Comments on Best Crime & Mystery Books - page 2

Craig Russell is excellent. Try Blood Eagle. Not in Frankfurt though.Craig Russell

Why was 'The Hound of the Baskervilles' Removed from this list? It used to be on top. Also, it's gone from my list too & are also other few Mystery Crime books?

EDIT:
Ok I read the top part of adding only first book if it's part of the series. I just wanted to say that all the books in the series rarely have same 'fun' for e.g sometimes the second book is best & sometimes the third etc.

The Diary of a young girl by Anne Frank a crime & mystery book??? It makes me wonder if the voter(s) actually read the book...

Good list but missing many John Sandford and Ridley Pearson novels - - or I got tired of looking : )

Kim wrote: "I managed to get a quarter of the way through this list before deciding it was a) too long and b) incoherent. Why is Diary of Anne Frank on here? Or Lolita? For a list to be meaningful, its entries..."

I so agree!

you go

Mike wrote: "Anyone know of a mystery series set in Germany, preferably Frankfurt, that they can recommend?"

http://www.bookssetin.com/p1/624/Fran...

This list is a joke. Only retarded people would vote Stieg Larsson as number one.

Andrew wrote: "An interesting list, but really notable for it's absences. Henning Mankell doesn't make an appearance until #412 (as of Oct 17th, 2008), but his fellow Scandinavians, Indriadson, Nesser, Fossum, Er..."

I totally agree! It's actually quite amazing, their absence!

Hi everyone,

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Thanks very much,
Jack :-)

There are many books on this list that have nothing to do with neither crime nor mystery...

The Treeman wrote: "This list is laughable. It is full of books that shouldn't be there and books that are basically horrible written."

I totally agree. Anna Frank's diary or To kill a mockingbird had nothing to do with neither crime nor mystery...

@Mickey
Anne Frank's Diary and To Kill a Mockingbird have been deleted, as I fully agree with you (and others) on this subject. I have also deleted The Help, as it really shouldn't have been on this list.

There are lots of other titles in this list which, in my opinion, do not qualify as 'Crime & Mystery Books' either. This list has become a mess unfortunately, to put in plainly.

Susanna wrote: "Isaac Asimov wrote several novel-length mysteries (albeit often ones with a science fiction setting): The Caves of Steel, The Naked Sun, and Murder at the ABA, are the ones I can think of. From wh..."

Susanna wrote: "Isaac Asimov wrote several novel-length mysteries (albeit often ones with a science fiction setting): The Caves of Steel, The Naked Sun, and Murder at the ABA, are the ones I can think of. From wh..."

The Black Widowers stories are great !!!

I have seen a few books that I don't think are mysteries, but the list-maker has disembarked. I can remove them, but would feel much better about it if someone will either second the motion for those here, or tell me why they qualify as mysteries (some I've read awhile back, and maybe not from your perspective):

* Catcher in the Rye
* Jane Eyre
* Things Fall Apart (p.11)
* The Hunger Games

Every single person on this thread is able to add books. As Susannah pointed out, at the very top of the list are 2 tabs. One says "all votes". When you click on the "Add" tab, a little window comes up and you can type in a title & vote for it. It is (of course) assumed that you have read it.

If there are other titles that you have seen that I don't know about that are absolutely, positively not mysteries, say so and I will be happy to take care of them. Again, if you think titles should be added, that is your job. There are 34 pp. of titles, so do check first to avoid duplication.

One concern here is the subtext. It assumes that the reader has read all of a series if s/he wants to vote for a writer. That isn't always the case, and so the rule fell apart. I'm not inclined to do anything about that. I think the rule was flawed.

Removed from page 5 for not being a mystery no matter how you look at it: Lolita. Also, Gone With the Wind blew off of page 6. Huck Finn has also been removed from p.7.

If there are others that need to go, please let me know what page. I have perused the first 10 pp. but don't plan to go through all 34 pages. If you let me know where you saw it, I can also check the page before and after if nec. in case its position has changed; if I don't find it then, I'll assume someone else has removed it. If there's no page # given, I probably won't get to it unless it's on the first page or two.

Kim wrote: "I managed to get a quarter of the way through this list before deciding it was a) too long and b) incoherent. Why is Diary of Anne Frank on here? Or Lolita? For a list to be meaningful, its entries..."

Anyone who has librarian status can remove titles that obviously are misplaced. Both titles have been removed. Thanks.

Gosh. These lists are mostly based on films and TV serials. Don't people find more interesting books to read through literature tradition and literary recommendations without the filter of mass media....

Juan wrote: "Gosh. These lists are mostly based on films and TV serials. ..."

Are they? Or were the films and television series made after a book, because the book made such an interesting read? :-)

Good point. For most folks, I think when we look for a movie to watch and see a great book, we want to see the movie, too, unless we've been warned not to. Then there's what I think of as Twilight Syndrome: sometimes people who don't read often will read a book that I don't think much of, and then (as a retired teacher) I am pleased to see a book get into the hands of someone who used to just watch TV, but is now reading.

Beth wrote: "Can't find alot of Caleb Carr or Kathy Reichs"

Didi you try your local library? I always go there first, and you can always have them help you and you can put a hold on any book they have in their collection. What about used book stores, or even goodwill? Just some suggestions.

Beth, if you mean you aren't finding Kathy Reichs on this list, her Temperance Brennan series is (as of this writing) #122. Note that each series is only represented with the first book, or is supposed to be.

