List Challenges
Movies Books Travel Food Other
Trending
New
Popular
Sign In
 Make a List Browse Lists Search Lists Leaders Help / Contact Newsletter

The English Teacher Looks at the Classic Mystery & Suspense Novels

Our maverick English Teacher and genre enthusiast looks at the mystery and suspense field and comes up with a core list of classic works. In order to keep the list manageable, our compiler, believing that "classics" have withstood the test of time, has only listed books published before 1960. More recent "modern classics" will be the subject of a future list. In cases of mystery series with recurring characters, representative titles have been chosen.
449 users · 2,550 views
 
made by James Loranger
avg. score: 12 of 75 (16%)
required scores: 1, 3, 7, 12, 18 
type to search

How many have you read?

Page 1 of 2
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes/The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes (Arthur Conan Doyle)
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes/The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes
1
Arthur Conan Doyle
An Arsene Lupin Omnibus (Maurice Leblanc)
An Arsene Lupin Omnibus
2
Maurice Leblanc
Anatomy of a Murder
Anatomy of a Murder
3
And Then There Were None (Agatha Christie)
And Then There Were None
4
Agatha Christie
Arsene Lupin Gentleman Thief
Arsene Lupin Gentleman Thief
5
Background to Danger (Eric Ambler)
Background to Danger
6
Eric Ambler
The Bat (Mary Roberts Rinehart)
The Bat
7
Mary Roberts Rinehart
The Big Clock (Kenneth Fearing)
The Big Clock
8
Kenneth Fearing
The Big Sleep (Raymond Chandler)
The Big Sleep
9
Raymond Chandler
Bleak House (Charles Dickens)
Bleak House
10
Charles Dickens
Brat Farrar
Brat Farrar
11
The Bride Wore Black (Cornell Woolrich)
The Bride Wore Black
12
Cornell Woolrich
The Case of the Lucky Legs (Erle Stanley Gardner)
The Case of the Lucky Legs
13
Erle Stanley Gardner
The Case of the Velvet Claws (Erle Stanley Gardner)
The Case of the Velvet Claws
14
Erle Stanley Gardner
Cause for Alarm
Cause for Alarm
15
Charlie Chan Omnibus (Earl Derr Biggers)
Charlie Chan Omnibus
16
Earl Derr Biggers
The Circular Staircase (Mary Roberts Rinehart)
The Circular Staircase
17
Mary Roberts Rinehart
A Coffin for Dimitrios (Eric Ambler)
A Coffin for Dimitrios
18
Eric Ambler
The Complete Four Just Men (Wallace)
The Complete Four Just Men
19
Wallace
Cotton Comes to Harlem
Cotton Comes to Harlem
20
Crime and Punishment (Fyodor Dostoyevsky)
Crime and Punishment
21
Fyodor Dostoyevsky
The Dain Curse
The Dain Curse
22
The Daughter of Time (Josephine Tey)
The Daughter of Time
23
Josephine Tey
Death on the Nile (Agatha Christie)
Death on the Nile
24
Agatha Christie
Double Indemnity
Double Indemnity
25
Farewell, My Lovely (Raymond Chandler)
Farewell, My Lovely
26
Raymond Chandler
Fer-De-Lance
Fer-De-Lance
27
Gaudy Night (Dorothy L. Sayers)
Gaudy Night
28
Dorothy L. Sayers
The Glass Key
The Glass Key
29
Greenmantle (John Buchan)
Greenmantle
30
John Buchan
Hamlet, Revenge! (Michael Innes)
Hamlet, Revenge!
31
Michael Innes
The High Window (Raymond Chandler)
The High Window
32
Raymond Chandler
The Hound of the Baskervilles (Sherlock Holmes, #5) (Arthur Conan Doyle)
The Hound of the Baskervilles (Sherlock Holmes, #5)
33
Arthur Conan Doyle
I the Jury
I the Jury
34
I Wake Up Screaming (Steve Fisher)
I Wake Up Screaming
35
Steve Fisher
In a Lonely Place (Dorothy B. Hughes)
In a Lonely Place
36
Dorothy B. Hughes
The Innocence of Father Brown
The Innocence of Father Brown
37
Journey Into Fear
Journey Into Fear
38
The Killer Inside Me (Jim Thompson)
The Killer Inside Me
39
Jim Thompson
Kiss Me, Deadly (Mickey Spillane)
Kiss Me, Deadly
40
Mickey Spillane
Page 1 of 2
Click books you've read
Lists Similar to 'The English Teacher Looks at the Classic Mystery & Suspense Novels'
The English Teacher Looks at Modern & Contemporary Classics of Mystery and Suspense Fiction
The English Teacher Looks at Modern & Contemporary Classics of Mystery and Suspense Fiction
357
60
First Novels: The English Teacher Looks at Some Great (And Not So Great) Beginnings
