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Book Reviews of The Crown Crime Companion : The Top 100 Mystery Novels of All Time

The Crown Crime Companion : The Top 100 Mystery Novels of All Time
The Crown Crime Companion The Top 100 Mystery Novels of All Time
Author: Otto Penzler, Mickey Friedman
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ISBN-13: 9780517881156
ISBN-10: 0517881152
Publication Date: 5/2/1995
Pages: 192
Rating:
  • Currently 3.5/5 Stars.
 3

3.5 stars, based on 3 ratings
Publisher: Three Rivers Press
Book Type: Paperback
Reviews: Amazon | Write a Review

Book Reviews submitted by our Members...sorted by voted most helpful

WhidbeyIslander avatar reviewed The Crown Crime Companion : The Top 100 Mystery Novels of All Time on + 744 more book reviews
I rated this low because it was published in 1995, so those surveyed filled out their list before books by authors that would no doubt be included in a new list were published (or written) -- such as Charles Todd, Louise Penny, et al. Also, there is no index showing where books are listed or written about.

As it stands, it's an interesting compendium and includes some books that are on my favorite list and some I might actually seek out (although there are too many Hardboiled entries to interest me.)

The Top 100 books are listed and a short entry about each one is included (with the authors' thoughts, such as disagreeing with some top vote-getters due to their not being actual novels or not quite matching the category.)

it is explained how the list was compiled and the top ten in each of the categories (Classics, Suspense, Police Procedural, Cozy, Humorous, etc) are listed. It also lists the Edgar Winners and Nominees -- up until 1994, that is.

Of course I can't write a review without listing my own favorites:

1 The Uninvited - Dorothy Macardle
2 Rim of the Pit - Hake Talbot
3 The Three Coffins - John Dickson Carr **
4 The Daughter of Time - Josephine Tey **
5 The Hound of the Baskervilles - Arthur Conan Doyle **
6 And Then There Were None - Agatha Christie **
7 The Thirteenth Tale - Diane Setterfield
8 Murder on the Orient Express - Agatha Christie **
9 Green For Danger - Christianna Brand
10 Repeat Performance - William O'Farrell
11 Cue for Murder - Helen McCloy
12 Death from a Top Hat - Clayton Rawson
13 Time and Again - Jack Finney **
14 The Problem of the Green Capsule - John Dickson Carr
15 The Murder of Roger Ackroyd - Agatha Christie **
16 Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruis Zafon
17 The Water Room - Christopher Fowler
18 The House on the Strand - Daphne DuMaurier
19 Magpie Murders - Anthony Horowitz
20 A Fatal Grace - Louise Penny

** - included in this book's Top 100 list

Honorable mention:
Farthing - Jo Walton
Test of Wills - Charles Todd
The Fourth Door - Paul Halter