Wool and Spice

I came across a list recently that I picked up 10 (!) years ago of the 100 favorite mysteries of the 20th century as compiled by the Independent Mystery Booksellers Association (IMBA). From their website:

Members of the IMBA’s online discussion group spent nearly two months considering and debating hundreds of titles recommended by mystery booksellers throughout the country.

“Fortunately, since we were working online, no blood was spilled in the creation of this list,” commented IMBA director Jim Huang. “It was a lively and contentious process, with each of us pulling for cherished books.”

“We agreed that each author would appear on the list only once,” Huang added, “in order to represent as many of our favorite writers as possible.” Some of the genre’s greatest and most prolific writers had several titles nominated.

I used to be a ferocious mystery reader, stalking bookstores looking for new authors like I now stalk yarn stores. When traveling I used to get a little happy tingle down my spine to find a well-stocked independent bookseller; knowing I could browse for an hour and leave with several books to lose myself in.

I eventually burned out on mysteries and while seeking something else to occupy my brain, came across a pair of mittens I had started knitting God knows when. I never looked back. For the last 10 years, that little happy tingle has been caused more by yarn shops than bookstores — although not so much lately. I seem to have hit my stash comfort level and don’t buy wholesale amounts of yarn anymore.

I still read mysteries, just not in the quantity I used to. I have favorite authors that I watch for (Margaret Maron, Minette Walters, P.D. James) and will buy their books in hardback to add to my shelf. Otherwise I use the library for a quick read.

Since I’ve read less than half the books on the IMBA’s list, I’m going to work my way through it. Several of the books are out-of-print but I already found 3 of them at my local library and I’m guessing Alibris will be a good source as well.

I’m in no hurry to get through them all. I still have plenty of knitting to do.

I’ve highlighted in bold the books I’ve already read.  There are some others that I think I’ve read but I don’t remember enough about the book to be sure. They may still be in my bookcase so I’ll spend some time researching.

I’m also going to add the list as a page on my site so I can update it with ease.

The 100 Favorite Mysteries of the Century

(according to the Independent Mystery Booksellers Association)

(listed by author; current paperback publisher is noted for in-print titles)

