The Greatest Western Crime Books of All Time

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

Rank Book Authors Year Country Language Actions
5920 Orley Farm Anthony Trollope 1862 British English
5920 The Valley Of Fear Arthur Conan Doyle 1915 British English
5932 Marathon Man William Goldman 1974 American English
5941 The Old Fox Deceiv'd Martha Grimes 1982 American English
5952 Inherent Vice Thomas Pynchon 2009 American English
5964 The Hog Murders William L. Deandrea 1979 American English
5974 The Man Who Watched The Trains Go By Georges Simenon 1938 Belgian French
5983 Chiefs Stuart Woods 1981 American English
6007 Testimony Charles Reznikoff 1965 American English
6082 The Power Of The Dog Don Winslow 2005 American English
6085 Dissolution C. J. Sansom 2003 British English
6139 The Queen Of The South Arturo Pérez-Reverte 2002 Spanish Spanish
6155 CivilWarLand in Bad Decline George Saunders 1996 American English
6177 Gideon Of Scotland Yard J. J. Marric 1955 British English
6196 Fletch Gregory Mcdonald 1974 American English
6236 Sadie When She Died Ed McBain 1972 American English
6241 Harry’s Game Gerald Seymour 1975 British English
6275 Frost At Christmas R. D. Wingfield 1984 British English
6277 American Tabloid James Ellroy 1995 American English
6288 The Colour Of Murder Julian Symons 1957 British English
6305 Dreaming Of Babylon Richard Brautigan 1977 American English
6309 The Lost Symbol Dan Brown 2009 American English
6413 A Rich Full Death Michael Dibdin 1986 British English
6413 Live Flesh Ruth Rendell 1986 British English
6427 Cape Fear John D. MacDonald 1957 American English
6441 The Snowman Jo Nesbø 2007 Norwegian Norwegian
6473 The Neon Rain James Lee Burke 1987 American English
6549 A Great Deliverance Elizabeth George 1988 American English
6570 Toxic Shock Sara Paretsky 1988 American English
6584 Hardball Sara Paretsky 2009 American English
6593 A Touch Of Frost R. D. Wingfield 1987 British English
6663 You Caroline Kepnes 2014 American English
6682 Blacktop Wasteland S. A. Cosby 2020 American English
6718 The Crime At Black Dudley Margery Allingham 1929 British English
6718 The Conjure Man Dies Rudolph Fisher 1932 American English
6718 Beat Not The Bones Charlotte Jay 1952 Australian English
6736 The Deep Blue Good By John D. MacDonald 1964 American English
6738 The Wimbledon Poisoner Nigel Williams 1990 British English
6749 De Advocaat Van De Hanen A. F. Th. van der Heijden 1990 Dutch Dutch
6768 The Common Law Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. 1881 American English
6834 The Doorbell Rang Rex Stout 1965 American English
6847 King Solomon's Carpet Barbara Vine 1991 British English
6853 The Quiller Memorandum Adam Hall 1965 British English
6874 The Late-night News Petros Markaris 1995 Greek Greek
6879 Galantine De Volaille Pour Dames Frivoles San-Antonio 1987 French French
6939 Clear And Present Danger Tom Clancy 1989 American English
6946 A Cool Breeze On The Underground Don Winslow 1991 American English
6975 Death At La Fenice Donna Leon 1992 American English
6975 The Ice House Minette Walters 1992 British English
7001 The Gray Man Mark Greaney 2009 American English
7019 Charm School Nelson DeMille 1988 American English
7023 The Girl On The Train Paula Hawkins 2015 British English
7057 Write To Kill Daniel Pennac 1990 French Unknown
7076 The Glorious Heresies Lisa McInerney 2015 Irish English
7087 La Verità Sul Caso D. Carlo Fruttero, Franco Lucentini 1993 Italian Italian
7087 The Crocodile Bird Ruth Rendell 1993 British English
7108 Kiss The Girls James Patterson 1995 American English
7128 Blanche Passes Go Barbara Neely 2000 American English
