Looking for mysteries first published between Jan 1st 1900 and Dec 31st 1999.

Only add books with at least 1000 ratings. Books with less than 1000 ratings or published before Jan 1st 1999 or after Dec 31st 1999 can be removed without comment.

For purposes of this list it doesn't matter if the book is a cozy mystery or a crime mystery or a historical mystery or a literary mystery or a general mystery. When in doubt, check the shelves for the book - if it is shelved more than a 100 times as mystery and you want to, put it on this list.

See also:
100 Mysteries and Thrillers to Read in a Lifetime Readers Picks
Best Mysteries of the 21st Century
Best Mysteries of the 20th Century
Popular Highly Rated Mystery

Best Mysteries by Subgenre
Best Cozy Mystery Series
Best Crime Mystery Books
Best Historical Mystery
Best Literary Mysteries
Best Thrillers

Edgar Awards:
Edgar Award Winners
Edgar Award Winners for Best First Novel
Edgar Award Winners for Fact Crime
Edgar Award Winners for Best Young Adult Fiction

Best Mysteries By Decade
1960, 1970, 1980, 1990, 2000, 2010, 2020

Best Mysteries By Ratings
100,000 or more
50,000 to 99,999
25,000 to 49,999
10,000 to 24,999
1

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4.27 avg rating — 1,648,940 ratings
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2

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4.26 avg rating — 357,002 ratings
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3

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4.20 avg rating — 745,998 ratings
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4

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4.12 avg rating — 312,152 ratings
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5

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4.51 avg rating — 218,154 ratings
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6

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4.14 avg rating — 393,578 ratings
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7

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4.78 avg rating — 193 ratings
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8

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4.25 avg rating — 736,222 ratings
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9

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3.86 avg rating — 116,820 ratings
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10

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really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 517,652 ratings
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11

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3.81 avg rating — 131,001 ratings
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12

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3.94 avg rating — 170,343 ratings
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13

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3.59 avg rating — 47,198 ratings
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14

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4.03 avg rating — 206,287 ratings
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15

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4.14 avg rating — 399,310 ratings
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16

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4.27 avg rating — 71,482 ratings
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17

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4.15 avg rating — 1,061,470 ratings
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18

by
3.98 avg rating — 90,026 ratings
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19

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4.05 avg rating — 581,190 ratings
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19

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3.99 avg rating — 237,380 ratings
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21

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4.09 avg rating — 739,283 ratings
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22

by
4.12 avg rating — 829,125 ratings
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23

by
3.89 avg rating — 39,415 ratings
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24

by
4.04 avg rating — 217,411 ratings
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25

by
3.88 avg rating — 85,280 ratings
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26

by
3.56 avg rating — 106,753 ratings
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27

by
4.14 avg rating — 218,448 ratings
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28

by
4.08 avg rating — 354,703 ratings
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29

by
3.97 avg rating — 85,012 ratings
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30

by
3.73 avg rating — 52,770 ratings
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31

by
3.91 avg rating — 303,476 ratings
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32

by
3.81 avg rating — 277,211 ratings
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32

by
3.74 avg rating — 7,830 ratings
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34

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4.06 avg rating — 28,552 ratings
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35

by
4.04 avg rating — 88,515 ratings
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36

by
4.27 avg rating — 147,194 ratings
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37

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really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 53,764 ratings
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38

by
4.09 avg rating — 43,363 ratings
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39

by
4.13 avg rating — 492,625 ratings
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40

by
4.01 avg rating — 87,720 ratings
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41

by
3.87 avg rating — 122,034 ratings
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42

by
3.92 avg rating — 298,403 ratings
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43

by
3.97 avg rating — 77,850 ratings
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44

by
3.96 avg rating — 74,109 ratings
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45

by
4.03 avg rating — 261,461 ratings
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46

by
3.94 avg rating — 71,636 ratings
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47

by
4.03 avg rating — 52,459 ratings
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47

by
4.26 avg rating — 592,743 ratings
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49

by
4.20 avg rating — 197,079 ratings
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50

by
4.06 avg rating — 449,312 ratings
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51

by
3.96 avg rating — 45,588 ratings
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52

by
3.89 avg rating — 38,757 ratings
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53

by
4.22 avg rating — 171,306 ratings
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54

by
3.88 avg rating — 156,422 ratings
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55

by
4.03 avg rating — 21,661 ratings
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56

