Michael Raleigh's Blog: Raleigh's Corner - Posts Tagged "detectives"
First list -- favorite mysteries
Everyone loves a list, so here is one of mine (with others to follow):
FAVORITE MYSTERIES & CRIME NOVELS
(Listed in no particular order)
1) LANDSCAPE OF LIES, by Peter Watson
A mad race to find treasure hidden from Henry VIII by Catholic monks, featuring a 16th century painting which is really a map. In the book's original, the map is reproduced on the cover so the reader can consult clues, both true and false. Easily the most fun I have ever had reading a mystery.
2) THE DAUGHTER OF TIME, by Josephine Tey
Tey's great historical mystery, in which her detective Alan Grant, bedridden by injury, investigates the story of Richard the Third and begins to formulate a story far different from Shakespeare's. A wonderful, original, thought-provoking novel.
3) THE LITTLE SISTER, by Raymond Chandler
For my money you could put any of Chandler's dark, witty, beautifully written books on the list, but this is the one I read first and it remains my favorite. Later turned into the film MARLOWE, starring the late James Garner.
4) THE CHILL, by Ross MacDonald
No one wrote about dysfunctional families like MacDonald, and no one investigated the tangled lives of California's rich like MacDonald either. A tough choice for me -- THE CHILL or his final Lew Archer book, THE BLUE HAMMER, a highly-praised and award-winning book.
5) THE TEARS OF AUTUMN, by Charles McCarry
McCarry's books are usually spy novels but THE TEARS OF AUTUMN is his take on the Kennedy Assassination, and sends his protagonist Paul Christopher into dark places to get at the root of JFK's murder.
6) FLYING BLIND, by Max Allan Collins
Part of Collins's terrific Nathan Heller series, this novel investigates the disappearance of Amelia Earhart. A fascinating historical novel as well as a great mystery. I'd also recommend STOLEN AWAY, in which Heller is involved in the investigation of the Lindbergh Kidnapping.
7) WHEN THE SACRED GINMILL CLOSES, by Lawrence Block
Probably the best of Block's Matthew Scudder novels. This one involves fraud, robbery, murder, and Scudder's own struggles with alcohol, and is as much about the character Matthew Scudder as it is about the crimes of the plot.
8) MOTOR CITY BLUE, by Loren Estleman
It is difficult for me to choose a favorite among the many books of this series, so I chose the first. Estelman's series featuring private eye Amos Walker is a throwback in the best sense of the term, a long, intelligent series showcasing a private eye with the requisite toughness, a highly evolved moral sense, dogged single-mindedness, and a sense of humor.
9) THE SIGN OF FOUR, by Arthur Conan Doyle
Overlooked, I think, in favor of THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES, THE SIGN OF FOUR involves an old pact among four criminals, the race for their treasure, and the British experience in India.
10) AMERICAN TABLOID, by James Ellroy
In each of his books, Ellroy sends a squadron of flawed characters into the heart of darkness, in this case, into Dallas, circa 1963. A fascinating, chilling take on the JFK assassination. Interesting to note how many crime writers have taken their shot at the Kennedy assassination -- three on my short list (Max Collins devotes two novels in the Nathan Heller series to JFK)
And I could go on and on....
FAVORITE MYSTERIES & CRIME NOVELS
(Listed in no particular order)
1) LANDSCAPE OF LIES, by Peter Watson
A mad race to find treasure hidden from Henry VIII by Catholic monks, featuring a 16th century painting which is really a map. In the book's original, the map is reproduced on the cover so the reader can consult clues, both true and false. Easily the most fun I have ever had reading a mystery.
2) THE DAUGHTER OF TIME, by Josephine Tey
Tey's great historical mystery, in which her detective Alan Grant, bedridden by injury, investigates the story of Richard the Third and begins to formulate a story far different from Shakespeare's. A wonderful, original, thought-provoking novel.
3) THE LITTLE SISTER, by Raymond Chandler
For my money you could put any of Chandler's dark, witty, beautifully written books on the list, but this is the one I read first and it remains my favorite. Later turned into the film MARLOWE, starring the late James Garner.
4) THE CHILL, by Ross MacDonald
No one wrote about dysfunctional families like MacDonald, and no one investigated the tangled lives of California's rich like MacDonald either. A tough choice for me -- THE CHILL or his final Lew Archer book, THE BLUE HAMMER, a highly-praised and award-winning book.
5) THE TEARS OF AUTUMN, by Charles McCarry
McCarry's books are usually spy novels but THE TEARS OF AUTUMN is his take on the Kennedy Assassination, and sends his protagonist Paul Christopher into dark places to get at the root of JFK's murder.
6) FLYING BLIND, by Max Allan Collins
Part of Collins's terrific Nathan Heller series, this novel investigates the disappearance of Amelia Earhart. A fascinating historical novel as well as a great mystery. I'd also recommend STOLEN AWAY, in which Heller is involved in the investigation of the Lindbergh Kidnapping.
7) WHEN THE SACRED GINMILL CLOSES, by Lawrence Block
Probably the best of Block's Matthew Scudder novels. This one involves fraud, robbery, murder, and Scudder's own struggles with alcohol, and is as much about the character Matthew Scudder as it is about the crimes of the plot.
8) MOTOR CITY BLUE, by Loren Estleman
It is difficult for me to choose a favorite among the many books of this series, so I chose the first. Estelman's series featuring private eye Amos Walker is a throwback in the best sense of the term, a long, intelligent series showcasing a private eye with the requisite toughness, a highly evolved moral sense, dogged single-mindedness, and a sense of humor.
9) THE SIGN OF FOUR, by Arthur Conan Doyle
Overlooked, I think, in favor of THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES, THE SIGN OF FOUR involves an old pact among four criminals, the race for their treasure, and the British experience in India.
10) AMERICAN TABLOID, by James Ellroy
In each of his books, Ellroy sends a squadron of flawed characters into the heart of darkness, in this case, into Dallas, circa 1963. A fascinating, chilling take on the JFK assassination. Interesting to note how many crime writers have taken their shot at the Kennedy assassination -- three on my short list (Max Collins devotes two novels in the Nathan Heller series to JFK)
And I could go on and on....
Raleigh's Corner
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