Detective Fiction: The Theory (65 books)

A list of nonfiction books focusing on critical and literary study of the detective fiction genre: its tropes, conventions, legacy, et cetera. Works relating to the elements of crime, mystery, and other adjacent fiction are naturally acceptable (whereas those on true crime aren't. Please do not add true crime books to this list, nor any works of fiction by themselves).

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1	The Poetics of Murder: Detective Fiction and Literary Theory by Glenn W. Most (Editor) 4.18 avg rating — 11 ratings score: 100, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
1	How to Write a Mystery: A Handbook from Mystery Writers of America by Lee Child (Goodreads Author) (Editor) 4.14 avg rating — 777 ratings score: 100, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
1	Angel of Death (Inspector Sheehan Mysteries, #1) by Brian O'Hare (Goodreads Author) 4.21 avg rating — 906 ratings score: 100, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
1	Summer Deception: A Laura Jensen Historical Mystery by John Marino (Goodreads Author) 4.36 avg rating — 59 ratings score: 100, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
1	Murder Came Easy: Annie's Revenge by C.A. Loveitt it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 3 ratings score: 100, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
6	Critical Survey of Mystery and Detective Fiction: 0 (Critical Survey by Carl Rollyson (Goodreads Author) (Editor) really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 3 ratings score: 99, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
6	Gardening Can Be Murder by Marta McDowell (Goodreads Author) 3.46 avg rating — 584 ratings score: 99, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
6	American Survivor (Raven's Record #1) by Debbie Hightower (Goodreads Author) 4.80 avg rating — 76 ratings score: 99, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
9	Theory and Practice of Classic Detective Fiction by Jerome H. Delamater 2.75 avg rating — 4 ratings score: 98, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
10	What About Murder? (1981-1991): A Guide to Books about Mystery and Detective Fiction by Jon L. Breen 4.67 avg rating — 3 ratings score: 97, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
11	100 Masters of Mystery and Detective Fiction by Fiona Kelleghan (Editor) 3.40 avg rating — 5 ratings score: 96, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
12	Make Mine a Mystery: A Reader's Guide to Mystery and Detective Fiction (Genreflecting Advisory Series) by Gary Warren Niebuhr 4.25 avg rating — 16 ratings score: 95, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
13	Longman Anthology of Detective Fiction, The by Deane Mansfield-Kelley (Editor) 3.99 avg rating — 139 ratings score: 94, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
14	Reference Guide to Mystery and Detective Fiction by Richard J. Bleiler really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 5 ratings score: 93, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
15	Cliffsnotes Detective in Fiction by L. David Allen liked it 3.00 avg rating — 3 ratings score: 92, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
16	Talking About Detective Fiction by P.D. James 3.76 avg rating — 2,285 ratings score: 91, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
17	Narratives of Enclosure in Detective Fiction: The Locked Room Mystery by Michael L. Cook really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 5 ratings score: 90, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
18	The Rise of the Detective in Early Nineteenth-Century Popular Fiction by Heather Worthington 4.25 avg rating — 4 ratings score: 89, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
19	Victorian Detective Fiction and the Nature of Evidence: The Scientific Investigations of Poe, Dickens, and Doyle by Lawrence D. Frank liked it 3.00 avg rating — 10 ratings score: 88, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
20	From Agatha Christie to Ruth Rendell: British Women Writers in Detective and Crime Fiction by Susan Rowland (Goodreads Author) 3.64 avg rating — 22 ratings score: 87, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
21	Agatha Christie's Secret Notebooks by John Curran 4.20 avg rating — 10,038 ratings score: 86, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
22	Masters of the "Humdrum" Mystery: Cecil John Charles Street, Freeman Wills Crofts, Alfred Walter Stewart and the British Detective Novel, 1920-1961 by Curtis Evans 4.31 avg rating — 16 ratings score: 85, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
23	Whatever Happened to Sherlock Holmes?: Detective Fiction, Popular Theology, and Society by Robert S. Paul 3.80 avg rating — 5 ratings score: 84, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
24	The Case of Sherlock Holmes: Secrets and Lies in Conan Doyle's Detective Fiction by Andrew Glazzard 3.75 avg rating — 4 ratings score: 83, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
25	Detective Fiction and the Rise of the Japanese Novel, 1880–1930 (Harvard East Asian Monographs) by Satoru Saitō 4.38 avg rating — 8 ratings score: 82, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
26	Murder Most Modern: Detective Fiction and Japanese Culture by Sari Kawana 3.90 avg rating — 31 ratings score: 81, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
27	The Imagination of Evil: Detective Fiction and the Modern World by Mary Evans 3.50 avg rating — 2 ratings score: 80, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
28	Guilty But Insane: Mind and Law in Golden Age Detective Fiction by Samantha Walton really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 5 ratings score: 79, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
29	Detective Fiction and the Ghost Story: The Haunted Text by Michael Cook 3.14 avg rating — 7 ratings score: 78, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
30	Detective Fiction and the Problem of Knowledge: Perspectives on the Metacognitive Mystery Tale by Antoine Dechêne really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 3 ratings score: 77, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
31	Art in Crime Writing: Essays on Detective Fiction by Bernard Benstock (Editor) 2.33 avg rating — 3 ratings score: 76, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
