1000 Novels Everybody Must Read - Crime
Some perverse choices here - and because it's novels, it's hardly the best Sherlock Holmes. Read, unfinished, hated. I make 45 of about 145/146.
Nelson Algren, The Man with the Golden Arm (1949)
Marcel Allain and Pierre Souvestre, Fantômas (1911)
Eric Ambler, Epitaph for a Spy (1938)
Eric Ambler, Journey into Fear (1940)
Eric Ambler, The Mask of Dimitrios (1939)
Paul Auster, The New York Trilogy (1985-86)
EC Bentley, Trent's Last Case (1913)
Anthony Berkeley, The Poisoned Chocolates Case (1929)
Nicholas Blake, The Beast Must Die (1938)
Mary E Braddon, Lady Audley's Secret (1862)
John Buchan, The Thirty-Nine Steps (1915)
John Buchan, Greenmantle (1916)
James Lee Burke, The Neon Rain (1987)
James Lee Burke, The Tin Roof Blowdown (2007)
WR Burnett, The Asphalt Jungle (1949)
James M Cain, The Postman Always Rings Twice (1934)
James M Cain, Double Indemnity (1943)
Peter Carey, True History of the Kelly Gang (2000)
John Dickson Carr, The Hollow Man (1935)
Raymond Chandler, The Big Sleep (1939)
Raymond Chandler, The Long Goodbye (1953)
James Hadley Chase, No Orchids for Miss Blandish (1939)
Erskine Childers, The Riddle of the Sands (1903)
Agathie Christie, And Then There Were None (1939)
Agathie Christie, The Murder at the Vicarage (1930)
Agathie Christie, The Murder of Roger Ackroyd (1926)
Agathie Christie, The Mysterious Affair at Styles (1920)
Agathie Christie, The Secret Adversary (1922)
Wilkie Collins, The Woman in White (1860)
Wilkie Collins, The Moonstone (1868)
Richard Condon, The Manchurian Candidate (1959)
Joseph Conrad, The Secret Agent (1907)
Joseph Conrad, Under Western Eyes (1911)
Patricia Cornwell, Postmortem (1990)
Michael Crichton, The Andromeda Strain (1969)
Michael Crichton, Jurassic Park (1990)
Amanda Cross, Poetic Justice (1970)
Len Deighton, The Ipcress File (1962)
Colin Dexter, Last Seen Wearing (1976)
Colin Dexter, The Remorseful Day (1999)
Michael Dibdin, A Rich Full Death (1986)
Michael Dibdin, Dead Lagoon (1994)
Michael Dibdin, Dirty Tricks (1991)
Michael Dibdin, Ratking (1988)
Fyodor Dostoevsky, Crime and Punishment (1866)
Arthur Conan Doyle, A Study in Scarlet (1887)
Arthur Conan Doyle, The Hound of the Baskervilles (1902)
Arthur Conan Doyle, The Sign of Four (1890)
Theodore Dreiser, An American Tragedy (1925)
Daphne du Maurier, My Cousin Rachel (1951)
Alexandre Dumas, The Count of Monte Cristo (1844-45)
Friedrich Durrenmatt, The Pledge (1958)
José Maria de Eça de Queiroz, The Crime of Father Amaro (1875)
Umberto Eco, The Name of the Rose (1980)
Bret Easton Ellis, American Psycho (1991)
RJ Ellory, A Quiet Belief in Angels (2007)
James Ellroy, LA Confidential (1990)
James Ellroy, The Big Nowhere (1988)
William Faulkner, Sanctuary (1931)
Ian Fleming, Casino Royale (1953)
Ian Fleming, Goldfinger (1959)
Ian Fleming, You Only Live Twice (1964)
Frederick Forsyth, The Day of the Jackal (1971)
Graham Greene, Brighton Rock (1938)
Graham Greene, A Gun For Sale (1936)
Graham Greene, The Ministry of Fear (1943)
Graham Greene, The Third Man (1950)
John Grisham, A Time to Kill (1989)
