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 — 1,647,279 ratings
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2

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4.26 avg rating — 356,514 ratings
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3

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4.20 avg rating — 745,303 ratings
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4

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4.12 avg rating — 311,875 ratings
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5

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4.51 avg rating — 218,087 ratings
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6

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4.13 avg rating — 393,331 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 — 735,432 ratings
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9

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3.86 avg rating — 116,757 ratings
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10

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really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 517,156 ratings
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11

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3.81 avg rating — 130,872 ratings
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12

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3.94 avg rating — 170,277 ratings
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13

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3.59 avg rating — 47,213 ratings
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14

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4.03 avg rating — 206,028 ratings
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15

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4.14 avg rating — 399,090 ratings
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16

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4.27 avg rating — 71,455 ratings
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17

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4.15 avg rating — 1,059,652 ratings
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18

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3.98 avg rating — 89,944 ratings
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19

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4.05 avg rating — 581,074 ratings
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19

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3.99 avg rating — 237,301 ratings
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21

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4.09 avg rating — 738,752 ratings
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22

by
4.12 avg rating — 829,014 ratings
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23

by
3.89 avg rating — 39,381 ratings
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24

by
4.04 avg rating — 217,236 ratings
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25

by
3.88 avg rating — 85,171 ratings
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26

by
3.56 avg rating — 106,667 ratings
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27

by
4.14 avg rating — 218,347 ratings
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28

by
4.08 avg rating — 354,539 ratings
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29

by
3.98 avg rating — 84,956 ratings
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30

by
3.73 avg rating — 52,731 ratings
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31

by
3.91 avg rating — 303,087 ratings
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32

by
3.81 avg rating — 277,156 ratings
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32

by
3.74 avg rating — 7,825 ratings
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34

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4.06 avg rating — 28,542 ratings
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35

by
4.04 avg rating — 88,479 ratings
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36

by
4.27 avg rating — 147,166 ratings
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37

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really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 53,720 ratings
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38

by
4.09 avg rating — 43,353 ratings
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39

by
4.13 avg rating — 492,455 ratings
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40

by
4.01 avg rating — 87,646 ratings
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41

by
3.87 avg rating — 121,897 ratings
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42

by
3.92 avg rating — 298,231 ratings
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43

by
3.97 avg rating — 77,769 ratings
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44

by
3.96 avg rating — 74,060 ratings
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45

by
4.03 avg rating — 261,060 ratings
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46

by
3.94 avg rating — 71,589 ratings
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47

by
4.03 avg rating — 52,437 ratings
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47

by
4.26 avg rating — 592,521 ratings
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49

by
4.20 avg rating — 197,027 ratings
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50

by
4.06 avg rating — 449,250 ratings
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51

by
3.96 avg rating — 45,555 ratings
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52

by
3.89 avg rating — 38,733 ratings
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53

by
4.22 avg rating — 171,261 ratings
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54

by
3.88 avg rating — 156,386 ratings
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55

by
4.03 avg rating — 21,651 ratings
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56

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really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 79,666 ratings
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56

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3.87 avg rating — 33,868 ratings
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58

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4.10 avg rating — 50,841 ratings
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58

by
4.09 avg rating — 127,024 ratings
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60

by
3.51 avg rating — 3,608 ratings
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61

by
4.06 avg rating — 182,378 ratings
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62

by
3.80 avg rating — 369,018 ratings
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63

by
4.04 avg rating — 25,869 ratings
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64

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4.15 avg rating — 163,844 ratings
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65

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3.95 avg rating — 121,168 ratings
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66

by
3.86 avg rating — 192,907 ratings
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67

by
4.17 avg rating — 151,892 ratings
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68

by
4.18 avg rating — 137,507 ratings
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69

by
3.96 avg rating — 44,981 ratings
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70

by
3.71 avg rating — 668,195 ratings
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71

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3.85 avg rating — 59,316 ratings
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72

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3.84 avg rating — 72,221 ratings
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73

by
3.94 avg rating — 56,447 ratings
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74

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3.90 avg rating — 42,469 ratings
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75

by
4.01 avg rating — 355,824 ratings
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76

by
3.96 avg rating — 56,390 ratings
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77

by
4.07 avg rating — 81,526 ratings
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77

by
4.01 avg rating — 70,786 ratings
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79

by
4.04 avg rating — 87,167 ratings
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80

by
4.29 avg rating — 42,465 ratings
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81

by
3.78 avg rating — 2,469 ratings
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82

by
3.98 avg rating — 19,171 ratings
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83

by
4.13 avg rating — 205,587 ratings
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84

by
4.06 avg rating — 464,760 ratings
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85

by
4.04 avg rating — 70,285 ratings
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86

by
4.40 avg rating — 469,056 ratings
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86

by
3.83 avg rating — 22,649 ratings
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86

by
3.86 avg rating — 195,346 ratings
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89

by
4.23 avg rating — 110,429 ratings
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90

by
4.22 avg rating — 78,219 ratings
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91

by
3.79 avg rating — 17,091 ratings
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92

by
4.10 avg rating — 180,296 ratings
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93

by
3.98 avg rating — 110,666 ratings
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93

by
3.91 avg rating — 18,126 ratings
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95

by
4.19 avg rating — 32,501 ratings
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96

by
3.84 avg rating — 29,692 ratings
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96

by
4.26 avg rating — 116,924 ratings
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98

by
really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 26,767 ratings
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99

by
4.13 avg rating — 33,800 ratings
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100

by
3.89 avg rating — 61,312 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 11068 books
172 friends
Phillip 5242 books
138 friends
nellie evelina 1004 books
80 friends
RetroHound 488 books
2 friends
Maria 1692 books
662 friends
Judy 5639 books
405 friends
Saturday's 2273 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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