Looking for Mystery novels and short story collections and anthologies with more than 50,000 ratings. mjf

Books with less than 50,000 ratings will be removed from this list.

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:
Agatha Mystery Award Nominees and Winners
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

Related Lists By Topic:
All, Anthropology, Astronomy, Biography, Biology, Botany, Climate, Children, Classics, Computer Science, Economics, Epic Fantasy, Fantasy, Genetics, Geography, Graphic Novels, History, Horror, Judaism, Language, Manga, Military Science Fiction, Music, Mysteries, Non-Fiction, Philosophy, Picture Books, Poetry, Politics, Productivity, Psychology, Romance, Science Fiction, Short Stories, Space Opera, Steampunk, Travel, Young Adult
1

by
4.08 avg rating — 67,403 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
2

by
3.97 avg rating — 65,672 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
3

by
4.08 avg rating — 80,519 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
4

by
4.12 avg rating — 54,220 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
5

by
4.24 avg rating — 93,170 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
6

by
4.48 avg rating — 82,301 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
7

by
4.04 avg rating — 88,938 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
8

by
3.97 avg rating — 85,621 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
9

by
4.11 avg rating — 95,899 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
10

by
4.04 avg rating — 70,494 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
11

by
4.20 avg rating — 96,509 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
12

by
4.07 avg rating — 99,741 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
13

by
3.94 avg rating — 72,485 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
14

by
3.99 avg rating — 59,516 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
15

by
really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 80,144 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
16

by
4.02 avg rating — 68,695 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
17

by
3.90 avg rating — 85,554 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
18

by
4.10 avg rating — 73,456 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
19

by
3.98 avg rating — 86,501 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
20

by
3.99 avg rating — 88,568 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
21

by
4.03 avg rating — 96,255 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
22

by
3.86 avg rating — 68,424 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
23

by
4.15 avg rating — 64,635 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
23

by
3.97 avg rating — 91,019 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
25

by
4.02 avg rating — 86,027 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
26

by
4.07 avg rating — 82,517 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
27

by
3.97 avg rating — 78,674 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
28

by
4.08 avg rating — 95,161 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
29

by
4.05 avg rating — 69,066 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
30

by
3.91 avg rating — 75,794 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
31

by
4.23 avg rating — 99,026 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
32

by
4.10 avg rating — 85,206 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
33

by
3.92 avg rating — 67,919 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
34

by
3.88 avg rating — 77,057 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
35

by
4.14 avg rating — 74,120 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
36

by
3.95 avg rating — 64,373 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
37

by
3.76 avg rating — 80,144 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
38

by
3.99 avg rating — 79,156 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
39

by
4.11 avg rating — 91,155 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
40

by
3.96 avg rating — 75,080 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
41

by
3.76 avg rating — 92,661 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
41

by
4.04 avg rating — 88,848 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
43

by
3.87 avg rating — 71,296 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
44

by
4.01 avg rating — 88,756 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
45

by
3.89 avg rating — 72,777 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
46

by
4.27 avg rating — 71,955 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
47

by
3.79 avg rating — 63,379 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
48

by
4.07 avg rating — 78,915 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
49

by
3.85 avg rating — 96,121 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
50

by
4.32 avg rating — 75,605 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
51

by
4.06 avg rating — 65,019 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
51

by
4.32 avg rating — 92,037 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
53

by
3.73 avg rating — 85,414 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
54

by
4.20 avg rating — 93,148 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
55

by
3.56 avg rating — 77,214 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
56

by
3.77 avg rating — 60,587 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
57

by
3.68 avg rating — 73,425 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
58

by
4.06 avg rating — 85,543 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
59

by
4.07 avg rating — 57,342 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
60

by
3.88 avg rating — 86,689 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
61

by
3.96 avg rating — 76,452 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
61

by
4.03 avg rating — 97,205 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
63

by
4.06 avg rating — 77,814 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
64

by
4.20 avg rating — 70,330 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
65

by
4.24 avg rating — 81,685 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
66

by
3.28 avg rating — 73,049 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
66

by
3.85 avg rating — 60,124 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
68

by
4.43 avg rating — 86,089 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
68

by
4.07 avg rating — 60,304 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
68

by
3.96 avg rating — 58,791 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
71

by
4.07 avg rating — 65,249 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
72

by
4.12 avg rating — 73,848 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
72

by
4.07 avg rating — 82,553 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
74

by
4.01 avg rating — 72,043 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
75

by
4.44 avg rating — 81,787 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
76

by
4.16 avg rating — 62,939 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
77

by
3.87 avg rating — 66,722 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
77

by
3.82 avg rating — 69,504 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
79

by
4.33 avg rating — 83,598 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
79

by
3.86 avg rating — 54,658 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
81

by
4.27 avg rating — 73,895 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
82

