100 Favorite Mysteries of the Century List
These are the titles included in the Independent Mystery Booksellers Association 100 Favorite Mysteries of the Century list. In IMBA’s book, 100 Favorite Mysteries of the Century, each selected title was reviewed by a bookseller who worked in a member store. These reviewers and their stores (as of 2000) are listed under the titles. Stores with links are still open. The rest are, alas, closed.
The Tiger in the Smoke by Margery Allingham
Reviewed by Dean James — Murder by the Book, Houston, TX
A Coffin for Dimitrios (aka A Mask for Dimitrios) by Eric Ambler
Reviewed by Pat Kehde — The Raven, Lawrence, KS
A Dram of Poison by Charlotte Armstrong
Reviewed by Kate Mattes — Kate's Mystery Books, Cambridge, MA
Aunt Dimity's Death by Nancy Atherton
Reviewed by Yvonne Peaslee — Murder, Mystery, & Mayhem, Farmington, MI
In the Heat of the Night by John Ball
Reviewed by Mary Helen Becker — Booked for Murder, Madison, WI
Death by Sheer Torture (aka Sheer Torture) by Robert Barnard
Reviewed by Tom & Enid Schantz — Rue Morgue, Boulder, CO
Track of the Cat by Nevada Barr
Reviewed by Chris Aylott & Deb Tomaselli — Space-Crime Continuum, Northampton, MA
The Beast Must Die by Nicholas Blake
Reviewed by Bruce Taylor — San Francisco Mystery Bookstore, San Francisco, CA
When the Sacred Ginmill Closes by Lawrence Block
Reviewed by Jan Grape — Mystery & More Online, Austin, TX
Green for Danger by Christianna Brand
Reviewed by AbiGail Hamilton — Black Bird Mysteries, Keedysville, MD
The Fabulous Clipjoint by Fredric Brown
Reviewed by Alice Bentley — The Stars Our Destination, Evanston, IL
The 39 Steps by John Buchan
Reviewed by Mary Helen Becker — Booked for Murder, Madison, WI
Black Cherry Blues by James Lee Burke
Reviewed by Maryelizabeth Hart — Mysterious Galaxy, San Diego, CA
The Postman Always Rings Twice by James M. Cain
Reviewed by Robin Agnew — Aunt Agatha's, Ann Arbor, MI
The Thin Woman by Dorothy Cannell
Reviewed by Kate Birkel — The Mystery Booktore, Omaha, NE
The Three Coffins (aka The Hollow Man) by John Dickson Carr
Reviewed by Kathy Phillips — Spenser's Mystery Bookshop, Boston, MA
Thus Was Adonis Murdered by Sarah Caudwell
Reviewed by J.D. Singh — Sleuth of Baker Street, Toronoto, CA
The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler
Reviewed by Ann Saunders — Murder, Mystery, & Mayhem, Farmington, MI
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie
Reviewed by AbiGail Hamilton — Black Bird Mysteries, Keedysville, MD
The Concrete Blonde by Michael Connelly
Reviewed by Joe Morales — Capital Crimes Mystery Bookstore, Sacramento, CA
The Man Who Liked Slow Tomatoes by K.C. Constantine
Reviewed by John Leininger — Grave Matters, Cincinnati, OH
The Monkey's Raincoat by Robert Crais
Reviewed by Jim Huang — Deadly Passions Bookshop, Carmel, IN
The Moving Toyshop by Edmund Crispin
Reviewed by Jill Hinckley — Murder by the Book, Portland, OR
Dreaming of the Bones by Deborah Crombie
Reviewed by Sandy Goodrick — Seattle Mystery Bookshop, Seattle, WA
The Last Good Kiss by James Crumley
Reviewed by Carolyn Lane — Murder by the Book, Portland, OR
The Yellow Room Conspiracy by Peter Dickinson
Reviewed by Annalisa Peterson — Kate's Mystery Books, Cambridge, MA
The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle
Reviewed by Patricia Davis — Clues Unlimited, Tucson, AZ
Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
Reviewed by Lelia T. Taylor — Creatures' n Crooks Bookshoppe, Richmond, VA
Booked to Die by John Dunning
Reviewed by Jane Hooper — Sherlock's Home, Liberty, MO
Old Bones by Aaron Elkins
Reviewed by Patsy Asher — Remember the Alibi Mystery Bookstore, San Antonio, TX
