The Top 100 Crime Novels of All Time

The Top 100 Crime Novels of All Time is a list published in 1990 by the Crime Writers' Association (CWA).

Five years later, the Mystery Writers of America (MWA) published a similar list named The Top 100 Mystery Novels of All Time. Many titles can be found in both lists.

The CWA Top 100

No.	Title	Author	Country	Year
1	The Daughter of Time	Josephine Tey	Scotland	1951
2	The Big Sleep	Raymond Chandler	USA	1939
3	The Spy Who Came In From the Cold	John le Carré	England	1963
4	Gaudy Night	Dorothy L. Sayers	England	1935
5	The Murder of Roger Ackroyd	Agatha Christie	England	1926
6	Rebecca	Daphne du Maurier	England	1938
7	Farewell My Lovely	Raymond Chandler	USA	1940
8	The Moonstone	Wilkie Collins	England	1868
9	The IPCRESS File	Len Deighton	England	1962
10	The Maltese Falcon	Dashiell Hammett	USA	1930
11	The Franchise Affair	Josephine Tey	Scotland	1948
12	Last Seen Wearing ...	Hillary Waugh	USA	1952
13	The Name of the Rose	Umberto Eco	Italy	1980
14	Rogue Male	Geoffrey Household	England	1939
15	The Long Goodbye	Raymond Chandler	USA	1953
16	Malice Aforethought	Francis Iles	England	1931
17	The Day of the Jackal	Frederick Forsyth	England	1971
18	The Nine Tailors	Dorothy L. Sayers	England	1934
19	Ten Little Niggers (UK) Ten Little Indians (USA) And Then There Were None	Agatha Christie	England	1939
20	The Thirty-Nine Steps	John Buchan	Scotland	1915
21	The Collected Sherlock Holmes Short Stories (stories)	Arthur Conan Doyle	Scotland	1892–1927
22	Murder Must Advertise	Dorothy L. Sayers	England	1933
23	Tales of Mystery & Imagination (stories)	Edgar Allan Poe	USA	1852
24	The Mask of Dimitrios A Coffin for Dimitrios	Eric Ambler	England	1939
25	The Moving Toyshop	Edmund Crispin	England	1946
26	The Tiger in the Smoke	Margery Allingham	England	1952
27	The False Inspector Dew	Peter Lovesey	England	1982
28	The Woman in White	Wilkie Collins	England	1860
29	A Dark-Adapted Eye	Barbara Vine	England	1986
30	The Postman Always Rings Twice	James M. Cain	USA	1934
31	The Glass Key	Dashiell Hammett	USA	1931
32	The Hound of the Baskervilles	Arthur Conan Doyle	Scotland	1901–1902
33	Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy	John le Carré	England	1974
34	Trent's Last Case	E. C. Bentley	England	1913
35	From Russia, with Love	Ian Fleming	England	1957
36	Cop Hater	Ed McBain	USA	1956
37	The Dead of Jericho	Colin Dexter	England	1981
38	Strangers on a Train	Patricia Highsmith	USA	1950
39	A Judgement in Stone	Ruth Rendell	England	1977
40	The Hollow Man (UK) The Three Coffins (USA)	John Dickson Carr	USA	1935
41	The Poisoned Chocolates Case	Anthony Berkeley	England	1929
42	A Morbid Taste for Bones	Ellis Peters	England	1977
43	The Leper of Saint Giles	Ellis Peters	England	1981
44	A Kiss Before Dying	Ira Levin	USA	1953
45	The Talented Mr. Ripley	Patricia Highsmith	USA	1955
46	Brighton Rock	Graham Greene	England	1938
