Time’s 100 Best Mystery and Thriller Books of All Time

It's spooky season, so I thought it would be fun to go through Time Magazine's list of the 100 Best Mystery and Thriller Books of All Time to see how many I have read, which ones don't belong, and who I think should have been included. Expand for more information. 👇

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[lauragabbard]

For Tana French I’d start with the first Dublin Murder Squad book which is In The Woods. Very good one!

[ColorfulBooknester]

Thank you of mentioning The Alienist - and yes if we are including both mystery and thriller - House of Leaves! And please try to read The Shadow of the Wind... Thanks for going through this list. And Big Little Lies was a great fast paced book - really jump started my reading again after a long reading slump for me.

[jacksontalley]

I didn't think I would like Crime and Punishment but I read it back in April of this year and LOVED it. There's such a reputation that it's a hard book but I didn't find it too difficult to read and enjoy. I definitely want to read The Brothers Karamazov and Demons.

[wordqueen]

I love this video. I'm trying to get into spooky stories with my students since it's definitely in my curriculum for October. Do you mind sharing a little of what you do for a living now beside youtube? I think a lot of us (me included) went into teaching because we didn't know what else to do and it seemed like a fun thing to do but are now looking to pursue other things....you seem like you have a vast knowledge of the world --- what is there to do for someone that loves books and people but is a little put off by teaching at the moment. I love your content and look forward to every video of yours! Keep doing what you do.

[larryyonce]

Thanks so much for doing this Greg 👍. I wasn't aware Time Magazine did this. I've only read between 5 and 10 of these. But I'm saving the list! I want to dive into these.

[neliaaa]

The murder of roger Aykroyd is one of Christie's finest pieces of writing! This was her first best seller back in the day.
And please, please, read Double indemnity. It's a fantastic book! I might be a bit biased because the Barbara Stanwyck film is one of my all-time favourites 😍

[kaholli]

This was a fun one! Thanks for making me aware of that list. Definitely good food for my TBR on there. :)

[michaelbroderick]

I agree with you about the older, classic mysteries. But definitely read the Hound of the Baskervilles before your trip and if you happen to cross a Scottish Moor be sure to look in all directions!

[awebofstories]

I would actually recommend that you try The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, for the same reasons you said We Have Lived in the Castle is important. Roger Ackroyd was really a ground-breaking novel for its time and sort of shook up the crime fiction landscape when it came out. That being said, it is a Poirot novel and there is a lot of Poirot-ness, which sounds like it isn't your thing. However, I think if you go into Roger Ackroyd knowing that it is there, it shouldn't be too much of a distraction.

[neliaaa]

John le Carré writes brilliant spy thrillers. If you're reading the Smiley series, rather read in order (tinker tailor soldier spy are later in the series) because it does follow one spy (Smiley) and the plots he's involved in. I've only read a handful of his books and a murder of quality (the 2nd in the smiley series) are my favourite so far. This is mostly because it's set at a boy's school of all places. I need to pick up the next one in the series, but I'm on a mission to finish the Josephine Tey books in my (local) library 😂 hopefully in December when it's sunny! 🌞🏖

[lindaleehall]

If you want to read a Dorothy Sayer, go with the Nine Tailors. It has some slow bits but overall brilliant.

[mariyamak]

For Scotland, I definitely recommend Ian Rankin. He has the very long Rebus series (and a couple that are not so long... yet) and some standalone books. But I'd recommend a non-mystery, The Flood, which is a coming of age and deals with class and transition in Scotland. He is very masterful at creating an atmosphere.

[EdgardRefinetti]

John Le Carré became one of my recent favorite writers. I've been reading his Smiley's series. 'The Spy Who Came In from the Cold' is the third, but it works as a standalone (the main character of the series has just a cameo in it).
Alternatively, I'd recommend 'The Little Drummer Girl, ' a standalone that deals with the Israeli-Palestinian theme. The characterizations are superb and the plot is amazing. Until around the middle, I was doubting every action and motivation of all the characters.

And FWIW, yes to 'Rebecca' and 'Smilla's Sense of Snow.' And Mick Herron should be in the list.

[Jacob-guin]

I don't read many mysteries or thrillers, but I am always interested when 'literary' writers dabble in genre. The results are often things I either absolutely love or absolutely hate. I read Drove Your Plough Over the Bones of the Dead and Your House Will Pay in 2021 and they still stick with me. I recommend them both extremely highly. I was especially not expecting to love Your House Will Pay as much as I did, and I feel bad that I haven't read more of Steph Cha since. I am also intrigued by the inclusion of Linda Hogan's Mean Spirit. It was a Pulitzer Prize finalist in 1991, and I read a different Hogan, People of the Whale, this year and liked it a lot. I might prioritize getting to it now.
Thanks for a great video!

[taravincent]

I really enjoyed this video. Please do more like it. I’m surprised you didn’t like The Goldfinch. I just finished it today and loved it’s beautiful writing and the story. I tackled it (after a dnf years ago) after reading and enjoying Demon Copperhead. The Secret History will be my next Donna Tartt.

[annharbaugh]

Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead is very good. I liked Bluebird Bluebird. Mexican Gothic was just OK. P.D. James and Elizabeth George deserve to be on the list. I also really loved some of Kate Atkinson's mysteries. I loved The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay but I also enjoyed Moonglow. Hated Gone Girl with a ferocious passion. This was a fun video. Thanks!

[barbarahurwitz]

I thought that a secret history was one of the worst books I ever read and I also didn’t finish the goldfinch

[AmalijaKomar]

Love both Eco The Name of the Rose and Fucault Pendelium. Generally a fan of most of his books. Find your video in a perfect time for me. Thanks.

[readandre-read]

I've read a handful of Agatha Christie novels and my favorite by far was The Murder of Roger Ackroyd. Rebecca is terrific. It builds up slowly and becomes delicious. I've thought of rereading Smilla's Sense of Snow because I remember liking it but the details are now hazy. I love Kate Atkinson, Attica Locke, Sarah Waters, Laura Lippman and Tana French. For French I'd start with either In The Woods or The Searcher. I can think of a bunch of missing books! Where's Denise Mina? What about Harlem Shuffle? The list goes on.

[TheLeniverse]

Yes to Rebecca! Yes to Dorothy Sayers! Gaudy Night is my favourite, but you can't read it first. Or at least, the reading experience will be better if you have read some of the other books. Most of the books are starring Lord Peter, and then there are a few books with Peter and his extremely slow-burn love interest Harriet Vane (well, slow-burn from her side, love at first sight of her mugshot in the newspaper for him). Gaudy Night is her book, and Peter is just a side character. If you haven't met either of them before you are going to miss out on so much backstory and character development. That said, you don't have to read all of them. Start with maybe... Clouds of Witness for Peter and his family, and a very Agatha Christiesque mystery. Then, if you like that, you can either read the books in order or you can jump to Strong Poison for an introduction to Harriet Vane, who is under arrest on suspicion of having poisoned her former lover.

The Honjin Murders is the first in a series of Japanese murder mysteries. Very inspired by Agatha Christie, but also very Japanese. I like them, but I am more than casually into Golden Age mysteries.

And definitely read The Name of the Rose. That one stands out as just different from anything else I've read. It demands a lot from the reader though.

Smilla's Sense of Snow is a bit strange. I loved the first half which had a lot of social realism and dealt with issues of identity and colonialism, but then it turned into an action thriller that gave me whiplash. I don't know if the book's genre identity crisis is meant to mirror something in the protagonist, but it felt a bit like they switched authors mid-way.