One for the Money by Janet Evanovich
Reviewed by Maggie Mason — Lookin for Books, San Diego, CA
Time and Again by Jack Finney
Reviewed by Gilly Parker — Kate's Mystery Books, Cambridge, MA
Who in Hell Is Wanda Fuca? by G.M. Ford
Reviewed by Bill Farley — Seattle Mystery Bookshop, Seattle, WA
Whip Hand by Dick Francis
Reviewed by Mary Ann McDonald — Capital Crimes Mystery Bookstore, Sacramento, CA
The Hours Before Dawn by Celia Fremlin
Reviewed by Jamie Agnew — Aunt Agatha's, Ann Arbor, MI
A Great Deliverance by Elizabeth George
Reviewed by Robin Agnew — Aunt Agatha's, Ann Arbor, MI
Smallbone Deceased by Michael Gilbert
Reviewed by Mary Helen Becker — Booked for Murder, Madison, WI
A Is For Alibi by Sue Grafton
Reviewed by Judy Duhl — Scotland Yard Books, Winnetka, IL
The Killings at Badger's Drift by Caroline Graham
Reviewed by Kathy Phillips — Spenser's Mystery Bookshop, Boston, MA
The Man With a Load of Mischief by Martha Grimes
Reviewed by Robin Agnew — Aunt Agatha's, Ann Arbor, MI
The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett
Reviewed by Andrew Necci — Creatures' n Crooks Bookshoppe, Richmond, VA
An English Murder (aka The Christmas Murder) by Cyril Hare
Reviewed by J.D. Singh — Sleuth of Baker Street, Toronoto, CA
The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris
Reviewed by Otto Penzler — The Mysterious Bookshop, New York, NY
Tourist Season by Carl Hiaasen
Reviewed by Stephanie Saxon Levine — Murder on Miami Beach, North Miami Beach, FL
The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith
Reviewed by Jean May — Murder by the Book, Portland, OR
On Beulah Height by Reginald Hill
Reviewed by Dean James — Murder by the Book, Houston, TX
A Thief of Time by Tony Hillerman
Reviewed by Jan Grape — Mysteries & More Online, Austin, TX
Cotton Comes to Harlem by Chester Himes
Reviewed by AbiGail Hamilton — Black Bird Mysteries, Keedysville, MD
Hamlet, Revenge by Michael Innes
Reviewed by Ann Saunders — Murder, Mystery, & Mayhem, Farmington, MI
An Unsuitable Job for a Woman by P.D. James
Reviewed by Gilly Parker — Kate's Mystery Books, Cambridge, MA
The Ritual Bath by Faye Kellerman
Reviewed by Paige Rose — Mystery Loves Company, Baltimore, MD
When the Bough Breaks (aka Shrunken Heads) by Jonathan Kellerman
Reviewed by Sheri Kraft — Alibi Books, Glenview, IL
The Beekeeper's Apprentice by Laurie R. King
Reviewed by Kathleen Riley — Black Bird Mysteries, Keedysville, MD
Dark Nantucket Noon by Jane Langton
Reviewed by Jim Huang — Deadly Passions Bookshop, Carmel, IN
The Spy Who Came in From The Cold by John le Carré
Reviewed by Otto Penzler — The Mysterious Bookshop, New York, NY
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Reviewed by Chris Aylott — Space-Crime Continuum, Northampton, MA
Darkness, Take My Hand by Dennis Lehane
Reviewed by Chris Aylott — Space-Crime Continuum, Northampton, MA
Get Shorty by Elmore Leonard
Reviewed by Joanne Sinchuk — Murder on Miami Beach, North Miami Beach, FL
Sleeping Dog by Dick Lochte
Reviewed by Barbara Peters — The Poisoned Pen, A Mystery Bookstore, Scottsdale, AZ
Rough Cider by Peter Lovesey
Reviewed by Kathy Phillips — Spenser's Mystery Bookshop, Boston, MA
The Deep Blue Good-by by John D. MacDonald
Reviewed by Joanne Sinchuk — Murder on Miami Beach, North Miami Beach, FL
The List of Adrian Messenger by Philip MacDonald
Reviewed by Jennie G. Jacobson — Deadly Passions Bookshop, Carmel, IN
The Chill by Ross Macdonald
Reviewed by Andrew Necci — Creatures' n Crooks Bookshoppe, Richmond, VA
Bootlegger's Daughter by Margaret Maron
Reviewed by Mary Jane Maffini — Prime Crime, Ottawa, CA