Lisa wrote: "I cannot find anything by Harlan Coben on this list, maybe I did not look far enough, but he is too good of a suspense writer NOT to be included"

He's there multiple times, but so far I haven't seen any of the Myron Bolitar series, which I am re-reading now. But I'm only on page 4, maybe they are to come. I am loving the re-reading, just finished The Darkest Fear.

I love the mysteries by Elizabeth George. They are well written and are not that easy to figure out. Characters are well developed and the flow from one book to the next keeps me coming back for more.

Andrew wrote: "An interesting list, but really notable for it's absences. Henning Mankell doesn't make an appearance until #412 (as of Oct 17th, 2008), but his fellow Scandinavians, Indriadson, Nesser, Fossum, Er..."

Yes, the list is far from perfect, and yes several authors have been left out because they have not made it in the english global market. For instance Paco Ignacio Taibo II is a superb writer and probably superior to more than half of the popular authors in the list, but he is largely unknown outside the spanish market. Anyway, overall the list is good. I have not read Nesser, but now I will do so.

It is true...the aggravating part of a list like this, which is otherwise really interesting, is the problem of what to do if you have read a lot of a series, loved it, but you haven't read the first one (and for one reason or another, cannot do that now). What happens? People love their favorite writer, so they enter something they HAVE read...thus, we have #2 and #7 of Tony Hillerman's Joe Leaphorn series, just as one example. (I voted for the 7th when it was the lone rep on the list, and then I think #2 got added in; I have read them all, but was reluctant to add a third title or zap the votes of others, this being an abuse of a librarian's powers, arguably). Hard to figure out what to do in that case.

Labeeb wrote: "Why was 'The Hound of the Baskervilles' Removed from this list? It used to be on top. Also, it's gone from my list too & are also other few Mystery Crime books?

EDIT:
Ok I read the top part of add..."
Agreed. It's a tough nut to crack. If you allow any and all titles in (and some mystery and/or crime listopias have done so) then you have a super-long list and (at least for me) the dilemma of which 100 to vote for. If you say first of the series, maybe that one wasn't the best in the series, and/or maybe you have not read that one but still wish to vote for the writer.

I believe we librarians are supposed to say when we remove something from a list (and preferably why). If I'd had the nerve to yank any of the Sherlock Holmes series off this list, I'd have said so, but it wasn't my list originally, so I haven't knocked anything off that wasn't obviously on the wrong list. I'm a volunteer, not a staffer, and we can get knocked clear off the site if we get carried away!

bad

First Night of Summer A must read psychological thriller/ mystery. Disturbing and relevant. Not for the faint of heart. I found it to be a touching story where good triumphs over evil. Great ending!

Shirley wrote: "First Night of Summer A must read psychological thriller/ mystery. Disturbing and relevant. Not for the faint of heart. I found it to be a touching story where good triumphs over evil. Great ending!"
So did you add it?

The Treeman wrote: "This list is a joke. Only retarded people would vote Stieg Larsson as number one."

Yes !~~ A hackneyed list, at best.

Abbey wrote: "I'd love to have a list with just the title/author for all of 'em - yeah, I'm quite mad, but I love lists! (and mysteries...) Anybody know how I might arrange for that? The only way I've thought o..."

try the site www.stopyourekillingme.com

I have compiled a list of Best Mystery books of all time. If you have favorites not on the list, pleas let me know.

http://gaurassociates.com/#/mystery

@84...Hmm... I would put cloak 'n daggers in a genre of their own. "In A Lonely Place" by Dorothy B Hughes shld be on a best mystery list along with "Hangover Square" by Patrick Hamilton. You have no work x Cornell Woolrich/Wm Irish...also add "The Talented Mr. Ripley" x Patricia Highsmith, "Before the Fact" x Frances Iles....

@85 Thanks. As I read your recommendations, I will add to the list.

Aok.

Weekend Warriors

Like this list-I'm sure it's lacking, but there are already so many on here.

They had pick so many great books and I and fun looking at all the ones that I didn't know. So now that I have found them I am excited to be very excited and well be busy lol and who knows I shall add them to my club

I have added to my list a few more books I read in last few months. Check it out.
http://gaurassociates.com/#/mystery

The Treeman wrote: "This list is laughable. It is full of books that shouldn't be there and books that are basically horrible written."

Agreed. The list should be renamed "best selling or popular crime and mystery books".

Much chaff. Rare wheat.

written just after the great war, the hero detective of this book was one of the inspirations of Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot

I recently read The Mystery of a Hansom Cab van Fergus Hume, one of the oldest crime stories ever published. Great book! Keeps you guessing till the end...

What on earth is Little Women doing on this list?

Great list. I have been reading mystery books all my life.

If you are interested you can check some of my favorite books here.
http://gaurassociates.com/#/mystery

How is Thorn Birds either a crime or a mystery?????

Lois wrote: "What on earth is Little Women doing on this list?"

Give me the current number the book is on, and I'll remove it for you, as I agree with you here.

Noorilhuda wrote: "How is Thorn Birds either a crime or a mystery?????"

Give me the current number the book is on, and I'll remove it for you, as I agree with you here.

Well, I HAVE stuck to the rubric, and only voted for book the first book in a sequence - EVEN if that is not the book that I would recommend!
And I have only voted for a book if I think it belongs on the list (which means NOT voting for some great, but irrelevant books). It's a pity that the list is not moderated; its extreme length makes it unwieldy, and I would like to have been able to use it to get ideas fpr new authors tp read

It is easy to post book titles on this list! Add away; I love looking at all the authors I haven't read and adding to my list of "want to" reads! There are many I love! I could never choose one favorite author or book!