Keating’s 100 best crime and mystery books

This is one of the 759 lists we use to generate our main The Greatest Books list.

About this list

Book, 99 Books

H. R. F. Keating was the crime books reviewer for the London Times for 15 years, a former chairman of the British Crime Writers’ Association, and a past president of the Detection Club. His 100 Best Crime and Mystery Books was published 1987.

H.R.F Keating, author of The Perfect Murder and mystery reviewer for the Times of London, offers a concise commentary on the finest mystery books ever written. From Poe's tales of mystery and imagination to P. D. James's A Taste for Death, Keating delivers a highly-readable evaluation of 100 authors and their masterpieces. This collection is a must for all devoted mystery readers.

This list was originally published in 1987 and was added to this site about 1 year ago.

View: List Grid Table
Rank Book Authors Year Country Language Actions
3267 Tales Of Mystery And Imagination Edgar Allan Poe 1908 American English
393 The Moonstone Wilkie Collins 1868 British English
1789 The Mystery Of Edwin Drood Charles Dickens 1870 British English
2123 The Adventures Of Sherlock Holmes Arthur Conan Doyle 1892 British English
14788 The Amateur Cracksman E. W. Hornung 1899 British English
164 The Hound of the Baskervilles Arthur Conan Doyle 1902 British English
14788 The Thinking Machine Jacques Futrelle 1905 American English
2735 The Circular Staircase Mary Roberts Rinehart 1908 American English
581 The Innocence of Father Brown G. K. Chesterton 1911 British English
14898 Uncle Abner Melville Davisson Post 1918 American English
14898 The Mind Of J G Reeder Edgar Wallace 1925 British English
251 The Murder of Roger Ackroyd Agatha Christie 1926 British English
536 Red Harvest Dashiell Hammett 1929 American English
14132 Death Of My Aunt C. H. B. Kitchin 1929 British English
14898 The Documents In The Case Dorothy L. Sayers, Robert Eustace 1930 British English
142 The Maltese Falcon Dashiell Hammett 1930 American English
15910 The Sands Of Windee Arthur William Upfield 1931 Australian English
14898 Before The Fact Francis Iles 1932 British English
14898 The Case Of The Sulky Girl Erle Stanley Gardner 1933 American English
423 Murder on the Orient Express Agatha Christie 1934 British English
469 The Postman Always Rings Twice James M. Cain 1934 American English
625 The Nine Tailors Dorothy L. Sayers 1934 British English
457 The Hollow Man John Dickson Carr 1935 British English
2461 The League Of Frightened Men Rex Stout 1935 American English
15910 The Wheel Spins Ethel Lina White 1936 British English
1512 The Beast Must Die Nicholas Blake 1938 British English
14193 The Bride Wore Black Cornell Woolrich 1940 American English
17152 Death Of A Peer Ngaio Marsh 1996 New Zealand English
2684 Calamity Town Ellery Queen 1942 American English
3555 Tragedy At Law Cyril Hare 1942 British English
14959 The High Window Raymond Chandler 1942 American English
3628 Green For Danger Christianna Brand 1944 British English
17152 Appleby's End Michael Innes 1973 British English
17152 Murder Among Friends Elizabeth Ferrars 1946 British English
14985 The Horizontal Man Helen Eustis 1945 American English
1214 The Moving Toyshop Edmund Crispin 1946 British English
17152 The Fabulous Clipjoint Frederick Brown 1947 American English
1264 The Franchise Affair Josephine Tey 1948 British English
14898 Devil Take The Blue Tail Fly John Franklin Bardin 1948 American English
14898 More Work For The Undertaker Margery Allingham 1948 British English
14773 My Friend Maigret Georges Simenon, Shaun Whiteside 1949 French French
1640 The Asphalt Jungle W. R. Burnett 1949 American English
1908 Smallbone Deceased Michael Gilbert 1950 British English
11578 Dirty Snow Georges Simenon 1948 Belgian French
419 The Daughter of Time Josephine Tey 1951 British English
1875 Last Seen Wearing ... Hillary Waugh 1952 American English
3912 The Tiger In The Smoke Margery Allingham 1952 British English
17152 Five Roundabouts To Heaven John Bingham 1953 British English
161 The Long Goodbye Raymond Chandler 1953 American English
17152 Post Mortem Guy Cullingford 1953 British English
17152 The Party At No. 5 Shelley Smith 1964 Unknown English
143 The Talented Mr. Ripley Patricia Highsmith 1955 American English
1153 Beast In View Margaret Millar 1955 Canadian English
17152 Gideon’s Week John Creasey 1956 British English
17152 Mystery Stories Stanley Ellin 1956 American English
17152 Maigret In Court Georges Simenon 1960 Belgian French
17152 The New Sonia Wayward Michael Innes 1960 British English
17152 Gun Before Butter Nicolas Freeling 1963 British English
17152 The Expendable Man Dorothy B. Hughes 1963 American English
5645 Pop. 1280 Jim Thompson 1964 American English
16547 R. S. V. P. Murder E. B. Eberhart 1938 Unknown English
14985 The Man Who Killed Himself Julian Symons 1967 British English
17152 Murder Against The Grain Emma Lathen 1967 American English
14199 Roseanna Maj Sjöwall, Per Wahlöö 1965 Swedish Swedish
17152 The Last Best Friend George Sims 1967 British English
14985 The Glass Sided Ants’ Nest Peter Dickinson 1968 British English
17152 Mr. Splitfoot Helen McCloy 1968 American English
17152 The Tremor Of Forgery Patricia Highsmith 1969 American English
2984 Blind Man with a Pistol Chester Himes 1969 American English
17152 Young Man, I Think You're Dying Joan Fleming 1970 British English
17152 Beyond This Point Are Monsters Margaret Millar 1970 Canadian English
6233 Sadie When She Died Ed McBain 1972 American English
1503 The Friends Of Eddie Coyle George V. Higgins 1970 American English
17152 The Players And The Game Julian Symons 1972 British English
17152 Mirror, Mirror On The Wall Stanley Ellin 1972 American English
5008 Dance Hall Of The Dead Tony Hillerman 1973 American English
17152 The Poison Oracle Peter Dickinson 1974 British English
6193 Fletch Gregory Mcdonald 1974 American English
17152 The Black Tower P. D. James 1975 British English
17152 The Long Shadow Celia Fremlin 1975 British English
17152 The Naked Nuns Colin Watson 1975 British English
14985 The Blue Hammer Ross Macdonald 1976 American English
17152 Sleeping Murder Agatha Christie 1976 British English
17152 A Death In The Life Dorothy Salisbury Davis 1976 American English
17152 The Investigation Dorothy Uhnak 1977 American English
1324 A Judgement In Stone Ruth Rendell 1977 British English
14963 Laidlaw William McIlvanney 1977 British English
17152 Nobody's Perfect Donald E. Westlake 1977 American English
17152 A Pinch Of Snuff Reginald Hill 1978 British English
17152 Skinflick Joseph Hansen 1979 American English
17152 Kill Claudio P. M. Hubbard 1979 British English
17152 The Green Ripper John D. MacDonald 1979 American English
17152 All On A Summer's Day John Wainwright 1981 British English
17152 Death In A Tenured Position Amanda Cross 1981 American English
17152 The Glitter Dome Joseph Wambaugh 1981 American English
17152 To Make A Killing June Thomson 1982 British English
3138 The False Inspector Dew Peter Lovesey 1982 British English
17152 The Artful Egg James McClure 1984 South African English
2909 A Taste For Death P. D. James 1986 British English