The top 100 crime novels

Two lists, actually.  One published in 1990 by the British-based Crime Writer's Association, and the other in 1995 by the Mystery Writers of America.  Here are the top 10 from the former list:

1. Josephine Tey: The Daughter of Time (1951)
2. Raymond Chandler: The Big Sleep (1939)
3. John le Carré: The Spy Who Came In From the Cold (1963)
4. Dorothy L. Sayers: Gaudy Night (1935)
5. Agatha Christie: The Murder of Roger Ackroyd (1926)
6. Daphne du Maurier: Rebecca (1938)
7. Raymond Chandler: Farewell My Lovely (1940)
8. Wilkie Collins: The Moonstone (1868)
9. Len Deighton: The IPCRESS File (1962)
10. Dashiell Hammett: The Maltese Falcon (1930)

The top ten from the U.S. group are listed at The Centered Librarian, and the other 90 of each list are at Wikipedia.

We'll all agree that such lists are quite arbitrary, but I find them interesting places to look for book-reading ideas.