Detective stories are a uniquely thrilling genre. You get to follow your curiosity by solving a puzzle alongside the sleuth, slowly unraveling a mystery until you find the truth. There are so many fantastic detective novels and stories that it's hard to choose a list of favorites, but we’ve done our best to identify the ones that have truly become staples of the crime fiction genre. In this article, we’ve compiled our list of the best detective books and mystery series of all time. Happy reading! Best Detective and Mystery Stories Let’s start with our picks for the best standalone detective stories. Many stories on this list are part of a series, but we’ve only included stories that you can enjoy on their own—either the first story in a series, or a later in a series that you don’t need to read in chronological order.

This is a richly entertaining collection of stories from the golden age of crime fiction - a period when crimes were solved by the wit and ingenuity of the sleuth with only his own intelligence to rely on

A murdered heiress, a missing necklace, and a train full of shifty, unusual, and suspicious characters leaves Daisy and Hazel with a new mystery to solve in this third novel of the Wells & Wong Mystery series. Hazel Wong and Daisy Wells are taking a vacation across Europe on world-famous passenger train, the Orient Express—and it’s clear that each of their fellow first-class travelers has something to hide. Even more intriguing: There’s rumor of a spy in their midst. Then, during dinner, a bloodcurdling scream comes from inside one of the cabins. When the door is broken down, a passenger is found murdered—her stunning ruby necklace gone. But the killer has vanished, as if into thin air. The Wells & Wong Detective Society is ready to crack the case—but this time, they’ve got competition.

Essential reading for all armchair detectives, this collection of 33 classic whodunits is the cream of crime writing.

A 2017 Agatha Award Nominee! * A Best Children’s Book of the Year Pick for Kids 9 to 12 from Bank Street College! Caroline Carlson, author of the Very Nearly Honorable League of Pirates series, returns with The World’s Greatest Detective, a story of crime, tricks, and hilarity for those who know that sometimes it takes a pair of junior sleuths to solve a slippery case. Detectives’ Row is full of talented investigators, but Toby Montrose isn’t one of them. He’s only an assistant at his uncle’s detective agency, and he’s not sure he’s even very good at that. Toby’s friend Ivy is the best sleuth around—or at least she thinks so. They both see their chance to prove themselves when the famed Hugh Abernathy announces a contest to choose the World’s Greatest Detective. But when what was supposed to be a game turns into a real-life murder mystery, can Toby and Ivy crack the case?

The Grand Babylon Hotel is an exclusive London establishment, and American millionaire Theodore Racksole, visiting the hotel with his spirited 23-year-old daughter Nella, decides to buy the place. What he hasn't counted on is having to deal with a criminal conspiracy whose purposes are not at all clear, and events take an unexpected turn as Theodore and Nella play detective. Replete with evil villains, physical dangers, and secret passages, The Grand Babylon Hotel is a mesmerizing thriller that will be enjoyed by mystery lovers everywhere.