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 — 1,648,623 ratings
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2

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4.26 avg rating — 356,896 ratings
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3

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4.20 avg rating — 745,830 ratings
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4

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4.12 avg rating — 312,091 ratings
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5

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4.51 avg rating — 218,132 ratings
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6

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4.14 avg rating — 393,530 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 — 736,036 ratings
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9

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3.86 avg rating — 116,807 ratings
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10

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really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 517,550 ratings
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11

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3.81 avg rating — 130,969 ratings
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12

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3.94 avg rating — 170,315 ratings
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13

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3.59 avg rating — 47,189 ratings
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14

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4.03 avg rating — 206,238 ratings
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15

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4.14 avg rating — 399,272 ratings
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16

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4.27 avg rating — 71,476 ratings
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17

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4.15 avg rating — 1,061,103 ratings
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18

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3.98 avg rating — 90,007 ratings
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19

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4.05 avg rating — 581,167 ratings
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19

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3.99 avg rating — 237,360 ratings
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21

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4.09 avg rating — 739,158 ratings
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22

by
4.12 avg rating — 829,104 ratings
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23

by
3.89 avg rating — 39,409 ratings
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24

by
4.04 avg rating — 217,369 ratings
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25

by
3.88 avg rating — 85,260 ratings
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26

by
3.56 avg rating — 106,729 ratings
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27

by
4.14 avg rating — 218,423 ratings
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28

by
4.08 avg rating — 354,670 ratings
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29

by
3.97 avg rating — 85,006 ratings
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30

by
3.73 avg rating — 52,764 ratings
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31

by
3.91 avg rating — 303,403 ratings
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32

by
3.81 avg rating — 277,202 ratings
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32

by
3.74 avg rating — 7,829 ratings
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34

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4.06 avg rating — 28,549 ratings
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35

by
4.04 avg rating — 88,507 ratings
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36

by
4.27 avg rating — 147,180 ratings
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37

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really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 53,751 ratings
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38

by
4.09 avg rating — 43,361 ratings
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39

by
4.13 avg rating — 492,582 ratings
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40

by
4.01 avg rating — 87,703 ratings
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41

by
3.87 avg rating — 122,006 ratings
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42

by
3.92 avg rating — 298,363 ratings
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43

by
3.97 avg rating — 77,836 ratings
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44

by
3.96 avg rating — 74,102 ratings
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45

by
4.03 avg rating — 261,374 ratings
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46

by
3.94 avg rating — 71,626 ratings
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47

by
4.03 avg rating — 52,458 ratings
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47

by
4.26 avg rating — 592,702 ratings
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49

by
4.20 avg rating — 197,069 ratings
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50

by
4.06 avg rating — 449,298 ratings
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51

by
3.96 avg rating — 45,581 ratings
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52

by
3.89 avg rating — 38,752 ratings
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53

by
4.22 avg rating — 171,285 ratings
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54

by
3.88 avg rating — 156,415 ratings
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55

by
4.03 avg rating — 21,659 ratings
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56

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really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 79,691 ratings
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56

by
3.87 avg rating — 33,886 ratings
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58

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4.10 avg rating — 50,867 ratings
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58

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4.09 avg rating — 127,057 ratings
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60

by
3.50 avg rating — 3,611 ratings
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61

by
4.06 avg rating — 182,405 ratings
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62

by
3.80 avg rating — 369,373 ratings
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63

by
4.04 avg rating — 25,879 ratings
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64

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4.15 avg rating — 163,896 ratings
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65

by
3.95 avg rating — 121,352 ratings
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66

by
3.86 avg rating — 192,944 ratings
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67

by
4.17 avg rating — 151,928 ratings
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68

by
4.18 avg rating — 137,546 ratings
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69

by
3.96 avg rating — 45,001 ratings
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70

by
3.71 avg rating — 668,307 ratings
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71

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3.85 avg rating — 59,362 ratings
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72

by
3.84 avg rating — 72,262 ratings
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73

by
3.94 avg rating — 56,467 ratings
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74

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3.90 avg rating — 42,482 ratings
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75

by
4.01 avg rating — 355,929 ratings
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76

by
3.96 avg rating — 56,426 ratings
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77

by
4.07 avg rating — 81,583 ratings
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77

by
4.01 avg rating — 70,865 ratings
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79

by
4.04 avg rating — 87,266 ratings
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80

by
4.29 avg rating — 42,461 ratings
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81

by
3.78 avg rating — 2,469 ratings
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82

by
3.98 avg rating — 19,177 ratings
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83

by
4.13 avg rating — 205,650 ratings
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84

by
4.06 avg rating — 464,812 ratings
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85

by
4.04 avg rating — 70,249 ratings
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86

by
4.40 avg rating — 469,250 ratings
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86

by
3.83 avg rating — 22,654 ratings
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86

by
3.86 avg rating — 195,402 ratings
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89

by
4.23 avg rating — 110,474 ratings
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90

by
4.22 avg rating — 78,263 ratings
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91

by
3.79 avg rating — 17,100 ratings
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92

by
4.10 avg rating — 180,345 ratings
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93

by
3.98 avg rating — 110,719 ratings
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93

by
3.91 avg rating — 18,117 ratings
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95

by
4.19 avg rating — 32,519 ratings
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96

by
3.84 avg rating — 29,710 ratings
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96

by
4.26 avg rating — 117,066 ratings
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98

by
really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 26,778 ratings
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99

by
4.13 avg rating — 33,808 ratings
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100

by
3.89 avg rating — 61,331 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 11070 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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