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, Ericksson, et. al. don't make an appearance at all. It's safe to say that, for one example, every of Nesser's books is superior to John MacDonald, just to name one author. I'd say he's better than Chandler, Christie, Stout, Hammett and many others. Also, the fact that anything by Dan Brown is listed as number 2 is just disturbing to me.

Can't find alot of Caleb Carr or Kathy Reichs

I read a few Crime and Mystery books but not enough to be a good judge on who writes the best. I would end up voting for Christie, Poe or Koontz just because I recognize their name and have read some of the books, not because I truly knew they were the best.

Chillwater Cove Lakeman has the pacing of Dan Brown, but with literary chops as well! I believe I have stumbled upon the next James Lee Burke. I look forward to reading Lakeman's next novel in this series, BROKEN WING.

Andrew : Mankell might be good but Chandler is one of the most literary talented american writers of the last century. To compare him is too much imo....

John D. Macdonald is great too.

You must hate Hardboiled fiction....

I like Motherless Brooklyn, so funny and entertaining!

This is a great list, but there are some pretty stark omissions, IMO. First, nothing by Ross Thomas? Really? Could he have been forgotten already? He was one of the best satirical/political mystery writers ever. And the list is a bit skimpy on the the Donald Westlake/Richard Stark oeuvre. I would put his relatively recent book The Ax, about a downsized chemist who conspires to kill all of his potential rivals in the job market, in the top 5 best all-time mystery books. Also, many of James Lee Burke's excellent early books did not make the list. Surely anything he has written outshines most of what passes for good mystery writing these days. He's at least as good as, say, Dennis Lehane (who I also love.) Also Michael Dibdin deserves much more of a presence. Finally, where's Robert Wilson? He's written at least three really excellent mystery novels this decade.

Why don't you add them? The form is at the right hand side of the page.

In Cold Blood and Fatal Vision are both TRUE CRIME non-fiction works.....IF we put True Crime on this list, then clearly Anne Rule and Doc Olsen should listed.

Susanna wrote: "Why don't you add them? The form is at the right hand side of the page."

Thanks - I will.

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

Why don't you add him?

I'm not an Isaac Asimov reader, but isn't he sci-fi rather than crime/mystery?

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 what I recall of reading my grandfather's Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazines while I was growing up, he was a pretty frequent contributor. I remember the "Black Widower" stories in particular.

Did not know that.

He was pretty prolific, Asimov, and wrote in a number of genres.

Lobstergirl wrote: "Did not know that."

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 [book:Murder at the ABA|470356..."

Murder at the ABA is a readable non-SF mystery....If I remember rightly, ABA is the American BOOKSELLERS Assoc.

It's been years since I've read it, but I think you're right, Thom.

Thom wrote: "In Cold Blood and Fatal Vision are both TRUE CRIME non-fiction works.....IF we put True Crime on this list, then clearly Anne Rule and Doc Olsen should listed."

I found In Cold Blood but not any by Ann Rule and was wondering. There is nothing so terrifying as The Stranger Beside Me!..... and it took them so long to catch him!