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Jan-16-2005 14:12

I was just curious if any folks here read good mystery fiction. I haven't read much, though I've borrowed and read quite a few of Tony Hillerman's novels. He writes murder mysteries set in a Navajo reservation with recurring characters Jim Chee and Joe Leaphorn, and he has a nive simple, fluid writing style I enjoy.

Jan-16-2005 22:29

I like a lot of mystery writers, of course classics like Agatha Christie, Dorothy Sayers and Ngaio Marsh but also many others....lessee, a few who come to mind are Arthur W. Upfield, the Inspector Napoleon Bonaparte series, mostly about rural Australia and the inherent conflicts in the blend of white and aboriginal cultures (no, nothing to do with the guy who wanted to run France), Nevada Barr, who sets all her mysteries in U.S. National parks, Margaret Truman (the president's daughter), who sets her stories in Washington D.C. landmarks, and only recently have I discovered Laura Lippman, who writes mostly about Baltimore. I am enjoying working my way through her books at the moment!

Jan-17-2005 06:37

I enjoy Lippman, as well, being that I'm from Baltimore.
Mexico- we also do have a couple other posts up about fiction, one is called sleuths bookshelf, and the other one is Da Vinci Code- they all have a lot of great fiction listed.

Jan-17-2005 16:24

I'm a fan of the classics - Sherlock Holmes and Philip Marlowe. If you've never read Chandler's Marlowe, I particularly recommend 'The Lady in the Lake'. Brilliant!

Jan-17-2005 16:30

If you want to get to know a bit about the origins of the murder mystery genre you should read Poe.

Feb-6-2005 16:16

No doubt on the classics... Always great to pick up Sherlock Holmes or Philip Marlowe. But a contemporary favorite of mine is the work of Dick Francis. They feature varying, everyman heroes, but every book involves British horse racing in some way.

Feb-6-2005 16:20

No doubt on the classics... Always great to pick up Sherlock Holmes or Philip Marlowe. But a contemporary favorite of mine is the work of Dick Francis. They feature varying, everyman heroes, but every book involves British horse racing in some way.

Feb-8-2005 16:29

I enjoy Patricia Cornwell!

Feb-8-2005 17:10

Dan Brown, although not a classic type mystery. And not so much a who's dunnit, but more a "what is it." They come highly recommended.

Angels and Demons, and the Da Vinci code are the BEST ones. The Da Vinci code actually sold more books in the Netherlands this year, then the new translation of the bible that just came out.

Feb-9-2005 10:34

i love:
sara paretsky
elizabethh george
laurie r. king
patricia cornwell

Feb-10-2005 10:11

I love Patricia Cornwell, Sue Grafton's Alphabet Mysteries, Arthur Canon Doyle, Agatha Christie and Ruth Rendall. I also still read the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew. (Though I do hide them in a copy of Harry Potter so as not to embarras my son!)