The Secrets of Great Mystery and Suspense Fiction

by David Schmid (Narrator)

Great mystery and suspense writers have created some of the most unforgettable stories in all of literature. Even those who don't consider themselves fans of this intriguing genre are familiar with names such as Hercule Poirot, Sam Spade, Hannibal Lecter, and Robert Langdon, and understand the deep and lasting impact this writing has had on literature as a whole. An utterly captivating and compelling genre, mystery and suspense has leapt off the pages of the old dime store paperbacks, magazines, and comic books onto big screens, small screens, radio serials, podcasts, websites, and more. You'll find elements, characters, and references permeating popular culture and news reports worldwide, and bleeding into other literary genres such as romance, political thrillers, sports stories, and even biographies. Nearly 200 years old, the genre of mystery and suspense literature is only growing more popular.

How did it become so prevalent? Why is mystery and suspense a go-to genre for so many around the world? What makes the dark and sometimes grisly themes appealing? In 24 lectures of The Secrets of Great Mystery and Suspense Fiction, Professor David Schmid of the University at Buffalo examines these questions, as he guides you through an examination of the many different varieties of the genre, including classic whodunits, hard-boiled crime fiction, historical mysteries, courtroom dramas, true crime narratives, espionage fiction, and many more.

Fans of the genre will be delighted by the breadth and depth of information presented, guaranteed to uncover gems they had not yet discovered. But anyone, whether they are admirers of mystery on radio and film, or simply fans of literature, history, or pop culture, will find something to enlighten and entertain in this study of a genre with such tremendous impact.

Genres: Nonfiction, Writing, Audiobook, Mystery, Mystery Thriller, Crime, Books About Books

20 pages, Audible Audio

First published November 11, 2016

Reviews

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Great Courses – The Secrets of Great Mystery and Suspense Fiction- taught by Professor David Schmid, Ph.D. , is a 2016 The Great Courses publication.


I discovered ‘The Great Courses’, believe it or not, via my parents, who always challenge themselves by learning new languages or just taking courses on anything they find interesting.

I stumbled across a few of the courses on Hoopla a while back, but, it seems they have now been removed from their catalog, or had been the last time I checked, anyway. One reason may be that ‘Courses’ is offering a new streaming service subscription, which gives you unlimited access to many of their courses for a monthly fee.

I’ve been thinking about learning a new language and boning up on my sentence structure and vocabulary skills, so I decided to give the service a try. Lo and behold, while browsing through the various offerings, I found this gem.

The thirty-six- installment course, is taught by David Schmid, an author in his own right. The course takes the viewer through the beginnings of the mystery genre, starting with Edgar Allan Poe, naturally, and then touching upon every type of detective/ mystery/ thriller sub-genre you could imagine.

This is a very interesting and entertaining course that is informative and thought-provoking. Any lover of crime fiction will enjoy these lectures, as well as those who may be considering authoring a crime novel.

The usual suspects, if you will, are examined and studied, such as Poe, Christie, and Holmes, but more obscure authors are looked at as well, as are niche genres or themes, such as Noir, Cozy mysteries, Legal Thrillers, and many others.

Keep in mind, these are lessons, just like those you would take in school, and employees little visual aid. Each lecture is about thirty minutes long, so they are easy to fit into a busy schedule.

I enjoyed the professor’s analysis, and had a lot of fun learning about vintage crime stories, the progression of women in mystery and crime fiction, the various popular themes through the years, and the discoveries new authors and even a few sub-genres I have yet to tap into.

The courses are available via audible, on CD or from the streaming service I mentioned previously. I enjoyed the course immensely and do recommend it!!

[Barbara K · Rating 4 out of 5]

Once again I didn’t know what to expect from a Great Courses series I picked up on an Audible sale. I can’t resist the idea of getting two courses for one credit when I remember how much I used to pay for a single course on CD. Finding out what each course is like can be akin to opening a wrapped gift as a kid. Sometimes it's an ugly sweater, and other times it's a really cool chemistry set.

This was the latter. Not enough chemicals to create a major explosion, but enough to keep you entertained for quite a while. I’ve been reading crime novels for most of my life, and it never occurred to me that anyone could build an academic career around studying the history and significance of the genre. As it happens, 36 half-hour lectures barely scratched the surface.