7128 The Redbreast Jo Nesbø 2000 Norwegian Norwegian
7138 Bury Your Dead Louise Penny 2010 Canadian English
7147 Dead Lagoon Michael Dibdin 1994 British English
7159 The Wager David Grann 2023 American English
7170 The Man In Lower Ten Mary Roberts Rinehart 1909 American English
7181 The Blue Tango Eoin McNamee 2001 Irish English
7195 Jasper Jones Craig Silvey 2009 Australian English
7199 Hide And Seek Ian Rankin 1991 British English
7205 The Surgeon Tess Gerritsen 2001 American English
7207 The Shape Of Water Andrea Camilleri 1994 Italian Italian
7207 The Pharmacist Ingrid Noll 1994 German German
7214 Boy Swallows Universe Trent Dalton 2018 Australian English
7218 Poems Of George Crabbe George Crabbe 1807 British English
7218 The Collected Writings Of Thomas De Quincey Thomas de Quincey 1889 British English
7218 Short Novels Fyodor Dostoevsky 1846 Russian Russian
7218 Death In Silver Lester Dent 1934 American English
7218 Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye Horace McCoy 1948 American English
7611 Running Blind Desmond Bagley 1970 British English
7632 A Is For Alibi Sue Grafton 1982 American English
7693 Opernball Josef Haslinger 1995 Austrian German
7709 Bank Shot Donald E. Westlake 1972 American English
7717 Shroud For A Nightingale P. D. James 1971 British English
7737 The Wanderers Richard Price 1974 American English
7742 The Ice Princess Camilla Läckberg 2003 Swedish Swedish
7780 The Cold Moon Jeffrey Deaver 2006 American English
7773 The Bad Seed William March 1954 American English
7842 Stick Elmore Leonard 1983 American English
7844 Black And Blue Ian Rankin 1997 British English
7862 The Barbarous Coast Ross Macdonald 1956 American English
7910 The Lincoln Lawyer Michael Connelly 2005 American English
7921 Mr. Mercedes Stephen King 2014 American English
7923 Small Mercies Dennis Lehane 2023 American English
7938 Absolute Power David Baldacci 1996 American English
7938 Acqua Alta Donna Leon 1996 Italian English
7938 The Keys To The Street Ruth Rendell 1996 British English
7946 The Hanging Garden Ian Rankin 1998 British English
7950 George & Rue George Elliott Clarke 2005 Canadian English
7962 The Starr Report Kenneth W. Starr 1998 American English
7968 Saint Genet Jean Paul Sartre 1952 French French
7989 The Poet Michael Connelly 1996 American English
7999 Magpie Murders Anthony Horowitz 2016 British English
8004 The Dreadful Lemon Sky John D. MacDonald 1974 American English
8162 The Choirboys Joseph Wambaugh 1975 American English
8164 The Girl Who Played With Fire Stieg Larsson 2006 Swedish Swedish
8167 Child Of God Cormac McCarthy 1973 American English
8184 Dead Time Eleanor Taylor Bland 1992 American English
8186 Blacklands Belinda Bauer 2010 British English
8187 One Step Behind Henning Mankell 1997 Swedish Swedish
8217 Angels Denis Johnson 1983 American English
8222 Rumpole Of The Bailey John Mortimer 1978 British English
8242 Nineteen Seventy Seven David Peace 2000 British English
8253 The Sun Chemist Lionel Davidson 1976 British English
8291 Night They Missed The Horror Show Joe R. Lansdale 1988 American English
8307 The Ghost Riders Of Ordebec Fred Vargas 2011 French French
8308 When Death Comes Stealing Valerie Wilson Wesley 1994 American English
8317 The Bottoms Joe R. Lansdale 2000 American English
8317 Last Seen In Massilia Steven Saylor 2000 American English
8326 American Buffalo David Mamet 1975 American English
8328 Lush Life Richard Price 2008 American English
8336 The Brotherhood Of The Rose David Morrell 1984 American English
8436 A Running Duck Paula Gosling 1978 American English
8442 Fade Away Harlan Coben 1996 American English