The Ten Must Read Mystery Books of All Time

Mystery novels are one of the few novels that make you feel a part of the story. Many authors sprinkle enough clues for the reader to figure out who the killer is. That is why we decided to list the ten must read mystery books of all time!

This is one of my favorite genres and what got me into reading as a kid. A lot of classics fall under this genre and that has led to some novels that everyone should read. Sherlock Holmes is just one of the many amazing detectives that came out of this genre.

And it isn’t always a character with a good heart that is remembered the most. Many villains have outshined the novels that they were in such as Hannibal Lector. Great writing can make a mystery novel memorable. You can see the full list below!

The 10 Must Read Mystery Books  

• And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie
• The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris
• Devil in a Blue Dress by Walter Mosely
• The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett
• In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
• The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler
• The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
• Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie
• Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane
• The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman

And Then There Were None

It is impossible not to mention And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie when you talk about the best mystery books of all time. Christie is in her element in this novel and it is a fun mystery of trying to guess who the murderer is.

Ten people receive personal invitation to a small island. They accept and arrive on the island but find out from the butler and the cook that the Ulick Norman Owen and Una Nancy Owen have not arrived yet but have left instructions for the guests.

As the guests make their way to their rooms, an old rhyme called “Ten Little Indians”hangs in every room. After supper is served and eaten, a phonograph record plays and accuses all ten guests of murder.

The guests start talking and realize that none of them knows the Owens. One guest even points out that the guests adds up to Unknown. One of the guests finishes his drink and falls and dies.

Now the mystery of who the Owens are becomes important as someone has been killed and what the guests have in common. As the novel progresses and the victims pile up, we dive deep into the mystery and the checkered past of the ten guests.

In Cold Blood

If you enjoy true crime fiction, then In Cold Blood by Truman Capote is a must read. The book tells the story of a true murder that took place in Holcomb, Kansas. You might be wondering why it is listed as fiction if it is a true story? Apparently, Capote has been accused of adding accounts to the book that didn’t happen.

Herbert “Herb” Clutter is a wealthy farmer that lives in western Kansas with his wife, son, and daughter. He employs as much as 18 workers to work on his farmland where the wages are good. Herb also has two older daughters that have married and have moved out with their husbands. His wife has been diagnosed with clinical depression and struggles to live a normal life because of that

On November 29, 1959 the Clutter family is found murdered in their house. They were killed by Richard Eugene “Dick” Hickock and Perry Edward Smith, two ex-convicts that were out on parole. After getting out, Perry received a letter from Dick about a job that is the perfect crime. A few days after they killed the Clutters, they drive down to Mexico and try to start anew.

The residents of the small town of Holcomb are shocked by the murders of the family and believe that someone in the town murdered them. The police try to find the criminals and the motive of the crime with little to go on. But a breakthrough occurs in the unlikeliest of places and helps the detectives pursue the killers.

The Hound of the Baskervilles

When talking about the best mystery novels, it is impossible to leave off Sherlock Holmes off the list. The Hounds of the Baskervilles is considered as the best Sherlock Holmes book written by Arthur Conan Doyle. So, if you had to read just one Sherlock Holmes book, make it this one.

Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson are visited by Dr. James Mortimer who tells them about the death of Sir Charles Baskerville. He died to a heart attack but near his body, there was a footprint of a giant hound. A letter shown by Mortimer tells of a legend of the first Baskerville who was killed by a hound.  

This leads Holmes to sending Watson to accompany Henry Baskerville, the next in line, to Baskerville Hall. Holmes wants Watson to keep Henry safe as well as tell him about everything that goes on around the area and the residents.  

As Watson gets a lay of the land, he comes across a few suspicious characters. And who was the person following Henry when he arrived to London? The answer to these questions will determine Henry Baskerville’s fate. Will Holmes and Watson solve the case before the hound of the Baskervilles strikes again? 

Shutter Island

A book that not make most top ten lists but will always make is Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane. Like many people, I watched the movie first and loved every second of it. That made me give the book a try and somehow it was even better. There are lots of scenes in the book that didn’t make the movie that are worth reading.

In 1954, U.S. Marshall Edward “Teddy” Daniels and his new partner, Chuck Aule, who he meets on the ferry boat, head towards Shutter Island. They are visiting to investigate the disappearance of an inmate named Rachel Solando. She is being held at the Ashecliffe Hospital for the criminally insane for drowning her three children.

Teddy and Aule have to figure out how Solando disappeared from her cell and where she is hiding on the island. Throughout their investigation, we find out that the island is harboring dark secrets. There have been rumors of human experiments and scientific advancements that are ahead of their times.

Bad weather and conspiracy theories make Teddy question everything. Who is Rachel Solando and why is everyone hiding something from him? Can Teddy escape off the island before it is too late?

Conclusion  

That concludes our list of the ten must read mystery books of all time. We included classics and other novels that we believe are must reads.

The mystery genre is fulled with hundreds of amazing books to read. And you should read all of them if you can. But these are the ones we recommend reading first.

How many of these mystery books have you read or plan to read? What other mystery books should we include in our next list? Let us know in the comments below. Until next time, happy reading!

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