Detective Fiction
Contemporary fiction which uses the classic detective story to explore various themes.
1 The Girl with the Dragon Ta...
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4.04 of 5 stars 4.04 avg rating — 779,049 ratings
2 The Big Sleep (Philip Marlo...
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4.08 of 5 stars 4.08 avg rating — 38,580 ratings
3 The Curious Incident of the...
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3.8 of 5 stars 3.80 avg rating — 423,960 ratings
4 The Maltese Falcon
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3.94 of 5 stars 3.94 avg rating — 32,595 ratings
5 Murder on the Orient Expres...
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4.07 of 5 stars 4.07 avg rating — 66,157 ratings
6 The Memoirs of Sherlock Hol...
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4.33 of 5 stars 4.33 avg rating — 23,111 ratings
7 The Complete Sherlock Holmes
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4.48 of 5 stars 4.48 avg rating — 58,288 ratings
8 Table 21
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3.81 of 5 stars 3.81 avg rating — 257 ratings
9 The Alienist (Dr. Laszlo Kr...
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4.01 of 5 stars 4.01 avg rating — 53,394 ratings
10 The Long Goodbye (Philip Ma...
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4.23 of 5 stars 4.23 avg rating — 11,893 ratings
11 Gorky Park (Arkady Renko, #1)
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3.98 of 5 stars 3.98 avg rating — 20,232 ratings
12 The Name of the Rose
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4.05 of 5 stars 4.05 avg rating — 102,948 ratings
13 A Study in Scarlet  (Sherlo...
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4.1 of 5 stars 4.10 avg rating — 67,352 ratings
14 Motherless Brooklyn
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3.91 of 5 stars 3.91 avg rating — 16,260 ratings
15 Farewell, My Lovely (Philip...
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4.16 of 5 stars 4.16 avg rating — 11,300 ratings
16 The Da Vinci Code (Robert L...
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3.66 of 5 stars 3.66 avg rating — 990,172 ratings
17 Shutter Island
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3.99 of 5 stars 3.99 avg rating — 54,762 ratings
18 The Return of Sherlock Holm...
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4.25 of 5 stars 4.25 avg rating — 12,127 ratings
19 The Thin Man
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3.99 of 5 stars 3.99 avg rating — 11,185 ratings
20 The Poet (Jack McEvoy, #1)
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4.15 of 5 stars 4.15 avg rating — 26,677 ratings
21 The Yiddish Policemen's Union
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3.65 of 5 stars 3.65 avg rating — 32,104 ratings
21 The No. 1 Ladies' Detective...
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3.68 of 5 stars 3.68 avg rating — 96,327 ratings
23 The Lincoln Lawyer (Mickey ...
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4.06 of 5 stars 4.06 avg rating — 64,253 ratings
24 Darkness, Take My Hand (Ken...
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4.14 of 5 stars 4.14 avg rating — 9,636 ratings
25 Devil in a Blue Dress (Easy...
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3.91 of 5 stars 3.91 avg rating — 6,748 ratings
26 A is for Alibi (Kinsey Mill...
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3.75 of 5 stars 3.75 avg rating — 56,697 ratings
27 The Black Echo (Harry Bosch...
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4.02 of 5 stars 4.02 avg rating — 37,745 ratings
28 The Historian
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3.71 of 5 stars 3.71 avg rating — 120,719 ratings
29 And Then There Were None
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4.17 of 5 stars 4.17 avg rating — 133,277 ratings
30 The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle
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4.19 of 5 stars 4.19 avg rating — 71,911 ratings
31 A Drink Before the War (Ken...
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3.97 of 5 stars 3.97 avg rating — 12,638 ratings
32 The Last Coyote (Harry Bosc...
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4.13 of 5 stars 4.13 avg rating — 15,887 ratings
33 The Glass Key
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3.98 of 5 stars 3.98 avg rating — 4,223 ratings
34 Red Harvest
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4.03 of 5 stars 4.03 avg rating — 8,323 ratings
35 The Girl Who Played with Fi...
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4.17 of 5 stars 4.17 avg rating — 319,234 ratings
36 Shadow Roll (A Sam Russo My...
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4.08 of 5 stars 4.08 avg rating — 83 ratings
37 The New York Trilogy
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3.93 of 5 stars 3.93 avg rating — 20,436 ratings
38 Storm Front (The Dresden Fi...
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4.01 of 5 stars 4.01 avg rating — 85,225 ratings
39 Whose Body?  (Lord Peter Wi...
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3.94 of 5 stars 3.94 avg rating — 12,260 ratings
40 Confidential Communications
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3.94 of 5 stars 3.94 avg rating — 67 ratings
41 Good Dog, Bad Dog (A Sam Ru...
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4.14 of 5 stars 4.14 avg rating — 83 ratings
42 Gun, With Occasional Music
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3.77 of 5 stars 3.77 avg rating — 4,828 ratings
43 The Drowning Pool
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3.98 of 5 stars 3.98 avg rating — 1,487 ratings
44 Lost Light (Harry Bosch, #9)
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4.06 of 5 stars 4.06 avg rating — 13,252 ratings
45 The Final Solution
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3.27 of 5 stars 3.27 avg rating — 8,525 ratings
46 Midnight Sin
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4.4 of 5 stars 4.40 avg rating — 55 ratings
47 The Watchman (Joe Pike, #1)
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4.06 of 5 stars 4.06 avg rating — 9,932 ratings
48 The Brass Verdict (Harry Bo...
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3.98 of 5 stars 3.98 avg rating — 17,287 ratings
49 The Godwulf Manuscript (Spe...
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3.9 of 5 stars 3.90 avg rating — 5,134 ratings
50 The Girl in the Next Room (...
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4.19 of 5 stars 4.19 avg rating — 68 ratings
