Mystery Books

[Dinah]

Does anyone else like mysteries? I read a LOT of them. Perhaps we like some of the same authors. I tend to avoid the hardboiled stuff for historical mysteries and cozies. What about you?

[Glory1863]

Most of what I like mystery-wise is stuff I've seen on PBS Mystery, although I have had the big book of Sherlock Holmes stories for about as long as I can remember. Others would include:

Colin Dexter's Inspector Morse (modern day).

Margery Allingham's Campion (1920s/1930s).

Peter Lovesey's Sergeant Cribb (Victorian). This is played for a bit more camp than Sherlock Holmes. Cribb is bright but a bit lazy and not at all posh. Constable Thackery is his long-suffering and definitely lower class sidekick. Their detective inspector would send Sherlock straight up the nearest wall. Not too bright doesn't begin to cover it, but he puts on airs because he is a bit higher class. I think my favorite crime scene involved a multi-day "wobble" which is a walking race of the time.

Ellis Peters' Cadfael (medieval Wales). A crusader who returns home to be a monk with some sleuthing on the side. Not bad CSI for the time, either. And then there's the "office politics" in the abbey .

Ann McMillan's Civil War mysteries which haven't been on TV as far as I know. These might appeal to some here as the protagonist is a white Southern woman who manages to be a pretty good sleuth while more or less staying within the confines of expected behavior for a woman of her class in that time. Of course, she is not above having the help of a free woman of color. You don't need to be a big Civil War enthusiast to understand these books or enjoy them, but a little knowledge of the early years of the war in the East will give you "ahaa" minutes that will increase your enjoyment. As far as I know, Civil Blood, Dead March, Angel Trumpet and Chickahominy Fever are the only books. I wish there were more.

Nicholas Meyer's (yeah, he went on to do Star Trek) The Seven-Percent Solution (Sherlock Holmes meets Sigmund Freud, played for camp).

Jim Lehrer's (PBS Newshour) novel No Certain Rest ties together a murder during the Battle of Antietam, Civil War reenactors and bad blood in a small New England town.

Michael Kilian's Harrison Raines Civil War mysteries. The author was a long-time Washington, D.C., correspondent for the Chicago Tribune. His stories follow the adventures of a Secret Service agent. The author has done extensive research on the battles he uses for the backdrop of his cases, some of which (Ball's Bluff and Glorieta Pass come to mind) aren't particularly well known if you aren't into the Civil War.

Oh my! This did get long. Aren't you sorry you asked?

[Kathy Rose]

I tend to like mysteries in general, and don't have any particular favorites but for Elizabeth Peters' series that features Amelia Peabody, an late 19th century into early 20th century Englishwoman who is very independent, goes to Egypt to view the pyramids, etc., and winds up marrying an English archeologist. There are about 18 to 20 books in the series, and there's always a mystery or three to solve.

[Dinah]

Glory1863, I like your list very much. Sergeant Cribb is great. So are Campion and Cadfael. I'm not a big Inspector Morse fan, but I really like the spin off "Inspector Lewis." Michael Killian's book are really terrific. Steven Wilson's written a couple of books about Mr. Lincoln's spy; they're pretty good, too.

Kathy Rose I've read some of Elizabeth Peters' books. For awhile my sister was really into them. Have you ever read some of the other mysteries in ancient Eygpt by Linda Robinson, Lauren Haney or P.C. Doherty? They're also very good.

I'm really pleased that there are some other mystery buffs around here.

[EntAllat]

Does anyone else like mysteries? I read a LOT of them. Perhaps we like some of the same authors. I tend to avoid the hardboiled stuff for historical mysteries and cozies. What about you?

I love mysteries! I started as a kid with the whole slew of commonly read teen mystery stuff: Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew, The Brian, etc. etc. And, of course, there's Sherlock Holmes. I've also read every Agatha Christie, Cadfael, a lot of stuff that would probably be classified as mystery-horror (like Edgar Allen Poe) and a smattering of other books that I'd have to look up to remember all the titles.

I dunno if "thriller" novels count, but I especially like the medical mysteries by Tess Gerritsen and the forensic anthropology mysteries by Kathy Reichs and Patricia Cornwell. Snow Blind by P.J. Tracy is a good computer/techno mystery.

[Dinah]

EntAllat have you ever read any of the Gideon Oliver mysteries by Aaron Elkins? They're terrific! The main character is an anthropologist who specializes in in the study of bones.

I'll have to check out Kathy Reichs, Patricia Cornwell and P. F. Tracy. Thanks for the recommendations.

[EntAllat]

EntAllat have you ever read any of the Gideon Oliver mysteries by Aaron Elkins? They're terrific! The main character is an anthropologist who specializes in in the study of bones.

No, I hadn't heard of those. I'll check 'em out, thanks!

I'll have to check out Kathy Reichs, Patricia Cornwell and P. F. Tracy. Thanks for the recommendations.

You're very welcome.

Nicholas Meyer's (yeah, he went on to do Star Trek) The Seven-Percent Solution (Sherlock Holmes meets Sigmund Freud, played for camp).

I've heard of this one, but haven't read it yet. Did you like it?