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Best Mystery & Thriller Books
Mystery and thriller fiction is among the oldest and most enduringly popular literary forms. The detective story, codified by Edgar Allan Poe and refined by Arthur Conan Doyle, Patricia Highsmith, and Raymond Chandler, uses the puzzle of crime as a way of examining society, psychology, and the fragility of order. The thriller — faster, more visceral, less interested in ratiocination than in danger — developed alongside it, and the two forms have increasingly merged. Scandinavian crime fiction, from Henning Mankell to Stieg Larsson, has globalised the genre and brought to it a new social-democratic seriousness.
50 titles ranked · Scored across 40+ editorial sources
#1
fantasy
Piranesi
Susanna Clarke· 2020
★Women's Prize for Fiction
Editorial Score94/100
#2
literary-fiction
A Brief History of Seven Killings
Marlon James· 2015
★Booker Prize
Editorial Score89/100
#3
literary-fiction
The Glorious Heresies
Lisa McInerney· 2015
★Women's Prize for Fiction
Editorial Score89/100
#4
mystery-thriller
The Luminaries
Eleanor Catton· 2013
★Booker Prize
Editorial Score87/100
#5
literary-fiction
The Sympathizer
Viet Thanh Nguyen· 2016
★Pulitzer Prize
Editorial Score81/100
#6
literary-fiction
We Need to Talk About Kevin
Lionel Shriver· 2005
★Women's Prize for Fiction
Editorial Score81/100
#7
literary-fiction
My Name Is Red
Orhan Pamuk· 2006
★Nobel Prize in Literature
Editorial Score80/100
#8
mystery-thriller
The Shadow of the Wind
Carlos Ruiz Zafón· 2005
★National Book Award
Editorial Score77/100
#9
literary-fiction
Crime and Punishment
Fyodor Dostoevsky· 1866
★Nobel Prize in Literature
Editorial Score76/100
#10
literary-fiction
Amsterdam
Ian McEwan· 1998
★Booker Prize
Editorial Score74/100
#11
literary-fiction
The Goldfinch
Donna Tartt· 2014
★Pulitzer Prize
Editorial Score74/100
#12
mystery-thriller
Rebecca
Daphne du Maurier· 1938
★Edgar Award
Editorial Score72/100
#13
mystery-thriller
Big Little Lies
Liane Moriarty· 2014
★Edgar Award
Editorial Score71/100
#14
mystery-thriller
The Tenderness of Wolves
Stef Penney· 2006
★Costa Book Award
Editorial Score70/100
#15
literary-fiction
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Mark Haddon· 2003
★Costa Book Award
Editorial Score69/100
#16
young-adult
Holes
Louis Sachar· 1999
★Newbery Medal
Editorial Score69/100
#17
young-adult
From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler
E.L. Konigsburg· 1968
★Newbery Medal
Editorial Score69/100
#18
mystery-thriller
Case Histories
Kate Atkinson· 2004
★Costa Book Award
Editorial Score68/100
#19
literary-fiction
The Echo Maker
Richard Powers· 2007
★National Book Award
Editorial Score67/100
#20
mystery-thriller
The City & The City
China Miéville· 2010
★Hugo Award
Editorial Score67/100
#21
biography-memoir
The Executioner's Song
Norman Mailer· 1980
★Pulitzer Prize
Editorial Score66/100
#22
mystery-thriller
Gone Girl
Gillian Flynn· 2012
★Edgar Award
Editorial Score66/100
#23
mystery-thriller
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Stieg Larsson· 2005
★Edgar Award
Editorial Score66/100
#24
young-adult
Wolf
Gillian Cross· 1990
★Carnegie Medal
Editorial Score63/100
#25
mystery-thriller
The Name of the Rose
Umberto Eco· 1983
★Edgar Award
Editorial Score60/100
#26
science-fiction
To Say Nothing of the Dog
Connie Willis· 1999
★Hugo Award
Editorial Score60/100
#27
mystery-thriller
Devil in a Blue Dress
Walter Mosley· 1990
★Edgar Award
Editorial Score59/100
#28
mystery-thriller
The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency
Alexander McCall Smith· 1998
★Edgar Award
Editorial Score58/100
#29
mystery-thriller
The Big Sleep
Raymond Chandler· 1939
★Edgar Award
Editorial Score58/100
#30
biography-memoir
In Cold Blood
Truman Capote· 1966
★Edgar Award
Editorial Score58/100
#31
mystery-thriller
The Talented Mr. Ripley
Patricia Highsmith· 1955
★Edgar Award
Editorial Score58/100
#32
mystery-thriller
The Poet
Michael Connelly· 1996
★Edgar Award
Editorial Score57/100
#33
mystery-thriller
Postmortem
Patricia Cornwell· 1991
★Edgar Award
Editorial Score57/100
#34
mystery-thriller
Farewell, My Lovely
Raymond Chandler· 1940
★Edgar Award
Editorial Score56/100
#35
mystery-thriller
A Is for Alibi
Sue Grafton· 1982
★Edgar Award
Editorial Score55/100
#36
literary-fiction
The Stolen Bicycle
Wu Ming-Yi· 2015
★Booker Prize
Editorial Score55/100
#37
literary-fiction
Treasure Island
Robert Louis Stevenson· 1880
Library Journal
Editorial Score55/100
#38
literary-fiction
Анна Каренина
Лев Толстой· 1876
Publishers Weekly
Editorial Score55/100
#39
literary-fiction
The Hound of the Baskervilles
Arthur Conan Doyle· 1900
Publishers Weekly
Editorial Score55/100
#40
literary-fiction
Преступление и наказание
Fiódor Dostoievski· 1866
Kirkus Reviews
Editorial Score55/100
#41
![Cover of The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes [12 stories]](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcovers.openlibrary.org%2Fb%2Fid%2F6717853-M.jpg&w=3840&q=75)
literary-fiction
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes [12 stories]
Arthur Conan Doyle· 1892
Library Journal
Editorial Score55/100
#42
literary-fiction
The Man Who Was Thursday
Gilbert Keith Chesterton· 1908
Library Journal
Editorial Score55/100
#43
literary-fiction
The Jewel of Seven Stars
Bram Stoker· 1902
Library Journal
Editorial Score55/100
#44
literary-fiction
The Red Badge of Courage
Stephen Crane· 1855
Publishers Weekly
Editorial Score55/100
#45
literary-fiction
The Prisoner of Zenda
Anthony Hope· 1800
Library Journal
Editorial Score55/100
#46
![Cover of His Last Bow [8 stories]](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcovers.openlibrary.org%2Fb%2Fid%2F8243267-M.jpg&w=3840&q=75)
literary-fiction
His Last Bow [8 stories]
Arthur Conan Doyle· 1917
Library Journal
Editorial Score55/100
#47
literary-fiction
Heart of Darkness
Joseph Conrad· 1899
Library Journal
Editorial Score55/100
#48
literary-fiction
The Riddle of the Sands
Erskine Childers· 1903
Kirkus Reviews
Editorial Score55/100
#49
literary-fiction
Le Tour du Monde en Quatre-Vingts Jours
Jules Verne· 1872
Kirkus Reviews
Editorial Score55/100
#50
literary-fiction
Vingt mille lieues sous les mers
Jules Verne· 1870
Publishers Weekly
Editorial Score55/100
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