The Greatest Books of All Time on Secrets

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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
59 Rebecca Daphne du Maurier 1938 British English
121 Bleak House Charles Dickens 1852 British English
124 Pedro Páramo Juan Rulfo 1955 Mexican Spanish
251 The Murder of Roger Ackroyd Agatha Christie 1926 British English
279 The Secret History Donna Tartt 1992 American English
376 The Golden Bowl Henry James 1904 American English
423 Murder on the Orient Express Agatha Christie 1934 British English
452 A Heart So White Javier Marias 1992 Spanish Spanish
474 Embers Sandor Marai 1942 Hungarian Hungarian
633 Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy John le Carré 1974 British English
700 Tales of the City Armistead Maupin 1978 American English
718 Possession A. S. Byatt 1990 British English
757 The Adventures of Caleb Williams William Godwin 1794 British English
814 The Secret Garden Frances Hodgson Burnett 1911 British English
956 The Girls of Slender Means Muriel Spark 1963 British English
975 The Reader Bernhard Schlink 1995 German German
987 Harriet the Spy Louise Fitzhugh 1964 American English
1000 A Thousand Acres Jane Smiley 1991 American English
1060 Fun Home Alison Bechdel 2006 American English
1105 The Chill Ross Macdonald 1964 American English
1117 The Fifth Season N. K. Jemisin 2015 American English
1152 The Wapshot Chronicle John Cheever 1957 American English
1173 Little, Big John Crowley 1981 American English
1210 The Wasp Factory Iain Banks 1984 British English
1261 The Blind Assassin Margaret Atwood 2000 Canadian English
1294 Peyton Place Grace Metalious 1956 American English
1322 Devil in a Blue Dress Walter Mosley 1990 American English
1324 A Judgement In Stone Ruth Rendell 1977 British English
1367 Like Water For Chocolate Laura Esquivel 1989 Mexican Spanish
1385 The Bell Iris Murdoch 1958 British English
1396 Pierre et Jean Guy de Maupassant 1888 French French
1430 The Wandering Jew Eugène Sue 1844 French French
1485 A Perfect Spy John le Carré 1986 British English
1500 The Bourne Identity Robert Ludlum 1980 American English
1552 Waterland Graham Swift 1983 British English
1563 Runaway Alice Munro 2004 Canadian English
1578 The Cement Garden Ian McEwan 1978 British English
1739 A Fatal Inversion Barbara Vine 1987 British English
1755 Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince J. K. Rowling 2005 British English
1789 The Mystery Of Edwin Drood Charles Dickens 1870 British English
1809 The Shadow of the Wind Carlos Ruiz Zafon 2001 Spanish Spanish
1826 The Other Thomas Tryon 1971 American English
1888 A Dark Adapted Eye Barbara Vine 1986 British English
1899 The Zebra Striped Hearse Ross Macdonald 1962 American English
1977 House with the Blind Glass Windows Herbjørg Wassmo 1981 Norwegian Norwegian
1989 Your Face Tomorrow Javier Marias 2002 Spanish Spanish
1993 The Queen Of Spades Alexander Pushkin 1834 Russian Russian
1995 Say Nothing Patrick Radden Keefe 2018 American English
2060 Ghost Story Peter Straub 1979 American English
2073 The Blithedale Romance Nathaniel Hawthorne 1852 American English
2091 Lady Audley's Secret M. E. Braddon 1862 British English
2108 The Shell Seekers Rosamunde Pilcher 1987 British English
2144 Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets J. K. Rowling 1998 British English
2177 Old People And The Things That Pass Louis Couperus 1906 Dutch Dutch
2209 Sub Rosa Robert Aickman 1968 British English
2221 Simon and the Oaks Marianne Fredriksson 1985 Swedish Swedish
2244 The Gathering Anne Enright 2007 Irish English
2255 Busman’s Honeymoon Dorothy L. Sayers 1937 British English