51 The Narrows (Harry Bosch, #10)
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3.97 of 5 stars 3.97 avg rating — 12,631 ratings
52 Six Easy Pieces (Easy Rawli...
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4.0 of 5 stars 4.00 avg rating — 772 ratings
53 Booked To Die (Cliff Janewa...
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3.94 of 5 stars 3.94 avg rating — 2,962 ratings
54 The Tin Roof Blowdown (Dave...
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4.15 of 5 stars 4.15 avg rating — 5,982 ratings
55 When the Sacred Ginmill Clo...
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4.13 of 5 stars 4.13 avg rating — 1,852 ratings
56 BAD INTENT Volume 1
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4.52 of 5 stars 4.52 avg rating — 21 ratings
57 Deal Breaker (Myron Bolitar...
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3.92 of 5 stars 3.92 avg rating — 12,642 ratings
57 Fade Away (Myron Bolitar, #3)
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3.95 of 5 stars 3.95 avg rating — 7,489 ratings
59 The Suspicions of Mr. Which...
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3.38 of 5 stars 3.38 avg rating — 7,280 ratings
60 L.A. Requiem (Elvis Cole, #8)
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4.2 of 5 stars 4.20 avg rating — 5,630 ratings
61 The Monkey's Raincoat (Elvi...
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3.95 of 5 stars 3.95 avg rating — 6,704 ratings
62 Maisie Dobbs (Maisie Dobbs,...
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3.9 of 5 stars 3.90 avg rating — 19,181 ratings
63 Curtain: Poirot's Last Case...
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3.95 of 5 stars 3.95 avg rating — 10,639 ratings
64 The Dain Curse
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3.8 of 5 stars 3.80 avg rating — 2,544 ratings
65 Men at Arms (Discworld, #15)
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4.28 of 5 stars 4.28 avg rating — 27,391 ratings
66 Black Money
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3.92 of 5 stars 3.92 avg rating — 558 ratings
66 Dirk Gently's Holistic Dete...
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3.95 of 5 stars 3.95 avg rating — 50,038 ratings
68 Every Dead Thing (Charlie P...
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4.03 of 5 stars 4.03 avg rating — 6,570 ratings
69 Kafka on the Shore
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4.09 of 5 stars 4.09 avg rating — 71,843 ratings
70 The Three Coffins (Dr. Gide...
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3.91 of 5 stars 3.91 avg rating — 558 ratings
70 A Pocket Full of Rye (Miss ...
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3.77 of 5 stars 3.77 avg rating — 9,333 ratings
72 The Murders in the Rue Morg...
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3.91 of 5 stars 3.91 avg rating — 3,795 ratings
73 The Dark Before Dawn
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4.15 of 5 stars 4.15 avg rating — 53 ratings
74 The Goodbye Look
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3.97 of 5 stars 3.97 avg rating — 493 ratings
75 The Continental Op
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4.15 of 5 stars 4.15 avg rating — 2,234 ratings
76 Trio for Blunt Instruments ...
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3.99 of 5 stars 3.99 avg rating — 616 ratings
77 Polar Star (Arkady Renko, #2)
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3.92 of 5 stars 3.92 avg rating — 2,568 ratings
78 Voodoo River (Elvis Cole, #5)
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4.04 of 5 stars 4.04 avg rating — 3,278 ratings
78 The Black Dahlia (L.A. Quar...
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3.64 of 5 stars 3.64 avg rating — 27,301 ratings
80 Death on the Nile
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3.97 of 5 stars 3.97 avg rating — 33,268 ratings
81 The Two Minute Rule
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3.91 of 5 stars 3.91 avg rating — 3,227 ratings
82 Baltimore Blues
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3.48 of 5 stars 3.48 avg rating — 3,319 ratings
83 4:50 from Paddington (Miss ...
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3.85 of 5 stars 3.85 avg rating — 12,315 ratings
84 The Moving Target
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3.88 of 5 stars 3.88 avg rating — 807 ratings
85 The Chill
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4.11 of 5 stars 4.11 avg rating — 976 ratings
85 The Sculptress
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3.93 of 5 stars 3.93 avg rating — 3,932 ratings
87 The Underground Man
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3.98 of 5 stars 3.98 avg rating — 602 ratings
88 The Way Some People Die
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3.98 of 5 stars 3.98 avg rating — 579 ratings
89 The Sweetness at the Bottom...
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3.78 of 5 stars 3.78 avg rating — 49,140 ratings
90 The Zebra-Striped Hearse
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4.0 of 5 stars 4.00 avg rating — 486 ratings
91 Blood Rites (The Dresden Fi...
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4.31 of 5 stars 4.31 avg rating — 36,496 ratings
91 Child 44 (Leo Demidov, #1)
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4.0 of 5 stars 4.00 avg rating — 18,659 ratings
93 In the Woods (Dublin Murder...
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3.67 of 5 stars 3.67 avg rating — 65,863 ratings
94 The Original Illustrated Sh...
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4.5 of 5 stars 4.50 avg rating — 1,574 ratings
95 Master of the Moor
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3.76 of 5 stars 3.76 avg rating — 379 ratings
96 The Ivory Grin
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4.0 of 5 stars 4.00 avg rating — 466 ratings
96 Little Scarlet (Easy Rawlin...
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3.91 of 5 stars 3.91 avg rating — 1,824 ratings
98 The Silence of the Lambs  (...
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3.97 of 5 stars 3.97 avg rating — 225,009 ratings
99 Full Story Inside
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4.14 of 5 stars 4.14 avg rating — 14 ratings
99 Last Exit In New Jersey
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3.22 of 5 stars 3.22 avg rating — 169 ratings
580 books · 508 voters · list created July 17th, 2008 by Caleb (votes) .
Lists are re-scored approximately every 500 seconds.