John Grisham, The King of Torts (2003)
Patrick Hamilton, Hangover Square (1941)
Dashiell Hammett, The Glass Key (1931)
Dashiell Hammett, The Maltese Falcon (1930)
Dashiell Hammett, The Thin Man (1934)
Dashiell Hammett, Red Harvest (1929)
Robert Harris, Fatherland (1992)
Thomas Harris, Black Sunday (1975)
Thomas Harris, Red Dragon (1981)
Carl Hiaasen, Tourist Season (1986)
George V Higgins, The Friends of Eddie Coyle (1972)
Patricia Highsmith, Strangers on a Train (1950)
Patricia Highsmith, The Talented Mr Ripley (1955)
Reginald Hill, Bones and Silence (1990)
Chester Himes, A Rage in Harlem (1957)
Peter Høeg, Miss Smilla's Feeling for Snow (1992)
Geoffrey Household, Rogue Male (1939)
Frances Iles, Malice Aforethought (1931)
Arnaldur Indridason, Silence of the Grave (2001)
Michael Innes, Death at the President's Lodging (1936)
PD James, Cover Her Face (1962)
PD James, A Taste for Death (1986)
Harry Kemelman, Friday the Rabbi Slept Late (1964)
Stephen King, Misery (1987)
Stephen King, Dolores Claiborne (1992)
Rudyard Kipling, Kim (1901)
John le Carré, The Constant Gardener (2001)
John le Carré, The Spy Who Came in From the Cold (1963)
John le Carré, Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (1974)
Harper Lee, To Kill A Mockingbird (1960)
Elmore Leonard, 52 Pick-Up (1974)
Elmore Leonard, Get Shorty (1990)
Jonathan Lethem, Motherless Brooklyn (1999)
Robert Ludlum, The Bourne Identity (1980)
Ed McBain, Cop Hater (1956)
Cormac McCarthy, No Country for Old Men (2005)
Ian McEwan, Enduring Love (1997)
Henning Mankell, Sidetracked (1995)
Walter Mosley, Devil in a Blue Dress (1990)
E Phillips Oppenhein, The Great Impersonation (1920)
E Phillips Oppenheim, The Strange Boarders of Palace Crescent (1934)
Orhan Pamuk, My Name Is Red (1998)
Sara Paretsky, Toxic Shock (1988)
Sara Paretsky, Blacklist (2003)
David Peace, Nineteen Seventy-Four (1999)
David Peace, Nineteen Seventy Seven (2000)
George Pelecanos, The Big Blowdown (1996)
George Pelecanos, Hard Revolution (2004)
Richard Price, Lush Life (2008)
Mario Puzo, The Godfather (1969)
Thomas Pynchon, V (1963)
Thomas Pynchon, The Crying of Lot 49 (1966)
Ian Rankin, Black & Blue (1997)
Ian Rankin, The Hanging Garden (1998)
Ian Rankin, Exit Music (2007)
Ruth Rendell, Judgment in Stone (1977)
Ruth Rendell, Live Flesh (1986)
CJ Sansom, Dissolution (2003)
Dorothy L Sayers, Whose Body? (1923)
Dorothy L Sayers, Murder Must Advertise (1933)
Georges Simenon, The Madman of Bergerac (1932)
Georges Simenon, The Blue Room (1965)
Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö, The Laughing Policeman (1968)
Martin Cruz Smith, Gorky Park (1981)
John Steinbeck, Of Mice and Men (1937)
Rex Stout, The League of Frightened Men (1935)
Patrick Süskind, Perfume (1985)
Donna Tartt, The Secret History (1992)
Josephine Tey, The Daughter of Time (1951)
Jim Thompson, The Getaway (1959)
Mark Twain, Pudd'nhead Wilson (1894)
Barbara Vine, A Dark-Adapted Eye (1986)
Barbara Vine, A Fatal Inversion (1987)
Barbara Vine, King Solomon's Carpet (1991)
Edgar Wallace, The Four Just Men (1905)
