Crime novels account for a huge proportion of the book industry and they are widely considered to be the most popular genre. From authors such as Agatha Christie and Raymond Chandler, here are the top 10 best crime novels of all time as selected by the Crime Writers’ Association.
10. The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett
The Matese Falcon follows private detective Sam Spade and his partner Miles Archer, as they are hired to find a missing woman’s sister. The case spirals into a murder investigation and a hunt for a priceless black bird statuette, the Maltese Falcon.
9. The IPCRESS File by Len Deighton
Deighton’s first spy novel was published in 1962. The story involves Cold War brainwashing and includes scenes in Lebanon and during a United States atomic weapon test. It also details on information about Joe One, the Soviet Union’s first atomic bomb.
8. The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins
The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins is an 1868 British epistolary novel and an early example of the modern detective novel. It reveals the history and mysteries around a unique diamond called the moonstone, which is later stolen and the main characters attempt to solve the case.
7. Farewell My Lovely by Raymond Chandler
Farewell My Lovely is the second novel written by Raymond Chandler to feature the Los Angeles private eye Philip Marlowe. Published in 1940, it follows Marlowe as he is hired by ex-con Moose Malloy to find his girlfriend.
6. Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
In Daphne du Maurier’s novel Rebecca, a young woman marries Maxim de Winter, a wealthy widower. However, when she moves to his estate, she finds herself to be overshadowed by the memory of his dead wife and the lingering influence of Rebecca casts a long shadow over their lives.
5. The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie
This was the legendary Agatha Christie’s third novel to feature Hercule Poirot as the lead detective. It’s set in the small village of King’s Abbot, and follows Mrs Ferrars admitting to her fiancé, Roger Ackroyd, that she had murdered her husband a year earlier.
4. Gaudy Night by Dorothy L. Sayers
Gaudy Night (1935) is a mystery novel by Dorothy L. Sayers, it is her tenth featuring Lord Peter Wimsey, and the third including Harriet Vane. It follows Harriet and Lord Peter as they travel to Oxford University for a reunion and end up the targets of harassment and mysterious, murderous threats.
3. The Spy Who Came in from the Cold by John le Carré
This 1963 Cold War spy novel is a story of Alec Leamas who is a British agent. When he is sent to East Germany as a part of trick to spread lies and confusion about a powerful East German spy, trouble follows.
2. The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler
Published in 1939, The Big Sleep was Chandler’s first novel to feature the detective Philip Marlowe. It follows Marlowe as he is hired by wheelchair-bound General Sternwood to discover who is blackmailing him.
1. The Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey
The Daughter of Time is a 1951 detective novel by Josephine Tey, it follows a police officer’s investigation into the alleged crimes of King Richard III of England. It was also the last book Tey published before her death.