22 thoughts on “FRIDAY’S FORGOTTEN BOOKS #787: CRIME & MYSTERY: THE 100 BEST BOOKS Edited by H. R. F. Keating”

1. Dan April 5, 2024 at 2:37 am

   21
   How about you?

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   1. george Post authorApril 5, 2024 at 8:28 am

      Dan, I’ve read 57. However there are a couple dozen of these titles I have no interest in reading.

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2. Jerry+House April 5, 2024 at 6:32 am

   I’ve read exactly half. I may quibble at some of the choices (THE WOMAN IN WHITE instead of THE MOONSTONE, or THE FAR CRY instead of THE FABULOUS CLIPJOINT, for example), but the choices are good — but both the books and the authors are outstanding. It saddens me to wonder how many of these titles are no longer in print.

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   1. george Post authorApril 5, 2024 at 8:30 am

      Jerry, some of the more obscure tiles may be available as ebooks.

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3. Jeff Meyerson April 5, 2024 at 6:48 am

   55, I think. And I’ve read the Keating (and DEATH OF MY AUNT, George) . SURFEIT OF LAMPREYS was published as DEATH OF A PEER in the US, by the way. I like the mix a lot, and I know most of the books, even the ones I haven’t read. Some favorites are (from the bottom up) THE FALSE INSPECTOR DEW, A PINCH OF SNUFF, ROSEANNA, POP. 1280, THE DAUGHTER OF TIME, GREEN FOR DANGER, THE MALTESE FALCON 7 RED HARVEST, THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES 7 THE ADVENTURES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES.

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   1. george Post authorApril 5, 2024 at 8:31 am

      Jeff, and Keating provides a 2 or 3 page summary and analysis, too. Well worth reading!

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4. Patricia Abbott April 5, 2024 at 7:17 am

   Roughly half but there are a few I have never heard of. A good list.

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   1. george Post authorApril 5, 2024 at 8:32 am

      Patti, I have written down a fistful of titles that I’ll order after reading Keating’s description of the books.

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5. Deb April 5, 2024 at 7:33 am

   32. I remember checking this book out of the library in the early 1990s and making a list of all the books I hadn’t yet read but wanted to. Obviously, I never quite made it through my list—I got distracted by parenthood, lol. However, if anyone can find FIVE ROUNDABOUTS TO HEAVEN, please let me know where. That book has been on my “holy grail” list for over 30 years.

   I am curious about the date of SLEEPING MURDER. 1976? That seems very late. Wasn’t that the year Christie died? Also, I’m sorry no one seems to read Colin Watson (whose humor always hit me in just the right spot) or Julian Symons (whose plot twists did the same) any longer. Present company excepted, of course.

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   1. Jeff Meyerson April 5, 2024 at 7:53 am

      Deb, FIVE ROUNDABOUTS TO HEAVEN – available on Kindle for $1.99! I used to have two or three of Bingham’s books in Penguin, but never read them.

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      1. Deb April 5, 2024 at 8:30 am

         Thanks Jeff! I’ll be downloading it today!
      2. george Post authorApril 5, 2024 at 8:35 am

         Jeff, glad you found FIVE ROUNDABOUTS TO HEAVEN! I’ve found several obscure books in ebook format.
   2. george Post authorApril 5, 2024 at 8:34 am

      Deb, THE SLEEPING MURDER was written in the 1940s but Christie’s instructions were to publish it–and CURTAIN–after her death.

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6. Neeru April 5, 2024 at 1:10 pm

   Thirty. Some of the titles are new.

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   1. george Post authorApril 5, 2024 at 2:20 pm

      Neeru, Keating’s mini-essays on each of the 100 novels gives enough information and analysis to help you determine whether you would want to read it. I also tried to leave on comment on your blog about those Supernatural books, but WORDPRESS for some reason blocked me. I’ll try again later.

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7. Cap'n Bob April 5, 2024 at 8:16 pm

   Only 22, but since I haven’t read much from the Golden Age that’s not bad! There are a few more I can’t remember but might have read!

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   1. george Post authorApril 6, 2024 at 9:51 am

      Bob, 22 is a solid number.

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8. Fred Blosser April 5, 2024 at 9:08 pm

   THE HIGH WINDOW instead of THE BIG SLEEP? THE GREEN RIPPER instead of A DEADLY SHADE OF GOLD? THE BLUE HAMMER instead of THE GALTON CASE? I haven’t read as many of the hundred as I should have. I suppose a list updated to now would include James Lee Burke, Ken Bruen, Michael Connelly, Dennis Lehane, Max Allan Collins, and/or George Pelicanos. But what titles would have to come off to make room?

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   1. george Post authorApril 6, 2024 at 9:53 am

      Fred, I agree with you on questioning the choices of THE HIGH WINDOW instead of THE BIG SLEEP, THE GREEN RIPPER instead of A DEADLY SHADE OF GOLD, and THE BLUE HAMMER instead of THE GALTON CASE? In each case, your selection is superior to Keating’s.

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      1. Todd Mason April 8, 2024 at 8:40 am

         One does get the feeling in those cases Keating was feeling his years and commiserating.
      2. george Post authorApril 8, 2024 at 9:09 am

         Todd, as several commentators have pointed out, Keating’s book choices are a bit questionable.
      3. Todd Mason April 9, 2024 at 3:34 pm

         Do note, though, the conclusions of MacDonald and “Macdonald”‘s signature series, and the last readable entry (IIRC) in Chandler’s…