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 — 1,649,109 ratings
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2

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4.26 avg rating — 357,044 ratings
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3

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4.20 avg rating — 746,067 ratings
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4

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4.12 avg rating — 312,174 ratings
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5

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4.51 avg rating — 218,159 ratings
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6

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4.14 avg rating — 393,599 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 — 736,298 ratings
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9

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3.86 avg rating — 116,832 ratings
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10

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really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 517,703 ratings
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11

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3.81 avg rating — 131,016 ratings
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12

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3.94 avg rating — 170,355 ratings
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13

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3.59 avg rating — 47,201 ratings
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14

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4.03 avg rating — 206,313 ratings
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15

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4.14 avg rating — 399,325 ratings
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16

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4.27 avg rating — 71,483 ratings
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17

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4.15 avg rating — 1,061,654 ratings
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18

by
3.98 avg rating — 90,035 ratings
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19

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4.05 avg rating — 581,211 ratings
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19

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3.99 avg rating — 237,386 ratings
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21

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4.09 avg rating — 739,335 ratings
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22

by
4.12 avg rating — 829,144 ratings
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23

by
3.89 avg rating — 39,417 ratings
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24

by
4.04 avg rating — 217,435 ratings
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25

by
3.88 avg rating — 85,290 ratings
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26

by
3.56 avg rating — 106,761 ratings
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27

by
4.14 avg rating — 218,463 ratings
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28

by
4.08 avg rating — 354,719 ratings
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29

by
3.97 avg rating — 85,017 ratings
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30

by
3.73 avg rating — 52,777 ratings
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31

by
3.91 avg rating — 303,506 ratings
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32

by
3.81 avg rating — 277,216 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 — 28,554 ratings
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35

by
4.04 avg rating — 88,519 ratings
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36

by
4.27 avg rating — 147,202 ratings
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37

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really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 53,766 ratings
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38

by
4.09 avg rating — 43,364 ratings
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39

by
4.13 avg rating — 492,640 ratings
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40

by
4.01 avg rating — 87,723 ratings
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41

by
3.87 avg rating — 122,059 ratings
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42

by
3.92 avg rating — 298,423 ratings
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43

by
3.97 avg rating — 77,855 ratings
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44

by
3.96 avg rating — 74,120 ratings
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45

by
4.03 avg rating — 261,494 ratings
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46

by
3.94 avg rating — 71,643 ratings
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47

by
4.03 avg rating — 52,461 ratings
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47

by
4.26 avg rating — 592,764 ratings
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49

by
4.20 avg rating — 197,083 ratings
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50

by
4.06 avg rating — 449,328 ratings
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51

by
3.96 avg rating — 45,592 ratings
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52

by
3.89 avg rating — 38,761 ratings
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53

by
4.22 avg rating — 171,317 ratings
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54

by
3.88 avg rating — 156,423 ratings
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55

by
4.03 avg rating — 21,661 ratings
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56

by
really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 79,703 ratings
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56

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3.87 avg rating — 33,889 ratings
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58

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4.10 avg rating — 50,875 ratings
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58

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4.09 avg rating — 127,066 ratings
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60

by
3.50 avg rating — 3,611 ratings
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61

by
4.06 avg rating — 182,424 ratings
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62

by
3.80 avg rating — 369,502 ratings
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63

by
4.04 avg rating — 25,887 ratings
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64

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4.15 avg rating — 163,907 ratings
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65

by
3.95 avg rating — 121,430 ratings
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66

by
3.86 avg rating — 192,957 ratings
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67

by
4.17 avg rating — 151,939 ratings
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68

by
4.18 avg rating — 137,556 ratings
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69

by
3.96 avg rating — 45,003 ratings
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70

by
3.71 avg rating — 668,350 ratings
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71

by
3.85 avg rating — 59,379 ratings
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72

by
3.84 avg rating — 72,284 ratings
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73

by
3.94 avg rating — 56,480 ratings
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74

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3.90 avg rating — 42,489 ratings
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75

by
4.01 avg rating — 355,962 ratings
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76

by
3.96 avg rating — 56,440 ratings
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77

by
4.07 avg rating — 81,605 ratings
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77

by
4.01 avg rating — 70,895 ratings
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79

by
4.04 avg rating — 87,314 ratings
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80

by
4.29 avg rating — 42,466 ratings
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81

by
3.78 avg rating — 2,469 ratings
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82

by
3.98 avg rating — 19,179 ratings
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83

by
4.13 avg rating — 205,673 ratings
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84

by
4.06 avg rating — 464,852 ratings
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85

by
4.04 avg rating — 70,253 ratings
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86

by
4.40 avg rating — 469,326 ratings
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86

by
3.83 avg rating — 22,655 ratings
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86

by
3.86 avg rating — 195,409 ratings
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89

by
4.23 avg rating — 110,494 ratings
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90

by
4.22 avg rating — 78,280 ratings
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91

by
3.79 avg rating — 17,106 ratings
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92

by
4.10 avg rating — 180,362 ratings
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93

by
3.98 avg rating — 110,739 ratings
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93

by
3.91 avg rating — 18,119 ratings
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95

by
4.19 avg rating — 32,527 ratings
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96

by
3.84 avg rating — 29,714 ratings
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96

by
4.26 avg rating — 117,105 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 — 33,816 ratings
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100

by
3.89 avg rating — 61,339 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 5246 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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