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The 100 Most Popular Mysteries and Thrillers on Goodreads
With clever detectives, missing jewels, murderous women, daring spies, and more, mysteries and thrillers deliver page-turning delight with every twist and turn. To celebrate our favorite sleuths (and favorite villains), we followed the footsteps to find the top 100 most popular mysteries and thrillers on Goodreads.
As all good mystery readers know, uncovering the howdunit is sometimes just as important as unveiling the culprit. To create our list, we first started with the most reviewed books on our site. Additionally, each title needed at least a 3.5 star rating to make it onto our rap sheet. And because some of your favorite authors are repeat offenders, when it came to books in a series, we kept the title with the most reviews and buried the rest. (Otherwise, the top of this list would be very full of Dan Brown, Janet Evanovich, and Stieg Larsson.)
We suspect you'll find a book or two you'll want to read in this lineup. Here are the top mysteries and thrillers on Goodreads, listed from 1 to 100.
How many have you read? Tell us in the comments below, and don't forget to add titles that catch your eye to your Want to Read shelf!
#1
#2
#3
#4
#5
#6
#7
#8
#9
#10
#11
#12
#13
#14
#15
#16
#17
#18
#19
#20
#21
#22
#23
#24
#25
#26
#27
#28
#29
#30
#31
#32
#33
#34
#35
#36
#37
#38
#39
#40
#41
#42
#43
#44
#45
#46
#47
#48
#49
#50
#51
#52
#53
#54
#55
#56
#57
#58
#59
#60
#61
#62
#63
#64
#65
#66
#67
#68
#69
#70
#71
#72
#73
#74
#75
#76
#77
#78
#79
#80
#81
#82
#83
#84
#85
#86
#87
#88
#89
#90
#91
#92
#93
#94
#95
#96
#97
#98
#99
#100
How many of these books have you read? What's your favorite mystery of all time? Let's talk books in the comments!
Comments Showing 201-250 of 350 (350 new)
where are Ruth Rendell and Martha Grimes. And for that matter Arthur Conan Doyle?
Melliott wrote: "With the exception of about a dozen from all the lists (Connelly, French, Penny), these are so generic and cookie cutter. You are missing so many good authors and series! What about...Kate Atkins..."
Totally Agree
oh sorry, i just noticed a study in scarlet is on the list.
i've only read 10, which is amazing as I have hundreds of thrillers on my Kindle, and have given away hundreds more in hardcopy to charity shops.
Melliott wrote: "With the exception of about a dozen from all the lists (Connelly, French, Penny), these are so generic and cookie cutter. You are missing so many good authors and series! What about...Kate Atkins..."
Love this list. What comes after J?
The Flavia de Luce series by Alan Bradly are basic mysteries wrapped in pure fun and can be enjoyed from everyone from pre-teen to oldsters such as myself. Treat yourself.
I've read 35 of these, with three or four on my to read shelf.
I cant believe Coben only appears once on this list!
I think James Patterson and John Grisham are a bit overrepresented.
Sophie wrote: "MS wrote: "The Alienist is amazing :)"Agreed!"
Yes! A hard book for me to get through, and unforgettable.
Much thanks for recent email with lots of book recommendations.Email was made especially for readaholics like me. And, much to
my surprise, after going through the list, I've read half the amount
of the listed books.
Appreciate your attention (especially now)
Barbara Kastro
So many I’ve read. But missing is my favorite author. Jussi Adler-Olsen. Oh. And Henning Mankell. If you’re looking for some great Scandinavian reads. Give these two a try. As for Icelandic authors, Arnaldur Indriosaon.
I'd add Peter Robinson, Linwood Barclay, Henning Mankell....
Jussi Adler-Olsen
The Department Q series feature a realistic (flawed) hero with a "staff" with theirvown quirks
The Department Q series feature a realistic (flawed) hero with a "staff" with theirvown quirks
Melliott wrote: "With the exception of about a dozen from all the lists (Connelly, French, Penny), these are so generic and cookie cutter. You are missing so many good authors and series! What about...Kate Atkins..."
Case histories is on the list. I agree about the Longmire series.
Claudine wrote: "Read 14 and shelved 2"
Definitely need to include Peter Robinson's "Inspector Banks"
Definitely need to include Peter Robinson's "Inspector Banks"
MS wrote: "The Alienist is amazing :)"Agree!
I've read 27, and another 24 are on my "Want to Read" list.
Another unrepresented good author is Robert Crais. Very much like Michael Connelly, and as a matter of fact Harry Bosch shows up in a couple of books.
Karen wrote: "I’ve read 30. My favorite author, hands down, is Michael Connelly."Have you watched the Bosch series on Amazon Prime? It's excellent and Titus Welliver plays a great Bosch.
I found that I had read between 5 and 10% of this list and had another 25% on my to read list.
i read about 27, but again, some author's are listed withoutt my favorite books. I also think there are some authors I've read that belong on this list like- anything by Alex Kava- I love the k9 series, and the Westing Game by Ellen Raskin, anything by David Rosenfelt- the dog books are great, and for zanyness the Jana Deleon- Miss fortune series, and other series cozys that are really fun.
Let's see, I was pretty happy to have read at least 1/2 of these and probably a couple others that I forgot! I don't think I could pick a favorite because they are all special for a different reason!