Caleb
Caleb
75 books
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Steven
Steven
6547 books
1697 friends
Jessica
Jessica
1804 books
91 friends
Rhonda
Rhonda
2191 books
39 friends
Jami
Jami
1094 books
39 friends
Lisa
Lisa
20 books
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Spm
Spm
646 books
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Jonas
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138 books
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Comments (showing 1-7 of 7) (7 new)

dateDown_arrow    newest »

message 1: by Betty (new)

Betty I hope Confidentail Communications wins this category. This author is very deserving.

Go, Jeannine!

Hugs - Betty Dravis


message 2: by Caleb (new)

Caleb I'm very exited by how many people have added to / voted on this list! I'd like to recommend an amazing film to anyone who enjoys this genre: its called "murder, my sweet". an old film noir classic based on the Chandler novel. Rick Powell plays an excellent Phillip Marlowe.


message 3: by AJ (last edited Nov 26, 2009 02:12am) (new)

AJ Girl with a dragon tattoo needs to be on here!

OH whoops, I'm apparently a goodreads newb. Added.


message 4: by Cindy (new)

Cindy I wouldn't call Sherlock Holmes contemporary.


message 5: by Susanna (new)

Susanna Or Agatha Christie, for that matter.


message 6: by John (new)

John In "Throwing Stones" by John Wasik and Phillip Parrish, detective authors ignite imagination, depicts enmity against the West with plausible disturbing attack on America.


message 7: by Foxontherun (new)

Foxontherun Good to see Rex Stout on this list!


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