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really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 79,700 ratings
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56

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3.87 avg rating — 33,886 ratings
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58

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4.10 avg rating — 50,872 ratings
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58

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4.09 avg rating — 127,063 ratings
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60

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3.50 avg rating — 3,611 ratings
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61

by
4.06 avg rating — 182,419 ratings
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62

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3.80 avg rating — 369,458 ratings
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63

by
4.04 avg rating — 25,884 ratings
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64

by
4.15 avg rating — 163,903 ratings
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65

by
3.95 avg rating — 121,399 ratings
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66

by
3.86 avg rating — 192,952 ratings
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67

by
4.17 avg rating — 151,935 ratings
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68

by
4.18 avg rating — 137,553 ratings
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69

by
3.96 avg rating — 45,004 ratings
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70

by
3.71 avg rating — 668,342 ratings
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71

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3.85 avg rating — 59,372 ratings
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72

by
3.84 avg rating — 72,277 ratings
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73

by
3.94 avg rating — 56,475 ratings
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74

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3.90 avg rating — 42,487 ratings
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75

by
4.01 avg rating — 355,950 ratings
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76

by
3.96 avg rating — 56,435 ratings
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77

by
4.07 avg rating — 81,602 ratings
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77

by
4.01 avg rating — 70,884 ratings
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79

by
4.04 avg rating — 87,300 ratings
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80

by
4.29 avg rating — 42,464 ratings
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81

by
3.78 avg rating — 2,469 ratings
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82

by
3.98 avg rating — 19,178 ratings
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83

by
4.13 avg rating — 205,662 ratings
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84

by
4.06 avg rating — 464,834 ratings
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85

by
4.04 avg rating — 70,252 ratings
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86

by
4.40 avg rating — 469,314 ratings
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86

by
3.83 avg rating — 22,655 ratings
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86

by
3.86 avg rating — 195,406 ratings
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89

by
4.23 avg rating — 110,490 ratings
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90

by
4.22 avg rating — 78,274 ratings
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91

by
3.79 avg rating — 17,104 ratings
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92

by
4.10 avg rating — 180,353 ratings
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93

by
3.98 avg rating — 110,731 ratings
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93

by
3.91 avg rating — 18,118 ratings
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95

by
4.19 avg rating — 32,526 ratings
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96

by
3.84 avg rating — 29,714 ratings
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96

by
4.26 avg rating — 117,094 ratings
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98

by
really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 26,779 ratings
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99

by
4.13 avg rating — 33,815 ratings
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100

by
3.89 avg rating — 61,336 ratings
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171 books · 84 voters · list created December 23rd, 2019 by Mitchell Friedman (votes) .
31 likes · 
Lists are re-scored approximately every 5 minutes.


Mitchell 11072 books
172 friends
Phillip 5243 books
138 friends
nellie evelina 1004 books
80 friends
RetroHound 488 books
2 friends
Maria 1695 books
657 friends
Judy 5640 books
405 friends
Saturday's 2274 books
66 friends
Gabrielle 1341 books
21 friends

More voters…


Comments Showing 1-5 of 5 (5 new)

dateUp arrow    newest »

message 1: by [deleted user] (new)

TheRemorseful Day/Colin Dexter
Arists in Crime/Ngaio Marsh
Tana French/Faithful Place
Thursday's Child / Nicci French


message 2: by Stella (new)

Stella Wright Hell At The Breech by Tom Franklin should not appear on this list as it was published in 2003.


message 3: by Stella (new)

Stella Wright Rebecca Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier appears twice - 14 and 45 !!


message 4: by Stella (new)

Stella Wright The Lady Who Stole Christmas, (Rakes on the Run #0.5) by Sydney Jane Baily should not be on this list as it was published in 2020.


message 5: by Mitchell (new)

Mitchell Friedman Stella wrote: "The Lady Who Stole Christmas, (Rakes on the Run #0.5) by Sydney Jane Baily should not be on this list as it was published in 2020."

thanks for the call outs. this book and hell at the breech have been removed. and duplicates should be cleared


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