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

by
4.27 avg rating — 1,647,972 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
2

by
4.26 avg rating — 356,748 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
3

by
4.20 avg rating — 745,589 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
4

by
4.12 avg rating — 311,994 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
5

by
4.51 avg rating — 218,115 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
6

by
4.14 avg rating — 393,431 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
7

by
4.78 avg rating — 193 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
8

by
4.25 avg rating — 735,772 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
9

by
3.86 avg rating — 116,783 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
10

by
really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 517,361 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
11

by
3.81 avg rating — 130,927 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
12

by
3.94 avg rating — 170,289 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
13

by
3.59 avg rating — 47,173 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
14

by
4.03 avg rating — 206,139 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
15

by
4.14 avg rating — 399,199 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
16

by
4.27 avg rating — 71,471 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
17

by
4.15 avg rating — 1,060,427 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
18

by
3.98 avg rating — 89,982 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
19

by
4.05 avg rating — 581,112 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
19

by
3.99 avg rating — 237,336 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
21

by
4.09 avg rating — 738,932 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
22

by
4.12 avg rating — 829,038 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
23

by
3.89 avg rating — 39,402 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
24

by
4.04 avg rating — 217,305 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
25

by
3.88 avg rating — 85,223 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
26

by
3.56 avg rating — 106,703 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
27

by
4.14 avg rating — 218,388 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
28

by
4.08 avg rating — 354,606 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
29

by
3.98 avg rating — 84,981 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
30

by
3.73 avg rating — 52,753 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
31

by
3.91 avg rating — 303,268 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
32

by
3.81 avg rating — 277,180 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
32

by
3.74 avg rating — 7,829 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
34

by
4.06 avg rating — 28,540 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
35

by
4.04 avg rating — 88,496 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
36

by
4.27 avg rating — 147,157 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
37

by
really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 53,741 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
38

by
4.09 avg rating — 43,356 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
39

by
4.13 avg rating — 492,512 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
40

by
4.01 avg rating — 87,682 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
41

by
3.87 avg rating — 121,958 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
42

by
3.92 avg rating — 298,298 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
43

by
3.97 avg rating — 77,807 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
44

by
3.96 avg rating — 74,086 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
45

by
4.03 avg rating — 261,214 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
46

by
3.94 avg rating — 71,605 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
47

by
4.03 avg rating — 52,447 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
47

by
4.26 avg rating — 592,604 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
49

by
4.20 avg rating — 197,040 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
50

by
4.06 avg rating — 449,258 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
51

by
3.96 avg rating — 45,568 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
52

by
3.89 avg rating — 38,745 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
53

by
4.22 avg rating — 171,252 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
54

by
3.88 avg rating — 156,402 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
55

by
4.03 avg rating — 21,656 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
56

by
really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 79,683 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
56

by
3.87 avg rating — 33,884 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
58

by
4.10 avg rating — 50,860 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
58

by
4.09 avg rating — 127,039 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
60

by
3.51 avg rating — 3,608 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
61

by
4.06 avg rating — 182,396 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
62

by
3.80 avg rating — 369,213 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
63

by
4.04 avg rating — 25,875 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
64

by
4.15 avg rating — 163,871 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
65

by
3.95 avg rating — 121,242 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
66

by
3.86 avg rating — 192,927 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
67

by
4.17 avg rating — 151,910 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
68

by
4.18 avg rating — 137,532 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
69

by
3.96 avg rating — 44,994 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
70

by
3.71 avg rating — 668,251 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
71

by
3.85 avg rating — 59,340 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
72

by
3.84 avg rating — 72,239 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
73

by
3.94 avg rating — 56,457 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
74

by
3.90 avg rating — 42,477 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
75

by
4.01 avg rating — 355,879 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
76

by
3.96 avg rating — 56,414 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
77

by
4.07 avg rating — 81,567 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
77

by
4.01 avg rating — 70,833 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
79

by
4.04 avg rating — 87,217 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
80

by
4.29 avg rating — 42,454 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
81

by
3.78 avg rating — 2,469 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
82

by
3.98 avg rating — 19,174 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
83

by
4.13 avg rating — 205,618 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
84

by
4.06 avg rating — 464,775 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
85

by
4.04 avg rating — 70,245 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
86

by
4.40 avg rating — 469,163 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
86

by
3.83 avg rating — 22,652 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
86

by
3.86 avg rating — 195,379 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
89

by
4.23 avg rating — 110,453 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
90

by
4.22 avg rating — 78,246 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
91

by
3.79 avg rating — 17,097 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
92

by
4.10 avg rating — 180,324 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
93

by
3.98 avg rating — 110,695 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
93

by
3.91 avg rating — 18,112 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
95

by
4.19 avg rating — 32,519 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
96

by
3.84 avg rating — 29,702 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
96

by
4.26 avg rating — 117,016 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
98

by
really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 26,773 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
99

by
4.13 avg rating — 33,808 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
100

by
3.89 avg rating — 61,325 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
171 books · 84 voters · list created December 23rd, 2019 by Mitchell Friedman (votes) .
31 likes · 
Lists are re-scored approximately every 5 minutes.


Mitchell 11069 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 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


back to top



Related News

Need another excuse to treat yourself to a new book this week? We’ve got you covered with the buzziest new releases of the day, according to early...

Anyone can add books to this list.