Dr. Schmid begins his survey with Edgar Allan Poe’s 3 mystery stories featuring Auguste Dupin. His lectures frequently return to Poe, along with Doyle, Christie, Chandler and Hammett, as he discusses developments in mystery and suspense since the 1840's. His discussions aren't limited to comparisons of cozies to hard-boiled, or amateur detectives-to PIs-to police. He explores recurring themes, such as the changing nature of the detective character or of the victim.

There are multiple chapters on the evolution of women's roles in mystery and suspense fiction, from their initial presence as victims and femmes fatale, to their current status as protagonists. Schmid provides brief introductions to crime novelists from around the globe, including Europe, Africa, Latin America and Japan. I was not surprised to find an entire lecture devoted to Nordic Noir, but I was surprised that he completely overlooked Australia, given the many excellent mysteries with a uniquely Australian flavor coming from that continent in recent years.

There are lectures on sub-genres such as African-American crime stories, historical mysteries, courtroom drama and gay and lesbian mystery and suspense. I was interested in his analysis of how spy thrillers and conspiracy novels may reflect the public concerns of the times in which they were written.

On the flip side, I found his discussion of contemporary true crime a bit disappointing. His focus was primarily on how readily the public consumes stories about serial killers or lurid domestic murders, completely overlooking what I think of as "cultural" true crime - books like Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI or Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland, which use a murder as a jumping off point to explore larger social or political issues. Oh well, even with 36 lectures, Schmid can't approach a comprehensive approach to any sub-genre or theme.

Since this is a lecture series, a comment on the narrator is due. Overall, Schmid does a decent job. He speaks with a British accent and his pacing is good. But I found one pronunciation idiosyncrasy annoying - he consistently drops the final G. It's one thing when "annoying" becomes "annoyin", but another when Rudyard's last name turns into "Kiplin". It comes across as some kind of mid-Atlantic affectation.

I'm glad for the accompanying PDF, since it will provide a good reference for the names of authors or books that are new to me. I'd recommend this to crime fiction enthusiasts who understand that it is an overview, not an in depth exploration of any sub-genre or theme. If you find it on sale on Audible, snap it up!

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this would help me write mysteries. It has not. Instead of being a how-to,it is more a history of the genre. It's important if you want to write in the genre to understand what has come before and where we are today, but it doesn't help you wrestle with the blank page.

[Marta · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this a lot. Prof. Schmid gives a great overview of the mystery and suspense genre, starting with the three mystery stories by Edgar Allen Poe that started the genre, through the classic detective, then the hard boiled private eye, police procedural, spy novels, historical mysteries and experimental mysteries written by aithors usually working in literary fiction. In the first part of the course he devotes a lecture each in discussing various attributes of mysteries such as the types of detectives, settings, puzzle mysteries vs. realism, the role of violence, the police, and of women. He devotes lectures to study diversity in American mystery literature, such as African American, Latino and Native American mysteries, as well as gay and lesbian themes. He also explores the genre around the globe, highlighting the Nordic Noir, French classics such as George Simenon, Italian, German and Spanish authors in Europe; and devotes lectures to Japan, Latin America, and Africa.

I was never bored, albeit there was quite a bit of repetition, especially because he kept returning to the examples of the earliest Poe novellas to illustrate his point. I have read those, and they are not that great, even if you can see in them the archetypal arrogant detective. He uses them way too much. Other usual suspects mentioned ad nauseam are Sherlock Holmes, Agatha Christie, and the hardboiled classic writers Dashiel Hammet and Raymond Chandler. In fact I was very surprised how many of his examples I have actually read, given that I do not think of myself as a particularly avid mystery fan - however I do like to skim off the top of every genre I read and thus I have read at least the most famous books. I have only read The Maltese Falcon by Hammett, for instance, and given that I think Spade is an enormous ass, this will stay the only one, especially after listening Prof. Schmid waxing eloquently about how the point of the entire hardboiled genre was to be realistic, disillusioned, and generally being a macho jerk. While being assertive and ruthless are admirable in men, the same characteristic in women are captured as the femme fatale who needs to be punished for her sins. Hammett is dripping with misogyny, and so does Ian Flemming.

I think I come down mostly on the less violent crime side of things, preferring puzzles and historical mysteries, although I have read some pretty violent crime novels, such as the Rizzoli and Isles series. Generally I can tolerate violence if I get a good story and/or characters, but I prefer to avoid the gory or especially the slow dread. Suspense is not my jam at all, I like action or puzzles.

