,

Best Detective/Mystery Series

Can't wait for the next one!
Can't seem to add just authors so I randomly chose a book.
1

by
4.28 avg rating — 1,224,572 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
2

by
4.30 avg rating — 286,676 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
3

by
4.20 avg rating — 562,860 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
4

by
4.12 avg rating — 233,682 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
5

by
4.16 avg rating — 3,042,020 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
6

by
4.04 avg rating — 533,014 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
7

by
4.12 avg rating — 187,636 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
8

by
4.06 avg rating — 76,636 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
9

by
3.90 avg rating — 227,827 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
10

by
4.20 avg rating — 224,424 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
11

by
3.80 avg rating — 258,311 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
12

by
4.26 avg rating — 241,442 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
13

by
4.05 avg rating — 91,865 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
14

by
4.13 avg rating — 185,839 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
15

by
4.03 avg rating — 235,589 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
16

by
4.20 avg rating — 28,465 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
17

by
3.86 avg rating — 179,541 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
18

by
4.46 avg rating — 54,074 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
19

by
3.83 avg rating — 96,360 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
20

by
4.50 avg rating — 194,468 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
21

by
4.17 avg rating — 55,061 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
22

by
3.98 avg rating — 28,490 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
23

by
3.98 avg rating — 75,129 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
24

by
really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 381,554 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
25

by
4.04 avg rating — 47,624 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
26

by
3.79 avg rating — 379,919 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
27

by
4.11 avg rating — 83,908 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
28

by
4.09 avg rating — 154,489 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
29

by
really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 71,667 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
30

by
4.13 avg rating — 14,104 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
31

by
3.96 avg rating — 148,899 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
32

by
4.08 avg rating — 149,419 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
33

by
3.92 avg rating — 104,717 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
34

by
3.87 avg rating — 147,103 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
35

by
4.13 avg rating — 349,459 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
36

by
3.98 avg rating — 14,684 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
37

by
3.89 avg rating — 102,391 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
38

by
3.92 avg rating — 33,880 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
39

by
3.85 avg rating — 14,527 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
40

by
4.20 avg rating — 175,709 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
41

by
really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 26,891 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
42

by
3.94 avg rating — 40,668 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
43

by
4.24 avg rating — 530,270 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
44

by
4.10 avg rating — 113,978 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
45

by
3.97 avg rating — 40,210 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
46

by
4.02 avg rating — 64,516 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
47

by
3.97 avg rating — 58,348 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
48

by
4.21 avg rating — 85,576 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
49

by
3.88 avg rating — 33,806 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
50

by
4.18 avg rating — 14,073 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
51

by
3.98 avg rating — 338,227 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
52

by
4.12 avg rating — 85,298 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
53

by
4.35 avg rating — 41,431 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
54

by
3.91 avg rating — 18,566 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
55

by
4.21 avg rating — 57,741 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
56

by
4.07 avg rating — 13,209 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
57

by
3.91 avg rating — 16,948 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
58

by
4.06 avg rating — 89,395 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
59

by
3.85 avg rating — 53,470 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
60

by
3.82 avg rating — 163,670 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
61

by
4.09 avg rating — 19,979 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
62

by
3.90 avg rating — 15,073 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
63

by
3.72 avg rating — 27,272 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
64

by
4.11 avg rating — 162,506 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
65

by
4.03 avg rating — 63,443 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
66

by
3.74 avg rating — 652,165 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
67

by
3.94 avg rating — 16,952 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
68

by
3.83 avg rating — 21,025 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
69

by
3.87 avg rating — 25,275 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
70

by
3.86 avg rating — 43,411 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
71

by
4.11 avg rating — 37,939 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
72

by
3.86 avg rating — 8,702 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
73

by
4.12 avg rating — 25,868 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
74

by
4.05 avg rating — 51,746 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
75

by
4.04 avg rating — 6,106 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
76

by
3.96 avg rating — 5,285 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
77

by
4.11 avg rating — 13,163 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
78

by
3.88 avg rating — 6,747 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
79

by
3.77 avg rating — 72,063 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
80

by
4.17 avg rating — 122,298 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
81

by
3.90 avg rating — 19,814 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
82

by
4.19 avg rating — 40,472 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
83

by
3.87 avg rating — 34,957 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
84

by
3.95 avg rating — 13,528 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
85

by
4.17 avg rating — 6,578 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
86

by
4.21 avg rating — 35,339 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
87

by
4.04 avg rating — 13,076 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
88

by
3.95 avg rating — 7,357 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
89

by
4.11 avg rating — 10,183 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
90

by
4.13 avg rating — 324,390 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
91

by
3.91 avg rating — 5,588 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
92

by
3.53 avg rating — 13,268 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
93

by
3.84 avg rating — 17,414 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
94

by
3.92 avg rating — 15,957 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
95

by
3.89 avg rating — 22,303 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
96

by
3.90 avg rating — 2,257,456 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
97

by
3.91 avg rating — 25,405 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
98

by
4.05 avg rating — 104,667 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
99

by
4.06 avg rating — 24,178 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
100

by
4.16 avg rating — 50,686 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
2,153 books · 2,275 voters · list created August 15th, 2008 by Mary Todd (votes) .
Tags: mystery
356 likes · 
Lists are re-scored approximately every 5 minutes.