32	The Art of Detective Fiction by Warren Chernaik (Editor) 3.60 avg rating — 5 ratings score: 75, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
33	Detecting the Social: Order and Disorder in Post-1970s Detective Fiction by Mary Evans 4.33 avg rating — 3 ratings score: 74, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
34	British Detective Fiction 1891–1901: The Successors to Sherlock Holmes by Clare Clarke really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 6 ratings score: 73, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
35	Allusion in Detective Fiction: Shakespeare, the Bible and Dorothy L. Sayers by Jem Bloomfield (Goodreads Author) liked it 3.00 avg rating — 2 ratings score: 72, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
36	The Metaphysical Mysteries of G.K. Chesterton: A Critical Study of the Father Brown Stories and Other Detective Fiction by Laird R. Blackwell 3.33 avg rating — 3 ratings score: 71, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
37	Morality and the Law in British Detective and Spy Fiction, 1880-1920 by Kate Morrison 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings score: 70, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
38	The Detective's Companion in Crime Fiction: A Study in Sidekicks by Lucy Andrew (Goodreads Author) (Editor) 4.25 avg rating — 4 ratings score: 69, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
39	The Detective as Historian: History and Art in Historical Crime Fiction by Ray B. Browne 3.31 avg rating — 13 ratings score: 68, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
40	Ocular Proof and the Spectacled Detective in British Crime Fiction by Lisa Hopkins 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings score: 67, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
41	Detection and Its Designs: Narrative and Power in Nineteenth-Century Detective Fiction by Peter Thoms 3.75 avg rating — 4 ratings score: 66, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
42	Philosophies of Crime Fiction by Josef Hoffmann 3.80 avg rating — 10 ratings score: 65, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
43	A Narratological Approach to Lists in Detective Fiction by Sarah J. Link liked it 3.00 avg rating — 2 ratings score: 64, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
44	Fear and Clothing: Dress in English Detective Fiction between the First and Second World Wars by Jane Custance Baker 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings score: 63, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
45	Chemical Crimes: Science and Poison in Victorian Crime Fiction by Cheryl Blake Price it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating score: 62, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
46	Medieval Crime Fiction: A Critical Overview by Anne McKendry 4.12 avg rating — 8 ratings score: 61, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
47	Animals in Detective Fiction by Ruth Hawthorn (Editor) it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 3 ratings score: 60, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
48	Unwilling Executioner: Crime Fiction and the State by Andrew Pepper really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 2 ratings score: 59, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
49	Latin American Detectives against Power: Individualism, the State, and Failure in Crime Fiction by Fabricio Tocco 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings score: 58, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
50	Detecting Chinese Modernities: Rupture and Continuity in Modern Chinese Detective Fiction (1896–1949) by Yan Wei 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings score: 57, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
51	Jolly Good Detecting: Humor in English Crime Fiction of the Golden Age by Bruce Shaw liked it 3.00 avg rating — 4 ratings score: 56, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
52	The Figure on the Carpet: Detective Fiction and Literature by Martin Priestman 2.89 avg rating — 9 ratings score: 55, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
53	Agatha Christie and New Directions in Reading Detective Fiction by Alistair Rolls 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings score: 54, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
54	The Bible in Crime Fiction and Drama: Murderous Texts by Caroline Blyth (Editor) really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 1 rating score: 53, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
55	Form and Ideology in Crime Fiction by Stephen Thomas Knight 3.30 avg rating — 10 ratings score: 52, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
56	The Rough Guide to Crime Fiction by Barry Forshaw 3.77 avg rating — 70 ratings score: 51, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
57	Bloody Murder: From the Detective Story to the Crime Novel by Julian Symons 3.81 avg rating — 228 ratings score: 50, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
58	Dime Novels and the Roots of American Detective Fiction by Pamela Bedore 3.57 avg rating — 7 ratings score: 49, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
59	Western and Hard-Boiled Detective Fiction in America: From High Noon to Midnight by Cynthia S. Hamilton 3.40 avg rating — 5 ratings score: 48, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
60	The Legendary Detective: The Private Eye in Fact and Fiction by John Walton 3.33 avg rating — 18 ratings score: 47, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
61	Truth to Post-Truth in American Detective Fiction by David Riddle Watson 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings score: 46, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
62	Detective Fiction in a Postcolonial and Transnational World by Nels Pearson 3.67 avg rating — 3 ratings score: 45, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
63	Sleuthing Ethnicity: The Detective in Multiethnic Crime Fiction by Dorothea Fischer-Hornung (Editor) 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings score: 44, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
64	Crime Fiction as World Literature by David Damrosch (Editor) 3.67 avg rating — 6 ratings score: 43, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
65	Blood on the Table: Essays on Food in International Crime Fiction by Jean Anderson (Editor) 4.33 avg rating — 3 ratings score: 42, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars