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 — 1,647,392 ratings
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2

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4.26 avg rating — 356,557 ratings
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3

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4.20 avg rating — 745,352 ratings
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4

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4.12 avg rating — 311,893 ratings
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5

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4.51 avg rating — 218,093 ratings
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6

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4.13 avg rating — 393,353 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 — 735,500 ratings
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9

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3.86 avg rating — 116,764 ratings
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10

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really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 517,217 ratings
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11

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3.81 avg rating — 130,881 ratings
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12

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3.94 avg rating — 170,290 ratings
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13

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3.59 avg rating — 47,219 ratings
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14

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4.03 avg rating — 206,051 ratings
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15

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4.14 avg rating — 399,113 ratings
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16

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4.27 avg rating — 71,454 ratings
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17

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4.15 avg rating — 1,059,804 ratings
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18

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3.98 avg rating — 89,952 ratings
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19

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4.05 avg rating — 581,080 ratings
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19

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3.99 avg rating — 237,307 ratings
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21

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4.09 avg rating — 738,793 ratings
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22

by
4.12 avg rating — 829,025 ratings
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23

by
3.89 avg rating — 39,386 ratings
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24

by
4.04 avg rating — 217,259 ratings
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25

by
3.88 avg rating — 85,187 ratings
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26

by
3.56 avg rating — 106,673 ratings
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27

by
4.14 avg rating — 218,357 ratings
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28

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4.08 avg rating — 354,557 ratings
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29

by
3.98 avg rating — 84,958 ratings
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30

by
3.73 avg rating — 52,737 ratings
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31

by
3.91 avg rating — 303,133 ratings
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32

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3.81 avg rating — 277,161 ratings
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32

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3.74 avg rating — 7,826 ratings
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34

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4.06 avg rating — 28,545 ratings
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35

by
4.04 avg rating — 88,481 ratings
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36

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4.27 avg rating — 147,171 ratings
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37

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really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 53,727 ratings
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38

by
4.09 avg rating — 43,354 ratings
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39

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4.13 avg rating — 492,463 ratings
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40

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4.01 avg rating — 87,654 ratings
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41

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3.87 avg rating — 121,909 ratings
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42

by
3.92 avg rating — 298,237 ratings
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43

by
3.97 avg rating — 77,777 ratings
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44

by
3.96 avg rating — 74,067 ratings
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45

by
4.03 avg rating — 261,079 ratings
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46

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3.94 avg rating — 71,594 ratings
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47

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4.03 avg rating — 52,439 ratings
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47

by
4.26 avg rating — 592,529 ratings
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49

by
4.20 avg rating — 197,031 ratings
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50

by
4.06 avg rating — 449,257 ratings
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51

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3.96 avg rating — 45,555 ratings
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52

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3.89 avg rating — 38,738 ratings
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53

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4.22 avg rating — 171,267 ratings
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54

by
3.88 avg rating — 156,388 ratings
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55

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4.03 avg rating — 21,651 ratings
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56

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really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 79,670 ratings
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56

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3.87 avg rating — 33,870 ratings
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58

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4.10 avg rating — 50,842 ratings
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58

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4.09 avg rating — 127,027 ratings
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60

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3.51 avg rating — 3,608 ratings
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61

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4.06 avg rating — 182,381 ratings
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62

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3.80 avg rating — 369,054 ratings
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63

by
4.04 avg rating — 25,872 ratings
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64

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4.15 avg rating — 163,847 ratings
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65

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3.95 avg rating — 121,192 ratings
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66

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3.86 avg rating — 192,910 ratings
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67

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4.17 avg rating — 151,892 ratings
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68

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4.18 avg rating — 137,510 ratings
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69

by
3.96 avg rating — 44,984 ratings
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70

by
3.71 avg rating — 668,214 ratings
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71

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3.85 avg rating — 59,321 ratings
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72

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3.84 avg rating — 72,226 ratings
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73

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3.94 avg rating — 56,449 ratings
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74

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3.90 avg rating — 42,470 ratings
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75

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4.01 avg rating — 355,834 ratings
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76

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3.96 avg rating — 56,393 ratings
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77

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4.07 avg rating — 81,530 ratings
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77

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4.01 avg rating — 70,796 ratings
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79

by
4.04 avg rating — 87,174 ratings
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80

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4.29 avg rating — 42,468 ratings
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81

by
3.78 avg rating — 2,469 ratings
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82

by
3.98 avg rating — 19,172 ratings
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83

by
4.13 avg rating — 205,592 ratings
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84

by
4.06 avg rating — 464,772 ratings
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85

by
4.04 avg rating — 70,286 ratings
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86

by
4.40 avg rating — 469,076 ratings
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86

by
3.83 avg rating — 22,649 ratings
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86

by
3.86 avg rating — 195,349 ratings
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89

by
4.23 avg rating — 110,433 ratings
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90

by
4.22 avg rating — 78,228 ratings
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91

by
3.79 avg rating — 17,093 ratings
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92

by
4.10 avg rating — 180,298 ratings
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93

by
3.98 avg rating — 110,672 ratings
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93

by
3.91 avg rating — 18,130 ratings
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95

by
4.19 avg rating — 32,503 ratings
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96

by
3.84 avg rating — 29,693 ratings
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96

by
4.26 avg rating — 116,973 ratings
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98

by
really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 26,769 ratings
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99

by
4.13 avg rating — 33,802 ratings
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100

by
3.89 avg rating — 61,315 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 1694 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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