47	The Lady in the Lake	Raymond Chandler	USA	1943
48	Presumed Innocent	Scott Turow	USA	1987
49	A Demon in My View	Ruth Rendell	England	1976
50	The Devil in Velvet	John Dickson Carr	USA	1951
51	A Fatal Inversion	Barbara Vine	England	1987
52	The Journeying Boy (UK) The Case of the Journeying Boy (USA)	Michael Innes	Scotland	1949
53	A Taste for Death	P. D. James	England	1986
54	The Eagle Has Landed	Jack Higgins	England Northern Ireland	1975
55	My Brother Michael	Mary Stewart	England	1960
56	Bertie and the Tin Man	Peter Lovesey	England	1987
57	Penny Black	Susan Moody	England	1984
58	Game, Set & Match (Berlin Game, Mexico Set, London Match)	Len Deighton	England	1984–1986
59	The Danger	Dick Francis	Wales England	1983
60	Devices and Desires	P. D. James	England	1989
61	Under World (UK) Underworld (USA)	Reginald Hill	England	1988
62	Nine Coaches Waiting	Mary Stewart	England	1958
63	A Running Duck	Paula Gosling	USA UK	1978
64	Smallbone Deceased	Michael Gilbert	England	1950
65	The Rose of Tibet	Lionel Davidson	England	1962
66	Innocent Blood	P. D. James	England	1980
67	Strong Poison	Dorothy L. Sayers	England	1930
68	Hamlet, Revenge!	Michael Innes	Scotland	1937
69	A Thief of Time	Tony Hillerman	USA	1989
70	A Bullet in the Ballet	Caryl Brahms & S. J. Simon	England & England	1937
71	Deadheads	Reginald Hill	England	1983
72	The Third Man	Graham Greene	England	1950
73	The Labyrinth Makers	Anthony Price	England	1974
74	The Berlin Memorandum (UK) The Quiller Memorandum (USA)	Adam Hall	England	1965
75	Beast in View	Margaret Millar	Canada USA	1955
76	The Shortest Way to Hades	Sarah Caudwell	England	1984
77	Running Blind	Desmond Bagley	England	1970
78	Twice Shy	Dick Francis	Wales England	1981
79	The Manchurian Candidate	Richard Condon	USA	1959
80	Killings at Badger's Drift (UK) The Killings at Badger's Drift (USA)	Caroline Graham	England	1987
81	The Beast Must Die	Nicholas Blake	Ireland (UK) UK	1963
82	Gorky Park	Martin Cruz Smith	USA	1981
83	Death Comes as the End	Agatha Christie	England	1945
84	Green for Danger	Christianna Brand	Malaysia England	1945
85	Tragedy at Law	Cyril Hare	England	1942
86	The Collector	John Fowles	England	1963
87	Gideon's Day (UK) Gideon of Scotland Yard (USA)	J. J. Marric	England	1955
88	The Sun Chemist	Lionel Davidson	England	1976
89	The Guns of Navarone	Alistair MacLean	Scotland	1957
90	The Colour of Murder	Julian Symons	England	1957
91	Greenmantle	John Buchan	Scotland	1916
92	The Riddle of the Sands	Erskine Childers	England Ireland (UK)	1903
93	Wobble to Death	Peter Lovesey	England	1970
94	Red Harvest	Dashiell Hammett	USA	1929
95	The Key to Rebecca	Ken Follett	Wales	1980
96	Sadie When She Died	Ed McBain	USA	1972
97	The Murder of the Maharajah	H. R. F. Keating	England	1980
98	What Bloody Man Is That?	Simon Brett	England	1987
99	Shooting Script	Gavin Lyall	England	1966
100	The Four Just Men	Edgar Wallace	England	1906