I found this enjoyable and recommend it to mystery and suspense fans interested in understanding the genre better. Prof. Scmid is an engaging speaker and the topics are interesting. As he references the three Poe short stories a lot, I recommend reading them in advance: The Murders in the Rue Morgue, The Mystery of Marie Roget. A Sequel to the Murders in the Rue Morgue, and The Purloined Letter. They are pretty short.

Available free on Hoopla if your library offers Hoopla.

[Irena Pasvinter · Rating 5 out of 5]

An informative and thought-provoking overview of the history of mystery and suspense fiction and of the current state of the genre. 36 half hour lectures are still not enough time to explore the topic in full depth, but David Schmidt manages to put the available time to good usage. Highly recommended to those who enjoy reading mystery and suspense and/or are interested in the history of literature in general and this genre in particular and/or or consider writing a mystery of their own.;)

[Anastasia · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting presentation by a passionate teacher

[Cloak88 · Rating 5 out of 5]

An amazingly interesting read for any Mystery and Suspense fans!

This course series goes in-depth into Nuts-and Bolts of Mystery and Suspense fiction. Along the way it provides courses on the History, development, subgenres, regional and topical differences and entertain you at the same time. David Schmid is a pleasant narrator and a joy to listen to.

Overall I must say that The Great Courses is one of the best providers of audio-lectures out there. And this course certainly does not disappoint. As such, if you are interested in these specific genres or in writing/ reading in general this series is for you.

[Gilbert Stack · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve been putting off reading this book because I thought it was going to be mainly a “how to write a mystery” guide, but it’s much better than that. In 36 lectures, Schmid takes the reader through the history and development of mystery and suspense stories—a truly herculean task which he handles masterfully. Starting with Edgar Allen Poe, he explores many (I hesitate to say “all” in such a broad field) of the most important developments in the genre, trying to explain why these developments were important and how they came to change the mystery story.

I suspect that the vast majority of the authors writing in this field don’t consciously pay attention to the “whys” that Schmid is so interested in. They set their stories in cities, or use a femme fatale, because it’s something they enjoy in mysteries. But that doesn’t mean that Schmid isn’t identifying the aspects these stories have in common and explaining why they work for so many readers.

Over the course of this book I added 16 novels to my “to read” list and 9 to my “reread” list. That in itself should convince anyone who likes this genre to read this book. If I listened to the lectures again, I have no doubt that I would find even more titles to sample. Schmid introduces scores of books and series and makes each one sound interesting. He not only looks at the big trends in England and the U.S. (the cozy, the hardboiled detective, women detectives, the criminal, the sidekick, the importance of clues, the locked room, the dime novel, etc.), he also spends several lectures looking at interesting uses of the detective novel in other parts of the world and as an opportunity to make political and social statements. I could go on and on.

I think, in the final analysis, I was also pleased by how many of these authors that he refers to that I had read and enjoyed. Now don’t get me wrong. I probably haven’t read a quarter of the books Schmid refers to here, but there is still something tremendously satisfying about having a scholar tell you what’s great about a book you’ve loved. Next time I listen to it, I’ll be able to compare my experience with even more books, to Schmid’s insights.

Oh, and if you do want to write mysteries, this book will give you a lot to think about as you craft your tale—even if that isn’t Schmid’s primary purpose in writing it.

[William Adam Reed · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Secrets of Great Mystery and Suspense Fiction is a 36 lecture course taught by Professor David Schmid of SUNY-Buffalo. I believe this is the only course Professor Schmid teaches for the Great Courses. I didn't have any extensive background on Mystery or Suspense Fiction before taking this course. I have read Agatha Christie and Arthur Conan Doyle, but that's about it. I am interested in reading more mystery and suspense fiction, so I thought this would be a good course to get some recommendations on where to proceed with my future readings.

Professor Schmid speaks very clearly with no distracting mannerisms. He breaks the course down topically, such as having a lecture on the criminal, or the sidekick, or the femme fatale. He does a great job of including many categories that I did not know much about, such as African American detectives, Native American detectives, Latino detectives, and Female centered detectives. He talks about subgenres within the mystery category, such as government conspiracy mysteries, violence centered mysteries, and the importance of dime novels. The course guidebook that comes with the lectures is helpful in including many recommendations for further readings.

