Have Your Say

Miscellaneous

Please use this area for any Topics you feel don't fit in with other areas of the forum.

Recommend other Authors/Books

3rdGirl 19 Oct 09 at 10:40 a.m. GMT

I though we could use a posting to recommend any mystery books and authors aside from the amazing Ms Christie that we come across. Sometimes we mention them in other posts, but here we can discuss them a bit more in depth.

Login or register to add posts and reply

325 replies

Reverse order

3rdGirl 19 Oct 09 at 10:44 a.m. GMT

I can recommend an Australia author called Kerry Greenwood. She is hugely sucessful with her 'Phryne Fisher' series set in Melbrourne in the 1920's. Very clever and witty, they are lovely lighthearted romps with twisty mysteries thrown in. They are my favourites aside from AC.

3rdGirl 21 Oct 09 at 10:14 p.m. GMT

Has anyone read any of the Miss Silver books by Patricia Wentworth? They were recommended to me by the lady at Abbeys Bookshop in Sydney which specialises in crime fiction. I'd never heard of them, but she looks like she was certainly prolific.

BW Jill and Bundles, I've just finished 'Stong Poison' by Ms Sayers and I LOVED it.

Puffinjill 22 Oct 09 at 7:04 a.m. GMT

I have and I really like Miss Silver. Obviously, she is compared with Miss Marple due to the fact that she is an elderly woman, but detection isn't something she gets caught up in due to finding herself involved in murders and mysterys. Miss Silver advertises herself as a detective and people bring their cases to her, more like Poirot. She had worked for many years as a governess and, again, like Miss Marple, knows a great deal about human nature.

They have a less cosy atmosphere than most of AC's work. But she writes really well and I find them a delight to read. Do give them a go if you can! She certainly was prolific! I love an author with a great big body of work to get myself lost in!! I wouldn't say they come up to the Christie standard but they are great fun.

Glad you loved Strong Poison! Going to give the other DLS novels a go?

Bundle_ 22 Oct 09 at 12:32 p.m. GMT

Great idea for a topic, 3rdGirl!

And I'm glad you enjoyed, Strong Poison. I got halfway through it and decided not to read any more of it for a while. I like DLS's other Wimsey books but this one I just found boring. It took her longer than usual to relay things, imo.

go_leafs_nation 22 Oct 09 at 12:59 p.m. GMT

Strong Poison is actually one of my favourites (my very favourite is Gaudy Night), because of the fascinating chemistry between Harriet Vane and Lord Peter. The only Sayers novel that I can truly say I disliked is Unnatural Death (Hey, the solution was obvious! I guessed it right away!), but even then, Sayers made the book a decent enough read.

go_leafs_nation 22 Oct 09 at 1:02 p.m. GMT

Personally, I just finished John Dickson Carr's Till Death Do Us Part. It was so brilliant it made me want to kick myself. Plus, for sheer originality and ingenuity, there really are few books like it. The plot moves rapidly (Carr called the one "unforgiveable sin" in a mystery "being dull"), and the central conflict in the novel is that of a young lover who begins doubting his fiancee... I'm pretty confident AC fans would enjoy it. (But I recommend avoiding plot summaries; they can give so much away in order to sell copies...)

Puffinjill 22 Oct 09 at 2:28 p.m. GMT

Till Death Do Us Part was the first John Dickson Carr book I read. And it was a great introduction to him and his writing. As i've said before, my only problem with him is the difficulty in actually getting ANY of this books. Mostly out of print, I guess. Still, it then allows me to spend ages poking around any second-hand bookshops I come across!

I would like to recommend Josephine Tey and her Alan Grant books. There aren't very many, but they are very interesting. The Daughter of Time is a wonderfully unique book. I know I should go into the plot, but it involves Grant (who is out of action laid up in hospital) trying to solve for himself a very well known (British) historical mystery.

I recently read An Expert in Murder by Nicola Upson (a book published last year, I think) which uses Josephine Tey as a central figure in a murder mystery. I found it one of the best new book I had read in many a long year. She has just published a sequel (the name escapes me) which I am hoping a benevolent Santa will bring me.

Bundle_ 23 Oct 09 at 8:35 p.m. GMT

Has anyone ever read any mystery books by Robin Paige? The name is actually a pseudonym name as the books are written by an American married couple. But I have read one of their books about a year ago called: Death at Daisy's Folly. Which is set in Victorian England. Their detectives in that book are Sir Charles Sheridan and his love interest Kate. They have a whole series of books w/ them in it as well.

3rdGirl 25 Oct 09 at 11:01 p.m. GMT

I didn't like Unnatural Death either go-leafs. It was the first Sayers I read and it nearly put me off her! I shall read her Five Red Herrings next. I really like the characher of Parker and his friendship with Lord Peter. I find that now I've listened to a Lord Peter radio play on BBC7, I'm a bit better at imagining his voice and understanding the language they use a bit better as well, what?

MY Santa has been given a bit of a list as well Jill, I shall investigate the Carr, Paige and Upson books recommended.

I mentioned this book in another post somewhere, but I'll mention it again. I read A Beautiful Blue Death by Charles Finch recently and really enjoyed it. I think he's written three books about Charles Lenox set in Victorian London and I loved the relationship between him and his childhood friend Lady Grey. It was nominated for an Agatha Award in 2007.

