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

|scope=col|No.|scope=col class="unsortable"|Title|scope=col class="unsortable"|Author|scope=col|Country|scope=col|Year|
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|align="right"|1|_The Daughter of Time_|Josephine Tey|Scotland|1951|||||
|align="right"|2|_The Big Sleep_|Raymond Chandler|USA|1939|||||
|align="right"|3|_The Spy Who Came In From the Cold_|John le Carré|England|1963|||||
|align="right"|4|_Gaudy Night_|Dorothy L. Sayers|England|1935|||||
|align="right"|5|_The Murder of Roger Ackroyd_|Agatha Christie|England|1926|||||
|align="right"|6|_Rebecca_|Daphne du Maurier|England|1938|||||
|align="right"|7|_Farewell My Lovely_|Raymond Chandler|USA|1940|||||
|align="right"|8|_The Moonstone_|Wilkie Collins|England|1868|||||
|align="right"|9|_The IPCRESS File_|Len Deighton|England|1962|||||
|align="right"|10|_The Maltese Falcon_|Dashiell Hammett|USA|1930|||||
|align="right"|11|_The Franchise Affair_|Josephine Tey|Scotland|1948|||||
|align="right"|12|_Last Seen Wearing ..._|Hillary Waugh|USA|1952|||||
|align="right"|13|_The Name of the Rose_|Umberto Eco|Italy|1980|||||
|align="right"|14|_Rogue Male_|Geoffrey Household|England|1939|||||
|align="right"|15|_The Long Goodbye_|Raymond Chandler|USA|1953|||||
|align="right"|16|_Malice Aforethought_|Francis Iles|England|1931|||||
|align="right"|17|_The Day of the Jackal_|Frederick Forsyth|England|1971|||||
|align="right"|18|_The Nine Tailors_|Dorothy L. Sayers|England|1934|||||
|align="right"|19|_Ten Little Niggers_ (UK) _Ten Little Indians_ (USA) _And Then There Were None_|Agatha Christie|England|1939|||||
|align="right"|20|_The Thirty-Nine Steps_|John Buchan|Scotland|1915|||||
|align="right"|21|_The Collected Sherlock Holmes Short Stories_ (stories)|Arthur Conan Doyle|Scotland|1892–1927|||||
|align="right"|22|_Murder Must Advertise_|Dorothy L. Sayers|England|1933|||||
|align="right"|23|_Tales of Mystery & Imagination_ (stories)|Edgar Allan Poe|USA|1852|||||
|align="right"|24|_The Mask of Dimitrios_ _A Coffin for Dimitrios_|Eric Ambler|England|1939|||||
|align="right"|25|_The Moving Toyshop_|Edmund Crispin|England|1946|||||
|align="right"|26|_The Tiger in the Smoke_|Margery Allingham|England|1952|||||
|align="right"|27|_The False Inspector Dew_|Peter Lovesey|England|1982|||||
|align="right"|28|_The Woman in White_|Wilkie Collins|England|1860|||||
|align="right"|29|_A Dark-Adapted Eye_|Barbara Vine|England|1986|||||
|align="right"|30|_The Postman Always Rings Twice_|James M. Cain|USA|1934|||||
|align="right"|31|_The Glass Key_|Dashiell Hammett|USA|1931|||||
|align="right"|32|_The Hound of the Baskervilles_|Arthur Conan Doyle|Scotland|1901–1902|||||
|align="right"|33|_Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy_|John le Carré|England|1974|||||
|align="right"|34|_Trent's Last Case_|E. C. Bentley|England|1913|||||
|align="right"|35|_From Russia, with Love_|Ian Fleming|England|1957|||||
|align="right"|36|_Cop Hater_|Ed McBain|USA|1956|||||
|align="right"|37|_The Dead of Jericho_|Colin Dexter|England|1981|||||
|align="right"|38|_Strangers on a Train_|Patricia Highsmith|USA|1950|||||
|align="right"|39|_A Judgement in Stone_|Ruth Rendell|England|1977|||||