Sarah Waters, Fingersmith (2002)
Richard Wright, Native Son (1940)
Emile Zola, Therese Raquin (1867)
Nelson Algren, The Man with the Golden Arm (1949)
Marcel Allain and Pierre Souvestre, Fantômas (1911)
Eric Ambler, Epitaph for a Spy (1938)
Eric Ambler, Journey into Fear (1940)
Eric Ambler, The Mask of Dimitrios (1939)
Paul Auster, The New York Trilogy (1985-86)
EC Bentley, Trent's Last Case (1913)
Anthony Berkeley, The Poisoned Chocolates Case (1929)
Nicholas Blake, The Beast Must Die (1938)
Mary E Braddon, Lady Audley's Secret (1862)
John Buchan, The Thirty-Nine Steps (1915)
John Buchan, Greenmantle (1916)
James Lee Burke, The Neon Rain (1987)
James Lee Burke, The Tin Roof Blowdown (2007)
WR Burnett, The Asphalt Jungle (1949)
James M Cain, The Postman Always Rings Twice (1934)
James M Cain, Double Indemnity (1943)
Peter Carey, True History of the Kelly Gang (2000)
John Dickson Carr, The Hollow Man (1935)
Raymond Chandler, The Big Sleep (1939)
Raymond Chandler, The Long Goodbye (1953)
James Hadley Chase, No Orchids for Miss Blandish (1939)
Erskine Childers, The Riddle of the Sands (1903)
Agathie Christie, And Then There Were None (1939)
Agathie Christie, The Murder at the Vicarage (1930)
Agathie Christie, The Murder of Roger Ackroyd (1926)
Agathie Christie, The Mysterious Affair at Styles (1920)
Agathie Christie, The Secret Adversary (1922)
Wilkie Collins, The Woman in White (1860)
Wilkie Collins, The Moonstone (1868)
Richard Condon, The Manchurian Candidate (1959)
Joseph Conrad, The Secret Agent (1907)
Joseph Conrad, Under Western Eyes (1911)
Patricia Cornwell, Postmortem (1990)
Michael Crichton, The Andromeda Strain (1969)
Michael Crichton, Jurassic Park (1990)
Amanda Cross, Poetic Justice (1970)
Len Deighton, The Ipcress File (1962)
Colin Dexter, Last Seen Wearing (1976)
Colin Dexter, The Remorseful Day (1999)
Michael Dibdin, A Rich Full Death (1986)
Michael Dibdin, Dead Lagoon (1994)
Michael Dibdin, Dirty Tricks (1991)
Michael Dibdin, Ratking (1988)
Fyodor Dostoevsky, Crime and Punishment (1866)
Arthur Conan Doyle, A Study in Scarlet (1887)
Arthur Conan Doyle, The Hound of the Baskervilles (1902)
Arthur Conan Doyle, The Sign of Four (1890)
Theodore Dreiser, An American Tragedy (1925)
Daphne du Maurier, My Cousin Rachel (1951)
Alexandre Dumas, The Count of Monte Cristo (1844-45)
Friedrich Durrenmatt, The Pledge (1958)
José Maria de Eça de Queiroz, The Crime of Father Amaro (1875)
Umberto Eco, The Name of the Rose (1980)
Bret Easton Ellis, American Psycho (1991)
RJ Ellory, A Quiet Belief in Angels (2007)
James Ellroy, LA Confidential (1990)
James Ellroy, The Big Nowhere (1988)
William Faulkner, Sanctuary (1931)
Ian Fleming, Casino Royale (1953)
Ian Fleming, Goldfinger (1959)
Ian Fleming, You Only Live Twice (1964)
Frederick Forsyth, The Day of the Jackal (1971)
Graham Greene, Brighton Rock (1938)
Graham Greene, A Gun For Sale (1936)
Graham Greene, The Ministry of Fear (1943)
Graham Greene, The Third Man (1950)
John Grisham, A Time to Kill (1989)
John Grisham, The King of Torts (2003)
Patrick Hamilton, Hangover Square (1941)
