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 — 1,625,847 ratings
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2

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4.26 avg rating — 349,306 ratings
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3

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4.20 avg rating — 736,264 ratings
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4

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4.51 avg rating — 217,304 ratings
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5

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4.12 avg rating — 308,137 ratings
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6

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4.14 avg rating — 389,806 ratings
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7

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4.84 avg rating — 190 ratings
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8

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4.25 avg rating — 725,220 ratings
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9

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3.86 avg rating — 115,873 ratings
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10

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really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 510,461 ratings
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11

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3.81 avg rating — 129,019 ratings
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12

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3.94 avg rating — 169,046 ratings
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13

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3.59 avg rating — 46,693 ratings
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14

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4.14 avg rating — 396,716 ratings
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15

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4.27 avg rating — 70,649 ratings
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16

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4.15 avg rating — 1,038,340 ratings
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17

by
3.98 avg rating — 88,911 ratings
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18

by
4.03 avg rating — 202,046 ratings
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19

by
4.05 avg rating — 579,537 ratings
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19

by
3.99 avg rating — 235,841 ratings
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21

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4.09 avg rating — 732,328 ratings
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22

by
4.12 avg rating — 827,257 ratings
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23

by
3.89 avg rating — 38,892 ratings
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24

by
4.04 avg rating — 214,928 ratings
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25

by
3.88 avg rating — 83,632 ratings
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26

by
3.56 avg rating — 105,552 ratings
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27

by
4.14 avg rating — 217,026 ratings
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28

by
4.08 avg rating — 352,251 ratings
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29

by
3.98 avg rating — 84,389 ratings
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30

by
3.73 avg rating — 52,337 ratings
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31

by
3.91 avg rating — 298,027 ratings
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32

by
3.81 avg rating — 276,261 ratings
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32

by
3.74 avg rating — 7,777 ratings
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34

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4.06 avg rating — 28,223 ratings
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35

by
4.04 avg rating — 87,925 ratings
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36

by
4.27 avg rating — 146,256 ratings
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37

by
3.99 avg rating — 53,005 ratings
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38

by
4.09 avg rating — 43,014 ratings
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39

by
4.13 avg rating — 489,422 ratings
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40

by
4.01 avg rating — 86,496 ratings
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41

by
3.92 avg rating — 296,109 ratings
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42

by
3.97 avg rating — 76,868 ratings
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43

by
3.96 avg rating — 72,919 ratings
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44

by
4.03 avg rating — 256,738 ratings
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45

by
3.94 avg rating — 70,696 ratings
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46

by
4.03 avg rating — 52,109 ratings
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46

by
4.26 avg rating — 589,648 ratings
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48

by
4.20 avg rating — 196,116 ratings
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49

by
4.06 avg rating — 447,846 ratings
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50

by
3.96 avg rating — 45,209 ratings
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51

by
3.90 avg rating — 38,406 ratings
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52

by
4.22 avg rating — 170,191 ratings
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53

by
3.88 avg rating — 155,976 ratings
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54

by
4.03 avg rating — 21,510 ratings
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55

by
really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 79,252 ratings
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55

by
3.87 avg rating — 33,715 ratings
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57

by
4.10 avg rating — 50,279 ratings
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57

by
4.09 avg rating — 126,323 ratings
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59

by
3.51 avg rating — 3,589 ratings
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60

by
4.06 avg rating — 181,738 ratings
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61

by
3.80 avg rating — 364,379 ratings
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62

by
4.04 avg rating — 25,526 ratings
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63

by
4.15 avg rating — 163,205 ratings
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64

by
3.95 avg rating — 118,321 ratings
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65

by
3.87 avg rating — 119,871 ratings
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66

by
3.86 avg rating — 192,253 ratings
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67

by
4.17 avg rating — 151,245 ratings
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68

by
4.18 avg rating — 136,849 ratings
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69

by
3.71 avg rating — 666,124 ratings
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70

by
3.85 avg rating — 58,449 ratings
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71

by
3.84 avg rating — 71,430 ratings
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72

by
3.94 avg rating — 55,997 ratings
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73

by
3.90 avg rating — 42,135 ratings
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74

by
4.01 avg rating — 354,204 ratings
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75

by
3.96 avg rating — 55,785 ratings
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76

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4.07 avg rating — 80,798 ratings
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76

by
4.01 avg rating — 69,721 ratings
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78

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4.04 avg rating — 85,852 ratings
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79

by
4.29 avg rating — 42,170 ratings
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80

by
3.78 avg rating — 2,460 ratings
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81

by
3.98 avg rating — 18,935 ratings
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82

by
4.13 avg rating — 204,466 ratings
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83

by
4.06 avg rating — 463,482 ratings
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84

by
4.04 avg rating — 69,980 ratings
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85

by
4.40 avg rating — 466,103 ratings
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85

by
3.83 avg rating — 22,586 ratings
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85

by
3.86 avg rating — 194,670 ratings
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88

by
4.23 avg rating — 109,683 ratings
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89

by
4.22 avg rating — 77,546 ratings
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90

by
3.79 avg rating — 16,921 ratings
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91

by
4.10 avg rating — 179,498 ratings
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92

by
3.98 avg rating — 109,753 ratings
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92

by
3.91 avg rating — 17,990 ratings
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94

by
4.19 avg rating — 32,227 ratings
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95

by
3.84 avg rating — 29,400 ratings
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95

by
3.96 avg rating — 44,598 ratings
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95

by
4.26 avg rating — 115,025 ratings
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98

by
really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 26,587 ratings
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99

by
4.13 avg rating — 33,526 ratings
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100

by
3.89 avg rating — 60,874 ratings
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171 books · 82 voters · list created December 23rd, 2019 by Mitchell Friedman (votes) .
31 likes · 
Lists are re-scored approximately every 5 minutes.


Mitchell 11580 books
172 friends
Phillip 5201 books
138 friends
nellie evelina 998 books
80 friends
RetroHound 480 books
2 friends
Maria 1671 books
664 friends
Judy 5622 books
405 friends
Saturday's 2257 books
66 friends
Gabrielle 1365 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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