I think I understand why Letterman and others like him do Top-10 lists… it’s a nice solution to writer’s block!

Who would you say, dear reader,  is the best mystery writer of all time? Edgar Allen Poe was the first, with Murders in the Rue Morgue.  Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the first of the modern era? Bill Prozinini? Earle Stanley Gardner (Perry Mason mysteries)? Rex Stout (Nero Wolfe)? Faye Kellerman(Decker-Lazarus mysteries)?

I can list my own. Please send me your choices if I have missed your favorites. The 10 Best Mystery Writers of all time, in my humble opinion, are:

1. Rex  Stout
2. Faye Kellerman
3. Ellery Queen
4. Edward D. Hoch (Nick Velvet is one of my favorite characters)
5. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
6. Maureen Jennings (You may be familiar with Canada’s finest from TV’s The Murdoch Mysteries.)
7. Frederick Forsyth (Day of the Jackal)
8. Isaac Asimov (Black Widowers short stories, Murder at the ABA)
9. Jim Butcher (Dresden Files)
10. Michael Crichton (The Great Train Robbery)

No, I didn’t cheat by including Isaac Asimov; I actually read his short stories in Ellery Queen’s Mystery magazine before I read any of his science fiction novels.  Let’s face it, the man could write!

So, who are your favorite mystery writers? Send me your list! I’ll share the most popular ones here!