The MWA Top 100

No.	Title	Author	Country	Year	CWA	Rank
1	The Complete Sherlock Holmes (stories and 4 novels)	Arthur Conan Doyle	Scotland	1887–1927	20pxY20pxN	21, 32
2	The Maltese Falcon	Dashiell Hammett	USA	1930	20pxY	10
3	Tales of Mystery & Imagination (stories)	Edgar Allan Poe	USA	1852	20pxY	23
4	The Daughter of Time	Josephine Tey	Scotland	1951	20pxY	1
5	Presumed Innocent	Scott Turow	USA	1987	20pxY	48
6	The Spy Who Came In From the Cold	John le Carré	England	1963	20pxY	3
7	The Moonstone	Wilkie Collins	England	1868	20pxY	8
8	The Big Sleep	Raymond Chandler	USA	1939	20pxY	2
9	Rebecca	Daphne du Maurier	England	1938	20pxY	6
10	Ten Little Niggers (UK) Ten Little Indians (USA) And Then There Were None	Agatha Christie	England	1939	20pxY	19
11	Anatomy of a Murder	Robert Traver	USA	1958	20pxN
12	The Murder of Roger Ackroyd	Agatha Christie	England	1926	20pxY	5
13	The Long Goodbye	Raymond Chandler	USA	1953	20pxY	15
14	The Postman Always Rings Twice	James M. Cain	USA	1934	20pxY	30
15	The Godfather (film)	Mario Puzo	USA	1969	20pxN
16	The Silence of the Lambs (film)	Thomas Harris	USA	1988	20pxN
17	The Mask of Dimitrios A Coffin for Dimitrios	Eric Ambler	England	1939	20pxY	24
18	Gaudy Night	Dorothy L. Sayers	England	1935	20pxY	4
19	Witness for the Prosecution (play)	Agatha Christie	England	1948	20pxN
20	The Day of the Jackal	Frederick Forsyth	England	1971	20pxY	17
21	Farewell My Lovely	Raymond Chandler	USA	1940	20pxY	7
22	The Thirty-Nine Steps	John Buchan	Scotland	1915	20pxY	20
23	Il nome della rosa (The Name of the Rose)	Umberto Eco	Italy	1980	20pxY	13
24	«Преступление и наказание» (Crime and Punishment)	Fyodor Dostoyevsky	Russia	1866	20pxN
25	Storm Island (UK) Eye of the Needle	Ken Follett	Wales	1978	20pxN
26	Rumpole of the Bailey	John Mortimer	England	1978	20pxN
27	Red Dragon	Thomas Harris	USA	1981	20pxN
28	The Nine Tailors	Dorothy L. Sayers	England	1934	20pxY	18
29	Fletch	Gregory Mcdonald	USA	1974	20pxN
30	Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy	John le Carré	England	1974	20pxY	33
31	The Thin Man	Dashiell Hammett	USA	1934	20pxN
32	The Woman in White	Wilkie Collins	England	1860	20pxY	28
33	Trent's Last Case	E. C. Bentley	England	1913	20pxY	34
34	Double Indemnity	James M. Cain	USA	1943	20pxN
35	Gorky Park	Martin Cruz Smith	USA	1981	20pxY	82
36	Strong Poison	Dorothy L. Sayers	England	1930	20pxY	67
37	Dance Hall of the Dead	Tony Hillerman	USA	1973	20pxN
38	The Hot Rock	Donald E. Westlake	USA	1970	20pxN
39	Red Harvest	Dashiell Hammett	USA	1929	20pxY	94
40	The Circular Staircase	Mary Roberts Rinehart	USA	1908	20pxN
41	Murder on the Orient Express	Agatha Christie	England	1934	20pxN
42	The Firm	John Grisham	USA	1991	20pxN
43	The IPCRESS File	Len Deighton	England	1962	20pxY	9
44	Laura	Vera Caspary	USA	1942	20pxN
45	I, the Jury	Mickey Spillane	USA	1947	20pxN
46	Den skrattande polisen (The Laughing Policeman)	Maj Sjöwall & Per Wahlöö	Sweden	1968	20pxN
47	Bank Shot	Donald E. Westlake	USA	1972	20pxN
48	The Third Man	Graham Greene	England	1950	20pxY	72
49	The Killer Inside Me (film)	Jim Thompson	USA	1952	20pxN
