The Greatest Crime Books of All Time

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This list represents a comprehensive and trusted collection of the greatest books. Developed through a specialized algorithm, it brings together 759 'best of' book lists to form a definitive guide to the world's most acclaimed books. For those interested in how these books are chosen, additional details can be found on the rankings page.

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Rank Book Authors Year Country Language Actions
12979 The Dentist Tim Sullivan 2025 British Unknown
12995 Dead Money Jakob Kerr 2025 Unknown English
13029 The Illegals Shaun Walker 2025 British English
13055 Fog And Fury Rachel Howzell Hall 2025 American English
13061 Murder Takes A Vacation Laura Lippman 2025 American English
13068 Buried Above Ground Mike Ripley 2025 British English
13072 The Dark Maestro Brendan Slocumb 2025 American English
13083 Shadow Cell Andrew Bustamante, Jihi Bustamante 2025 American English
13088 American Scare Robert W. Fieseler 2025 American English
13104 The Right Of The People Osita Nwanevu 2025 American English
13113 The Next One Is For You Ali Watkins 2025 American English
13139 The Bureau Eoin McNamee 2025 Irish English
13359 Susan Hopley Catherine Crowe 1841 British English
13542 Mr. Sammler's Planet Saul Bellow 1970 American English
13566 The Poe Shadow Matthew Pearl 2006 American English
13599 Histoire D'un Fait Divers Jean-Jacques Gautier 1946 French French
13599 To Forget Palermo Edmonde Charles-Roux 1966 French French
13599 The Wedding Yann Queffélec 1985 French French
13599 Un Grand Pas Vers Le Bon Dieu Jean Vautrin 1989 French French
13732 Vendetta Jan Guillou 1991 Swedish Swedish
13771 Looking For Rachel Wallace Robert B. Parker 1980 American English
13802 Les Racines Du Mal Maurice G. Dantec 1995 French French
13817 As God Commands Niccolò Ammaniti 2006 Italian Italian
13817 Resistere Non Serve A Niente Walter Siti 2012 Italian Italian
13817 Ferocity Nicola Lagioia 2014 Italian Italian
13930 The White Lioness Henning Mankell 1993 Swedish Swedish
13941 Clockers Richard Price 1992 American English
13971 Citrus County John Brandon 2010 American English
13971 Star Island Carl Hiaasen 2010 American English
14006 The Five Hallie Rubenhold 2019 British English
14025 Pigeon English Stephen Kelman 2011 British English
14100 The Royal Family William T. Vollmann 2000 American English
14132 Death Of My Aunt C. H. B. Kitchin 1929 British English
14169 Encyclopedia Brown Donald J. Sobol 1963 American English
14193 The Bride Wore Black Cornell Woolrich 1940 American English
14200 Roseanna Maj Sjöwall, Per Wahlöö 1965 Swedish Swedish
14212 Trouble Is My Business Raymond Chandler 1950 American English
14232 Knots and Crosses Ian Rankin 1987 British English
14232 Zoo City Lauren Beukes 2010 South African English
14232 Rivers Of London Ben Aaronovitch 2011 British English
14232 The Lies Of Locke Lamora Scott Lynch 2006 American English
14232 Foundryside Robert Jackson Bennett 2018 American English
14232 Midnight In Sicily Peter Robb 1996 Italian English
14323 All The Devils Are Here Louise Penny 2020 Canadian English
14347 Shadow Country Peter Matthiessen 2008 American English
14347 Fortune Smiles Adam Johnson 2015 American English
14401 La Ligne Noire Jean-Christophe Grangé 2004 French French
14434 Train Pete Dexter 2003 American English
14448 Q & A Vikas Swarup 2005 Indian English
14483 The Beauty Defense Laura James 2019 Unknown English
14519 Memoir From Antproof Case Mark Helprin 1995 American English
14541 The Unusual Suspect Ben Machell 2020 British English
14544 In The Valley Of The Sun Andy Davidson American English
14553 The City That Became Safe Franklin E. Zimring 2011 American English
14588 Fuzz Mary Roach 2021 American English
14588 The Babysitter Liza Rodman, Jennifer Jordan 2021 Unknown English