Puffinjill 26 Oct 09 at 6:54 a.m. GMT

Unnatural Death does come over as very dry and lacks a little in the exciting plot line, but still a good read. I must admit, 3rdGirl, I struggled with Five Red Herrings when I first read it as it is so packed full of facts and figures. DLS wrote it around a real railway timetable and I thought it a bit bewildering at the first attempt. But I grew to love it (and it is set in Scotland which always gets me interestd!). Plus I missed Parker - my favourite, favourite DLS character - as he appears for such a small time. I've collected most of the Radio plays on audio tape but the are currently breaking on me if I play them, so I am trying to replace them, finances permitting.

Thanks for the tip about Charles Finch. I'll look out for his books.

go_leafs_nation 26 Oct 09 at 12:09 p.m. GMT

I loved The Five Red Herrings, which I found rather similar to Five Little Pigs. The only flaw really is Sayers putting down on paper the Scottish pronunciation of words, where she could've easily just written how she normally does. Deciphering certain phrases got frustrating.

If I'm not mistaken, though, Have His Carcase had a plot that circled around real places and real times, while The Five Red Herrings has a fictional setting with a fictional time table. I get confused between the two in that regard.

Puffinjill 26 Oct 09 at 2:45 p.m. GMT

No, it's the other way around. Five Red Herrings is set in Dumfries and Galloway and DLS used the existing time table to build her story (or should I say alibis) around. Have His Carcase used the fictional seaside resort of Wilvercombe and an imaginary tide timetable.

3rdGirl 27 Oct 09 at 8:24 a.m. GMT

They are the next two DLS books on the list so I'll let you know how I go. So many books, so little time!

Bundle_

Has anyone ever read any mystery books by Robin Paige? The name is actually a pseudonym name as the books are written by an American married couple. But I have read one of their books about a year ago called: Death at Daisy's Folly. Which is set in Victorian England. Their detectives in that book are Sir Charles Sheridan and his love interest Kate. They have a whole series of books w/ them in it as well.

I've not heard of these ones at all Bundles, so I'll have a look out for them. I's quite mindboggling how many series there are out there.

Bundles if you like the 1920's flappers, I think you would LOVE the books from my first post. Kerry Greenwood's Phryne Fisher is just fabulous. The first book Cocaine Blues is good fun. and I've read all of them. The Hon Phryne Fisher is bored and goes back to Melbourne from the UK seeking adventures. She's a champagne swilling, gun toting, extremely rich bon vivant sleuth. They are funny and very light hearted. My favourites are Murder in Montparnasse and Death by Water. http://www.phrynefisher.com/

Bundle_ 27 Oct 09 at 2:53 p.m. GMT

Yes, I've already added Kerry Greenwood on my must read list, 3rdGirl. Thank you! And give Robin Page a try, they're not my favorite authors ever but they are good read every now and then.

I shall also read a John Dickinson Carr book too. Which one should I start w/ go leafs?

Puffinjill 27 Oct 09 at 2:58 p.m. GMT

First one I read was Until Death Us Do Part. Really great introdution to such a great author.

go_leafs_nation 27 Oct 09 at 4:07 p.m. GMT

I'd recommend a bunch, but his first book, It Walks by Night, is a nice introduction to his work. It features the satanic Bencolin as the detective, and it's rather ingenious. But it isn't even close to being one of Carr's best; the sequel, The Lost Gallows, is his first true masterpiece; I still recommend reading It Walks by Night before it though, as it makes the entire book that much more rich an experience.

Till Death Do Us Part is an ingenious book, but I'd hardly recommend it for starters. Dr. Fell is best introduced by reading Hag's Nook or The Mad Hatter Mystery, the first being rather Poesque, the second very Chestertonian.

Sir Henry Merrivale is Carr's other "main" detective, and he features in plenty of books. One of the most ingenious is The Peacock Feather Murders, as well as The Judas Window (which is a narrative tour-de-force).

The general recommendation is to read books in a "series" in as chronological an order as can be managed. I did this with the Bencolins and enjoyed them tremendously.

Carr also wrote plenty of historical mysteries, particularly during his later years an an author. I'm currently reading The Devil in Velvet and it is spectacular.

The rant is over; it's safe to come out.

go_leafs_nation 27 Oct 09 at 8:08 p.m. GMT

Another one that popped into my head just now is one of Carr's finest masterpieces, The Burning Court. I highly, highly recommend it.

3rdGirl 27 Oct 09 at 9:28 p.m. GMT

I've written all of those down and I'm off to the library shortly. It's always good to read a series in order I think. You don't miss out on anything.

Bundle_ 28 Oct 09 at 12:07 a.m. GMT

Thank you, go leafs. I think I'll read The Burning Court first because if that's one of his best then I'd rather start off w/ a more exciting one for an author am I not familiar w/. It doesn't really bother me when I don't read books in chronological order.

go_leafs_nation 28 Oct 09 at 2:33 a.m. GMT

To be honest, I have yet to read a Carr I dislike. Not one of his books commits that "unforgiveable sin" of being dull. Enjoy The Burning Court; unlike most of Carr's books during this period, it is set in America, in 1929. It is one of Carr's best books; the solution so shocked me, I read no other books for three weeks! I just spent that time rereading the ending and mulling over it.

However, I still highly recommend reading series in as chronological order as can be managed. This didn't bother me, either, until I did this with the Bencolins. I enjoyed them tremendously, as I watched them "evolve" more and more. Certainly, there's no NEED to read them in chronological order (although several of the H.M.s are best read in order; The Cavalier's Cup and Night at the Mocking Widow make major allusions to The Curse of the Bronze Lamp, and several murderers are named in another); the experience is just that much better if you do.