A detective story is a literary genre that describes the process of studying a mysterious phenomenon, most often a crime. The plot of detectives is based on the disclosure of crime and the identification of perpetrators. Journalists at National Public Radio (Independent National Radio of America) based on a public survey compiled a list of the top 100 detective stories of all time.
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First place on the list was Thomas Harris' best-selling Silence of the Lambs, second novel about Hannibal Lector. Only he can help the police catch a cruel maniac - he knows his identity and is well versed in the motivation of the criminal. But in order to persuade Lector, who is in prison for a series of murders, to collaborate, Detective Clarice Starling will have to enter into a dangerous psychological game with him.
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In second place is the detective thriller "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" by Stig Larsson. The first novel from the Lisbeth Salander trilogy is a sealed, enclosed detective story with elements of a family saga. The murder of a girl from an influential family, committed many years ago, could be committed only by a person who was on that day on the island, most likely a relative of the victim. In this book, the reader first becomes acquainted with Lisbeth Salander, whose vibrant personality lends special urgency to Larsson's books. A girl with a difficult childhood, a brilliant hacker, a social phobia, Lisbeth became the favorite of readers and one of the main reasons for the popularity of detectives Larsson.
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Third on the list was James Patterson's Kissing Girls. Detective Alex Cross, the hero of Patterson's series of detective novels, this time investigates a case in which he is personally interested - the maniac kidnapped his niece. The criminal’s handwriting is distinguished by the fact that before killing the victim he surrounds her with enthusiastic, romantic worship.
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Fourth place went to Robert Ludlam, the Bourne Identity Detective. The hero comes to his senses in the Mediterranean Sea and realizes that he has completely lost his memory. A series of events indicates to him that his past life was filled with danger, which still haunts him. To understand who wants his death, the hero needs to identify his own personality.
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Truman Capote closes the top five list. The novel is written in a journalistic style and talks about a real crime, the murder of a whole family, mother, father and two children. The defendants, two young people, tried to justify themselves by temporary insanity, but the medical examination did not confirm their version. Capote, who at that time was one of America’s most popular writers, read about the crime in a newspaper. He conducted his own investigation, collected materials, and interviewed criminals. As a result, a work was created, the essence and significance of which is not limited to a description of the process of solving a crime. This is a deep novel about the nature of the murder, its psychological and social premises.
