Mysteries!
- Thread starter Scrufflet
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I've loved mysteries ever since my first Nancy Drew book. My all-time favorites are Dorothy Sayers' Lord Peter Wimsey books, especially Gaudy Night and The Nine Tailors. More recently, I've enjoyed Elizabeth George's Inspector Lynley series (seem to have a thing for British aristocrats... 
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Many, many thanks to the mods for starting the Library thread. What a lovely tribute -- Olympia's spirit lives on!
)Many, many thanks to the mods for starting the Library thread. What a lovely tribute -- Olympia's spirit lives on!
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I've loved mysteries ever since my first Nancy Drew book. My all-time favorites are Dorothy Sayers' Lord Peter Wimsey books, especially Gaudy Night and The Nine Tailors. More recently, I've enjoyed Elizabeth George's Inspector Lynley series (seem to have a thing for British aristocrats...
Many, many thanks to the mods for starting the Library thread. What a lovely tribute -- Olympia's spirit lives on!
Love "Gaudy Night" & also "Busman's Honeymoon" - my absolute favourite seems to be "Murder Must Advertise". I don't even know why... it just is.
Have you tried Margery Allingham?
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Haven't read Allingham but love the "Campion" TV adaptations w/ Peter Davison. I promise to take another look @ the books, though.
Murder Must Advertise has so many wonderful scenes and characters. I especially love the big costume party scene and the cricket match; don't want to say much more so as not to give it away for anyone who might be thinking about reading the Lord Peter books for the first time. One of the best things about Busman's Honeymoon is the Dowager Duchess, don't you think? Also, some of the comic relief is hilarious! And the end just makes my heart turn over...
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The TV adaptation was quite faithful, so if you liked those, there's a good chance you'll like the books.
I actually came to the books via the series (have I said this before? - if I have please feel free to skip the following!). I was visiting my grandmother in Finland, and saw one episode of The Case of the Late Pig - and the episode ended with Campion looking through a - telescope? (what are they called?) - and suddenly somebody came up from behind and - Episode End! "Whaaat?!" thought I, who was going home, and would not see the next one. So, next I was in a bookstore, I looked for Margery Allingham, feeeling sure that they'd not have her, and if they did, they wouldn't have "The Case of the Late Pig" - but they did! So, happy me! Actually, that book, though not the first, is a great introduction to the series - other good ones to begin with are "Look to the Lady", "Police at the Funeral", "Death of a Ghost" and "Sweet Danger". (All of those were dramatised.)
I actually came to the books via the series (have I said this before? - if I have please feel free to skip the following!). I was visiting my grandmother in Finland, and saw one episode of The Case of the Late Pig - and the episode ended with Campion looking through a - telescope? (what are they called?) - and suddenly somebody came up from behind and - Episode End! "Whaaat?!" thought I, who was going home, and would not see the next one. So, next I was in a bookstore, I looked for Margery Allingham, feeeling sure that they'd not have her, and if they did, they wouldn't have "The Case of the Late Pig" - but they did! So, happy me! Actually, that book, though not the first, is a great introduction to the series - other good ones to begin with are "Look to the Lady", "Police at the Funeral", "Death of a Ghost" and "Sweet Danger". (All of those were dramatised.)
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I love Mary Higgins Clark and Donna Fletcher Crow. I used to like Dee Henderson, but ever since she came back from hiatus she hasn't been as good. Another good suspense author is Nancy Mehl, who writes mysteries set in the Mennonite world.
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Gaudy Night, Muder Must Advertise, and Busman's Honeymoon are long time favorites of mine that I reread. Nine Tailors, with all the details about British bellringing, is very good, but it also gives me nightmares. I reread it anyway. It is that good.
I really enjoyed the Navaho mysteries of Tony Hillerman, his stories of the exploits of two Navaho policemen, Jim Chee and Joe Leaphorn.
I really enjoyed the Navaho mysteries of Tony Hillerman, his stories of the exploits of two Navaho policemen, Jim Chee and Joe Leaphorn.
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I've been reading mysteries since I was a child & have read many of the authors mentioned here...Dorothy Sayers, Mary Higgins Clark, Margery Allingham, even P.D. James who was touted at one time as the "next Agatha Christie". That had to be a joke as Christie was a master at characterization which James is not. I've read Preston & Childs, Ed McBain, Philip Craig, Jack Higgins, John LeCarre, etc. The past 15 years or so I've been reading primarily the light (cozy) mysteries. Love Sue Grafton, Janet Evanovich, Shirley Rousseau Murphy, Rita Lakin, Margaret Maron, & many, many more. Just finished "Death at Blenheim Castle" a Robin Paige historical mystery & about to start Elizabeth Peters "Laughter of Dead Kings."
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^^ I love Preston & Childs. Missed a subway stop one morning while reading Reliquary. 
Simply could. not. put. it. down!
Never got nightmares from The Nine Tailors but The Alienist by Caleb Carr had me creeped out for days. Same for The List of 7 by Mark Frost. (Shivers, looks nervously over shoulder...)
Simply could. not. put. it. down! Never got nightmares from The Nine Tailors but The Alienist by Caleb Carr had me creeped out for days. Same for The List of 7 by Mark Frost. (Shivers, looks nervously over shoulder...)
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The things that frighten me most have always been the things that seem.most like real life.
The scariest torture scene to me is the one in Marathon Man, because I am well acquainted with a dentist chair.
The scariest torture scene to me is the one in Marathon Man, because I am well acquainted with a dentist chair.
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Too true. Stay away from Mo Hayder (she gave me nightmares. Seriously.) and be careful reading Jo Nesbo - a terrific writer but dwells too much on torture methods and is very depressing.
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A Sherlock Holmes story - was it called The Seven Orange Pips? or something, at any rate it involved the Ku Klux Klan - gave me the creeps. I was sitting alone reading it in the kitchen in the wee hours, I remember... There was such a feeling of evil about it, that even Holmes couldn't control....
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Uh-oh...thanks for the warning. I bought Jo Nesbo's The Redbreast last weekend but haven't gotten too far into it yet. Are we talking worse than Stieg Larssen (sp)? Had to skip a few parts of those books, much as I liked them.
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I avoid any mysteries dealing with torture or frightening children. Love the humorous mysteries. Evanovich cracks me up!
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http://www.eastoftheweb.com/short-stories/UBooks/FiveOran.shtml
The Five Orange Pips is linked above.
The Five Orange Pips is linked above.
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Ah, Five Orange Pips! Thank you, Doris - my brain just can't be bothered with numbers... (It took me ages to learn my own ID number, because... my brain just didn't care! And phone numbers can suddenly disappear from it - including my own! Sigh... it can be rather frustrating at times... )
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It's a real problem with Nesbo as he is such a good writer but he seems to be getting darker as he goes along. The particularly bad one involved Africa and a terrible method of killing people. I'm not sure I will read any more of his. I do like
Scandinavian Noire, dour as all get out, but there are so many good writers. I'll go to others. I loved the Larson books.
