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 — 1,647,643 ratings
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2

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4.26 avg rating — 356,630 ratings
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3

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4.20 avg rating — 745,453 ratings
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4

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4.12 avg rating — 311,927 ratings
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5

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4.51 avg rating — 218,106 ratings
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6

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4.14 avg rating — 393,382 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 — 735,601 ratings
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9

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3.86 avg rating — 116,774 ratings
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10

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really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 517,273 ratings
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11

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3.81 avg rating — 130,894 ratings
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12

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3.94 avg rating — 170,307 ratings
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13

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3.59 avg rating — 47,224 ratings
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14

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4.03 avg rating — 206,079 ratings
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15

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4.14 avg rating — 399,146 ratings
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16

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4.27 avg rating — 71,461 ratings
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17

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4.15 avg rating — 1,060,054 ratings
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18

by
3.98 avg rating — 89,955 ratings
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19

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4.05 avg rating — 581,093 ratings
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19

by
3.99 avg rating — 237,326 ratings
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21

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4.09 avg rating — 738,863 ratings
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22

by
4.12 avg rating — 829,042 ratings
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23

by
3.89 avg rating — 39,395 ratings
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24

by
4.04 avg rating — 217,279 ratings
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25

by
3.88 avg rating — 85,198 ratings
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26

by
3.56 avg rating — 106,683 ratings
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27

by
4.14 avg rating — 218,372 ratings
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28

by
4.08 avg rating — 354,586 ratings
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29

by
3.98 avg rating — 84,961 ratings
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30

by
3.73 avg rating — 52,744 ratings
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31

by
3.91 avg rating — 303,184 ratings
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32

by
3.81 avg rating — 277,170 ratings
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32

by
3.74 avg rating — 7,826 ratings
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34

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4.06 avg rating — 28,548 ratings
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35

by
4.04 avg rating — 88,488 ratings
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36

by
4.27 avg rating — 147,177 ratings
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37

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really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 53,737 ratings
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38

by
4.09 avg rating — 43,358 ratings
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39

by
4.13 avg rating — 492,501 ratings
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40

by
4.01 avg rating — 87,662 ratings
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41

by
3.87 avg rating — 121,928 ratings
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42

by
3.92 avg rating — 298,262 ratings
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43

by
3.97 avg rating — 77,795 ratings
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44

by
3.96 avg rating — 74,072 ratings
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45

by
4.03 avg rating — 261,125 ratings
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46

by
3.94 avg rating — 71,599 ratings
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47

by
4.03 avg rating — 52,443 ratings
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47

by
4.26 avg rating — 592,566 ratings
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49

by
4.20 avg rating — 197,045 ratings
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50

by
4.06 avg rating — 449,273 ratings
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51

by
3.96 avg rating — 45,559 ratings
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52

by
3.89 avg rating — 38,745 ratings
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53

by
4.22 avg rating — 171,276 ratings
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54

by
3.88 avg rating — 156,393 ratings
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55

by
4.03 avg rating — 21,654 ratings
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56

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really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 79,675 ratings
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56

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3.87 avg rating — 33,879 ratings
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58

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4.10 avg rating — 50,847 ratings
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58

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4.09 avg rating — 127,035 ratings
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60

by
3.51 avg rating — 3,608 ratings
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61

by
4.06 avg rating — 182,388 ratings
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62

by
3.80 avg rating — 369,115 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 — 163,858 ratings
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65

by
3.95 avg rating — 121,220 ratings
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66

by
3.86 avg rating — 192,919 ratings
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67

by
4.17 avg rating — 151,901 ratings
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68

by
4.18 avg rating — 137,523 ratings
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69

by
3.96 avg rating — 44,989 ratings
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70

by
3.71 avg rating — 668,230 ratings
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71

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3.85 avg rating — 59,326 ratings
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72

by
3.84 avg rating — 72,226 ratings
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73

by
3.94 avg rating — 56,453 ratings
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74

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3.90 avg rating — 42,473 ratings
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75

by
4.01 avg rating — 355,858 ratings
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76

by
3.96 avg rating — 56,399 ratings
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77

by
4.07 avg rating — 81,545 ratings
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77

by
4.01 avg rating — 70,811 ratings
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79

by
4.04 avg rating — 87,190 ratings
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80

by
4.29 avg rating — 42,469 ratings
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81

by
3.78 avg rating — 2,469 ratings
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82

by
3.98 avg rating — 19,176 ratings
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83

by
4.13 avg rating — 205,604 ratings
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84

by
4.06 avg rating — 464,783 ratings
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85

by
4.04 avg rating — 70,287 ratings
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86

by
4.40 avg rating — 469,114 ratings
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86

by
3.83 avg rating — 22,649 ratings
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86

by
3.86 avg rating — 195,359 ratings
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89

by
4.23 avg rating — 110,442 ratings
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90

by
4.22 avg rating — 78,233 ratings
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91

by
3.79 avg rating — 17,095 ratings
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92

by
4.10 avg rating — 180,310 ratings
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93

by
3.98 avg rating — 110,680 ratings
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93

by
3.91 avg rating — 18,135 ratings
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95

by
4.19 avg rating — 32,512 ratings
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96

by
3.84 avg rating — 29,699 ratings
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96

by
4.26 avg rating — 116,999 ratings
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98

by
really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 26,772 ratings
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99

by
4.13 avg rating — 33,804 ratings
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100

by
3.89 avg rating — 61,319 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 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


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