Movies Books Travel Food Other
Trending
New
Popular

The Bibliophile's Best Books of Each Genre: Crime, Spy & Detective Fiction

This is the ninth in a series of lists I'm publishing providing, in my opinion, the best 40 books (or series) of each genre of fiction. I plan to cover nearly twenty genres in total. So far, I've published lists for historical fiction, horror, thrillers, children's literature, war literature, fantasy, family sagas and dystopian literature.
.
This list provides what I believe to be the best crime novels that either involve spies or detective-based narratives. Most of us know of Sherlock Holmes and Hercule Poirot, and the fantastic spy novels of John le Carre and Graham Greene. This list provides the best of them and so many more. Enjoy!
312 users · 1,040 views
 
made by The Bibliophile
avg. score: 9 of 40 (22%)
required scores: 1, 3, 5, 9, 14 

How many have you read?

Page 1 of 1
The Alienist (Caleb Carr)
The Alienist
1
Caleb Carr
Anatomy of a Murder (Robert Traver)
Anatomy of a Murder
2
Robert Traver
And Then There Were None (Agatha Christie)
And Then There Were None
3
Agatha Christie
The Big Nowhere (James Ellroy)
The Big Nowhere
4
James Ellroy
The Big Sleep (Raymond Chandler)
The Big Sleep
5
Raymond Chandler
The Black Dahlia (James Ellroy)
The Black Dahlia
6
James Ellroy
The Black Echo (Michael Connelly)
The Black Echo
7
Michael Connelly
Blacktop Wasteland (S.A. Cosby)
Blacktop Wasteland
8
S.A. Cosby
The Bourne Identity (Robert Ludlum)
The Bourne Identity
9
Robert Ludlum
Casino Royale (Ian Fleming)
Casino Royale
10
Ian Fleming
Cause for Alarm (Eric Ambler)
Cause for Alarm
11
Eric Ambler
The Complete Father Brown Stories (G. K. Chesterton)
The Complete Father Brown Stories
12
G. K. Chesterton
The Complete Sherlock Holmes (Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
The Complete Sherlock Holmes
13
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
The Cuckoo's Calling (Robert Galbraith)
The Cuckoo's Calling
14
Robert Galbraith
The Day of the Jackal (Frederick Forsyth)
The Day of the Jackal
15
Frederick Forsyth
The Devil and the Dark Water (Stuart Turton)
The Devil and the Dark Water
16
Stuart Turton
Devil in a Blue Dress (Walter Mosley)
Devil in a Blue Dress
17
Walter Mosley
The Da Vinci Code (Dan Brown)
The Da Vinci Code
18
Dan Brown
Eye of the Needle (Ken Follett)
Eye of the Needle
19
Ken Follett
Gaudy Night - A Lord Peter Wimsey Mystery (Dorothy L. Sayers)
Gaudy Night - A Lord Peter Wimsey Mystery
20
Dorothy L. Sayers
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (Stieg Larsson)
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
21
Stieg Larsson
The Hunt for Red October (Tom Clancy)
The Hunt for Red October
22
Tom Clancy
In the Woods (Tana French)
In the Woods
23
Tana French
The Long Goodbye (Raymond Chandler)
The Long Goodbye
24
Raymond Chandler
The Maid (Nita Prose)
The Maid
25
Nita Prose
The Maltese Falcon (Dashiell Hammett)
The Maltese Falcon
26
Dashiell Hammett
The Moonstone (Wilkie Collins)
The Moonstone
27
Wilkie Collins
Motherless Brooklyn (Jonathan Lethem)
Motherless Brooklyn
28
Jonathan Lethem
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd (Agatha Christie)
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd
29
Agatha Christie
Mystic River (Dennis Lehane)
Mystic River
30
Dennis Lehane
The Name of the Rose (Umberto Eco)
The Name of the Rose
31
Umberto Eco
The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency (Alexander McCall Smith)
The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency
32
Alexander McCall Smith
Red Dragon (Thomas Harris)
Red Dragon
33
Thomas Harris
Sharp Objects (Gillian Flynn)
Sharp Objects
34
Gillian Flynn
Shutter Island (Dennis Lehane)
Shutter Island
35
Dennis Lehane
The Spy Who Came in From the Cold (John Le Carré)
The Spy Who Came in From the Cold
36
John Le Carré
The Thin Man (Dashiell Hammett)
The Thin Man
37
Dashiell Hammett
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (John Le Carré)
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
38
John Le Carré
Tomás Nevinson (Javier Marias)
Tomás Nevinson
39
Javier Marias
The Woman in White (Wilkie Collins)
The Woman in White
40
Wilkie Collins
Page 1 of 1
 Your Results
Click the SHOW MY RESULTS button
above to calculate your results.
Click books you've read
Lists Similar to 'The Bibliophile's Best Books of Each Genre: Crime, Spy & Detective Fiction'
All Similar Lists
Newsletter · Help/Contact · Privacy · Copyright Claim   © 2025 App Spring, Inc. · This product uses the TMDb API but is not endorsed or certified by TMDb.
Seen It - Movies & TV 
Android & iOS
Seen It is a new app from the creators of List Challenges. You can view movies and shows in one place and filter by streaming provider, genre, release year, runtime, and rating (Rotten Tomatoes, Imdb, and/or Metacritic). Also, you can track what you've seen, want to see, like, or dislike, as well as track individual seasons or episodes of shows. In addition, you can see the most watched/liked stuff amongst your friends. Learn more at SEENIT.FUN