The Greatest Books of All Time on Detective

Click to learn how this list is calculated.

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.

View: List Grid Table
Filter by: Genres Dates Countries

Rank Book Authors Year Country Language Actions
12751 The Naming Of The Birds Paraic O'Donnell 2025 Irish English
13772 Looking For Rachel Wallace Robert B. Parker 1980 American English
14075 The Eyre Affair Jasper Fforde 2001 British English
14166 The Secret Of The Old Clock Carolyn Keene 1930 American English
14169 Encyclopedia Brown Donald J. Sobol 1963 American English
14212 Trouble Is My Business Raymond Chandler 1950 American English
14232 Knots and Crosses Ian Rankin 1987 British English
14719 Monsieur Lecoq Émile Gaboriau 1869 French French
14767 The Memoirs Of Sherlock Holmes Arthur Conan Doyle 1893 British English
14782 Return Of Sherlock Holmes Arthur Conan Doyle 1905 British English
14788 The Thinking Machine Jacques Futrelle 1905 American English
14899 Fer De Lance Rex Stout 1934 American English
14899 More Work For The Undertaker Margery Allingham 1948 British English
14899 The Case Of The Sulky Girl Erle Stanley Gardner 1933 American English
14899 The Documents In The Case Dorothy L. Sayers, Robert Eustace 1930 British English
14959 The High Window Raymond Chandler 1942 American English
14985 The Man Who Killed Himself Julian Symons 1967 British English
14985 The Blue Hammer Ross Macdonald 1976 American English
15567 A Song For The Dark Times Ian Rankin 2020 British English
15567 A Private Cathedral James Lee Burke 2020 American English
15616 The New Centurions Joseph Wambaugh 1970 American English
15916 Sherlock Holmes, Volume I Arthur Conan Doyle 1887 British English
15916 He Who Whispers John Dickson Carr 1946 American English
15916 The Chinese Orange Mystery Ellery Queen 1934 American English
15916 Final Curtain Ngaio Marsh 1947 New Zealander English
15916 The Mystery Of Orcival Émile Gaboriau 1866 French English
15916 Martin Hewitt, Investigator Arthur Morrison 1894 British English
15916 Prince Zaleski M. P. Shiel 1895 British English
15916 The Red Box Rex Stout 1937 American English
16777 The Singing Sands Josephine Tey 1952 British English
16771 To Love And Be Wise Josephine Tey 1950 British English
16646 The Red Thumb Mark R Austin Freeman 1907 British English
16639 Curtain Agatha Christie 1975 British English
17164 The Continental Op Dashiell Hammett 1974 American English
17164 Fleshmarket Close Ian Rankin 2004 Scottish English
17164 Sleeping Beauty Ross Macdonald 1973 American English
17164 Thraxas Martin Scott 1999 British English
17164 Full Dark House Christopher Fowler 2003 British English
17164 His Last Bow Arthur Conan Doyle 1917 British English
17164 Ragdoll Daniel Cole 2017 British English
17164 The Simple Art Of Murder Raymond Chandler 1950 American English
17164 The Black Tower P. D. James 1975 British English
17164 Death At The Sign Of The Rook Kate Atkinson 2024 Unknown Unknown
17164 The Curse Of The Bronze Lamp Carter Dickson 1945 British English
17164 Inspector French’s Greatest Case Freeman Wills Crofts 1924 British English
17164 The Canary Murder Case S. S. Van Dine 1927 American English
17164 Overture To Death Ngaio Marsh 1939 New Zealander English
17164 Moonflower Murders Anthony Horowitz 2020 British English
17164 Sleeping Murder Agatha Christie 1976 British English
17164 A Drink Before The War Dennis Lehane 1994 American English
17164 The Viaduct Murder Ronald Knox 1925 British English
17164 The Last Detective Peter Lovesey 1991 British English
17164 Iq Joe Ide 2016 American English
17164 The Moving Target Ross Macdonald 1950 American English
17164 Appleby's End Michael Innes 1973 British English
17164 In The Last Analysis Amanda Cross 1964 American English
17164 Death In A Tenured Position Amanda Cross 1981 American English
17164 Deadlock Sara Paretsky 1984 American English
17164 The Benson Murder Case S. S. Van Dine 1926 American English
17164 The Crooked Hinge John Dickson Carr 1937 American English
16797 The Man In The Queue Josephine Tey 1929 British English
17164 Death Of A Peer Ngaio Marsh 1996 New Zealand English
16842 A Shilling For Candles Josephine Tey 1953 British English
17164 An Unsuitable Job For A Woman P. D. James 1972 British English
17164 The Murder Room P. D. James 2003 British English
17164 The Case Of The Velvet Claws Erle Stanley Gardner 1933 American English
17164 The Cracked Mirror Chris Brookmyre 2024 British English
16844 The Adventures And Memoirs Of Sherlock Holmes Arthur Conan Doyle 1892 British English
17164 The Winter Queen Boris Akunin 1998 Russian Russian
17164 Forty Words For Sorrow Giles Blunt 2000 Canadian English
17164 Man Of Two Tribes Arthur William Upfield 1956 Australian English
17164 Old Sleuth, The Detective Harlan Page Halsey 2014 American English
16809 The Old Man In The Corner Baroness Emmuska Orczy 1908 British English
17164 Through The Wall Cleveland Moffett 1909 American English
17164 813 Maurice Leblanc 1910 French French
17164 The Silent Bullet Arthur B Reeve 1910 American English
17164 Max Carrados Ernest Bramah 1914 British English
17164 The Middle Temple Murder J. S. Fletcher 1919 British English
17164 The Rasp Philip MacDonald 1924 British English
17164 The House Without A Key Earl Derr Biggers 1925 American English
17164 Detective Duff Unravels It Harvey J O'Higgins 2008 American English
17164 Death Walks In Eastrepps Francis Beeding 1931 British English
17164 Death From A Top Hat Clayton Rawson 1938 American English
17164 The Adventures Of Sam Spade Dashiell Hammett 1944 American English
17164 The Department Of Dead Ends Roy Vickers 1954 British English
17164 Love Lies Bleeding Edmund Crispin 1948 British English
17164 The Bangalore Detectives Club Harini Nagendra 2022 Indian English
17164 Five Roundabouts To Heaven John Bingham 1953 British English
17164 Gun Before Butter Nicolas Freeling 1963 British English
17164 A Pinch Of Snuff Reginald Hill 1978 British English
17164 Skinflick Joseph Hansen 1979 American English
17164 The Green Ripper John D. MacDonald 1979 American English
17164 The Glitter Dome Joseph Wambaugh 1981 American English
17164 Pulp Charles Bukowski 1994 American English
17164 Dead Street Mickey Spillane 2007 American English
17164 End Games Michael Dibdin 2007 British English
17164 Dover One Joyce Porter 1964 British English
17164 Quiet As A Nun Antonia Fraser 1977 British English
17164 A Red Death Walter Mosley 1991 American English
17164 The Yiddish Policeman's Union Michael Chabon 2007 American English
17164 The Silent Girl Tess Gerritsen 2011 American English
17164 Close To Death Anthony Horowitz 2024 British English