2284 Smiley's People John le Carré 1979 British English
2318 The Sacred Night Tahar Ben Jelloun 1987 Moroccan French
2322 The Case Of Charles Dexter Ward H. P. Lovecraft 1941 American English
2343 Small Things Like These Claire Keegan 2021 Irish English
2437 The Crow Road Iain Banks 1992 British English
2472 Fall On Your Knees Ann-Marie MacDonald 1996 Canadian English
2582 Good Behaviour Molly Keane 1981 Irish English
2585 Empire Falls Richard Russo 2001 American English
2638 Fatherland Robert Harris 1992 British English
2649 The House of Scorta Laurent Gaudé 2004 French French
2680 El Día Del Watusi Francisco Casavella 2002 Spanish Spanish
2682 Twilight Stephenie Meyer 2005 American English
2734 The Circular Staircase Mary Roberts Rinehart 1908 American English
2804 Fates and Furies Lauren Groff 2015 American English
2839 Ashenden, Or, The British Agent W. Somerset Maugham 1928 British English
2899 Cremation Rafael Chirbes 2007 Spanish Spanish
2906 A Taste For Death P. D. James 1986 British English
2918 Maigret And The Headless Corpse Georges Simenon 1955 Belgian French
2920 The Progress of Love Alice Munro 1986 Canadian English
3018 The Murder At The Vicarage Agatha Christie 1930 British English
3110 Leviathan Paul Auster 1992 American English
3122 Cover Her Face P. D. James 1962 British English
3170 The Bee Sting Paul Murray 2023 Irish English
3188 The Night Circus Erin Morgenstern 2011 American English
3212 Snow Flower and the Secret Fan Lisa See 2005 Chinese English
3225 Millennium Trilogy Stieg Larsson 2005 Swedish Swedish
3283 The Door Szabó, Magda 1987 Hungarian Hungarian
3320 Where Are The Children? Mary Higgins Clark 1975 American English
3406 All Heads Turn When The Hunt Goes By John Farris 1977 American English
3414 Hanna's Daughters Marianne Fredriksson 1994 Swedish Swedish
3443 The Bitter Glass Eilís Dillon 1958 Irish English
3465 Sweetheart, Sweetheart Bernard Taylor 1977 British English
3562 Charming Billy Alice McDermott 1998 American English
3568 Little Fires Everywhere Celeste Ng 2017 American English
3575 Carrie's War Nina Bawden 1973 British English
3577 Behind the Scenes at the Museum Kate Atkinson 1995 British English
3609 Winter's Bone Daniel Woodrell 2006 American English
3637 Leviathan Julien Green 1929 French French
3637 The Second Wife E. Marlitt 1899 German German
3802 Manon des sources Marcel Pagnol 1963 French French
3845 Troubling Love Elena Ferrante 1992 Italian Italian
3883 The Cellar Richard Laymon 1980 American English
3904 Other Voices, Other Rooms Truman Capote 1948 American English
3926 In The Woods Tana French 2007 Irish English
3953 Η κρύπτη Ε.Χ. Γονατάς 1963 Greek Greek
3953 The Great Chimera M. Karagatsis 1953 Greek Greek
4118 The Honjin Murders Seishi Yokomizo 1946 Japanese Japanese
4120 Voices In The Evening Natalia Ginzburg 1961 Italian Italian
4199 The Elementals Michael McDowell 1981 American English
4281 The Spirits Of The Earth Catherine Colomb 1962 Swiss French
4284 A Rose for Emily William Faulkner 1930 American English
4285 Boy's Life Robert R. McCammon 1991 American English
4291 Mystic River Dennis Lehane 2001 American English
4309 Death At The President's Lodging Michael Innes 1936 British English
4309 The Strange Borders Of Palace Crescent E. Phillips Oppenheim 1934 British English
4384 Flowers in the Attic V. C. Andrews 1979 American English
4420 Trifles Susan Glaspell 1916 American English
4499 Night Visitor B. Traven 1966 German Unknown
4505 North Woods Daniel Mason 2023 American English
4575 Alanna Tamora Pierce 1983 American English
4617 Deacon King Kong James McBride 2020 American English
4637 The Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse Louise Erdrich 2001 American English