The best crime novels of all time
The top 3 according to 14 votes from people: Farewell, My Lovely · The Silence of the Lambs · The Daughter of Time. (Updated Jun 21, 2023.)
The crime novels that appear on every list, starting with the Crime Writers' Association's top 100.
Automatically translated (original in Français). See the original
Top 18
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1
Farewell, My Lovely
Raymond Chandler, 1940. Marlowe again.
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2
The Silence of the Lambs
Thomas Harris, 1988. Clarice and Hannibal.
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3
The Daughter of Time
Josephine Tey, 1951. A bedridden inspector investigates Richard III; number one for the CWA.
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4
The Big Sleep
Raymond Chandler, 1939. Philip Marlowe's first case.
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5
The Spy Who Came in from the Cold
John le Carré, 1963. Espionage without glamour.
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6
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd
Agatha Christie, 1926. The most famous twist in the genre.
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7
Murder on the Orient Express
Agatha Christie, 1934. Hercule Poirot on a snowbound train.
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8
The Maltese Falcon
Dashiell Hammett, 1930. Sam Spade and the statuette.
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9
The Mystery of the Yellow Room
Gaston Leroux, 1907. The locked-room crime and Rouletabille.
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10
Pietr the Latvian
Georges Simenon, 1931. Maigret's first case.
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11
Arsène Lupin, Gentleman Burglar
Maurice Leblanc, 1907. The most elegant thief.
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12
The Moonstone
Wilkie Collins, 1868. One of the first detective novels.
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13
The Hound of the Baskervilles
Arthur Conan Doyle, 1902. Sherlock Holmes on the moor.
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14
In Cold Blood
Truman Capote, 1966. The novel of a real crime in Kansas.
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15
The Talented Mr Ripley
Patricia Highsmith, 1955. The likeable impostor.
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16
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Stieg Larsson, 2005. Lisbeth Salander.
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17
The Name of the Rose
Umberto Eco, 1980. An investigation in a medieval abbey.
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18
And Then There Were None
Agatha Christie, 1939. Ten strangers on an island: the best-selling crime novel.
How is this ranking ordered? By people's votes: each ▲ adds a point and each ▼ takes one away. Anyone can vote and add what is missing.
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