‘Hale knew, before he had been in Brighton three hours, that they meant to murder him.’ Crime novels need to have gripping openings, and the first line of Graham Greene’s novel is considered by many to be one of the best in literature. Featuring teenage sociopath ‘Pinkie’, and encompassing Greene’s traditional themes of Catholicism, moral decay, and redemption, the book has inspired two screen adaptations to date and many devoted fans. Bestselling Brighton crime writer Peter James says it’s his favourite book.

You should read it: to decide whether you prefer Greene doing crime or doing literary agonising (eg The End of the Affair); to admire his crafting of antihero Pinkie; to see a woman taking on the role of ‘detective’ in the form of stalwart Ida; for tips on how to create a (literally) killer opening.

Ah, the glamour of the trans-continental Orient Express. Waiters in tuxedos, cocktails at six…..and murder.

In the world of Agatha Christie, murder is often an act of justice, and the victim isn’t mourned. We don’t feel their tragic loss, as they doubtless deserved to meet a sticky end. They can appear like mannequins, just cogs in the function of the plot. Despite the rather brutal multiple stabbing in this book, the murder feels cosy, contained, part of a world of wealth and certainty. Hercule Poirot is travelling on the train when a fellow passenger is stabbed. In the enclosed world of the express (the locked room trope being another delicious feature of Christie) he begins to suspect the other passengers aren’t quite the random bunch they appear to be.

Read it for: a lesson in how to assemble suspects and clues, how to use setting and enclosed spaces, and for one of the most famous twist endings in crime writing. And also because you’ll enjoy being steeped in the Old World glamour of stabbings before dinner.

Although this wasn’t the first outing for Hannibal Lecter (that was RED DRAGON), this book really made the author’s career, and in many ways created the modern serial killer genre – as well as the anti-hero.

Rookie FBI agent Clarice Starling is sent to interview incarcerated psychopath Dr Hannibal Lecter, in the hope he can help them track a brutal serial killer who skins his victims alive. Lecter leads her on a chase, drip-feeding enigmatic clues, doing his best to get under her skin. Meanwhile, the killer has kidnapped a Senator’s daughter, and the clock is ticking to find her alive.

It’s hard to read the book now without picturing the superlative film, but it was ground-breaking in the creation of a compelling, unique villain, the extreme violence of both the killer and Lecter’s past cannibalism, and also in the constant upping of tension as Lecter escapes and Clarice closes in on the killer. The characterisation, dialogue, and settings are also brilliantly evoked, proving that a blood-soaked gripping thriller can still also be well written.