiell1931
 Guys and Dolls Runyon, Damon1931
 Murder at School Hilton, James1931
The Red Castle Bailey, HC1932
Re Dane, Clemence and Helen Simpson1932
 Before the Fact Iles, Francis1932
The Tragedy of X Queen, Ellery1932
The Fatal Five Minutes Walling, RAJ1932
The Tragedy of Y Queen, Ellery1932
 The Case of the Sulky Girl Gardner, Erle Stanley1933
The Case of the Velvet Claws Gardner, Erle Stanley1933
 Death of a Ghost Allingham, Margery1934
 The Nine Tailors Sayers, Dorothy L1934
 Fer de Lance Stout, Rex1934
 The Postman Always Rings Twice Cain, James, M1934
The Murder of My Aunt Hull, Richard1935
No Hero Marquand, John P1935
 The League of Frightened Men Stout, Rex1935
Trial and Error Berkeley, Anthony1937
The Beast Must Die Blake, Nicholas1938
 The Crooked Hinge Carr, John Dickson1938
The Judas Window Carr, John Dickson1938
 Lament for a Maker Innes, Michael1938
The Listening House Seeley, Mabel1938
 Rebecca Du Maurier, Daphne1938
 Brighton Rock Greene, Graham1938
The Nursemaid Who Disappeared MacDonald, Philip1938
Death from a Top Hat Rawson, Clayton1938
The Mask of Dimitrios Ambler, Eric1939
 The Big Sleep Chandler, Raymond1939
 Overture to Death Marsh, Ngaio1939
The Mysterious Mickey Finn Paul, Elliot1939
 Farewell, My Lovely Chandler, Raymond1940
 Drink to Yesterday Coles, Manning1940
Pray Silence Coles, Manning1940
The So Blue Marble Hughes, Dorothy B1940
The Norths Meet Murder Lockridge, Frances and Richard1940
 Verdict of Twelve Postgate, Raymond1940
The Patience of Maigret Simenon, Georges1940
Trial by Fury Rice, Craig1941
A Taste for Honey Heard, HF1941
Rocket to the Morgue Boucher, Anthony1942
 The Just and the Unjust Cozzens, James Gould1942
 Calamity Town Queen, Ellery1942
The Bride Wore Black Woolrich, Cornell1942
 Laura Caspary, Vera1943
Blood Upon the Snow Lawrence, Hilda1944
The Adventures of Sam Spade Hammett, Dashiell1944
 The Moving Toyshop Crispin, Edmund1946
The Horizontal Man Eustis, Helen1946
 The Unsuspected Armstrong, Charlotte1946
Dr Sam Johnson, Detector De la Torre, Lilian1946
Lord of the Sorcerers Dickson, Carter1946
The Department of Dead Ends Vickers, Roy1946
A Case to Answer Lustgarten, Edgar1947
Wisteria Cottage Coates, Robert M1948
 Love Lies Bleeding Crispin, Edmund1948
Dreadful Summit Ellin, Stanley1948
 The Franchise Affair Tey, Josephine1948
 Intruder in the Dust Faulkner, William1948
 The Moving Target ~Macdonald, Ross1949
Mischief Armstrong, Charlotte1950
 The Simple Art of Murder Chandler, Raymond1950
The People Against O’Hara Lipsky, Eleazar1950
Through a Glass, Darkly McCloy, Helen1950
The Motive Piper, Evelyn1950
Blues for the Prince Spicer, Bart1950
Nightmare in Manhattan Walsh, Thomas1950
 A Gentle Murderer Davis, Dorothy Salisbury1951
The Little Tales of Smethers Dunsany, Lord1952
 Array