Exceptional Books discussion

The Mystery category has not been an easy one to categorize for the Exceptional List. There are too many sub-genres, and I felt that they should be separated, to avoid comparing apples to oranges, so to speak. However this segregation has inherent problems of its own. So many books are able to fit into several categories. Gothic or Romantic; Historical or Humorous; Ecclesiastic or Cozy, Hard-boiled or Procedural, Secret Agent or Thriller.

In compiling this list, exceptional is an elusive goal. Some of the nominations for the mystery category can not point to just one book, but rather to an author’s body of work or a series. Who is able to say which Agatha Christie novel is the best of the best?

Some nominations are a tribute to the pioneering author who somehow broke the mold. This does not necessarily make a book an exceptional read, but rather the author’s approach was what made the work deserving of a place of honor.

Here then are all of the nominations for mysteries. I have tried to list them by a single category, even though they may fit onto some other shelf just as easily. In many cases, it is the author’s body of work that was nominated, so the first of a series or the first book is listed. Rarely, but not unheard of, a specific book was nominated. If you have an interest in a particular one, you might take the time to read the comments submitted by other members in the topic category, or click on the Goodreads synopsis for a broader description. Investigating the author himself /herself is often revealing as well.

Historical
Medicus AD Roman Britain, Ruth Downie
The Name of the Rose
The Alienist (unabrdged)
Mistress of the Art of Death
The Devil in the White City : Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed AmericaNeedle in a Haystack
Evil Unveiled
Judgment of the Witch (Speaks the Nightbird, #1)
Speaks the Nightbird
The Daughter of Time
The Silver Pigs
Shinju
The Last Templar
The Water Thief, 4th century AD Roman Egypt, Ben Pasto

Humorous
The Hot Rock
The Westing Game
From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler
Get Shorty

Spies and Secret Agents
Casino Royale
Three Seconds
The Secret Adversary

Psychological Thriller
The Talented Mr. Ripley
And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie
Endless Night by Agatha Christie
The BeastRoslund Hellstrom
The Stone Monkey
First Night of Summer
The Organ Broker
Live Wire, Harlan Coben
Chasing the Dime
The Manhattan Hunt Club
Gravity
The Office of the Dead
The Four Last Things
The Judgement of Strangers
The Likeness
In the Woods
Faithful Place
Edge
Shutter IslandShutter Island
Mystic River
The Tiger in the Smoke
The Margery Allingham Omnibus
The Silence of the Lambs
The Woman in White
House of Leaves
The Dead Secret (February 1st 2004 by Wildside Press edition suggested)
Uncle Silas
Room
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
In Malice, Quite Close
The Restorer
Medusa: A Caitlin McHugh Mystery
Out of Sight
Caught
The Deepest Water
Passage of Arms
The Turn of the Screw (The Collier's Weekly Version)
Sharp Objects

Gothic Mystery
The Haunting of Hill House
The Shadow of the Wind / La Sombra del Viento
Lady Audley's Secret
The Drowning Tree
The Seduction of Water
The Ghost Writer
The Book Thief
The Thirteenth Tale

Hard-Boiled/Noir
I, the Jury
The Big Sleep
The Maltese Falcon
L.A. Confidential
The Big Sleep
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
The Girl Who Played with Fire
The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest
Motor City Blue
The Snatch
Greenwich Killing Time
The Deep Blue Good-By
Double Indemnity
The Postman Always Rings Twice
The Chill
Fear Itself
Devil in a Blue Dress

Top Softer-Boiled Detective
Codename: Chimera, J.K. Persy
The Mysterious Affair at Styles
MR Pottermack's Oversight:
The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency
The Red Thumb Mark
The Singing Bone
The Hound of the Baskervilles
Murder on the Orient Express
The Moonstone
Started Early, Took My Dog
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd
Track of the Cat
If Ever I Return, Pretty Peggy-O
Looking For Rachel Wallace
Gone, Baby, Gone
L.A. Requiem
Fer-de-Lance
Indemnity Only
Odds Against
Death of a Gossip
Her Royal Spyness
Evans Above
The Amersham Rubies
A is for Alibi

Police Procedural
The Silence of the Rain
Gallows View
A Dedicated Man
Mallory's Oracle
The Bone Collector
The Ice House
Last Bus to Woodstock
A Grave Talent
Naked in Death
Postmortem
The Man in the Queue
From Doon With Death
Fuzz
Ghosts
The Blessing Way
White Sky, Black Ice
Murder in a Cold Climate: An Inspector Matteesie Mystery
Inside Dope
Cover Her Face
Inspector Maigret's Case Files: Murder a la Carte
Cop Hater
Jigsaw
Faceless Killers
A Man Lay Dead
In A Dry Season

Cozy Mysteries
Picture Miss Seeton
A Nice Class of Corpse (Mrs Pargeter #1), Simon Brett
The Body on the Beach (Fethering, #1), Simon Brett
The Quiche of Death
The Vicious Vet
Catering to Nobody
Murder on a Girls' Night Out
Murder at the Vicarage
The Saint Meets the Tiger
The Saint In New York
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd
Mariner's Compass
You've Got Murder
Whose Body?
The Secret of the Old Clock
The Bobbsey Twins of Lakeport
The Tower Treasure
Real Murders
The Coroner's Lunch
Old Bones
The Viaduct Murder
The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie
Hag's Nook
It Walks by Night

Rabbi, Monk, Friar, Pastor, Nun or Priest Sleuth

Friday the Rabbi Slept Late
A Morbid Taste for Bones
The Complete Father Brown
The Novice's Tale
Happy Are the Meek

Animals, Pets and the Occasional Inanimate Object Detective Story
Dog on It
Three Bags Full
Winkie
Anonymous Rex
Catnap
The Eyre Affair
The Big Over Easy
Shades of Grey
Wish You Were Here, Sneaky Pie Brown

Legal or Courtroom Mystery
The Case of the Velvet Claws
QQB VII
Presumed Innocent
J'accuse
Inherit the Wind
The 13th Juror

True Crime
In Cold Blood: A True Account of a Multiple Murder and Its Consequences
Fatal Vision
The Stranger Beside Me: Ted Bundy The Shocking Inside Story
The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher: A Shocking Murder and the Undoing of a Great Victorian Detective
Columbine
The Shrine of Jeffrey Dahmer, Brian Masters
The Black Dahlia Files: The Mob, the Mogul, and the Murder That Transfixed Los Angeles, Donald H. Wolfe
The Italian Boy: A Tale of Murder and Body Snatching in 1830s London, Sarah Wise
Killing for Company: The Story of a Man Addicted to Murder, Brian Masters
The Executioner's Song, Norman Mailer
Dancing for the Hangman, Martin Edwards
Helter Skelter: The True Story of the Manson Murders,Vincent Bugliosi
Oswald's Tale: An American Mystery, Norman Mailer
The Night Stalker by Philip Carlo
Into That Darkness: An Examination of Conscience, Gitta Sereny
Mind for Murder: Education of the Unabomber and the Origins of Modern Terrorism, Alston Chase
In the Belly of the Beast: Letters From Prison

I love Psychological Thrillers so found this list interesting, however on looking up some of the titles it seems more than one author has used the title for a book. Can someone tell me if the recommendation for the book "Endless Night" is the one by Richard Layman or Agatha Christie please?

Donna wrote: "I love Psychological Thrillers so found this list interesting, however on looking up some of the titles it seems more than one author has used the title for a book. Can someone tell me if the recom..."

Endless Night by Agatha Christie

Try Live Wire by Harlan Cobin (hope I spelled his name right). Just finished it. I couldn't put it down and the ending has a nice twist.

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