Allingham, Margery. The Tiger in the Smoke (Carroll & Graf)
Ambler, Eric. A Coffin for Dimitrios (Carroll & Graf)
Armstrong, Charlotte. A Dram of Poison (currently unavailable)
Atherton, Nancy. Aunt Dimity’s Death (Penguin)
Ball, John. In the Heat of the Night (Carroll & Graf)
Barnard, Robert. Death by Sheer Torture (currently unavailable)
Barr, Nevada. Track of the Cat (Avon)
Blake, Nicholas. The Beast Must Die (currently unavailable)
Block, Lawrence. When the Sacred Ginmill Closes (Avon)
Brand, Christianna. Green for Danger (Carroll & Graf)
Brown, Frederic. The Fabulous Clipjoint (currently unavailable)
Buchan, John. The 39 Steps (Dover)
Burke, James Lee. Black Cherry Blues (Avon)
Cain, James M.. The Postman Always Rings Twice (Vintage/Black Lizard)
Cannell, Dorothy. The Thin Woman (Bantam)
Carr, John Dickson. The Three Coffins (currently unavailable)
Caudwell, Sarah. Thus Was Adonis Murdered (Dell)
Chandler, Raymond. The Big Sleep (Vintage)
Christie, Agatha. The Murder of Roger Ackroyd (HarperPaperbacks)
Connelly, Michael. The Concrete Blonde (St. Martin’s)
Constantine, K.C.. The Man Who Liked Slow Tomatoes (David R. Godine)
Crais, Robert. The Monkey’s Raincoat (Bantam)
Crispin, Edmund. The Moving Toyshop (Penguin)
Crombie, Deborah. Dreaming of the Bones (Bantam)
Crumley, James. The Last Good Kiss (Vintage)
Dickinson, Peter. The Yellow Room Conspiracy (currently unavailable)
Doyle, Arthur Conan. The Hound of the Baskervilles (Berkley)
DuMaurier, Daphne. Rebecca (Avon)
Dunning, John. Booked to Die (Avon)
Elkins, Aaron. Old Bones (Mysterious)
Evanovich, Janet. One for the Money (HarperPaperbacks)
Finney, Jack. Time and Again (Scribner)
Ford, G.M.. Who in Hell Is Wanda Fuca? (Avon)
Francis, Dick. Whip Hand (Jove)
Fremlin, Celia. The Hours Before Dawn (Academy Chicago)
George, Elizabeth. A Great Deliverance (Bantam)
Gilbert, Michael. Smallbone Deceased (currently unavailable)
Grafton, Sue. “A” is for Alibi (Bantam)
Graham, Caroline. The Killings at Badger’s Drift (currently unavailable)
Grimes, Martha. The Man With the Load of Mischief (currently unavailable)
Hammett, Dashiell. The Maltese Falcon (Vintage)
Hare, Cyril. An English Murder (currently unavailable)
Harris, Thomas. The Silence of the Lambs (St. Martin’s)
Hiaasen, Carl. Tourist Season (Warner)
Highsmith, Patricia. The Talented Mr. Ripley (Vintage)
Hill, Reginald. On Beulah Height (Dell)
Hillerman, Tony. A Thief of Time (HarperPaperbacks)
Himes, Chester. Cotton Comes to Harlem (Vintage)
Innes, Michael. Hamlet, Revenge (currently unavailable)
James, P.D.. An Unsuitable Job for a Woman (Warner)
Kellerman, Faye. The Ritual Bath (Avon)
Kellerman, Jonathan. When the Bough Breaks (Bantam)
King, Laurie. The Beekeeper’s Apprentice (Bantam)
Langton, Jane. Dark Nantucket Noon (Penguin)
le Carre, John. The Spy Who Came in From The Cold (Ballantine)
Lee, Harper. To Kill a Mockingbird (Warner)
Lehane, Dennie. Darkness, Take My Hand (Avon)
Leonard, Elmore. Get Shorty (Delta)
Lochte, Dick. Sleeping Dog (Poisoned Pen Press)
Lovesey, Peter. Rough Cider (currently unavailable)
MacDonald, John D.. The Deep Blue Good-by (Fawcett)
MacDonald, Philip. The List of Adrian Messenger (currently unavailable)
Macdonald, Ross. The Chill (Vintage/Black Lizard)
Maron, Margaret. Bootlegger’s Daughter (Mysterious)
Marsh, Ngaio. Death of a Peer (St. Martin’s)
McBain, Ed. Sadie When She Died (currently unavailable)
McClure, James. The Sunday Hangman (currently unavailable)
McCrumb, Sharyn. If Ever I Return, Pretty Peggy-O (Ballantine)
Millar, Margaret. Stranger in My Grave (currently unavailable)
Mosley, Walter. Devil in a Blue Dress (Pocket)
Muller, Marcia. Edwin of the Iron Shoes (currently unavailable)
Neel, Janet. Death’s Bright Angel (currently unavailable)
O’Connell, Carol. Mallory’s Oracle (Jove)
Padgett, Abigail. Child of Silence (currently unavailable)
Paretsky, Sara. Deadlock (Dell)
Parker, Robert. Looking for Rachel Wallace (Dell)
Perez-Reverte, Arturo. The Club Dumas (Vintage)
Perry, Thomas. Vanishing Act (Ivy)
Peters, Elizabeth. Crocodile on the Sandbank (Warner)
Peters, Ellis. One Corpse Too Many (Mysterious)
Pronzini, Bill. Blue Lonesome (Walker)
Queen, Ellery. Cat of Many Tails (currently unavailable)
Rendell, Ruth. No More Dying Then (Vintage)
Rice, Craig. The Wrong Murder (International Polygonics)
Rinehart, Mary Roberts. The Circular Staircase (Kensington)
Robinson, Peter. Blood at the Root (Avon)
Rosen, Richard. Strike Three You’re Dead (currently unavailable)
Ross, Kate. A Broken Vessel (Penguin)
Rozan, S.J.. Concourse (St. Martin’s)
Sayers, Dorothy. Murder Must Advertise (HarperPaperbacks)
Sjowall & Wahloo. The Laughing Policeman (currently unavailable)
Stout, Rex. Some Buried Caesar (currently unavailable)
Tey, Josephine. Brat Farrar (Scribner)
Thomas, Ross. Chinaman’s Chance (currently unavailable)
Todd, Charles. A Test of Wills (Bantam)
Turow, Scott. Presumed Innocent (Warner)
Upfield, Arthur. The Sands of Windee (currently unavailable)
Walters, Minette. The Ice House (St. Martin’s)
White, Randy Wayne. Sanibel Flats (St. Martin’s)
Woolrich, Cornell. I Married a Dead Man (Penguin)