The Top 100 Crime Novels of All Time is a list published in 1990 by the Crime Writers' Association (CWA).
Five years later, the Mystery Writers of America (MWA) published a similar list named The Top 100 Mystery Novels of All Time. Many titles can be found in both lists.[1]
No. | Title | Author | Country | Year |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | The Daughter of Time | Josephine Tey | Scotland | 1951 |
2 | The Big Sleep | Raymond Chandler | USA | 1939 |
3 | The Spy Who Came In From the Cold | John le Carré | England | 1963 |
4 | Gaudy Night | Dorothy L. Sayers | England | 1935 |
5 | The Murder of Roger Ackroyd | Agatha Christie | England | 1926 |
6 | Rebecca | Daphne du Maurier | England | 1938 |
7 | Farewell My Lovely | Raymond Chandler | USA | 1940 |
8 | The Moonstone | Wilkie Collins | England | 1868 |
9 | The IPCRESS File | Len Deighton | England | 1962 |
10 | The Maltese Falcon | Dashiell Hammett | USA | 1930 |
11 | The Franchise Affair | Josephine Tey | Scotland | 1948 |
12 | Last Seen Wearing ... | Hillary Waugh | USA | 1952 |
13 | The Name of the Rose | Umberto Eco | Italy | 1980 |
14 | Rogue Male | Geoffrey Household | England | 1939 |
15 | The Long Goodbye | Raymond Chandler | USA | 1953 |
16 | Malice Aforethought | Francis Iles | England | 1931 |
17 | The Day of the Jackal | Frederick Forsyth | England | 1971 |
18 | The Nine Tailors | Dorothy L. Sayers | England | 1934 |
19 | Ten Little Niggers (UK) Ten Little Indians (USA) And Then There Were None |
Agatha Christie | England | 1939 |
20 | The Thirty-Nine Steps | John Buchan | Scotland | 1915 |
21 | The Collected Sherlock Holmes Short Stories (stories) | Arthur Conan Doyle | Scotland | 1892–1927 |
22 | Murder Must Advertise | Dorothy L. Sayers | England | 1933 |
23 | Tales of Mystery & Imagination (stories) | Edgar Allan Poe | USA | 1852 |
24 | The Mask of Dimitrios A Coffin for Dimitrios |
Eric Ambler | England | 1939 |
25 | The Moving Toyshop | Edmund Crispin | England | 1946 |
26 | The Tiger in the Smoke | Margery Allingham | England | 1952 |
27 | The False Inspector Dew | Peter Lovesey | England | 1982 |
28 | The Woman in White | Wilkie Collins | England | 1860 |
29 | A Dark-Adapted Eye | Barbara Vine | England | 1986 |
30 | The Postman Always Rings Twice | James M. Cain | USA | 1934 |
31 | The Glass Key | Dashiell Hammett | USA | 1931 |
32 | The Hound of the Baskervilles | Arthur Conan Doyle | Scotland | 1901–1902 |
33 | Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy | John le Carré | England | 1974 |
34 | Trent's Last Case | E. C. Bentley | England | 1913 |
35 | From Russia, with Love | Ian Fleming | England | 1957 |
36 | Cop Hater | Ed McBain | USA | 1956 |
37 | The Dead of Jericho | Colin Dexter | England | 1981 |
38 | Strangers on a Train | Patricia Highsmith | USA | 1950 |
39 | A Judgement in Stone | Ruth Rendell | England | 1977 |
40 | The Hollow Man (UK) The Three Coffins (USA) |
John Dickson Carr | USA | 1935 |
41 | The Poisoned Chocolates Case | Anthony Berkeley | England | 1929 |
42 | A Morbid Taste for Bones | Ellis Peters | England | 1977 |
43 | The Leper of Saint Giles | Ellis Peters | England | 1981 |
44 | A Kiss Before Dying | Ira Levin | USA | 1953 |
45 | The Talented Mr. Ripley | Patricia Highsmith | USA | 1955 |
46 | Brighton Rock | Graham Greene | England | 1938 |
47 | The Lady in the Lake | Raymond Chandler | USA | 1943 |
48 | Presumed Innocent | Scott Turow | USA | 1987 |
49 | A Demon in My View | Ruth Rendell | England | 1976 |
50 | The Devil in Velvet | John Dickson Carr | USA | 1951 |
