Writing great crime fiction means reading the best crime novels? Below are 10 crime novels that will give you a good reading foundation:
Defining what we mean by 'crime novels'
Most aficionados of crime and mystery fiction could quibble about the differences between crime and mystery fiction. There is a great deal of overlap, but one of the main distinctions is that a crime novel may not necessarily include a mystery.
The list below covers a variety of styles, eras and subjects. While there are too many great crime novelists to cover them all in a list of just 10, these books are each illuminating in their own way.
Our list of the best crime novels
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The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie
One of the crime queen's best, and its surprising twist ending has resonated across decades of crime fiction since. -
The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler
Remembered for its use of language, its detective Philip Marlowe and its skilful evocation of 1930s California. -
The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammet
Features the detective Sam Spade who was influential in Chandler's creation of Marlowe. -
The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith
The first in her series about the charming sociopath Tom Ripley who lies and murders his way into European high society. -
A Judgement in Stone by Ruth Rendell
Begins with the murder of a family and works its way backward to reconstruct how the woman responsible was driven to do so. -
In the Electric Mist With Confederate Dead by James Lee Burke
New Orleans detective Dave Robicheaux encounters the ghosts of soldiers during his efforts to catch a brutal killer. -
The Big Blowdown by George Pelecanos
A departure for this chronicler of the Washington D.C. underworld. It goes back to the 1940s to tell about the parents and grandparents of some of Pelecanos' regular characters. -
Money Shot by Christa Faust
Features one of the toughest dames in crime fiction racing against time to clear her name and save her life. -
The Bottoms by Joe Lansdale
This won the 2001 Edgar Award for Best Novel for this tale of a serial killer loose amid a racially tense Texas town in the 1930s. -
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
An international publishing sensation. The tale of a young damaged hacker and the journalist she works with to stop a serial killer.
Read Pan MacMillan's list of the best crime books of 2020. What are your favourite crime novels and why?
