IMBA's Top 100 of 20th Century

[Johnny Ostentatious]

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.

[Laura Root]

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".

[K Barrett]

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.

[Johnny Ostentatious]

Yeah, the ones that my library doesn't have, I've found on PaperBackSwap.com.

[Neil Plakcy]

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.

[Michael C. Jacobs]

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.