Detective Fiction

1926 · Agatha Christie · 256 pages · Mystery

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd is the Agatha Christie novel that changed what mystery fiction was allowed to do. The twist broke the genre's unwritten rules so thoroughly that it sparked a debate that has never been resolved. Nearly a century later, it remains one of the most audacious and perfectly executed mysteries ever written, and its solution still has the power to astonish.

1934 · Agatha Christie · 256 pages · Mystery

Murder on the Orient Express is the Agatha Christie novel with the most famous solution in mystery fiction, and it works because the clue-laden journey to that solution is as satisfying as the destination. Poirot is at his most theatrical, the snowbound train is a perfect locked room, and the final reveal remains one of the most audacious plot turns ever constructed. Even if you know the ending, the craft of the setup repays attention.

1939 · Raymond Chandler · 231 pages · Mystery

The Big Sleep is the novel that made Philip Marlowe a permanent resident of American fiction and Raymond Chandler the poet laureate of Los Angeles noir. The plot is famously tangled, even Chandler couldn't explain all of it, but that barely matters. You read this book for the voice, the atmosphere, and the sentences. They're among the best ever written in any genre.