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Top 100 Mysteries & Thrillers on Goodreads
Culprits, spies, bad guys, and women with vendettas: There's something so very satisfying about spending your time with the criminal element. And by that, we mean following the clues and solving the capers when you sit down with a great mystery or thriller. Always in search of a great book, Goodreads recently set out to uncover your 100 most-loved thrillers and mysteries.
There are, of course, rules to this game. Namely, every one of these books has at least a 4.0 rating from the Goodreads community. That means it's a bit of a popularity contest, for example Gone Girl is represented with a 4.02 rating, but another girl—Girl on a Train—just misses the list at 3.88. Then there are the usual suspects you won't find on this list: The Maltese Falcon (3.92), Angels & Demons (3.85), and Strangers on a Train (3.84) among others. It may seem brutal, but the readers have spoken.
Of course, many of your favorite writers have stayed with a character for a while, so in the cases of serialized mysteries and thrillers, we picked the books that, again, are over 4.0 and have the largest number of ratings.
It's time to unveil the top 100 Mysteries & Thrillers on Goodreads, arranged in alphabetical order. How many have you read? Tell us in the comments.
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Tell us how many you've read in the comments! And be sure to check out more of our Mystery & Thriller Week coverage here.
Comments Showing 351-400 of 473 (473 new)
message 351:
by
Pamela
(new)
May 03, 2017 12:06PM
18/100, some of which I read many years ago. Mystery/detective is such a diverse genre. As I would expect, many on this list are relatively new books, whereas I prefer those written in the "golden age" a la Christie, Sayers, Tey, Chandler, Gardner, Stout, etc. Of course interest in Sherlock Holmes has been revived by the recent TV/movie adaptations - not that that is a bad thing!
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I'm a mystery addict ... I've read 33 on this list, and there are quite a few I "want to read." But many of my favorite mysteries are "dark horses" and don't appear here.
Cheryl A wrote: "37/100. Remember, it's based on GR popularity. Great classic titles and authors are sorely missing and whoever thought Agatha Christi and Janet Evanovich would be on the same list?!!!"They're both on my read and to read lists! 😊
10/100...looks like I've got some catching up to do!!
I am surprised! I love mysteries and thrillers but I've only read 16 of the books on this list. I do have 8 of them on my TBR List, but I definitely expected my number to be higher.
12 marked as read. 3 more read before joining Goodreads. More than a few on my TBR list!
6/100 but I've only recently gotten into Mysteries as a genre. Currently Reading Dissolution. Quite surprised to see no Linwood Barclay in the list, I've been really enjoying the stories surrounding Promise Falls. Also, you missed 7 quite obvious mysteries which I know without even checking (okay, I admit it, I checked and I'm right) all have over 4 Stars ...Ready?
Harry Potter and the Mystery of the Trapdoor
Harry Potter and the Mystery of the Murder of Moaning Myrtle
Harry Potter and the Mystery of Sirius Black
Harry Potter and the Mystery of Who Entered Him in the Triwizard Tournament
Harry Potter and the Mystery of the Weapon
Harry Potter and the Mystery of Tom Riddle
Harry Potter and the Mystery of the Horcruxes
23 so far, but like others, I'm adding to my TBR as we speak :-)
I've read 35 of them with several on my "Want to Read" list.
Read 4, 5 on to-read list and watched 10 as movies which means I won't read. Would like to keep this list handy for more than a week.
64/100!!! Mysteries are my passion. Got some new titles for my to-read list as well.
24 so far, I'm looking forward to adding to the list.
Read just 7: Hammett, Chandler, Grafton, Larsson, Ludlum.
I've read 27!! From Daphne DuMaurier to Jo Nesbo its a great genre.
I want to read all the books written by Stephen King and Gillian Flynn included on this lists.
I have read 6 of them and want to read 5 or 6 more. So many books, so little time!
21/100 and many more I'd like to read when I get time!!
I have read sixteen books on this list. Have to get busy and read more off of this list though.
42 Interesting list with quite a few surprises
I do so wish that you'd listed these numerically highest-to-lowest instead of alphabetically. I would have liked to see what others' ratings of each book were. A suggestion for the future.
39 I have read from list. Wish there was time to read all the rest!
Carrie wrote: "17/100. All but 2 of those I gave 4 or 5 stars. I didn't enjoy No Country for Old Men or Gone Girl (although I believe I may be the only one who didn't care for the latter!)."You are not alone!!!!
12, some more on my shelf, waiting for me.I am currently re-reading Flight of the Storks, which should be on the list. (At least if it turns out as excellent after the second read as I recall it being.)
Oh, by the way: Killing Floor is overrated. On this list it stands out like a pimple.
At least 30 on this list. But many of the best authors/novels in this category missing (Kanon, Ellory, French, etc.)
Martinw wrote: "Oh, by the way: Killing Floor is overrated. On this list it stands out like a pimple."In your opinion. Doesn't make that statement true. There are plenty on the list I don't think deserve to be there, but that's just my opinion. Others obviously disagree, or they wouldn't be there.
1/100. Lol, not my kind of genre. I don't mind reading mysteries, but when it turns into thrillers with horror and such, I start reading in other directions.
Orlok wrote: "Martinw wrote: "Oh, by the way: Killing Floor is overrated. On this list it stands out like a pimple."In your opinion. Doesn't make that statement true. There are plenty on the list I don't think..."
Of course in my opinion. Whose opinion should I express? But if this is unclear in some way, I will try to remember and add "in my opinion" in future posts.
Cheryl A wrote: "Carrie wrote: "17/100. All but 2 of those I gave 4 or 5 stars. I didn't enjoy No Country for Old Men or Gone Girl (although I believe I may be the only one who didn't care for the latter!)."You a..."
Cheryl A wrote: "Carrie wrote: "17/100. All but 2 of those I gave 4 or 5 stars. I didn't enjoy No Country for Old Men or Gone Girl (although I believe I may be the only one who didn't care for the latter!)."
You a..."You are not alone> I enjoyed the movie of Gone girl but could not get through the book. I didn't like the format it was written in.
10. But great list, I will definitely check more
Martinw wrote: "Of course in my opinion. Whose opinion should I express? But if this is unclear in some way, I will try to remember and add "in my opinion" in future posts. ."I'll second that opinion. I picked it up because they started marketing Spenser paperbacks with the tagline 'before Reacher, there was Spenser'. Which is a bit of an insult to the memory of Robert B Parker. Forget the fact the writing is amateurish to the point of being laughable; the whole story hangs on an utterly ludicrous coincidence that could only be forgiven if the writing and the characters were good enough to draw you in. I actually stuck with it to the end just to see if there would be a rewarding pay-off (there wasn't), and even made an attempt on the next one (Die Trying?) in the hope that things might improve, but I gave up at the halfway point. These are like stories written by a teenage boy with a Die Hard fixation. And not in a good way.
