"The Moonstone" originally appeared as a serial in a literary magazine. It charts the story of Rachel Verinder, a young woman who is given a jewel, the Moonstone, as a gift on her birthday. The jewel goes missing and Collins' novel describes the hunt for the stone. Modernist poet T.S. Eliot famously dubbed it "the first and greatest of English detective novels." It set the blueprint for mystery fiction, containing tight plotting and a host of suspicious characters.
"The Hound of the Baskervilles" can be seen as the originator of the crossover mystery novel. It features all the hallmarks of the mystery story -- the characters with ulterior motives, the gloomy setting, the intricate plot -- and adds a supernatural element. When it was written in 1901, Sherlock Holmes was the most famous contemporary literary character; this is seen as his greatest adventure. It has proven its popularity with several film adaptations being made.
The indication of the enduring popularity of Chandler's "The Big Sleep" is the many copycats it has spawned. It introduced to the world Philip Marlowe, the wise-cracking private detective working out of a run-down office in Los Angeles armed with only a Colt .38 and a line of killer quips. It defined the roman noir, which is the mystery genre where everyone is -- to some extent -- guilty and everyone has a price. It is the first Philip Marlowe novel.
Inspired by the classic mystery novels, many modern authors are adding their own twist to the genre. The fascination with the Scandinavian crime novel can be traced back to Peter Hoeg's "Miss Smilla's Feeling for Snow." Donna Tartt's iconic "The Secret History" adds a human-interest element to the collegiate murder mystery, while Bret Easton Ellis' mystery "Glamorama" mixes biting satire with a gripping storyline.