51 | A Fatal Inversion | Barbara Vine | England | 1987 |
52 | The Journeying Boy (UK) The Case of the Journeying Boy (USA) |
Michael Innes | Scotland | 1949 |
53 | A Taste for Death | P. D. James | England | 1986 |
54 | The Eagle Has Landed | Jack Higgins | England Northern Ireland |
1975 |
55 | My Brother Michael | Mary Stewart | England | 1960 |
56 | Bertie and the Tin Man | Peter Lovesey | England | 1987 |
57 | Penny Black | Susan Moody | England | 1984 |
58 | Game, Set & Match (Berlin Game, Mexico Set, London Match) |
Len Deighton | England | 1984–1986 |
59 | The Danger | Dick Francis | Wales England |
1983 |
60 | Devices and Desires | P. D. James | England | 1989 |
61 | Under World (UK) Underworld (USA) |
Reginald Hill | England | 1988 |
62 | Nine Coaches Waiting | Mary Stewart | England | 1958 |
63 | A Running Duck | Paula Gosling | USA UK |
1978 |
64 | Smallbone Deceased | Michael Gilbert | England | 1950 |
65 | The Rose of Tibet | Lionel Davidson | England | 1962 |
66 | Innocent Blood | P. D. James | England | 1980 |
67 | Strong Poison | Dorothy L. Sayers | England | 1930 |
68 | Hamlet, Revenge! | Michael Innes | Scotland | 1937 |
69 | A Thief of Time | Tony Hillerman | USA | 1989 |
70 | A Bullet in the Ballet | Caryl Brahms & S. J. Simon |
England & England |
1937 |
71 | Deadheads | Reginald Hill | England | 1983 |
72 | The Third Man | Graham Greene | England | 1950 |
73 | The Labyrinth Makers | Anthony Price | England | 1974 |
74 | The Berlin Memorandum (UK) The Quiller Memorandum (USA) |
Adam Hall | England | 1965 |
75 | Beast in View | Margaret Millar | Canada USA |
1955 |
76 | The Shortest Way to Hades | Sarah Caudwell | England | 1984 |
77 | Running Blind | Desmond Bagley | England | 1970 |
78 | Twice Shy | Dick Francis | Wales England |
1981 |
79 | The Manchurian Candidate | Richard Condon | USA | 1959 |
80 | Killings at Badger's Drift (UK) The Killings at Badger's Drift (USA) |
Caroline Graham | England | 1987 |
81 | The Beast Must Die | Nicholas Blake | Ireland (UK) UK |
1963 |
82 | Gorky Park | Martin Cruz Smith | USA | 1981 |
83 | Death Comes as the End | Agatha Christie | England | 1945 |
84 | Green for Danger | Christianna Brand | Malaysia England |
1945 |
85 | Tragedy at Law | Cyril Hare | England | 1942 |
86 | The Collector | John Fowles | England | 1963 |
87 | Gideon's Day (UK) Gideon of Scotland Yard (USA) |
J. J. Marric | England | 1955 |
88 | The Sun Chemist | Lionel Davidson | England | 1976 |
89 | The Guns of Navarone | Alistair MacLean | Scotland | 1957 |
90 | The Colour of Murder | Julian Symons | England | 1957 |
91 | Greenmantle | John Buchan | Scotland | 1916 |
92 | The Riddle of the Sands | Erskine Childers | England Ireland (UK) |
1903 |
93 | Wobble to Death | Peter Lovesey | England | 1970 |
94 | Red Harvest | Dashiell Hammett | USA | 1929 |
95 | The Key to Rebecca | Ken Follett | Wales | 1980 |
96 | Sadie When She Died | Ed McBain | USA | 1972 |
97 | The Murder of the Maharajah | H. R. F. Keating | England | 1980 |
98 | What Bloody Man Is That? | Simon Brett | England | 1987 |
99 | Shooting Script | Gavin Lyall | England | 1966 |
100 | The Four Just Men | Edgar Wallace | England | 1906 |
No. | Title | Author | Country | Year | CWA | Rank |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | The Complete Sherlock Holmes (stories and 4 novels) | Arthur Conan Doyle | Scotland | 1887–1927 | ![]() ![]() |
21, 32 |
2 | The Maltese Falcon | Dashiell Hammett | USA | 1930 | ![]() |
10 |
3 | Tales of Mystery & Imagination (stories) | Edgar Allan Poe | USA | 1852 | ![]() |