Maybe if I had a nitpick, I would say Professor Schmid spent too much time trying to relate many of his lectures back to Edgar Allan Poe and his detective, Auguste Dupin, since Poe is generally credited with inventing the detective genre. But despite this one annoyance, this is an exciting and well constructed series of lectures that gives an incredible amount of information and informs the listener how the mystery and suspense genre has developed. It has given me a long list of books to read, and that is a huge joy of a lecture series like this.

[Jeff J. · Rating 4 out of 5]

An absorbing compilation of 36 lectures on mystery and suspense fiction. The lecturer begins, appropriately, with Poe, Conan Doyle, and Christie, and frequently returns to them as exemplars of the form. Also appropriately, the lecturer organizes the series around mystery genres, including a few I hadn't thought of, such as the criminal as protagonist (gangster stories, but also serial killers such as Dexter and Hannibal) and books that end with "poetic justice". The lectures confirmed my belief that I'm well-read in mystery fiction while also pointing me to some new books and writers I want to read.

[Brenda · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't enjoy this as much as I did How Great Science Fiction Works. Part of my issue with this one was the professor's accent. He kept dropping his gs (i.e. settin' instead of setting). I also wasn't fond that most of his lectures revolved around the same books/authors.

[Kay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved the selections of more obscure (to me, at least) writers that were covered in this series and also that the emphasis was not solely on Western culture. I'll be listening to this again and using the accompanying PDF while I do.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

An outstanding course in the mystery genre. I highly recommend it to writers and readers.

[Damaskcat · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an interesting series of thirty six half hour lectures on mystery and suspense fiction. Inevitably it is selective in what it covers and as it is American on origin the focus is on American authors. Listening to it made me realise the huge variety of mystery fiction there has been over the years. The greats of the British Golden Age of crime and mystery fiction are mentioned quite frequently but the lectures major on the hard boiled or noir genres - which I'm not keen on myself.

They also look at the latest popular sub genre - so-called Nordic noir - and looks at why they might have suddenly become so popular. I thought the lectures were interesting on the American authors writing in the 1920s and 1930s many of whose works are now available as e-books. I also found myself becoming more interested in authors such as Raymond Chandler and Ed McBain - both of whom I may try in the near future.

If you are interested in the more had boiled end of the genre then these lectures will be of interest to you. Even though I generally don't read that type of mystery and suspense fiction I did find the lectures interesting. I thought however that cozy mysteries - such as the many themed stories available - deserved at least a mention especially as they are predominantly an American phenomenon. I have one bone to pick with these lectures - Dorothy L Sayers' book Have His Carcase - is not a locked room mystery even though it is included in that category by the lecturer.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

In a series of 36 lectures, Dr. Schmid introduces readers to the history and development of the mystery and suspense genre. Because he only had about 20 hours, the course works better as an introduction that might lead readers to try some forms of the genre they might not otherwise.

Schmid begins with Edgar Allen Poe then shows how the genre is flexible enough to allow for many sub-genres. Therefore, he discusses everything from cozy mysteries to hard-boiled, and African American and LGBTQ selections.

The professor is knowledgeable and enthusiastic in his lectures and led me to add several books to my to-read list.

A recommended title from The Great Courses.

[JZ · Rating 2 out of 5]

It wasn't worth spending all that time listening for the good parts, which were few and far between.

This series is testosterone-dominated. This set is no different. It kills him to talk about all female authors other than V.I. Warshawsky for some reason, which seems to be that she writes the most like a man than any other women. When he does, he provides you for spoilers for many, and I do mean many, of the books that he's talking about. Perhaps reading every book he speaks of before he talks about it would help. But what a drag.

You like Patterson, Le Carré, McBain, Leonard, and Thompson? Here you go. Bang, bang, beat them up, shoot them up, scare them silly. Too heavy emphasis.

This guy is so misogynistic that he thought that Sherlock Holmes was a sap because he let Irene Adler 'escape imprisonment' for her crime of having a picture of the King of Bohemia. Exactly what crime had she committed? He just doesn't know what he's talking about. I listened to at least 3/4 of the classes, but he repeats himself so often that he could have made it half as long.

And don't let's get into 'everythink' because of his accent. He doesn't even try with the French, either. Harsh.