I've read 25. I have a hard time picking a favorite. There are so many good ones.
I would be surprised at the absence Ian Rankin, Mankell, McKinty, Kerr, Hillerman, Crumley but for the methodology used. If you like this genre and you have not read The Last Good Kiss by James Crumley, do yourself a favor and read it.
How about Yrsa Sigurdardottir from Iceland or the many good Nordic writers. You mention Nesbo and the Tatto author, but there are so many more!
What about Dorothy Sayers? Right up there with Agatha Christie.
I have only read 16 on here and thrillers are pretty much all I read. Lots of my favourites here but they are mostly American men (nothing wrong with that). Would love to see some of the great authors from the UK on here, Val McDermid, Patricia Gibney, Nicci French, Elly Griffiths, Angela Marsons, Rachel Amphlett, Lynda La Plante, and Robert Galbraith (J K Rowling pseudonym) to name a few. Also think that Greg Hurwitz's "Orphan" series deserves to be on there and Michael Robotham too.
P D James wrote some of the best mystery novels. I'd especially recommend her An Unsuitable Job for a Woman.
In my opinion, this list should include the Clare Ferguson/Russ VanAlstyne mystery series by Julia Fletcher-Fleming. The characters are well developed. the mysteries are socially relevant and keep you guessing up to the conclusion and the author is an excellent writer.
Some great books, yes, but so many great authors missing sadly! If you are a mystery lover - DO NOT miss Patricia Highsmith: of "The Talented Mr Ripley" and many others. You won't stop until you've read them all :)
Thanks for this list. I've added a few more to my TBR list.
Riju wrote: "This list seems to be entirely based upon ratings bestowed by American teenagers. Nothing wrong with that. But such a list completely disregards British classics, short-story collections, entire ge..."Completely agree about the lack of British authors in general, many of whom have wonderful series with fully fleshed out characters as well as well thought out themes.
Raymond Chandler - best of all. Then The Judge Dee series (Chinese detective)
Carl wrote: "I've read 20. Not bad. Sorry to see Craig Johnson's Longmire books not represented. Mystery fans treat yourselves. Those are true gems, starting with The Cold Dish and every one after."OK... bought the cold dish... only 2.99.... I love it when the author catches me into a series with a cheap first book. :)
Melliott wrote: "Riju wrote: "This list seems to be entirely based upon ratings bestowed by American teenagers. Nothing wrong with that. But such a list completely disregards British classics, short-story collectio..."
I've read quite a few or the above, but where is Dona Leon? She is one of my top 3. Her detective lives in Venice.
Lee wrote: "WHAT? NO ELLERY QUEEN? Or Sherlock Holmes? Or Perry Mason/Erle Stanley Garner/A. A. Fair? Thought Robert B. Parker would at least be represented by The Godwulf Manuscript, if nothing else."Sherlock Holmes it there... number 23...
but not the others
I have read 47 of these, I am surprised there aren't more Karin Slaughter on the list. I would like to see Belinda Bauer on this list also, where is she!!???
For me, there is some sort of disconnect between a list purporting to show the "100 Most Popular Thrillers" and the fact that, for most of the books on the list, their average rating is less than 4! And of the 20 or so in the list that I have read, I would rate many of them less than 4. Meanwhile authors in this genre that I would recommend like Lisa Gardner, Lisa Regan, Robert Dugoni, Joy Ellis to mention a few, have a string of ratings well over 4 but don't get a mention.
How about a subgenre? Historical mysteries. I love history and it's a great way to learn it. "Daughter of Time" by Josephine Tey, any of the CS Harris books, Anna Huber, "The Blackheath Poisonings" by Julian Symons, "The Private Wound" by the father of Daniel Day-Lewis, anything by Raymond Paul, and many more that I will remember after I post this.One slight caveat - "The Secret History" is not a mystery. You know what happens from the start.
Kris wrote: "Tana French: A must for anyone who likes being cornered at parties and talked to death by a long winded gasbag who is in love with their own intellect and is certain NO one is smater than them."Could you elaborate?
Love Jo Nesbo, Samantha Downing, Jane Harper and Peter Swanson.Would love to include Denise Mina.
Donna wrote: "I’ve only read 5 lol"Yeah, i counted five too.
The "pendergast series " by douglas preston and lincoln child is the best thriller series i have read so far. I am yet to find a more interesting and awesome investigator as Aloysius pendergast. Give the series a try if you like a good nail biting thriller.
I saw in the comments that we deplore the absence of Elizabeth George in this top. I agree, but when I see the difficulty I have in finding a French community of readers for this author, I tell myself that it just has a slightly less active readership on the internet.This classification also has other problems such as the over-representation of English-speaking authors. What about Fred Vargas (France), Georges Simenon (Belgium), and I surely forget some of all the parts of the world (Asia, Middle-East, South America, Africa), which do not have the facility of an original language present even where one does not speak it.
C. J. TUDOR, GEORGE BELLAIRS, DOROTHY SAYERS, Should up their too
james lee Burke
Jonathan Kellerman
Val McDermid
CJ Sansom
Ian Rankin
Ray Celestin
Andrew Taylor
Thomas Mullen
Don Winslow