23 |
4 | The Daughter of Time | Josephine Tey | Scotland | 1951 | ![]() |
1 |
5 | Presumed Innocent | Scott Turow | USA | 1987 | ![]() |
48 |
6 | The Spy Who Came In From the Cold | John le Carré | England | 1963 | ![]() |
3 |
7 | The Moonstone | Wilkie Collins | England | 1868 | ![]() |
8 |
8 | The Big Sleep | Raymond Chandler | USA | 1939 | ![]() |
2 |
9 | Rebecca | Daphne du Maurier | England | 1938 | ![]() |
6 |
10 | Ten Little Niggers (UK) Ten Little Indians (USA) And Then There Were None |
Agatha Christie | England | 1939 | ![]() |
19 |
11 | Anatomy of a Murder | Robert Traver | USA | 1958 | ![]() |
|
12 | The Murder of Roger Ackroyd | Agatha Christie | England | 1926 | ![]() |
5 |
13 | The Long Goodbye | Raymond Chandler | USA | 1953 | ![]() |
15 |
14 | The Postman Always Rings Twice | James M. Cain | USA | 1934 | ![]() |
30 |
15 | The Godfather (film) | Mario Puzo | USA | 1969 | ![]() |
|
16 | The Silence of the Lambs (film) | Thomas Harris | USA | 1988 | ![]() |
|
17 | The Mask of Dimitrios A Coffin for Dimitrios |
Eric Ambler | England | 1939 | ![]() |
24 |
18 | Gaudy Night | Dorothy L. Sayers | England | 1935 | ![]() |
4 |
19 | Witness for the Prosecution (play) | Agatha Christie | England | 1948 | ![]() |
|
20 | The Day of the Jackal | Frederick Forsyth | England | 1971 | ![]() |
17 |
21 | Farewell My Lovely | Raymond Chandler | USA | 1940 | ![]() |
7 |
22 | The Thirty-Nine Steps | John Buchan | Scotland | 1915 | ![]() |
20 |
23 | Il nome della rosa (The Name of the Rose) |
Umberto Eco | Italy | 1980 | ![]() |
13 |
24 | «Преступление и наказание» (Crime and Punishment) |
Fyodor Dostoyevsky | Russia | 1866 | ![]() |
|
25 | Storm Island (UK) Eye of the Needle |
Ken Follett | Wales | 1978 | ![]() |
|
26 | Rumpole of the Bailey | John Mortimer | England | 1978 | ![]() |
|
27 | Red Dragon | Thomas Harris | USA | 1981 | ![]() |
|
28 | The Nine Tailors | Dorothy L. Sayers | England | 1934 | ![]() |
18 |
29 | Fletch | Gregory Mcdonald | USA | 1974 | ![]() |
|
30 | Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy | John le Carré | England | 1974 | ![]() |
33 |
31 | The Thin Man | Dashiell Hammett | USA | 1934 | ![]() |
|
32 | The Woman in White | Wilkie Collins | England | 1860 | ![]() |
28 |
33 | Trent's Last Case | E. C. Bentley | England | 1913 | ![]() |
34 |
34 | Double Indemnity | James M. Cain | USA | 1943 | ![]() |
|
35 | Gorky Park | Martin Cruz Smith | USA | 1981 | ![]() |
82 |
36 | Strong Poison | Dorothy L. Sayers | England | 1930 | ![]() |
67 |
37 | Dance Hall of the Dead | Tony Hillerman | USA | 1973 | ![]() |
|
38 | The Hot Rock | Donald E. Westlake | USA | 1970 | ![]() |
|
39 | Red Harvest | Dashiell Hammett | USA | 1929 | ![]() |
94 |
40 | The Circular Staircase | Mary Roberts Rinehart | USA | 1908 | ![]() |
|
41 | Murder on the Orient Express | Agatha Christie | England | 1934 | ![]() |
|
42 | The Firm | John Grisham | USA | 1991 | ![]() |
|
43 | The IPCRESS File | Len Deighton | England | 1962 | ![]() |
9 |
44 | Laura | Vera Caspary | USA | 1942 | ![]() |
|
45 | I, the Jury | Mickey Spillane | USA | 1947 | ![]() |
|
46 | Den skrattande polisen (The Laughing Policeman) |
Maj Sjöwall & Per Wahlöö |
Sweden | 1968 | ![]() |
|
47 | Bank Shot | Donald E. Westlake | USA | 1972 | ![]() |
|
48 | The Third Man | Graham Greene | England | 1950 | ![]() |
72 |
49 | The Killer Inside Me (film) | Jim Thompson | USA | 1952 | ![]() |
|
50 | Where Are the Children? | Mary Higgins Clark | USA | 1975 | ![]() |
|
51 | "A" is for Alibi | Sue Grafton | USA | 1982 | ![]() |
