The 100 best mystery and crime novels

No. 11 on this list. The Mystery of Edwin Drood · Charles Dickens · 1870

The Mystery of Edwin Drood appears regularly on Victorian literature and Dickens course syllabi at universities worldwide, taught both as a late Dickens text and as a unique object — a canonical novel frozen in its own incompletion. The unfinished mystery has been a pedagogical touchstone for discussions of narrative, authorship, and closure since Dickens's death. Its Wikipedia article exists in over 40 languages and includes dedicated sections on adaptations and reception, indicating significant global cultural reach beyond English-language scholarship.

No. 12 on this list. A Void · Georges Perec · 1969

A canonical experimental novel and the centrepiece of OuLiPo's legacy in world literature. Widely anthologised in discussions of formal constraint in writing. Perec's reputation — anchored also by Life A User's Manual — ensures its place in any serious survey of twentieth-century European fiction.

No. 13 on this list. The Journalist and the Murderer · Janet Malcolm · 1990

The Journalist and the Murderer is a staple of journalism school curricula across North America and is widely assigned in media ethics, creative nonfiction, and literary journalism courses. Its opening sentence is among the most frequently quoted lines in American nonfiction. While it does not appear on general literary canons as broadly as major novels, within its domain — journalism studies and media ethics — it is as close to required reading as any single text.

No. 14 on this list. My Name Is Red · Orhan Pamuk · 2003

In sixteenth-century Istanbul, the Sultan commissions a secret book to celebrate his magnificence, but the assignment to create illuminations in the European style triggers a theological crisis and a murder. Master Elegant Effendi speaks from a well where his killer has abandoned his corpse, demanding that his death be avenged and properly buried. Black returns to the city after twelve years abroad, drawn by nostalgia and loss, only to become entangled in the mystery and in his childhood devotion to Shekure, Enishte Effendi's ravishing daughter. The dead man, the bereaved family, the competing miniaturists Osman and Butterfly, and the household itself—each voice emerges from the narrative to confess secrets and suspicions. What begins as a hunt for a murderer expands into an interrogation of art itself, specifically whether the depiction of human figures violates Islamic law and destroys the soul. The conflict between Ottoman miniature tradition, with its rejection of perspective and realism, and the infiltrating European techniques of representation gives the mystery its metaphysical weight. Pamuk employs an architectural narrative that shifts perspective constantly, allowing a dog, the color red, and a gold coin to testify alongside human characters, creating a polyphonic structure where each voice exposes a different layer of religious anxiety, artistic ambition, and personal desire. The novel moves toward its resolution with gathering momentum despite this apparent fragmentation, tightening around questions of identity, authenticity, and the costs of aesthetic choice.

No. 15 on this list. The Long Goodbye · Raymond Chandler · 1953

The Long Goodbye appears on the Modern Library's 100 Best Novels list and is taught in American literature and crime fiction courses at universities worldwide. It occupies an unusual position: firmly embedded in the literary canon despite being published as genre fiction, and widely cited as the novel that proved crime writing could aspire to the literary.

No. 16 on this list. The Moonstone · Wilkie Collins · 1868

Taught in schools: AQA GCSE and A-level English Literature (UK), Pearson Edexcel GCSE and A-level English Literature (UK)

T.S. Eliot called it 'the first, the longest, and the best of modern English detective novels,' and it has anchored Victorian literature courses at universities worldwide for over a century. The Moonstone appears routinely on syllabi covering sensation fiction, the origins of detective fiction, and 19th-century narrative experiment. Its Wikipedia article spans more than 50 language editions, reflecting its standing as a genuine cornerstone of English literary history.

No. 17 on this list. No Country for Old Men · Cormac McCarthy · 2005

Regularly included in syllabi for contemporary American literature and crime fiction courses. The 2007 Coen Brothers adaptation—Best Picture winner—dramatically expanded cultural reach and cemented the novel in the popular imagination. McCarthy's status as a major American literary figure ensures it appears on most critical inventories of important post-2000 American fiction.

No. 18 on this list. From Hell · Alan Moore · 1999

Widely regarded as one of the greatest graphic novels ever produced. A staple of comics criticism and increasingly taught in university courses.

