No. Just no. Call me a mystery snob, and feel free to judge me for not coming up with my own Top 10, but I’m going to say that a Top 10 List of BEST Mysteries Ever Written that includes the Da Vinci Code might be starting at the wrong end of the list. It could certainly anchor a Top 10 Best SELLING Mysteries, sure. (Also, @vintageanchor, I think your in-house bias for Dan Brown may be showing.) EDITED: I will point you to a Metafilter thread from 2007 that - at first glance - covers the Top 100 Best Mysteries in a far more comprehensive way.  This is a Top 100 list that I can agree with almost wholeheartedly. It’s from the Mystery Writers of America, and luckily the list is still there on Metafilter as it points to a broken link at mysterywriters.org Their Top 10: 1. The Complete Sherlock Holmes, by Arthur Conan Doyle (Included in this are The Hound of the Baskervilles, A Study in Scarlet, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and The Sign of Four, each of which garned a lot of votes on its own.)2. The Maltese Falcon, by Dashiell Hammett3. Tales of Mystery and Imagination, by Edgar Allen Poe (Includes “The Gold Bug” and “Murders in the Rue Morgue,” which also received a lot of individual votes.)4. The Daughter of Time, by Josephine Tey5. Presumed Innocent, by Scott Turow6. The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, by John le Carré7. The Moonstone, by Wilkie Collins8. The Big Sleep, by Raymond Chandler9. Rebecca, by Daphne du Maurier10. And Then There Were None, by Agatha Christie vintageanchor: 10 Best Mystery Books Ever Written From symbols to horse racing to cold cases, these stories all have a mystery to solve.1. Proof by Dick Francis. As with most of Francis’ mysteries, this one is set against the backdrop of horse racing, but also delves into the world of wine and liquor tampering in what is considered by many to be one of the best of Francis’ many bestsellers. 2. The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown. Symbologist Robert Langdon must solve the mystery surrounding the death of a high-ranking official in an ancient secret society in this popular novel. 3.The Ritual Bath by Faye Kellerman. This book is the first of a popular series featuring detective Peter Decker, this one taking him into a yeshiva to solve a murder. 4. And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie. Ten strangers are mysteriously invited to an island for a weekend where they begin to die, one by one. 5. Catch Me: Kill Me by William Hallahan. This story of a kidnapped Russian poet and a missing nuclear scientist will keep you guessing right up to the very end in this 1978 winner of the Edgar Allan Poe Award. 6. Peregrine by William Bayer. A peregrine falcon is used as a murder weapon in this award-winning story. 7. Postmortem by Patricia Cornwell. The first of the popular Kay Scarpetta mysteries, Postmortem tells of a chief medical examiner who uses her CSI-like skills to solve the case of a serial killer. 8. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson. A financial journalist who must redeem himself by solving a 40 year-old case joins forces with a brilliant, street-wise young woman in this captivating tale. 9. The Nine Tailors by Dorothy L Sayers. Murder, jewel theft, and church bells all figure prominently in this beloved detective novel. 10. Bones by Jan Burke. Journalist Irene Kelly helps solve the mystery of a serial killer in this seventh of a series written by Burke.

No. Just no.

Call me a mystery snob, and feel free to judge me for not coming up with my own Top 10, but I’m going to say that a Top 10 List of BEST Mysteries Ever Written that includes the Da Vinci Code might be starting at the wrong end of the list.

It could certainly anchor a Top 10 Best SELLING Mysteries, sure.

(Also, @vintageanchor, I think your in-house bias for Dan Brown may be showing.)

EDITED: I will point you to a Metafilter thread from 2007 that - at first glance - covers the Top 100 Best Mysteries in a far more comprehensive way.  This is a Top 100 list that I can agree with almost wholeheartedly. It’s from the Mystery Writers of America, and luckily the list is still there on Metafilter as it points to a broken link at mysterywriters.org

Their Top 10:

1. The Complete Sherlock Holmes, by Arthur Conan Doyle (Included in this are The Hound of the Baskervilles, A Study in Scarlet, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and The Sign of Four, each of which garned a lot of votes on its own.)
2. The Maltese Falcon, by Dashiell Hammett
3. Tales of Mystery and Imagination, by Edgar Allen Poe (Includes “The Gold Bug” and “Murders in the Rue Morgue,” which also received a lot of individual votes.)
4. The Daughter of Time, by Josephine Tey
5. Presumed Innocent, by Scott Turow
6. The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, by John le Carré
7. The Moonstone, by Wilkie Collins
8. The Big Sleep, by Raymond Chandler
9. Rebecca, by Daphne du Maurier
10. And Then There Were None, by Agatha Christie

vintageanchor:

10 Best Mystery Books Ever Written


From symbols to horse racing to cold cases, these stories all have a mystery to solve.

1. Proof by Dick Francis. As with most of Francis’ mysteries, this one is set against the backdrop of horse racing, but also delves into the world of wine and liquor tampering in what is considered by many to be one of the best of Francis’ many bestsellers.


2. The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown. Symbologist Robert Langdon must solve the mystery surrounding the death of a high-ranking official in an ancient secret society in this popular novel.


3.The Ritual Bath by Faye Kellerman. This book is the first of a popular series featuring detective Peter Decker, this one taking him into a yeshiva to solve a murder.


4. And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie. Ten strangers are mysteriously invited to an island for a weekend where they begin to die, one by one.


5. Catch Me: Kill Me by William Hallahan. This story of a kidnapped Russian poet and a missing nuclear scientist will keep you guessing right up to the very end in this 1978 winner of the Edgar Allan Poe Award.


6. Peregrine by William Bayer. A peregrine falcon is used as a murder weapon in this award-winning story.


7. Postmortem by Patricia Cornwell. The first of the popular Kay Scarpetta mysteries, Postmortem tells of a chief medical examiner who uses her CSI-like skills to solve the case of a serial killer.


8. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson. A financial journalist who must redeem himself by solving a 40 year-old case joins forces with a brilliant, street-wise young woman in this captivating tale.


9. The Nine Tailors by Dorothy L Sayers. Murder, jewel theft, and church bells all figure prominently in this beloved detective novel.


10. Bones by Jan Burke. Journalist Irene Kelly helps solve the mystery of a serial killer in this seventh of a series written by Burke.

(via weeklylizard)