|align="right"|40|_The Hollow Man_ (UK) _The Three Coffins_ (USA)|John Dickson Carr|USA|1935|||||
|align="right"|41|_The Poisoned Chocolates Case_|Anthony Berkeley|England|1929|||||
|align="right"|42|_A Morbid Taste for Bones_|Ellis Peters|England|1977|||||
|align="right"|43|_The Leper of Saint Giles_|Ellis Peters|England|1981|||||
|align="right"|44|_A Kiss Before Dying_|Ira Levin|USA|1953|||||
|align="right"|45|_The Talented Mr. Ripley_|Patricia Highsmith|USA|1955|||||
|align="right"|46|_Brighton Rock_|Graham Greene|England|1938|||||
|align="right"|47|_The Lady in the Lake_|Raymond Chandler|USA|1943|||||
|align="right"|48|_Presumed Innocent_|Scott Turow|USA|1987|||||
|align="right"|49|_A Demon in My View_|Ruth Rendell|England|1976|||||
|align="right"|50|_The Devil in Velvet_|John Dickson Carr|USA|1951|||||
|align="right"|51|_A Fatal Inversion_|Barbara Vine|England|1987|||||
|align="right"|52|_The Journeying Boy_ (UK) _The Case of the Journeying Boy_ (USA)|Michael Innes|Scotland|1949|||||
|align="right"|53|_A Taste for Death_|P. D. James|England|1986|||||
|align="right"|54|_The Eagle Has Landed_|Jack Higgins|England Northern Ireland|1975|||||
|align="right"|55|_My Brother Michael_|Mary Stewart|England|1960|||||
|align="right"|56|_Bertie and the Tin Man_|Peter Lovesey|England|1987|||||
|align="right"|57|_Penny Black_|Susan Moody|England|1984|||||
|align="right"|58|_Game, Set & Match_ (_Berlin Game_, _Mexico Set_, _London Match_)|Len Deighton|England|1984–1986|||||
|align="right"|59|_The Danger_|Dick Francis|Wales England|1983|||||
|align="right"|60|_Devices and Desires_|P. D. James|England|1989|||||
|align="right"|61|_Under World_ (UK) _Underworld_ (USA)|Reginald Hill|England|1988|||||
|align="right"|62|_Nine Coaches Waiting_|Mary Stewart|England|1958|||||
|align="right"|63|_A Running Duck_|Paula Gosling|USA UK|1978|||||
|align="right"|64|_Smallbone Deceased_|Michael Gilbert|England|1950|||||
|align="right"|65|_The Rose of Tibet_|Lionel Davidson|England|1962|||||
|align="right"|66|_Innocent Blood_|P. D. James|England|1980|||||
|align="right"|67|_Strong Poison_|Dorothy L. Sayers|England|1930|||||
|align="right"|68|_Hamlet, Revenge!_|Michael Innes|Scotland|1937|||||
|align="right"|69|_A Thief of Time_|Tony Hillerman|USA|1989|||||
|align="right"|70|_A Bullet in the Ballet_|Caryl Brahms & S. J. Simon|England & England|1937|||||
|align="right"|71|_Deadheads_|Reginald Hill|England|1983|||||
|align="right"|72|_The Third Man_|Graham Greene|England|1950|||||
|align="right"|73|_The Labyrinth Makers_|Anthony Price|England|1974|||||
|align="right"|74|_The Berlin Memorandum_ (UK) _The Quiller Memorandum_ (USA)|Adam Hall|England|1965|||||
|align="right"|75|_Beast in View_|Margaret Millar|Canada USA|1955|||||
|align="right"|76|_The Shortest Way to Hades_|Sarah Caudwell|England|1984|||||
|align="right"|77|_Running Blind_|Desmond Bagley|England|1970|||||
|align="right"|78|_Twice Shy_|Dick Francis|Wales England|1981|||||
|align="right"|79|_The Manchurian Candidate_|Richard Condon|USA|1959|||||
|align="right"|80|_Killings at Badger's Drift_ (UK) _The Killings at Badger's Drift_ (USA)|Caroline Graham|England|1987|||||
|align="right"|81|_The Beast Must Die_|Nicholas Blake|Ireland (UK) UK|1963|||||