First Novels: The English Teacher Looks at Some Great (And Not So Great) Beginnings
396
136
The English Teacher Looks at the Best Novels About Politics
The English Teacher Looks at the Best Novels About Politics
208
41
Non-Required Reading 2019: An English Teacher Looks at Great Popular (AKA Genre) Fiction
Non-Required Reading 2019: An English Teacher Looks at Great Popular (AKA Genre) Fiction
2,259
140
The English Teacher Looks at Gothic Literature and Its Descendants
The English Teacher Looks at Gothic Literature and Its Descendants
1,240
100
A Retired English Teacher Looks at High School Required Reading and Cringes
A Retired English Teacher Looks at High School Required Reading and Cringes
685
56
The English Teacher Looks at Really Strange Fiction and Drama and Goes WTF WAS THAT?
The English Teacher Looks at Really Strange Fiction and Drama and Goes WTF WAS THAT?
411
106
The English Teacher Looks at Some Really Good Scary Stuff
The English Teacher Looks at Some Really Good Scary Stuff
305
105
Alternative Reads: The English Teacher Looks at Some Books That Aren't on Every List
Alternative Reads: The English Teacher Looks at Some Books That Aren't on Every List
313
80
The English Teacher Looks at His Own Goodreads "Books Read" Shelf - And Is Quite Surprised
The English Teacher Looks at His Own Goodreads "Books Read" Shelf - And Is Quite Surprised
338
877
Weird & Weirder: The English Teacher Looks at Some Decidedly Offbeat Books
Weird & Weirder: The English Teacher Looks at Some Decidedly Offbeat Books
277
70
The English Teacher Looks at Great SF: A Core List
The English Teacher Looks at Great SF: A Core List
229
200
The English Teacher Looks at Great Travel Writing for This 2020 Summer of COVID-19
The English Teacher Looks at Great Travel Writing for This 2020 Summer of COVID-19
142
51
The English Teacher Looks at Some Great Fiction Series/Sagas
The English Teacher Looks at Some Great Fiction Series/Sagas
132
55
The English Teacher Looks at Greek Drama: Where Western Theatre Began
The English Teacher Looks at Greek Drama: Where Western Theatre Began
111
55
The English Teacher Looks at Great Travel Writing: 2024 Updated Edition
The English Teacher Looks at Great Travel Writing: 2024 Updated Edition
92
80
Amazon Editor's Picks--Top 20 Mystery and Suspense Novels of 2014
Amazon Editor's Picks--Top 20 Mystery and Suspense Novels of 2014
290
20
20 Riveting Wilderness Mystery and Suspense Novels
20 Riveting Wilderness Mystery and Suspense Novels
203
20
The Retired English Teacher's List of Classic Adventure Stories
The Retired English Teacher's List of Classic Adventure Stories
190
80
The English Teacher's Top Ten: Classic (Pre-1960) Horror Movies for the Halloween Season
The English Teacher's Top Ten: Classic (Pre-1960) Horror Movies for the Halloween Season
150
10
The English Teacher's Novel 100: A Personal List of Some of the Greatest Novels Written
The English Teacher's Novel 100: A Personal List of Some of the Greatest Novels Written
897
100
An English Teacher's Favorite Novels
An English Teacher's Favorite Novels
701
30
The English Teacher Reflects: Great Short Novels and Novellas
The English Teacher Reflects: Great Short Novels and Novellas
624
75
The English Teacher Reflects: 100 Random Mysteries and Crime Novels Worth Reading and Rereading
The English Teacher Reflects: 100 Random Mysteries and Crime Novels Worth Reading and Rereading
479
100
An English Teacher's Favorite Historical Fiction Novels
An English Teacher's Favorite Historical Fiction Novels
333
68
An English Teacher's Favorite Young Adult Novels
An English Teacher's Favorite Young Adult Novels
290
36
The English Teacher's Short List: 25 Favorite Historical Novels
The English Teacher's Short List: 25 Favorite Historical Novels
283
25
Thrilling Classic Mystery Novels--BuzzFeed List
Thrilling Classic Mystery Novels--BuzzFeed List
793
99
The English Teacher Lists Books That Have Been Ruined for Readers by English Teachers
The English Teacher Lists Books That Have Been Ruined for Readers by English Teachers
3,401
52
100 Classic English Novels
100 Classic English Novels
2,083
100
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