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PowellsBooks.Blog
Authors, readers, critics, media − and booksellers.

Guests

List of Top Crime and Mystery Books of All Time

by David Grann, March 11, 2010 1:59 PM
I've written each day about my new book The Devil and Sherlock Holmes, which contains a dozen stories about mystery and intrigue. So today I thought I would list ten of my favorite crime and mystery books of all time (both fiction and nonfiction), which I look to for inspiration.

In no particular order, they include:

  • In Cold Blood by Truman Capote

  • Epitaph for a Spy by Eric Ambler

  • The Executioner's Song by Norman Mailer

  • The Complete Sherlock Holmes Collection by Arthur Conan Doyle

  • Presumed Innocent by Scott Turow

  • Brighton Rock by Graham Greene

  • Double Indemnity by James M. Cain

  • Killshot by Elmore Leonard

  • Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky

  • The Long Goodbye by Raymond Chandler

Who did I leave off? Who are your favorite crime and mystery writers? Let me know.



Books mentioned in this post

The Complete Sherlock Holmes Collection

Arthur Conan Doyle

In Cold Blood A True Account of a Multiple Murder & Its Consequences

Truman Capote

Crime & Punishment

Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Fyodor Dostoevsky

Devil & Sherlock Holmes Tales of Murder Madness & Obsession

David Grann

Epitaph for a Spy: A Spy Thriller

Ambler, Eric

Executioners Song

Norman Mailer

Killshot

Elmore Leonard

Presumed Innocent

Scott Turow

Lady in the Lake the Little Sister the Long Goodbye Playback

Raymond Chandler

Brighton Rock Penguin Classic Deluxe Edition

Graham Greene

Double Indemnity Unabridged Cd

James M Cain
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16 Responses to "List of Top Crime and Mystery Books of All Time"

BAB June 9, 2012 at 09:43 AM
Any crime/mystery list should include Rocambole by Poson du Terrial. It is accredited with starting the whole genre of heroic crime fiction.
Angela March 23, 2010 at 01:49 PM
The Four Adventures of Richard Hannay: The Thirty-Nine Steps/Greenmantle/Mr. Standfast/the Three Hostages by John Buchan John Buchan is the father of spy fiction!
Emily Nesbitt March 16, 2010 at 10:52 AM
How are people forgetting "The Talented Mr. Ripley" by Patricia Highsmith? Or "Strangers On a Train"?
Stephen March 15, 2010 at 11:24 PM
I like some of your choices, but how about: Neon Rain by James Lee Burke The Wrong Case by James Crumley When the Sacred Gin Mill Closes by Lawrence Block The Long Legged Fly by James Sallis Strange Loyalties by William McIlvanney The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler The Dragon Murder Case by S.S. Van Dine L.A. Confidential by James Ellroy The Guards by Ken Bruen
Ann March 15, 2010 at 10:33 PM
Gaudy Night - Dorothy Sayers
Russ Cashon March 15, 2010 at 04:28 PM
I love mysteries and histories. I hated "The Devil in the White City." The writing was bloated and boring and I couldn't finish it. Better by far was "The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of OED" by Simon Winchester. Others I'd add: The Night Gardnener by George Pelacanos Count Zero by William Gibson Skinwalkers by Tony Hillerman The Galton Case by Ross Macdonald
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