Nothing beats a great Mystery but with so many to choose from, finding the right one can be hard That is why we made this list of the 30 must read mystery books of all time. Keep reading to see which books made our list!
With recent and old classics, the mystery genre is flooded with thousands of amazing books. This list won’t contain most of these books. However, we hope that this list encourages to seek out other amazing mystery books. You can see the full list below!
The 30 Must Read Mystery Books of All Time
- Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie
- The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle
- The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris
- The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
- The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler
- Death at La Fenice by Donna Leon
- Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
- The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett
- Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown
- The Secret History by Donna Tartt
- The Postman Always Rings Twice by James M. Cain
- In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
- Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy by John le Carré
- The Day of the Jackal by Frederick Forsyth
- In the Woods by Tana French
- The Alienist by Caleb Carr
- Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane
- Killing Floor by Lee Child
- The Black Dahlia by James Ellroy
- The Name of The Rose by Umberto Eco
- Tales of Mystery and Imagination by Edgar Allan Poe
- The Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey
- The Spy Who Came in From the Cold by John le Carré
- The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie
- The Godfather by Mario Puzo
- My Annihilation by Fuminori Nakamura
- The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides
- The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins
- Bluebird, Bluebird by Attica Locke
- Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
Must Read Books
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. Another author that deserves a spot on this list is Arthur Conan Doyle. Just like Christie, his impact is still being felt over a century later.
The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler is a must read. As you read more, the plot picks up and things happen fast and a lot of blood is spilled. The novel falls under the hardboiled fiction genre which are detective novels that has a lot of graphic violence and slang. If you read one this novel by Chandler, there is a good chance you will binge his other books too.
A novel that might surprise a few people on the list is The Secret History. If you haven’t read it, then you will be confused but if you have, then you will understand. It is a mystery novel that is well written and will stay with you for years. It is no wonder that this novel spurned a new subgenre.
A surprise novel on this list that is sure to keep you entertained is The Godfather by Mario Puzo. While many people will always think of the movie first, the novel was actually published first. It is a brilliant book and it will make you appreciate the movies even more.
Conclusion
That is all for this list of the 30 must read mystery books of all time. What other novels should we have included on the list? Let us know in the comments below!
Dorothy L Sayers, The Nine Tailors. Uses all the tropes of the genre to explore the very heart of what the genre is about.
I don’t think The Godfather is a Mystery novel. It was great and exciting to read but, a mystery novel? Nah.
There are a few things that I take into account when I “judge” whether a mystery/whodunit novel is good. Aside from the usual, I try to guess “whodunit” based on the clues provided. If the clues are on the up and up and I am unable to see whodunit, I enjoy the reading. Right now one of my favorites is Harlan Coben. He should be on this list.
Lord of the mystery’s is in my opinion the best.
The Bat and The Snowman by Les Nesbos
Walter mosley and stig larsen deserve to be included as well.
Y’all slippin. Every time one of these articles posts multiple comments reeeee about whatabout (insert female, non-white, non-Western) this or that author. Make your own list.
I like the series of Fletch Mysteries written by Gregory McDonald.