[Joseph VanBuren · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very thorough look at mystery fiction, from detective to hard-boiled to modern noir. It actually covers a lot of other related genres as well: crime thriller, espionage, true crime, etc. as well as books and stories from different eras, countries, and ethnicities. As a reader, this was a great introduction to a widespread genre that I am not that familiar with. As a writer, I found the analyses fascinating and inspiring. It took a long time to get through the audiobook, but I remained interested in the material all the way to the end. I'm looking forward to reading some of the books mentioned in this lecture series.

[Charli Fulton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another in the Great Courses series, this is a survey of mystery and suspense fiction in a series of 36 30-minute lectures. It begins with the history of the genre and the defining characteristics and features, then proceeds to different subgenres and a series on how the genre has been adapted to other cultures such as Japan, Scandinavia, continental Europe, and Latin America. A pdf CD provides a partial transcript of the lectures, including the titles and authors that are discussed. Even though I have read a lot of crime fiction, I still found many new titles and authors to try. Excellent material!

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very good history of mysteries and suspense fiction. The author emphasized Edgar Allen Poe, Earl Stanley Gardner, and Agatha Christie. There were some current authors, the evolution of the history of this fiction. It would have been nice to emphasize some of the current excellent authors who have benefited from this history.

[Calvin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Truly an incredibly comprehensive look at a vast genre. This really feels like a robust upper-level college course rather than a mere introduction. And yet, with great examples of works that most are familiar with, it's very accessible. Great. Great.

[D.B. Watson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lovers of this genre and writers alike should listen to this 36 lectures it has something for everyone of you.

[Hamish · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the first quarter. The rest of it dragged on quite a lot.

After introducing the genre, several threads are pursued. An interesting one is how the relationship between the protagonists of M&SF (mystery and suspense fiction) and official law enforcement have evolved over time. Poe's OG detective Dupin was positively antagonistic to the French police (during the 1840's police were a new institution and so were often distrusted), Holmes was accommodating but condescending to Scotland Yard, to hard-boiled private eye Sam Spade the police are something like a flawed institution which it is necessary to get along with, and in police procedurals law enforcement officers themselves becomes the protagonists.

A thread which was pursued most thoroughly was how MS&F novels have been used to empower minorities. There are lectures are on "African American Mysteries", "Native American Mysteries", "Female Centred Mystery and Suspense" (also "The Lady Detective"), "Gay and Lesbian Mystery and Suspense" , and "Latino Detectives at the Border". Although this is interesting, it ended up being pretty repetitive.

I would've liked to have learned more about real life crime, law-enforcement, and detection, and how the history of these areas is reflected in the genre. The fact that this was only ever covered tangentially seems like an oversight to me. I also would've liked an analysis of how changing attitudes to science and rationality have been reflected in the genre (Holmes & Dupin embody full enlightenment optimism about rationality triumphing over the world, in the war era people's faith in rationality as a power for good was shaken and about the same time the hard-boiled detective emerged [coincidence?], and more recent police procedurals are again very rationalism-positive, although there is more of an emphasis on teams of people with high-tech equipment rather than armchair geniuses). This type of thing was hinted at, but never directly addressed in the lecture series.

My "to-read" list has expanded ~10% as a result of listening to this series.

[Liz · Rating 4 out of 5]

As in other Great Courses the topic is broadly covered but as each lecture is 30 minutes it is not enough time to delve really deeply into any of these topics. So it is more of an exhaustive overview with some depths being touched upon. This series works hard to be inclusive but even still I thought there were some glaring omissions in that he overlooked completely occult detective fiction (there are over 90 Jules de Grandin stories) and sci fi detective stories.
There are spoilers to well known stories, but this is the norm in the Great Courses series so it might be worth checking out the syllabus and reading the stories first, though a heads up of which ones have spoilers would be nice.
This is such a huge genre and so much is covered, but it might have been better served to have been broken up into separate series such as one devoted to women in mystery and suspense, stories written in English, stories from non-English speaking countries, supernatural mystery stories. Even separating the classics from the stories with graphic violence could have been useful as these are two distinctly different categories of stories. That way greater depth could have been achieved.
All that aside, I do think this series is worth checking out for anyone who has an interest in the topic. It mostly kept my interest, but did lose me on some of the topics.
I did find the narration to have some annoyingly odd pronunciations occasionally, it was annoying but not a deal breaker.