Mary Todd 128 books
30 friends
Susanna - Censored by GoodReads 3317 books
860 friends
Colleen 1612 books
40 friends
Ashley 5096 books
542 friends
R. 281 books
103 friends
Kathleen 276 books
11 friends
Shirley 197 books
6 friends
Rhonda 3050 books
39 friends

More voters…


Comments Showing 1-50 of 54 (54 new)


message 1: by A...B (new)

A...B
Never read this one yet, but w0ould be very interested to know your impressions about it.
What did you find the most intriguing, philosophically provoking, and unforgettable about the book?


s•u•n•s•h•i•n•e «§KENZ§» I've never read any of these.


message 3: by Karen (last edited Aug 16, 2008 06:21AM) (new)

Karen Syed The Missing Locket by Mary Cunningham and the others in the series, is for children and it is great. Two young girls travel back in time to meet their relatives. It is an adventure and is a great way to help kids understand how they came to be. History is power.


message 4: by Skyler (new)

Skyler Grey I've not ready any of these... yet. But I certainly am intrigued enough that I think I would greatly enjoy them.

The blurbs alone were well written which is something I look for when deciding on a new book, along with lots of twists which I love in stories.

:)



message 5: by Mary Todd (new)

Mary Todd Thanks for voting...I haven't read Sansom and am on the way to the library to pick one up!


message 6: by Marc (new)

Marc >>I've never read any of these.

Ah, but would you like to?


The Singer of All Songs why is the list hogged by tamora pierce!


message 8: by Jon (new)

Jon OK. So I voted for FINN. Sue me. (But the Garcia Marquez is probably my actual favorite...)


message 9: by Sarah (new)

Sarah What's the first line of FINN? I haven't heard of it.


message 10: by Cherrimae (new)

Cherrimae "UNDER A LOW SUN, pursued by fish and mounted by crows and veiled in a loud languid swarm of bluebottle flies, the body comes down the river like a deadfall stripped clean."


Susanna - Censored by GoodReads Probably someone voting on the list added her books, because they like Tamora Pierce? That would be my guess.


message 12: by [deleted user] (new)

=D I love Megan Turner's books, but I wouldn't consider Pierce to be underground, per se. Just not very popular.


message 13: by Rachel (new)

Rachel Oh dear...have never heard of these books before! Yeowch...


message 14: by Ambushedamber (new)

Ambushedamber I read so many of these growing up and own a lot of them! I super strongly recommend some of the authors on this list: Diana Wynne Jones, Meredith Ann Pierce, Peter S. Beagle, Robin McKinley, and Sherwood Smith! All of them are authors i read when young and still adore as an adult!!!!


message 15: by Jan (new)

Jan I can't believe that Colin Dexter wasn't on the list!


message 16: by Judy (new)

Judy Hoell Everyone needs to have FUN books to read. Those listed under Guilty Pleasures are worth the read.


message 17: by Thom (new)

Thom Dunn Jan wrote: "I can't believe that Colin Dexter wasn't on the list!"

What would you recommend I read first ?


message 18: by Eden (new)

Eden It's nice to see a lot of Diana Wynne Jones books on this list.


message 19: by Jan C (new)

Jan C I thought this was for best series? The Thin Man isn't a series. Except for his Continental Op stories, I believe Hammett's novels are standalones. Also, why multiple books from series?

Just askin'.


message 20: by Gail (new)

Gail Tell No One by Harlan Coben does not belong in this list. It's a stand alone novel, and not part of his Myron Bolitar series, which does belong on here. It's a terrific series.


message 21: by Meintantei (new)

Meintantei most people here don't even know what a great detective-series looks like. ^^
detective conan is obviously the best detective-series if you enjoy great shows:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-zix1...



however, if you accept low level entertaiment, then i guess these shows above are okay.


Susanna - Censored by GoodReads These are books, not TV shows.


message 23: by Ashley (new)

Ashley So no Tana French novels? I am slightly disappointed considering all her novels are of the same series....


Susanna - Censored by GoodReads You could add them; it's easy to add books to lists. Up at the top of the list, at the tab next to "all votes."


message 25: by Val (new)

Val Weaver good list some surprises but would try most!


message 26: by Caroline (new)

Caroline This is the best list ever! :D


message 27: by Becky (new)

Becky I consider the Stephanie Plum books more comedy than anything else. I don't put her in league with James Patterson that's for sure but she is an entertaining read!


message 28: by Virginia (new)

Virginia Hotchkiss Jan wrote: "I can't believe that Colin Dexter wasn't on the list!"

I agree!


message 29: by Virginia (new)

Virginia Hotchkiss Not a single book by Anne Perry? Disgraceful!
Start with The Carter Street Hangman.


message 30: by Jan C (new)

Jan C Virginia wrote: "Not a single book by Anne Perry? Disgraceful!
Start with The Carter Street Hangman."


