The Top-100 Crime Novels of All Time

1-10 | 11-20 | 21-30 | 31-40 | 41-50 | 51-60 | 61-70 | 71-80 | 81-90 | 91-100

Georges Simenon (2003) Dirty Snow. (First published in 1950)

Set in occupied France during WWII, Simenon's bleak masterpiece is a dispassionate description of human cruelty. No other writer has achieved the psychological intensity of Simenon. “What many regard as the finest of all noir novels…"--Tim Rutten, The Los Angeles Times

Georges Simenon (2006) The Strangers in the House.

Hector Loursat has been a hermit in his own house ever since his wife abandoned him years ago. Only when a gunshot raises him from his alcohol-induced stupor he takes notice of his teenage daughter and her dangerous friends living in his house. Simenon's dispassionate masterpiece is a philosophically profound examination of emotional decay and resurrection.

Maj Sjowall / Per Wahloo (1993) Roseanna.

The first book in the Martin Beck series of crime novels by the Swedish writer couple Sjowall / Wahloo. Written from a left-wing political perspective, the novel portrays the social and political climate of Sweden in the late 1960s and 1970s. Fortunately, the political propaganda is packaged in intelligent suspense and a plot populated by authentic characters.

Maj Sjowall / Per Wahloo (1992) The Locked Room.

Smart, well trained and tough policemen, who competently investigate crime scenes may be the personnel of CSI TV series. In this crime novel the police force is understaffed, incompetent and poorly motivated. Their investigation of a series of bank burglaries ends in a pathetic disaster, typical for the social condition in Sweden during the late 1960s.

Scott Smith (2007) A Simple Plan.

Three men accidentally stumble upon a plane that has crashed with millions of dollars in cash on board in a rural area. They decide to keep the money, but hide it for one year and live a normal live to make sure no one else is looking for it. A simple plan, but then things get horribly wrong as greed turns into deceit, treachery, and murder. Excellent psycho thriller!

Arthur W. Upfield (1998) Murder Down Under.

This is one of Upfield's best murder mysteries. His protégée, Napoleon (Bony) Bonaparte investigates a murder while on vacation in the wheat town of Burracoppin of Western Australia. In the fascinating scenery of the Australian Outback quirky characters will drag you into a complex puzzle.

Arthur W. Upfield (1998) The Bachelors of Broken Hill.

Set in a remote mining town, Upfield's murder mystery brings to life a long-ago forgotten world.

Barbara Vine (1989) The House of Stairs. (First published 1988)

Ruth Rendell writing as Barbara Vine.

Cornell Woolrich (1995) Waltz into Darkness. (First published in 1947)

Middle-aged Louis Durand, whose fiance died 15 years ago, decides to take one more chance on love and marry a woman he knows only through correspondence. When she arrives, she's younger and more beautiful that he had expected - and far more deadly. A classical novel noire (French movie by Trancois Truffault).

Kobo Abe (1991) The Woman in the Dunes. (First published in 1962)

In this strangely terrifying book Niki Jumpei, an amateur entomologist discovers a bizarre village in the dunes, where residents live in deep sand pits. They take him prisoner. While constantly shoveling sand that threatens to bury the community, Niki struggles to escape. With its bizarre plot Abe has created one of the finest Japanese post-war novels.

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