|
52 | The First Deadly Sin | Lawrence Sanders | USA | 1973 | ![]() |
|
53 | A Thief of Time | Tony Hillerman | USA | 1989 | ![]() |
69 |
54 | In Cold Blood | Truman Capote | USA | 1966 | ![]() |
|
55 | Rogue Male | Geoffrey Household | England | 1939 | ![]() |
14 |
56 | Murder Must Advertise | Dorothy L. Sayers | England | 1933 | ![]() |
22 |
57 | The Innocence of Father Brown (stories) | G. K. Chesterton | England | 1911 | ![]() |
|
58 | Smiley's People | John le Carré | England | 1979 | ![]() |
|
59 | The Lady in the Lake | Raymond Chandler | USA | 1943 | ![]() |
47 |
60 | To Kill a Mockingbird | Harper Lee | USA | 1960 | ![]() |
|
61 | Our Man in Havana | Graham Greene | England | 1958 | ![]() |
|
62 | The Mystery of Edwin Drood | Charles Dickens | England | 1870 | ![]() |
|
63 | Wobble to Death | Peter Lovesey | England | 1970 | ![]() |
93 |
64 | Ashenden (stories) | W. Somerset Maugham | England | 1928 | ![]() |
|
65 | The Seven Per-Cent Solution | Nicholas Meyer | USA | 1974 | ![]() |
|
66 | The Doorbell Rang | Rex Stout | USA | 1965 | ![]() |
|
67 | Stick | Elmore Leonard | USA | 1983 | ![]() |
|
68 | The Little Drummer Girl | John le Carré | England | 1983 | ![]() |
|
69 | Brighton Rock | Graham Greene | England | 1938 | ![]() |
46 |
70 | Dracula | Bram Stoker | Ireland (UK) | 1897 | ![]() |
|
71 | The Talented Mr. Ripley | Patricia Highsmith | USA | 1955 | ![]() |
45 |
72 | The Moving Toyshop | Edmund Crispin | England | 1946 | ![]() |
25 |
73 | A Time to Kill | John Grisham | USA | 1989 | ![]() |
|
74 | Last Seen Wearing ... | Hillary Waugh | USA | 1952 | ![]() |
12 |
75 | Little Caesar | W. R. Burnett | USA | 1929 | ![]() |
|
76 | The Friends of Eddie Coyle | George V. Higgins | USA | 1972 | ![]() |
|
77 | Clouds of Witness | Dorothy L. Sayers | England | 1927 | ![]() |
|
78 | From Russia, with Love | Ian Fleming | England | 1957 | ![]() |
35 |
79 | Beast in View | Margaret Millar | Canada USA |
1955 | ![]() |
75 |
80 | Smallbone Deceased | Michael Gilbert | England | 1950 | ![]() |
64 |
81 | The Franchise Affair | Josephine Tey | Scotland | 1948 | ![]() |
11 |
82 | Crocodile on the Sandbank | Elizabeth Peters | USA | 1975 | ![]() |
|
83 | Shroud for a Nightingale | P. D. James | England | 1971 | ![]() |
|
84 | The Hunt for Red October | Tom Clancy | USA | 1984 | ![]() |
|
85 | Chinaman's Chance | Ross Thomas | USA | 1978 | ![]() |
|
86 | The Secret Agent | Joseph Conrad | Ukraine (Russian Empire) UK |
1907 | ![]() |
|
87 | The Dreadful Lemon Sky | John D. MacDonald | USA | 1975 | ![]() |
|
88 | The Glass Key | Dashiell Hammett | USA | 1931 | ![]() |
31 |
89 | A Judgement in Stone | Ruth Rendell | England | 1977 | ![]() |
39 |
90 | Brat Farrar Come and Kill Me |
Josephine Tey | Scotland | 1950 | ![]() |
|
91 | The Chill | Ross Macdonald | USA Canada |
1963 | ![]() |
|
92 | Devil in a Blue Dress | Walter Mosley | USA | 1990 | ![]() |
|
93 | The Choirboys | Joseph Wambaugh | USA | 1975 | ![]() |
|
94 | God Save the Mark | Donald E. Westlake | USA | 1967 | ![]() |
|
95 | Home Sweet Homicide | Craig Rice | USA | 1944 | ![]() |
|
96 | The Hollow Man (UK) The Three Coffins (USA) |
John Dickson Carr | USA | 1935 | ![]() |
40 |
97 | Prizzi's Honour (UK) Prizzi's Honor (USA) |
Richard Condon | USA | 1982 | ![]() |
|
98 | The Steam Pig | James McClure | South Africa UK |
1974 | ![]() |
|
99 | Time and Again | Jack Finney | USA | 1970 | ![]() |
|
100 | A Morbid Taste for Bones | Ellis Peters | England | 1977 | ![]() |
42 |
Rosemary's Baby | Ira Levin | USA | 1967 | ![]() |