|align="right"|82|_Gorky Park_|Martin Cruz Smith|USA|1981|||||
|align="right"|83|_Death Comes as the End_|Agatha Christie|England|1945|||||
|align="right"|84|_Green for Danger_|Christianna Brand|Malaysia England|1945|||||
|align="right"|85|_Tragedy at Law_|Cyril Hare|England|1942|||||
|align="right"|86|_The Collector_|John Fowles|England|1963|||||
|align="right"|87|_Gideon's Day_ (UK) _Gideon of Scotland Yard_ (USA)|J. J. Marric|England|1955|||||
|align="right"|88|_The Sun Chemist_|Lionel Davidson|England|1976|||||
|align="right"|89|_The Guns of Navarone_|Alistair MacLean|Scotland|1957|||||
|align="right"|90|_The Colour of Murder_|Julian Symons|England|1957|||||
|align="right"|91|_Greenmantle_|John Buchan|Scotland|1916|||||
|align="right"|92|_The Riddle of the Sands_|Erskine Childers|England Ireland (UK)|1903|||||
|align="right"|93|_Wobble to Death_|Peter Lovesey|England|1970|||||
|align="right"|94|_Red Harvest_|Dashiell Hammett|USA|1929|||||
|align="right"|95|_The Key to Rebecca_|Ken Follett|Wales|1980|||||
|align="right"|96|_Sadie When She Died_|Ed McBain|USA|1972|||||
|align="right"|97|_The Murder of the Maharajah_|H. R. F. Keating|England|1980|||||
|align="right"|98|_What Bloody Man Is That?_|Simon Brett|England|1987|||||
|align="right"|99|_Shooting Script_|Gavin Lyall|England|1966|||||
|align="right"|100|_The Four Just Men_|Edgar Wallace|England|1906|||||

## The MWA Top 100

|scope=col|No.|scope=col class="unsortable"|Title|scope=col class="unsortable"|Author|scope=col|Country|scope=col|Year|scope=col|CWA|scope=col|Rank|
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|align="right"|1|_The Complete Sherlock Holmes_ (stories and 4 novels)|Arthur Conan Doyle|Scotland|1887–1927||21, 32|||||||
|align="right"|2|_The Maltese Falcon_|Dashiell Hammett|USA|1930||10|||||||
|align="right"|3|_Tales of Mystery & Imagination_ (stories)|Edgar Allan Poe|USA|1852||23|||||||
|align="right"|4|_The Daughter of Time_|Josephine Tey|Scotland|1951||1|||||||
|align="right"|5|_Presumed Innocent_|Scott Turow|USA|1987||48|||||||
|align="right"|6|_The Spy Who Came In From the Cold_|John le Carré|England|1963||3|||||||
|align="right"|7|_The Moonstone_|Wilkie Collins|England|1868||8|||||||
|align="right"|8|_The Big Sleep_|Raymond Chandler|USA|1939||2|||||||
|align="right"|9|_Rebecca_|Daphne du Maurier|England|1938||6|||||||
|align="right"|10|_Ten Little Niggers_ (UK) _Ten Little Indians_ (USA) _And Then There Were None_|Agatha Christie|England|1939||19|||||||
|align="right"|11|_Anatomy of a Murder_|Robert Traver|USA|1958|||||||||
|align="right"|12|_The Murder of Roger Ackroyd_|Agatha Christie|England|1926||5|||||||
|align="right"|13|_The Long Goodbye_|Raymond Chandler|USA|1953||15|||||||
|align="right"|14|_The Postman Always Rings Twice_|James M. Cain|USA|1934||30|||||||
|align="right"|15|_The Godfather_ (film)|Mario Puzo|USA|1969|||||||||
|align="right"|16|_The Silence of the Lambs_ (film)|Thomas Harris|USA|1988|||||||||
|align="right"|17|_The Mask of Dimitrios_ _A Coffin for Dimitrios_|Eric Ambler|England|1939||24|||||||
|align="right"|18|_Gaudy Night_|Dorothy L. Sayers|England|1935||4|||||||
|align="right"|19|_Witness for the Prosecution_ (play)|Agatha Christie|England|1948|||||||||