Death of a Peer (aka Surfeit of Lampreys) by Ngaio Marsh
Reviewed by Karen Spengler — I Love a Mystery, Mission, KS
Sadie When She Died by Ed McBain
Reviewed by Paige Rose — Mystery Loves Company, Baltimore, MD
The Sunday Hangman by James McClure
Reviewed by Pat Kehde — The Raven, Lawrence, KS
If Ever I Return, Pretty Peggy-O by Sharyn McCrumb
Reviewed by Anne Poe Lehr — Poe's Cousin, White Plains, NY
A Stranger in My Grave by Margaret Millar
Reviewed by Dean James — Murder by the Book, Houston, TX
Devil in a Blue Dress by Walter Mosley
Reviewed by Ann Saunders — Murder, Mystery, & Mayhem, Farmington, MI
Edwin of the Iron Shoes by Marcia Muller
Reviewed by Jan Grape — Mysteries & More Online, Austin, TX
Death's Bright Angel by Janet Neel
Reviewed by Anne Poe Lehr — Poe's Cousin, White Plains, NY
Mallory's Oracle by Carol O'Connell
Reviewed by Patsy Asher — Remember the Alibi Mystery Bookstore, San Antonio, TX
Child of Silence by Abigail Padgett
Reviewed by Maryelizabeth Hart — Mysterious Galaxy, San Diego, CA
Deadlock by Sara Paretsky
Reviewed by Kate Mattes — Kate's Mystery Books, Cambridge, MA
Looking for Rachel Wallace by Robert Parker
Reviewed by Chris Aylott — Space-Crime Continuum, Northampton, MA
The Club Dumas by Arturo Perez-Reverte
Reviewed by Christine Acevedo — Clues Unlimited, Tucson, AZ
Vanishing Act by Thomas Perry
Reviewed by Sheri Kraft — Alibi Books, Glenview, IL
Crocodile on the Sandbank by Elizabeth Peters
Reviewed by Maggie Mason — Lookin for Books, San Diego, CA
One Corpse Too Many by Ellis Peters
Reviewed by Anne Poe Lehr — Poe's Cousin, White Plains, NY
Blue Lonesome by Bill Pronzini
Reviewed by Bruce Taylor — San Francisco Mystery Bookstore, San Francisco, CA
Cat of Many Tails by Ellery Queen
Reviewed by AbiGail Hamilton — Black Bird Mysteries, Keedysville, MD
No More Dying Then by Ruth Rendell
Reviewed by Susan Ekholm — A Compleat Mystery Bookshop, Portsmouth, NH
The Wrong Murder by Craig Rice
Reviewed by Tom & Enid Schantz — Rue Morgue, Boulder, CO
The Circular Staircase by Mary Roberts Rinehart
Reviewed by Pat Kehde — The Raven, Lawrence, KS
Blood at the Root (aka Dead Right) by Peter Robinson
Reviewed by Linda Wiken — Prime Crime, Ottawa, CA
Strike Three, You're Dead by R.D. Rosen
Reviewed by Judy Duhl — Scotland Yard Books, Winnetka, IL
A Broken Vessel by Kate Ross
Reviewed by Robin Agnew — Aunt Agatha's, Ann Arbor, MI
Concourse by S.J. Rozan
Reviewed by Jim Huang — Deadly Passions Bookshop, Carmel, IN
Murder Must Advertise by Dorothy Sayers
Reviewed by Lelia T. Taylor — Creatures' n Crooks Bookshoppe, Richmond, VA
The Laughing Policeman by Maj Sjöwall & Per Wahlöö
Reviewed by Pat Kehde — The Raven, Lawrence, KS
Some Buried Caesar (aka The Red Bull) by Rex Stout
Reviewed by Karen Duncan — Seattle Mystery Bookshop, Seattle, WA
Brat Farrar (aka Come and Kill Me) by Josephine Tey
Reviewed by Henrietta Wilde — Whodunit? Mystery Bookstore, Winnipeg, CA
Chinaman's Chance by Ross Thomas
Reviewed by John A. Hooper — Sherlock's Home, Liberty, MO
A Test of Wills by Charles Todd
Reviewed by Barbara Peters — The Poisoned Pen, A Mystery Bookstore, Scottsdale, AZ
Presumed Innocent by Scott Turow
Reviewed by Jill Hinckley — Murder by the Book, Portland, OR
The Sands of Windee by Arthur Upfield
Reviewed by B Jo Bauer Farley — Seattle Mystery Bookshop, Seattle, WA
The Ice House by Minette Walters
Reviewed by Lelia T. Taylor — Creatures' n Crooks Bookshoppe, Richmond, VA
Sanibel Flats by Randy Wayne White
Reviewed by Tom & Enid Schantz — Rue Morgue, Boulder, CO
I Married a Dead Man by Cornell Woolrich
Reviewed by Clare Wilcox — M is for Mystery, San Mateo, CA
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