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 — 1,648,113 ratings
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2

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4.26 avg rating — 356,772 ratings
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3

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4.20 avg rating — 745,651 ratings
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4

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4.12 avg rating — 312,016 ratings
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5

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4.51 avg rating — 218,119 ratings
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6

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4.14 avg rating — 393,457 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 — 735,836 ratings
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9

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3.86 avg rating — 116,788 ratings
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10

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really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 517,407 ratings
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11

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3.81 avg rating — 130,931 ratings
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12

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3.94 avg rating — 170,296 ratings
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13

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3.59 avg rating — 47,176 ratings
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14

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4.03 avg rating — 206,158 ratings
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15

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4.14 avg rating — 399,222 ratings
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16

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4.27 avg rating — 71,473 ratings
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17

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4.15 avg rating — 1,060,589 ratings
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18

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3.98 avg rating — 89,991 ratings
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19

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4.05 avg rating — 581,125 ratings
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19

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3.99 avg rating — 237,343 ratings
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21

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4.09 avg rating — 738,983 ratings
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22

by
4.12 avg rating — 829,056 ratings
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23

by
3.89 avg rating — 39,404 ratings
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24

by
4.04 avg rating — 217,321 ratings
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25

by
3.88 avg rating — 85,232 ratings
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26

by
3.56 avg rating — 106,706 ratings
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27

by
4.14 avg rating — 218,395 ratings
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28

by
4.08 avg rating — 354,621 ratings
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29

by
3.98 avg rating — 84,988 ratings
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30

by
3.73 avg rating — 52,761 ratings
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31

by
3.91 avg rating — 303,304 ratings
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32

by
3.81 avg rating — 277,182 ratings
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32

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3.74 avg rating — 7,829 ratings
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34

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4.06 avg rating — 28,541 ratings
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35

by
4.04 avg rating — 88,497 ratings
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36

by
4.27 avg rating — 147,163 ratings
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37

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really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 53,744 ratings
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38

by
4.09 avg rating — 43,357 ratings
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39

by
4.13 avg rating — 492,529 ratings
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40

by
4.01 avg rating — 87,687 ratings
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41

by
3.87 avg rating — 121,967 ratings
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42

by
3.92 avg rating — 298,320 ratings
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43

by
3.97 avg rating — 77,817 ratings
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44

by
3.96 avg rating — 74,093 ratings
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45

by
4.03 avg rating — 261,256 ratings
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46

by
3.94 avg rating — 71,611 ratings
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47

by
4.03 avg rating — 52,451 ratings
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47

by
4.26 avg rating — 592,629 ratings
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49

by
4.20 avg rating — 197,047 ratings
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50

by
4.06 avg rating — 449,271 ratings
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51

by
3.96 avg rating — 45,572 ratings
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52

by
3.89 avg rating — 38,745 ratings
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53

by
4.22 avg rating — 171,259 ratings
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54

by
3.88 avg rating — 156,404 ratings
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55

by
4.03 avg rating — 21,656 ratings
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56

by
really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 79,686 ratings
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56

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3.87 avg rating — 33,885 ratings
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58

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4.10 avg rating — 50,863 ratings
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58

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4.09 avg rating — 127,042 ratings
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60

by
3.51 avg rating — 3,609 ratings
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61

by
4.06 avg rating — 182,401 ratings
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62

by
3.80 avg rating — 369,258 ratings
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63

by
4.04 avg rating — 25,875 ratings
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64

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4.15 avg rating — 163,875 ratings
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65

by
3.95 avg rating — 121,268 ratings
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66

by
3.86 avg rating — 192,932 ratings
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67

by
4.17 avg rating — 151,914 ratings
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68

by
4.18 avg rating — 137,535 ratings
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69

by
3.96 avg rating — 44,995 ratings
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70

by
3.71 avg rating — 668,263 ratings
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71

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3.85 avg rating — 59,346 ratings
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72

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3.84 avg rating — 72,243 ratings
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73

by
3.94 avg rating — 56,461 ratings
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74

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3.90 avg rating — 42,479 ratings
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75

by
4.01 avg rating — 355,891 ratings
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76

by
3.96 avg rating — 56,416 ratings
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77

by
4.07 avg rating — 81,571 ratings
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77

by
4.01 avg rating — 70,842 ratings
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79

by
4.04 avg rating — 87,222 ratings
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80

by
4.29 avg rating — 42,456 ratings
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81

by
3.78 avg rating — 2,469 ratings
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82

by
3.98 avg rating — 19,175 ratings
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83

by
4.13 avg rating — 205,624 ratings
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84

by
4.06 avg rating — 464,787 ratings
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85

by
4.04 avg rating — 70,245 ratings
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86

by
4.40 avg rating — 469,191 ratings
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86

by
3.83 avg rating — 22,653 ratings
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86

by
3.86 avg rating — 195,391 ratings
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89

by
4.23 avg rating — 110,461 ratings
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90

by
4.22 avg rating — 78,251 ratings
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91

by
3.79 avg rating — 17,098 ratings
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92

by
4.10 avg rating — 180,327 ratings
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93

by
3.98 avg rating — 110,701 ratings
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93

by
3.91 avg rating — 18,112 ratings
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95

by
4.19 avg rating — 32,518 ratings
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96

by
3.84 avg rating — 29,707 ratings
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96

by
4.26 avg rating — 117,030 ratings
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98

by
really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 26,775 ratings
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99

by
4.13 avg rating — 33,808 ratings
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100

by
3.89 avg rating — 61,327 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 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 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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