Not to be too picky but that's The Cater Street Hangman


Susanna - Censored by GoodReads Virginia wrote: "Not a single book by Anne Perry? Disgraceful!
Start with The Carter Street Hangman."


You could add Anne Perry; it's easy to add books to lists. At the top of the list, at the tab next to "all votes."


message 32: by Chris (new)

Chris Charles Willeford, anyone?


message 33: by Gary (new)

Gary With this title, it seems to me that we should be picking a series, not individual books.


message 34: by Denise (new)

Denise Lee I'm struggling to follow the thought process of many of the voters here. The originator said she (he?) could not pick just an author, so had to pick a book to represent the series. Yet people keep adding more books within the same series, so we don't get any real sense of which series people really think belong on the list. Anyone know if Goodreads still requires that a specific book be selected in order to have a list?


Susanna - Censored by GoodReads Yes, GR requires that a specific book and not an author generally be selected.


lbkingboylegmail.com I love all Carlene Thompson books, my first was "The Way You Look Tonight", and I was hooked. This is not a series however. Another recent Morgan Hannah McDonald is fabulous, though the language can be a bit "descriptive, and harsh" in very few spots. But fekt that I needed to bring that to your attention. only on the bedroom scenes. The series are The Spiritual one, on paranormal, but it had an excellent story. She has another series also. Dying to Tell was the first one from another series, and a different author. She escapes me at this moment, but an excellent series. I just thought I would share a couple with the few if you, and for the one who asked what would I recommend first... Dying to tell.


message 37: by BookLovingLady (deceased Jan. 25, 2023...) (last edited Jan 14, 2019 02:46AM) (new)

BookLovingLady (deceased Jan. 25, 2023...) The title says "Best Detective/Mystery Series" . So I agree with Gary on this (although it is not possible to vote for/add a series as a whole, the book voted for/added should at least be part of a series).


message 38: by BookLovingLady (deceased Jan. 25, 2023...) (last edited Jul 16, 2020 04:12AM) (new)

BookLovingLady (deceased Jan. 25, 2023...) Gary wrote: "With this title, it seems to me that we should be picking a series, not individual books."

Again, some of the books on this list are definitely not part of a series, never mind whether or not they are great books. (Title of this Listopia is "Best Detective/Mystery Series ...)"


message 39: by Geoff (new)

Geoff Miller How are these lists compiled? If it's in order of their star ratings then why do you see booked rated 3.7 above those with 4 or over?


BookLovingLady (deceased Jan. 25, 2023...) @Geoff
As far as I know, the book with the most votes is top of the list.
And in the order in which own your votes are placed, you have some influence too.

But the most votes for a book takes priority.


message 41: by Geoff (new)

Geoff Miller Ah I see. Thank you Booklovinglady. I should have seen that myself really. So the actual ratings have no bearing. That does make it easier to reach the top the longer the book is in print!


Susanna - Censored by GoodReads Listopia ordering is not by star rating - it is by how many votes the book received, and how high on each voting list it was. (The first book on a list gets 100 points, the second 99...)


message 43: by Graham (new)

Graham Sharp Can someone explain why this list contains books like the James Bond stories and biographies by various ex-liverpool footballers/managers? Do they not know what the words "detective story" means? Are they actually illiterate?


Susanna - Censored by GoodReads Eh, nothing phases me at this point. All sorts of books end up on lists where they don't belong. Novels on non-fiction lists. Twilight everywhere.


message 45: by Alexa (new)

Alexa Louise I suspect you're not too enamoured with the Twilight series then Susanna. I am of the same mind myself. I do think there is now a glut of vampire stories of one kind or another, and indeed of what might be classed as fantasy stories. Perhaps this reflects the success of Twilight and Harry Potter. I don't know.


Susanna - Censored by GoodReads Eh, I could take or leave Twilight. I really was being literal: Twilight (and sequels) is likely to appear on almost any random list.


message 47: by Geoff (new)

Geoff Miller Just looking at the top books in this genre, its good to see the Agatha Christie and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle books up there, along with other classics by Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett - but then where are the Colin Dexter books? Languishing down in the 1700s most of them. Curious to say the least. I seem to remember Dexter won both the golden dagger and diamond dagger award. And yet, there are 2 Stephanie Plum books up there rated higher than The Maltese Falcon and even a Dan Brown novel is in at 66 and the only mystery there is who would vote for one of his worst books?
All very strange.


Susanna - Censored by GoodReads It all depends on the tastes of the voters. (For the record, I didn't vote for Mr. Dexter's novels, because I haven't read them yet.)


message 49: by Linda (new)

Linda Dreher Rescuing Reeve by Amy Waeschle was a great book about a sister looking for her step brother in a foreign country with mystery, surfing, romance and some heartbreak. Great read!


message 50: by Alexa (new)

Alexa Louise A Deadly Inheritance by Alan Hodge
this is the new book by Alan Hodge in the Jack Mitchell series. Having read the first 2, I am just aboutto read this one.
I shall review it when done.


« previous 1
back to top



Related News

Looking for a good mystery novel? Open to new ideas? Here's a fun one for those who appreciate Arabic numbers, the decimal numeral system, and...

Anyone can add books to this list.