In my previous post, I introduced the queens of my favorite sub-genre of science fiction - time travel.
This time, I'd like to explore my second most read genre: mystery.
My love of mysteries began with the gift of a box of Nancy Drew books that had belonged to my mom. I am not entirely sure how they came to be mine, but I believe that during a trip to Michigan one summer or at Christmas, I was presented with this box that contained a wealth of reading material, not just Nancy Drew.
As I recall, I started reading immediately. And by immediately, I mean I read the entire 13 hours home in the car. This was when I could read in the car without becoming nauseated. Since then I have switched to audiobooks or sleeping to get me through long car rides.
I re-read all the Nancy Drew books and would also check others out of the library or ask someone to buy new ones for me. First published in 1930, Nancy Drew's stories were still being written in the 1980s and beyond. In 2018, Smithsonian Magazine explored the beginnings and history of these popular tales that were not ever written by anyone named Carolyn Keene.
My favorites were:
- The Clue of the Broken Locket (1934)
- The Secret of the Wooden Lady (1950)
- The Scarlet Slipper Mystery (1954)
but while looking through a list on line, many of the titles struck a chord. I don't think there were any I did not like, just some I liked a bit better and re-read more often.
My first school librarian job was in a middle school. A group of students asked to start a Nancy Drew book club. I agreed to read the first choice along with the club members - this was a mistake. Whichever book we read was not well written or anywhere near as exciting or engaging as it had been when I was a tween. This is not a surprise, since many books written for young people do not transfer well to adult readers. While not a part of the mystery we read, the original version of at least one Nancy Drew story contained overt racism and others contained characters who were negative stereotypes. If schools still have these versions, many of which have been revised to remove these elements I think parents, teachers, or librarians should find a way to engage readers with conversations about the problematic elements. The end of the story is that the students loved the book and had an intense conversation during lunchtime book club, then promptly lost interest and moved on to a Rick Riordan book club.
When I was ready to move on from Nancy Drew, my father gave me a copy of Cat Among the Pigeons by Agatha Christie, this means my first Christie detective was Hercule Poirot, not a bad place to start. I really enjoyed moving to "adult" mysteries and Christie was a good choice since her stories are low gore and horror and high intrigue.
Now, my favorite mysteries are those in series that feature a crime solver I can get to know. The two queens of mystery writing for me are Louise Penny and Elizabeth George. Penny's books often take place in the town Three Pines in Québec. Her sleuth is Chief Inspector Armand Gamache of Sûreté du Québec. I am drawn to these novels because every character, including all the towns people and Gamache's family and co-workers are complex characters who each take a central role in one or more books and a smaller role in others.
Elizabeth George's books feature Inspector Thomas Lynley of New Scotland Yard. The stories themselves take place both in London and around the UK. Lynley's partner Detective Sergeant Barbara Havers features prominently while other characters come in and out regularly.
Even after having read 14 by Penny and 6 by George I have not yet felt them to be repetitive or possible to figure out until the characters do or only just before. Both series work best if read in order, because the events build from book to book. I started to read the Lynley series because I was going to run out of Penny books, so now I have one more Penny to read before her next is released in September.
Honorable Mentions go to:
- Tana French - these take place in Ireland and feature various members of the Dublin Murder Squad. My favorite has been The Secret Place.
- Charles Finch - in these, British gentleman Charles Lennox, a member of Parliament, moves around Victorian London solving murders. There are 13 books in the series currently. I have read the first five and particularly liked A Burial at Sea which takes place on a ship making it a little like And Then There Were None since everyone is trapped with a murderer.
- Alan Bradley - Flavia de Luce is the 11-year-old sleuth with an expertise in chemistry. The 10 novels, all of which I have read, take place in Bishop's Lacey, a small town somewhere in rural England. My favorite so far is As Chimney Sweepers Come to Dust in which Flavia is sent to the same boarding school in Canada her mother once attended.
- Laurie R. King - Of all the honorable mentions, I may be fondest of these because they feature the husband and wife team of Sherlock Holmes and Mary Russell with a focus on Mary. The books sometimes take place in parts of England but there is also some exciting case-based travel. I have read 14 of the 16 in the series. My favorites are The Language of Bees and The God of the Hive which work together more closely than the rest in the series.
- Jaqueline Winspear - The Maisie Dobbs series begins just after the end of World War I during which Maisie served as a field nurse. She is now back in London solving murders and other crimes as a private investigator. There are 15 books in the series; I am caught up and looking forward to 16. A favorite is A Dangerous Place which takes place primarily in Gibraltar in 1937.
Who are your favorite mystery authors and sleuths?