|align="right"|20|_The Day of the Jackal_|Frederick Forsyth|England|1971||17|||||||
|align="right"|21|_Farewell My Lovely_|Raymond Chandler|USA|1940||7|||||||
|align="right"|22|_The Thirty-Nine Steps_|John Buchan|Scotland|1915||20|||||||
|align="right"|23|_Il nome della rosa_ (_The Name of the Rose_)|Umberto Eco|Italy|1980||13|||||||
|align="right"|24|«Преступление и наказание» (_Crime and Punishment_)|Fyodor Dostoyevsky|Russia|1866|||||||||
|align="right"|25|_Storm Island_ (UK) _Eye of the Needle_|Ken Follett|Wales|1978|||||||||
|align="right"|26|_Rumpole of the Bailey_|John Mortimer|England|1978|||||||||
|align="right"|27|_Red Dragon_|Thomas Harris|USA|1981|||||||||
|align="right"|28|_The Nine Tailors_|Dorothy L. Sayers|England|1934||18|||||||
|align="right"|29|_Fletch_|Gregory Mcdonald|USA|1974|||||||||
|align="right"|30|_Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy_|John le Carré|England|1974||33|||||||
|align="right"|31|_The Thin Man_|Dashiell Hammett|USA|1934|||||||||
|align="right"|32|_The Woman in White_|Wilkie Collins|England|1860||28|||||||
|align="right"|33|_Trent's Last Case_|E. C. Bentley|England|1913||34|||||||
|align="right"|34|_Double Indemnity_|James M. Cain|USA|1943|||||||||
|align="right"|35|_Gorky Park_|Martin Cruz Smith|USA|1981||82|||||||
|align="right"|36|_Strong Poison_|Dorothy L. Sayers|England|1930||67|||||||
|align="right"|37|_Dance Hall of the Dead_|Tony Hillerman|USA|1973|||||||||
|align="right"|38|_The Hot Rock_|Donald E. Westlake|USA|1970|||||||||
|align="right"|39|_Red Harvest_|Dashiell Hammett|USA|1929||94|||||||
|align="right"|40|_The Circular Staircase_|Mary Roberts Rinehart|USA|1908|||||||||
|align="right"|41|_Murder on the Orient Express_|Agatha Christie|England|1934|||||||||
|align="right"|42|_The Firm_|John Grisham|USA|1991|||||||||
|align="right"|43|_The IPCRESS File_|Len Deighton|England|1962||9|||||||
|align="right"|44|_Laura_|Vera Caspary|USA|1942|||||||||
|align="right"|45|_I, the Jury_|Mickey Spillane|USA|1947|||||||||
|align="right"|46|_Den skrattande polisen_ (_The Laughing Policeman_)|Maj Sjöwall & Per Wahlöö|Sweden|1968|||||||||
|align="right"|47|_Bank Shot_|Donald E. Westlake|USA|1972|||||||||
|align="right"|48|_The Third Man_|Graham Greene|England|1950||72|||||||
|align="right"|49|_The Killer Inside Me_ (film)|Jim Thompson|USA|1952|||||||||
|align="right"|50|_Where Are the Children?_|Mary Higgins Clark|USA|1975|||||||||
|align="right"|51|_"A" is for Alibi_|Sue Grafton|USA|1982|||||||||
|align="right"|52|_The First Deadly Sin_|Lawrence Sanders|USA|1973|||||||||
|align="right"|53|_A Thief of Time_|Tony Hillerman|USA|1989||69|||||||
|align="right"|54|_In Cold Blood_|Truman Capote|USA|1966|||||||||
|align="right"|55|_Rogue Male_|Geoffrey Household|England|1939||14|||||||
|align="right"|56|_Murder Must Advertise_|Dorothy L. Sayers|England|1933||22|||||||
|align="right"|57|_The Innocence of Father Brown_ (stories)|G. K. Chesterton|England|1911|||||||||
|align="right"|58|_Smiley's People_|John le Carré|England|1979|||||||||
|align="right"|59|_The Lady in the Lake_|Raymond Chandler|USA|1943||47|||||||
|align="right"|60|_To Kill a Mockingbird_|Harper Lee|USA|1960|||||||||
|align="right"|61|_Our Man in Havana_|Graham Greene|England|1958|||||||||
