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Best Mystery Novels of All Time
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Best Mystery Novels of All Time

Whodunits, detectives and dark secrets — the greatest mystery and crime fiction ever written.

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01
The Secret History – Donna Tartt

The Secret History – Donna Tartt

A reverse mystery — we know who died and why, but the how is utterly compelling.

▲ Steady·Score +17
02
Crooked House – Agatha Christie

Crooked House – Agatha Christie

Christie's own personal favourite — a dysfunctional family and a poisoning case.

▲ Steady·Score +15
03
A

A is for Alibi – Sue Grafton

The beginning of a legendary alphabet series starring private detective Kinsey Millhone.

▲ Steady·Score +14
04
I

In the Woods – Tana French

Dublin Murder Squad's debut — layered, literary and deeply unsettling Irish crime fiction.

▲ Steady·Score +12
05
Murder on the Orient Express – Christie

Murder on the Orient Express – Christie

Hercule Poirot trapped on a snowbound train with a murderer — the perfect locked-room mystery.

▲ Steady·Score +10
06
The Name of the Rose – Umberto Eco

The Name of the Rose – Umberto Eco

A medieval monk investigates murders in an Italian monastery — labyrinthine and brilliant.

▲ Steady·Score +10
07
Presumed Innocent – Scott Turow

Presumed Innocent – Scott Turow

The legal thriller that launched a genre — a prosecutor charged with a colleague's murder.

▲ Steady·Score +9
08
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo – Larsson

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo – Larsson

Lisbeth Salander is one of literature's most compelling sleuths — gripping Swedish noir.

▲ Steady·Score +9
09
Big Little Lies – Liane Moriarty

Big Little Lies – Liane Moriarty

Australian suburban secrets building toward a murder — darkly funny and razor-sharp.

▲ Steady·Score +7
10
The Thursday Murder Club – Richard Osman

The Thursday Murder Club – Richard Osman

Four retirees solving cold cases — charming, witty and genuinely twisty.

▲ Steady·Score +7
11
The Hound of the Baskervilles – Conan Doyle

The Hound of the Baskervilles – Conan Doyle

Sherlock Holmes at his most atmospheric — the definitive Victorian mystery novel.

▲ Steady·Score +6
12
And Then There Were None – Agatha Christie

And Then There Were None – Agatha Christie

The world's best-selling mystery novel — ten strangers on an island, each dying one by one.

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“The Secret History – Donna Tartt”

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