I've been working on the Independent Mystery Booksellers Association's 100 Favorite Mysteries of the 20th Century (http://www.mysterybooksellers.com/favorites.html). I'm about a quarter of the way through. Some real winners in there, like Randy Wayne White's SANIBEL FLATS. Though I can't believe John D. MacDonald's BRASS CUPCAKE isn't on there -- then again, most people enjoy Travis McGee over his stand-alone novels.

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Thanks for sharing. I've also read about a quarter, a shame so many aren't available. I want to read the Christianna Brand one soon, and would love to get hold of a copy of the Margaret Millar one, I was really wowed by "A beast in view".
Thanks for the link. I've read 55 of these already. Pretty good! Any that aren't availble are probably in the library, so don't worry.
Yeah, the ones that my library doesn't have, I've found on PaperBackSwap.com.
I was surprised to see that I've read 34 of them. Some I don't particularly remember-- but I know, for example, that I read everything by Margery Allingham and Josephine Tey when I was a teenager.

There's a nice mix of classical and contemporary authors, though the list is pretty white and Euro-centric. Nearly 50% women (counting the two male-female pairs on the list) which is interesting in light of Sisters in Crime's continuing efforts to enhance the visibility of female mystery writers. I think Patricia Highsmith is the only one on the list with any gay or lesbian content. You'd think a book like John Morgan Wilson's Simple Justice, which won the Edgar for best first mystery, would be on there. Or a pioneering writer like Joseph Hansen.
I've gotta say; I'm pretty disappointed in this list. Maybe 100 titles just isn't enough but somehow missing "The Thin Man" and "The Long Goodbye" doesn't seem right. I question if "The Spy who came in from the Cold" can be called a mystery when "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy" clearly is one. For Rex Stout listing "Some Buried Caesar" over "The Doorbell Rang" First novels in a series (A is for Alibi, Vanishing Act, Devil in a Blue Dress, One for the Money (I assume)) seemed to get little bump too. I could go on, but... again, I think a list with only 100 titles just can't possibly satisfy.

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