Dashiell Hammett, The Glass Key (1931)
Dashiell Hammett, The Maltese Falcon (1930)
Dashiell Hammett, The Thin Man (1934)
Dashiell Hammett, Red Harvest (1929)
Robert Harris, Fatherland (1992)
Thomas Harris, Black Sunday (1975)
Thomas Harris, Red Dragon (1981)
Carl Hiaasen, Tourist Season (1986)
George V Higgins, The Friends of Eddie Coyle (1972)
Patricia Highsmith, Strangers on a Train (1950)
Patricia Highsmith, The Talented Mr Ripley (1955)
Reginald Hill, Bones and Silence (1990)
Chester Himes, A Rage in Harlem (1957)
Peter Høeg, Miss Smilla's Feeling for Snow (1992)
Geoffrey Household, Rogue Male (1939)
Frances Iles, Malice Aforethought (1931)
Arnaldur Indridason, Silence of the Grave (2001)
Michael Innes, Death at the President's Lodging (1936)
PD James, Cover Her Face (1962)
PD James, A Taste for Death (1986)
Harry Kemelman, Friday the Rabbi Slept Late (1964)
Stephen King, Misery (1987)
Stephen King, Dolores Claiborne (1992)
Rudyard Kipling, Kim (1901)
John le Carré, The Constant Gardener (2001)
John le Carré, The Spy Who Came in From the Cold (1963)
John le Carré, Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (1974)
Harper Lee, To Kill A Mockingbird (1960)
Elmore Leonard, 52 Pick-Up (1974)
Elmore Leonard, Get Shorty (1990)
Jonathan Lethem, Motherless Brooklyn (1999)
Robert Ludlum, The Bourne Identity (1980)
Ed McBain, Cop Hater (1956)
Cormac McCarthy, No Country for Old Men (2005)
Ian McEwan, Enduring Love (1997)
Henning Mankell, Sidetracked (1995)
Walter Mosley, Devil in a Blue Dress (1990)
E Phillips Oppenhein, The Great Impersonation (1920)
E Phillips Oppenheim, The Strange Boarders of Palace Crescent (1934)
Orhan Pamuk, My Name Is Red (1998)
Sara Paretsky, Toxic Shock (1988)
Sara Paretsky, Blacklist (2003)
David Peace, Nineteen Seventy-Four (1999)
David Peace, Nineteen Seventy Seven (2000)
George Pelecanos, The Big Blowdown (1996)
George Pelecanos, Hard Revolution (2004)
Richard Price, Lush Life (2008)
Mario Puzo, The Godfather (1969)
Thomas Pynchon, V (1963)
Thomas Pynchon, The Crying of Lot 49 (1966)
Ian Rankin, Black & Blue (1997)
Ian Rankin, The Hanging Garden (1998)
Ian Rankin, Exit Music (2007)
Ruth Rendell, Judgment in Stone (1977)
Ruth Rendell, Live Flesh (1986)
CJ Sansom, Dissolution (2003)
Dorothy L Sayers, Whose Body? (1923)
Dorothy L Sayers, Murder Must Advertise (1933)
Georges Simenon, The Madman of Bergerac (1932)
Georges Simenon, The Blue Room (1965)
Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö, The Laughing Policeman (1968)
Martin Cruz Smith, Gorky Park (1981)
John Steinbeck, Of Mice and Men (1937)
Rex Stout, The League of Frightened Men (1935)
Patrick Süskind, Perfume (1985)
Donna Tartt, The Secret History (1992)
Josephine Tey, The Daughter of Time (1951)
Jim Thompson, The Getaway (1959)
Mark Twain, Pudd'nhead Wilson (1894)
Barbara Vine, A Dark-Adapted Eye (1986)
Barbara Vine, A Fatal Inversion (1987)
Barbara Vine, King Solomon's Carpet (1991)
Edgar Wallace, The Four Just Men (1905)
Sarah Waters, Fingersmith (2002)
Richard Wright, Native Son (1940)
Emile Zola, Therese Raquin (1867)