No. 19 on this list. The Glass Key · Dashiell Hammett · 1931

Considered Hammett's finest novel by many critics—Raymond Chandler called it 'the most completely plotted detective novel ever written' and André Gide singled it out as a masterpiece. The Glass Key appears in numerous 'greatest crime novels' lists and holds Library of America status, but it is taught primarily in genre studies courses rather than mainstream American literature surveys, placing it below Hammett's more widely assigned The Maltese Falcon.

No. 20 on this list. The Human Stain · Philip Roth · 2001

Part of Roth's 'American Trilogy' — widely referenced in American fiction surveys and on reading lists for postwar American literature. Wikipedia article available in 9 languages with a dedicated reception section and adaptations section (2003 film with Anthony Hopkins and Nicole Kidman). The Open Syllabus data records no standalone syllabus appearances, suggesting it is typically taught as part of the trilogy rather than alone.

No. 21 on this list. Hawksmoor · Peter Ackroyd · 1985

Hawksmoor holds significant position in postmodern British fiction and is widely taught in university literature courses. While not quite at the level of Ulysses or Beloved, it is consistently included in surveys of contemporary British literature and discussions of historiographic metafiction. The novel appears regularly on critical reading lists for postmodernism, Gothic revival, and late 20th-century British fiction, establishing its place in the extended literary canon.

No. 22 on this list. The Big Sleep · Raymond Chandler · 1939

Widely taught in American literature courses as the defining hard-boiled detective novel. Appears on most lists of essential crime fiction and is a fixture in twentieth-century American literature curricula, though primarily within genre studies.

No. 23 on this list. The Maltese Falcon · Dashiell Hammett · 1930

Listed on the Modern Library 100 Best Novels (1998) and appears on 544 university syllabi according to Open Syllabus — placing it at the 68th percentile among taught books. With Wikipedia articles in 7 languages, The Maltese Falcon occupies a firm but not commanding canonical position: foundational to crime fiction and American literature courses, less universally required than Fitzgerald or Hemingway.

No. 24 on this list. The Executioner's Song · Norman Mailer · 1980

The book won the 1980 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and is regularly taught in creative nonfiction and American literature courses. It's considered a landmark in the 'nonfiction novel' genre that Capote pioneered with In Cold Blood. The work appears on major reading lists as an essential text for understanding both 1970s America and the possibilities of documentary literature.

No. 25 on this list. Watchmen #1: At Midnight, All The Agents… · Alan Moore · 1986

The series is a staple of comics courses and is widely taught as the landmark graphic novel, though this single issue is taught less on its own.

No. 26 on this list. The Day of the Owl · Leonardo Sciascia · 1961

The standard first text on the Mafia in literature, taught in Italian and comparative crime-fiction courses, and continuously in print in NYRB Classics and Granta editions.

No. 27 on this list. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes · Arthur Conan Doyle · 1892

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes is one of the most widely read and recognized works of detective fiction in any language. Holmes is arguably the most famous fictional character after Hamlet. The stories appear in English literature surveys, genre studies, and Victorian literature courses. While not taught with the same frequency as canonical literary novels, the collection's cultural ubiquity and historical importance to the detective genre give it strong canonical standing. Wikipedia articles exist in dozens of languages, and the stories remain continuously in print worldwide.

No. 28 on this list. The Known World · Edward P. Jones · 2004

Pulitzer Prize winner (2004), widely taught in African American literature and American history courses. Growing presence in contemporary fiction syllabi but not yet at universal canonical status like 'Beloved.' Recognized as essential within specific academic contexts.

No. 29 on this list. Piranesi · Susanna Clarke · 2021

Winner of the Women's Prize for Fiction (2021), with a Wikipedia presence in 39 languages — strong recognition for a novel published in 2020. Clarke's second novel after the celebrated Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, it arrived with significant literary anticipation and met it. Not yet in syllabi, which reflects recency rather than lack of merit.

No. 30 on this list. That Awful Mess on the Via Merulana · Carlo Emilio Gadda · 1957

The novel holds a secure place in the European modernist canon—Calvino's introduction compares it to Ulysses, Remembrance of Things Past, and The Man without Qualities as one of four key twentieth-century novels in their respective national literatures. It is widely taught in Italian literature courses and appears on syllabi focused on postwar European fiction. Outside Italy, its canonical status is significant but not universal, as the difficulty of translating Gadda's dialect layers limits its classroom penetration in Anglophone universities.