There is no better feeling than reading a good whodunit mystery. The genre is filled with many amazing books and is still going strong today. That is why we will be looking at the ten best whodunit books of all time. Keep reading to find out which books made the list!
The public has loved whodunit books for over a century. Edger Allen Poe is credited as the writer of the first detective fiction novel in 1844 with The Murders in the Rue Morgue. Another novel instrumental was Wilkie Collins’ novel Moonstone, published in 1868.
But two authors that come to everyone’s mind first are Arthur Conan Doyle and Agatha Christie. They rose to superstardom with their detective mystery novels as readers tried to figure out the killer. Dime novels (cheap paperbacks) helped make these novels become even more popular because they were inexpensive and entertaining.
The Ten Best Whodunit Books of All Time
- And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie
- The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware
- Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie
- The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle
- The Guest List by Lucy Foley
- The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins
- The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides
- The Word is Murder by Anthony Horowitz
- The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley
- Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie
And The There Were Nine
Agatha’s Christie’s And Then There Were None is her most popular work and the face of the mystery genre. The simple plot of having 10 people on an island that die one after the other and the murderer is one of them. They have to figure out who is the murderer before everyone else is killed.
This is the best selling crime book of all time and has influenced many books over the decades. This novel has had a big impact on the murder mystery genre and many authors have recreated the plot of this novel many times. But nothing is ever going to replace the original and it is a novel readers should revisit often.
Murder on the Orient Express
No mystery list is complete without Agatha Christie. She has helped push the genre forward and you can see her influence on many modern novels. And Murder on the Orient Express is one of her best novels. The mystery at hand is clever and while it may not be as popular as And Then There Were None, it is just as good if not better!
The Hounds of the Baskervilles
When talking about crime novels and the best detective novels, Sherlock Holmes can’t be forgotten. And with m a bunch of books to his name, a few could have made this list. But the best book in the Sherlock Holmes series has to be The Hounds of the Baskervilles. Even if Doyle loathed writing Sherlock Holmes novels, their impact on the crime genre cannot be ignored.
The Silent Patient
When reading this thriller novel, expect a plot twist that will make you question your whole existence. You’ll have to read The Silent Patient twice to fully grasp what happened. It is a whodunit novel combined with a Greek story about a lesser known character. The suspense, tension, and clues in this novel have made it a must read over the years.
Conclusion
That wraps up this list of the ten best whodunit books of all time. How many of these books have you read? What other whodunit novels should have made the list? Let us know in the comments below!
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A better title might be “Ten mystery books that keep being passed from best list to best list”.
Indeed. No need to consider The Maltese Falcon, Farewell My Lovely, The Talented Mr Ripley, or Eric Ambler, Jim Thompson, etc.
Dame Agatha Christie is greatest female mystery writer in all time. She makes you keeps on guessing.
The Murder of Roger Aykroyd. Never saw it coming…..
The Nine Tailors is still the best crime novel of all time!
Dorothy Sayer’s’ The Nine Tailors
I agree!
The murder of Roger Ackroyd must be on the list, otherwise it is an incomplete one!
Excuse me? A “best whodunits” without Wilkie Collins’ The Moonstone? REALLY?! Not even The Woman in White? Sorry, but that is an inexcusable omission.
Ellis Peters and Dorothy Sayers write intriguing who-dun-its, like The Virgin in the Ice and The Nine Tailors.
Definitly “Murder of Roger Ackroyd” and I’d add “The Body in the Library” for deftly written twists and turns.
Georgette Heyer wrote excellent mysteries, with well-developed characters and stories. My favorites are Detection Unlimited, Duplicate Death, The Quiet Gentleman, and They Found Him Dead.
Don’t forget about Kinky Friedman. “Armadillos and Old Lace”, “God Bless John Wayne” and “The Love Song of J. Edgar Hoover.” 🤣.
O.k. maybe not “All Time Classics” but fun reads.
Without a Raymond Chandler novel this list is meaningless
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The only one left needs to be on the list. Don’t agree with the Foley books.
You forgot Ngaio Marsh
Is Lucy Foley paying for this? Ironic that two of the best “ever” were just written in the last three years by the same, not very well known, writer.
No whodunit books in other languages ??
Ya, maybe one or two of these but no way all of these are best ever. Definitely wouldn’t trust this source on another list. Left out some great stories while doubling up on others.
I gave up on Christie when I discovered Ngaio Marsh and Mignon G. Eberhart. Far better crafted than Christie, and face it, Poirot is just annoying.