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The 48 Best Detective Books of All Time

"Detective novels are such a great genre of books, filled with with quirky private investigators, dark back alleys, sultry heiresses, and shocking villains.
I fell in love with Agatha Christie novels early on when I was young for reasons I don't entirely understand, but I've loved detective novels ever since. Most of the authors on this list have written multiple detective novels, but I tried to limit most of them to one or two entries, usually the first book in a series unless there's a particularly good or well-known book in the series. The only exception is Agatha Christia, who gets three because I love her!
Anyway, there's the list of the Best Detective Books of All Time! Happy detecting slash reading!" - The Bibliofile
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The Big Sleep (Raymond Chandler)
The Big Sleep
1
Raymond Chandler
The Maltese Falcon (Dashiell Hammett)
The Maltese Falcon
2
Dashiell Hammett
Murder on the Orient Express (Agatha Christie)
Murder on the Orient Express
3
Agatha Christie
And Then There Were None (Agatha Christie)
And Then There Were None
4
Agatha Christie
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd (Agatha Christie)
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd
5
Agatha Christie
The Complete Sherlock Holmes (Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
The Complete Sherlock Holmes
6
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
The Murders in the Rue Morgue (Edgar Allan Poe)
The Murders in the Rue Morgue
7
Edgar Allan Poe
The Snowman (Jo Nesbø)
The Snowman
8
Jo Nesbø
Killing Floor #1 (Lee Child)
Killing Floor #1
9
Lee Child
Case Histories (Kate Atkinson)
Case Histories
10
Kate Atkinson
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (Stieg Larsson)
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
11
Stieg Larsson
The Silence of the Lambs (Thomas Harris)
The Silence of the Lambs
12
Thomas Harris
The Bone Collector (Jeffrey Deaver)
The Bone Collector
13
Jeffrey Deaver
The Eyre Affair (Jasper Fforde)
The Eyre Affair
14
Jasper Fforde
Shutter Island (Dennis Lehane)
Shutter Island
15
Dennis Lehane
Finders Keepers (Stephen King)
Finders Keepers
16
Stephen King
The Dry (Jane Harper)
The Dry
17
Jane Harper
The New York Trilogy (Paul Auster)
The New York Trilogy
18
Paul Auster
Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency (Douglas Adams)
Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency
19
Douglas Adams
The Name of the Rose (Umberto Eco)
The Name of the Rose
20
Umberto Eco
In the Woods (Tana French)
In the Woods
21
Tana French
Gone Girl (Gillian Flynn)
Gone Girl
22
Gillian Flynn
Maisie Dobbs (Jacqueline Winspear)
Maisie Dobbs
23
Jacqueline Winspear
The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency (Alexander McCall Smith)
The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency
24
Alexander McCall Smith
The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle (Haruki Murakami)
The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle
25
Haruki Murakami
In Cold Blood (Truman Capote)
In Cold Blood
26
Truman Capote
Brighton Rock (Graham Greene)
Brighton Rock
27
Graham Greene
The Cuckoo's Calling (Robert Galbraith)
The Cuckoo's Calling
28
Robert Galbraith
The Beekeeper's Apprentice (Laurie R. King)
The Beekeeper's Apprentice
29
Laurie R. King
Rivers of London (Ben Aaronovitch)
Rivers of London
30
Ben Aaronovitch
Storm Front (Jim Butcher)
Storm Front
31
Jim Butcher
Mystic River (Dennis Lehane)
Mystic River
32
Dennis Lehane
Postmortem (Patricia Cornwell)
Postmortem
33
Patricia Cornwell
Magpie Murders (Anthony Horowitz)
Magpie Murders
34
Anthony Horowitz
The City & the City (China Miéville)
The City & the City
35
China Miéville
Still Life (Louise Penny)
Still Life
36
Louise Penny
A Is for Alibi (Sue Grafton)
A Is for Alibi
37
Sue Grafton
Along Came a Spider (James Patterson)
Along Came a Spider
38
James Patterson
The Black Dahlia (James Ellroy)
The Black Dahlia
39
James Ellroy
Altered Carbon
Altered Carbon
40
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