50	Where Are the Children?	Mary Higgins Clark	USA	1975	20pxN
51	"A" is for Alibi	Sue Grafton	USA	1982	20pxN
52	The First Deadly Sin	Lawrence Sanders	USA	1973	20pxN
53	A Thief of Time	Tony Hillerman	USA	1989	20pxY	69
54	In Cold Blood	Truman Capote	USA	1966	20pxN
55	Rogue Male	Geoffrey Household	England	1939	20pxY	14
56	Murder Must Advertise	Dorothy L. Sayers	England	1933	20pxY	22
57	The Innocence of Father Brown (stories)	G. K. Chesterton	England	1911	20pxN
58	Smiley's People	John le Carré	England	1979	20pxN
59	The Lady in the Lake	Raymond Chandler	USA	1943	20pxY	47
60	To Kill a Mockingbird	Harper Lee	USA	1960	20pxN
61	Our Man in Havana	Graham Greene	England	1958	20pxN
62	The Mystery of Edwin Drood	Charles Dickens	England	1870	20pxN
63	Wobble to Death	Peter Lovesey	England	1970	20pxY	93
64	Ashenden (stories)	W. Somerset Maugham	England	1928	20pxN
65	The Seven Per-Cent Solution	Nicholas Meyer	USA	1974	20pxN
66	The Doorbell Rang	Rex Stout	USA	1965	20pxN
67	Stick	Elmore Leonard	USA	1983	20pxN
68	The Little Drummer Girl	John le Carré	England	1983	20pxN
69	Brighton Rock	Graham Greene	England	1938	20pxY	46
70	Dracula	Bram Stoker	Ireland (UK)	1897	20pxN
71	The Talented Mr. Ripley	Patricia Highsmith	USA	1955	20pxY	45
72	The Moving Toyshop	Edmund Crispin	England	1946	20pxY	25
73	A Time to Kill	John Grisham	USA	1989	20pxN
74	Last Seen Wearing ...	Hillary Waugh	USA	1952	20pxY	12
75	Little Caesar	W. R. Burnett	USA	1929	20pxN
76	The Friends of Eddie Coyle	George V. Higgins	USA	1972	20pxN
77	Clouds of Witness	Dorothy L. Sayers	England	1927	20pxN
78	From Russia, with Love	Ian Fleming	England	1957	20pxY	35
79	Beast in View	Margaret Millar	Canada USA	1955	20pxY	75
80	Smallbone Deceased	Michael Gilbert	England	1950	20pxY	64
81	The Franchise Affair	Josephine Tey	Scotland	1948	20pxY	11
82	Crocodile on the Sandbank	Elizabeth Peters	USA	1975	20pxN
83	Shroud for a Nightingale	P. D. James	England	1971	20pxN
84	The Hunt for Red October	Tom Clancy	USA	1984	20pxN
85	Chinaman's Chance	Ross Thomas	USA	1978	20pxN
86	The Secret Agent	Joseph Conrad	Ukraine (Russian Empire) UK	1907	20pxN
87	The Dreadful Lemon Sky	John D. MacDonald	USA	1975	20pxN
88	The Glass Key	Dashiell Hammett	USA	1931	20pxY	31
89	A Judgement in Stone	Ruth Rendell	England	1977	20pxY	39
90	Brat Farrar Come and Kill Me	Josephine Tey	Scotland	1950	20pxN
91	The Chill	Ross Macdonald	USA Canada	1963	20pxN
92	Devil in a Blue Dress	Walter Mosley	USA	1990	20pxN
93	The Choirboys	Joseph Wambaugh	USA	1975	20pxN
94	God Save the Mark	Donald E. Westlake	USA	1967	20pxN
95	Home Sweet Homicide	Craig Rice	USA	1944	20pxN
96	The Hollow Man (UK) The Three Coffins (USA)	John Dickson Carr	USA	1935	20pxY	40
97	Prizzi's Honour (UK) Prizzi's Honor (USA)	Richard Condon	USA	1982	20pxN
98	The Steam Pig	James McClure	South Africa UK	1974	20pxN
99	Time and Again	Jack Finney	USA	1970	20pxN
100	A Morbid Taste for Bones	Ellis Peters	England	1977	20pxY	42
	Rosemary's Baby	Ira Levin	USA	1967	20pxN

Related pages

• Pulitzer Prize for Fiction – Lee

Other websites

• The CWA Top 100, Past Offences: classic crime reviews and news