by
4.01 avg rating — 84,640 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
83

by
4.06 avg rating — 62,842 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
84

by
3.84 avg rating — 73,033 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
84

by
4.25 avg rating — 77,246 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
84

by
4.18 avg rating — 81,518 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
84

by
4.46 avg rating — 74,803 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
88

by
3.94 avg rating — 55,250 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
89

by
3.73 avg rating — 59,252 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
90

by
4.02 avg rating — 72,419 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
91

by
4.07 avg rating — 77,989 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
92

by
4.06 avg rating — 61,937 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
92

by
4.01 avg rating — 96,413 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
92

by
4.21 avg rating — 76,524 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
92

by
4.13 avg rating — 71,331 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
96

by
4.22 avg rating — 78,932 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
96

by
3.96 avg rating — 89,959 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
98

by
4.05 avg rating — 54,416 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
99

by
3.89 avg rating — 85,815 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
99

by
4.25 avg rating — 96,701 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
333 books · 140 voters · list created October 7th, 2014 by Mitchell Friedman (votes) .
144 likes · 
Lists are re-scored approximately every 5 minutes.


Mitchell 11161 books
172 friends
Dennis 823 books
0 friends
Anna 119 books
4 friends
Viktoriia 9599 books
31 friends
Mickey 24774 books
74 friends
Judith 5528 books
19 friends
Frank 3371 books
59 friends
Beth 2234 books
23 friends

More voters…


Comments Showing 1-24 of 24 (24 new)

dateUp arrow    newest »

BookLovingLady (deceased Jan. 25, 2023...) @ Mitchell
Aren't 'Crime Mystery' and 'Mystery' often the same? If not, where do you draw the line?


message 2: by Mitchell (new)

Mitchell Friedman Booklovinglady wrote: "@ Mitchell
Aren't 'Crime Mystery' and 'Mystery' often the same? If not, where do you draw the line?"


I definitely don't have any deep knowledge on Mystery. For this list I'm happy enough if the book has mystery of some sort as it's biggest tag. Or shows up on the first two pages of one of the other mystery lists. Or has some minimum number of Mystery tag that is still unspecified.

At 183 books, this list is still pretty knowable and watchable. There are probably some books on this list that most of us would agree aren't Mystery. But an exception adds somewhat.


message 3: by Greg (new)

Greg Mitchell wrote: "Booklovinglady wrote: "@ Mitchell
Aren't 'Crime Mystery' and 'Mystery' often the same? If not, where do you draw the line?"

I definitely don't have any deep knowledge on Mystery. For this list I'm..."


Mitchell, I LOVE murder-mysteries (rather cozy murder mysteries with little violence). But about the definition of 'mystery': isn't every non-fiction book a mystery? Because really, we read to find out what happens, who did it (crime or not), who did who,who will fall in love with who, will X finally have the pursue a dream, etc. So, I think 'crime mysteries' works very well, as many novels don't have a crime, but still we read them to solve some kind of mystery.


Charlotte Igelkott Removed for not having enough shelvings as "mystery":
Bring Up the Bodies
Micro

Removed for having too few ratings:
The Third Twin
This one qualifies for the 25000-49999 list, if anyone wants to add it there.


message 5: by Mbuye (new)

Mbuye BookLovingLady (deceased Jan. 25, 2023...) wrote: "@ Mitchell
Aren't 'Crime Mystery' and 'Mystery' often the same? If not, where do you draw the line?"


This is a wild guess: I think in the eighteenth century, a lot of what are called Gothic novels had the word 'Mystery' in the title. In the nineteenth century, Dickens set this in stone when he named his last novel 'The Mystery of Edwin Drood'. And there was a lot of actual crime in these so-called mysteries.

So yes, there is a very thin line between the two.

And today, there is plenty of crime, and not much mystery, so the confusion!


message 6: by Mitchell (new)

Mitchell Friedman Just a heads up - on Sat Dec 16th, this list will be split up and a new list will be created. This list will become just for mysteries from 50,000 to 99,999 ratings.

And a new list will be created for mysteries from 100,000 ratings and more. The primary list maintainers will add books to the new list and remove them from the old. But feel free to help out by voting for as many books on the new list as fit the criteria (but at least your most favorite books that meet the criteria).

When the new list is created I will post a link.


message 7: by Mitchell (last edited Dec 15, 2023 10:43PM) (new)

Mitchell Friedman A new list has been created for Mysteries with 100,000 or more ratings.

Most Popular Mysteries on Goodreads

We will be deleting books from this list in bulk that are now on the new list. Please vote for those books there.

And that process is done. There are few books now on this list with over 100,000 ratings but not enough tags as mystery - but we are still checking those


back to top



Related News

This just in from our Very Random bureau: a carefully selected collection of books that have…well, they have numbers in their titles.   As...

Anyone can add books to this list.