14588 Couple Found Slain Mikita Brottman 2021 Unknown English
14588 Last Call Elon Green 2021 Unknown English
14588 Confident Women Tori Telfer 2021 Unknown English
14588 The Good Girls Sonia Faleiro 2021 Indian English
14588 The Rope Alex Tresniowski 2021 Unknown English
14588 Two Truths And A Lie Ellen McGarrahan 2021 Unknown English
14598 The Carpetbaggers Harold Robbins 1961 American English
14674 Lay Them To Rest Laurah Norton 2023 Unknown English
14693 The Parts Keith Ridgway 2003 Irish English
14718 Monsieur Lecoq Émile Gaboriau 1869 French French
14730 The Death Of Rex Nhongo C. B. George 2015 Unknown English
14773 My Friend Maigret Georges Simenon, Shaun Whiteside 1949 French French
14767 The Memoirs Of Sherlock Holmes Arthur Conan Doyle 1893 British English
14774 Slippy Mc Gee Marie Conway Oemler 1917 American English
14782 Return Of Sherlock Holmes Arthur Conan Doyle 1905 British English
14788 The Amateur Cracksman E. W. Hornung 1899 British English
14788 The Thinking Machine Jacques Futrelle 1905 American English
14832 Billion Dollar Whale Tom Wright, Bradley Hope 2018 American English
14861 The Case Book Of Sherlock Holmes Arthur Conan Doyle 1927 British English
14897 Power Without Glory Frank Hardy 1950 Australian English
14897 Robbery Under Arms Rolf Boldrewood 1882 Australian English
14876 To Have And Have Not Ernest Hemingway 1937 American English
14897 Guys And Dolls Damon Runyon 1932 American English
14897 Fer De Lance Rex Stout 1934 American English
14897 The Red House Mystery A. A. Milne 1922 British English
14897 More Work For The Undertaker Margery Allingham 1948 British English
14897 The Case Of The Sulky Girl Erle Stanley Gardner 1933 American English
14897 Uncle Abner Melville Davisson Post 1918 American English
14897 The Mind Of J G Reeder Edgar Wallace 1925 British English
14897 The Documents In The Case Dorothy L. Sayers, Robert Eustace 1930 British English
14897 Before The Fact Francis Iles 1932 British English
14897 Devil Take The Blue Tail Fly John Franklin Bardin 1948 American English
14951 Crimes Of The Heart Beth Henley 1978 American English
14960 Helter Skelter Vincent Bugliosi 1974 American English
14956 The Front Page Ben Hecht, Charles MacArthur 1928 American English
14962 Laidlaw William McIlvanney 1977 British English
14957 The High Window Raymond Chandler 1942 American English
14984 Going Native Stephen Wright 1994 American English
14984 The Ghost Robert Harris 2007 British English
14984 Injury Time Beryl Bainbridge 1977 British English
14983 Alive Piers Paul Read 1974 British English
14984 The Night Manager John le Carré 1993 British English
14984 Hawkeye Matt Fraction 2012 American English
14984 Virtual Light William Gibson 1993 American English
14984 The Informer Liam O'Flaherty 1925 Irish English
14984 The Sudden Appearance Of Hope Claire North 2016 British English
14984 Double Whammy Carl Hiaasen 1987 American English
14984 Arthur And George Julian Barnes 2005 British English
14984 People Who Eat Darkness Richard Lloyd Parry 2010 British English
14984 Altered Carbon Richard Morgan 2002 British English
14984 The Extremes Christopher Priest 1998 British English
14984 Artemis Andy Weir 2017 American English
14984 Razorblade Tears S. A. Cosby 2021 American English
14984 Long Bright River Liz Moore 2020 American English
14984 The Devil Takes You Home Gabino Iglesias 2022 American English
14984 Holly Stephen King 2023 American English
14984 Skin Tight Carl Hiaasen 1989 American English
14984 The Given Day Dennis Lehane 2008 American English
14984 The Reappearance Of Rachel Price Holly Jackson 2024 Unknown English
14984 Middle Of The Night Riley Sager 2024 American English
14984 Sacred Games Vikram Chandra 2006 Indian English
14984 The Horizontal Man Helen Eustis 1945 American English
14984 The Man Who Killed Himself Julian Symons 1967 British English
14984 The Glass Sided Ants’ Nest Peter Dickinson 1968 British English