|align="right"|62|_The Mystery of Edwin Drood_|Charles Dickens|England|1870|||||||||
|align="right"|63|_Wobble to Death_|Peter Lovesey|England|1970||93|||||||
|align="right"|64|_Ashenden_ (stories)|W. Somerset Maugham|England|1928|||||||||
|align="right"|65|_The Seven Per-Cent Solution_|Nicholas Meyer|USA|1974|||||||||
|align="right"|66|_The Doorbell Rang_|Rex Stout|USA|1965|||||||||
|align="right"|67|_Stick_|Elmore Leonard|USA|1983|||||||||
|align="right"|68|_The Little Drummer Girl_|John le Carré|England|1983|||||||||
|align="right"|69|_Brighton Rock_|Graham Greene|England|1938||46|||||||
|align="right"|70|_Dracula_|Bram Stoker|Ireland (UK)|1897|||||||||
|align="right"|71|_The Talented Mr. Ripley_|Patricia Highsmith|USA|1955||45|||||||
|align="right"|72|_The Moving Toyshop_|Edmund Crispin|England|1946||25|||||||
|align="right"|73|_A Time to Kill_|John Grisham|USA|1989|||||||||
|align="right"|74|_Last Seen Wearing ..._|Hillary Waugh|USA|1952||12|||||||
|align="right"|75|_Little Caesar_|W. R. Burnett|USA|1929|||||||||
|align="right"|76|_The Friends of Eddie Coyle_|George V. Higgins|USA|1972|||||||||
|align="right"|77|_Clouds of Witness_|Dorothy L. Sayers|England|1927|||||||||
|align="right"|78|_From Russia, with Love_|Ian Fleming|England|1957||35|||||||
|align="right"|79|_Beast in View_|Margaret Millar|Canada USA|1955||75|||||||
|align="right"|80|_Smallbone Deceased_|Michael Gilbert|England|1950||64|||||||
|align="right"|81|_The Franchise Affair_|Josephine Tey|Scotland|1948||11|||||||
|align="right"|82|_Crocodile on the Sandbank_|Elizabeth Peters|USA|1975|||||||||
|align="right"|83|_Shroud for a Nightingale_|P. D. James|England|1971|||||||||
|align="right"|84|_The Hunt for Red October_|Tom Clancy|USA|1984|||||||||
|align="right"|85|_Chinaman's Chance_|Ross Thomas|USA|1978|||||||||
|align="right"|86|_The Secret Agent_|Joseph Conrad|Ukraine (Russian Empire) UK|1907|||||||||
|align="right"|87|_The Dreadful Lemon Sky_|John D. MacDonald|USA|1975|||||||||
|align="right"|88|_The Glass Key_|Dashiell Hammett|USA|1931||31|||||||
|align="right"|89|_A Judgement in Stone_|Ruth Rendell|England|1977||39|||||||
|align="right"|90|_Brat Farrar_ _Come and Kill Me_|Josephine Tey|Scotland|1950|||||||||
|align="right"|91|_The Chill_|Ross Macdonald|USA Canada|1963|||||||||
|align="right"|92|_Devil in a Blue Dress_|Walter Mosley|USA|1990|||||||||
|align="right"|93|_The Choirboys_|Joseph Wambaugh|USA|1975|||||||||
|align="right"|94|_God Save the Mark_|Donald E. Westlake|USA|1967|||||||||
|align="right"|95|_Home Sweet Homicide_|Craig Rice|USA|1944|||||||||
|align="right"|96|_The Hollow Man_ (UK) _The Three Coffins_ (USA)|John Dickson Carr|USA|1935||40|||||||
|align="right"|97|_Prizzi's Honour_ (UK) _Prizzi's Honor_ (USA)|Richard Condon|USA|1982|||||||||
|align="right"|98|_The Steam Pig_|James McClure|South Africa UK|1974|||||||||
|align="right"|99|_Time and Again_|Jack Finney|USA|1970|||||||||
|rowspan="2" align="right"|100|_A Morbid Taste for Bones_|Ellis Peters|England|1977||42|||||||
|_Rosemary's Baby_|Ira Levin|USA|1967|||||||||||

## Related pages

- Pulitzer Prize for Fiction – Lee

## Other websites

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