[Teri-K · Rating 3 out of 5]

The speaker has a nice voice and good speaking style, as you'd hope in this series. I enjoyed the many topics he covered and got some good ideas of other mystery authors to look for, which is always great. I didn't think his thoughts were necessarily that well supported, though. I'm just a casual reader so I won't say that his scholarship seemed weak, instead I think the format must have let him down. 30 minutes isn't a lot of time to deliver a lecture, and I thought he jumped to conclusions or left big issues unexamined. That was disappointing for me.

For instance, he never questioned the idea that hard-boiled mysteries are more "realistic" than other types. He never suggested that some authors are popular for more than the mystery elements of their stories - character development or atmosphere, for instance. And he made sweeping statements without any support or explanation. Again, I'll blame the format for that. But I found it disappointing and the lectures not at all on a college level of thought. 2 stars for the lectures, rounded up because of all the great mystery book references.

[Chris Howells · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great mystery and suspense writers have created some of the most unforgettable stories in all of literature. Even those who don't consider themselves fans of this intriguing genre are familiar with names such as Hercule Poirot, Sam Spade, Hannibal Lecter, and Robert Langdon, and understand the deep and lasting impact this writing has had on literature as a whole. An utterly captivating and compelling genre, mystery and suspense has leapt off the pages of the old dime store paperbacks, magazines, and comic books onto big screens, small screens, radio serials, podcasts, websites, and more. You'll find elements, characters, and references permeating popular culture and news reports worldwide, and bleeding into other literary genres such as romance, political thrillers, sports stories, and even biographies. Nearly 200 years old, the genre of mystery and suspense literature is only growing more popular.
I really enjoyed this course, the professor is well read and communicates in a clear way. His enthusiasm is only matched by his incredible knowledge. An interesting watch for the fan of the genre or someone like me who is curious because I can never figure out whodunnit.

[Chris Leuchtenburg · Rating 3 out of 5]

As with all Great Courses authors, Schmid is erudite, succinct and wonderfully organized. But I didn't enjoy this one as much as others even though I am an avid mystery reader, perhaps because I have read hundreds of mysteries. I am very familiar with many of the books discussed and somewhat set in my ways. I am not eager to switch from cozies and puzzle mysteries to hard boiled or experimental mysteries.

I did enjoy many of the sections. (Some could have been longer. I wish the lectures on international authors had considered Indian and Italian works.) And I found the assessment of traditional mysteries as optimistic and hard boiled mysteries to be pessimistic to be quite profound, and it explains much of my preference for the former group.

I think the main reason that I didn't get as much out of these lectures is that I read mysteries for relaxation and enjoyment. All of the analysis and focus on the first examples were unneeded for me. However, I don't know what else I expected from a history course.

[MountainAshleah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, what a difference from the detective fiction college course I took in 1984, which was limited to the traditional Poe, Doyle, Sayers track, with The Name of the Rose included because the instructor was a medievalist by academic training. This course, in contrast, presents a wide ranging overview of traditions, trends, and controversies--it's an expansive course, and not just because so many years have passed. As a decades-long fan of mystery and suspense fiction--starting with Nancy Drew and The Hardy Boys read in first edition hard copies on summer break from elementary school--I thought there wasn't much I needed to learn. I was wrong. Highly recommended.

[Hank Pharis · Rating 2 out of 5]

(NOTE: I'm stingy with stars. For me 2 stars means a good book or a B. 3 stars means a very good book or a B+. 4 stars means an outstanding book or an A {only about 5% of the books I read merit 4 stars}. 5 stars means an all time favorite or an A+ {Only one of 400 or 500 books rates this!).

The great news is that I can listen to a book a day at work. The bad news is that I can’t keep up with decent reviews. So I’m going to give up for now and just rate them. I hope to come back to some of the most significant things I listen to and read them and then post a review.

I would have preferred a more chronological rather than topical approach.

[Peter Sidell · Rating 5 out of 5]

If nothing else this is a wonderful source of recommendations of great stories and writers on the genre. I was a little disappointed to see John MacDonald and Michael Connelly left out but it could be argued they are mostly adventure than classical mystery writers. I did enjoy the way the lecture drills down to various subgenres as his way of presenting the material. Certainly I have a more formal understanding of the genre. The PDF provided helps absorb some of the details.

[Art · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was hoping it would be a course in writing mystery and suspense, but it was more of a history of the genre. And a very interesting history it is. I was able to learn a lot about how successful stories in this genre are put together, so, in a way, that can apply to any I want to try to write. It also gave me some great ideas for books I want to try reading. All in all, this was a good investment of my time.