Mysteries/Thrillers

[Peggy Lane]

I like the gothicky ones, like Mary Stewart and Phyllis Whitney.

I thought I was the only person under sixty who liked Phyllis Whitney! I haven't read any of her stuff in awhile, but it sounds like just the ticket for an airplane book next week.

Has anyone else read Jane Dentinger's books? Apparently she hasn't written anything since the mid-nineties, but I read and loved "Who Dropped Peter Pan," and need to order the rest of her stuff.

[Auroranorth]

Phyllis Whitney and Victoria Holt. I read all of each in high school, and have been known to go back to them for "comfort reading."

Daisy Pusher, I liked the Claire Malloys but the Maggody ones, as you say, were just too repetitive.

Anyone for Cyril Hare? Or Christianna Brand?

[hawt13]

auroranorth said:

Phyllis Whitney and Victoria Holt. I read all of each in high school, and have been known to go back to them for "comfort reading."

Oh, I used to read Phyllis and Victoria when I was younger too.

I'd like to recommend Bruce Alexander's Sir John Fielding mysteries. Unfortunately, Mr. Alexander passed away last year but the series is really well written, IMO.

[grumpygirl]

My favorite all-time mysteries are those by Dorothy Sayers. That woman could really write a great character-driven mystery story and laugh-out-loud funny.

Elizabeth George's Inspector Lynley series is good to a point but sometimes she gets a little carried away. After reading the books I can't watch the PBS show anymore because it's so miscast.

Tony Hillerman mysteries because I like Navajo stuff.

[biondetta]

I've been reading Elizabeth George's series for years, so when I heard about the tv series, I was interested. Then I watched an episode and was so thrown off by the differences in how I thought of the characters and how they were on the show that I couldn't watch any more. As always, stick with the books!

Martha Grimes' Richard Jury series is quite good. It's somewhat similar to the Linley books, but not quite as dark and depressing. There's a bit of quirky humor thrown in that is fun without being ridiculous. It's also a nice balance for Jury's personal darkness.

[Deleted]

biondetta said:

Martha Grimes' Richard Jury series is quite good. It's somewhat similar to the Linley books, but not quite as dark and depressing. There's a bit of quirky humor thrown in that is fun without being ridiculous. It's also a nice balance for Jury's personal darkness.

I like Martha Grimes' Jury series too, although it seemed for a while like Melrose Plant sort of took over as a protagonist. I'm not complaining, because I like Plant as a character and he's a nice change from Jury's angsting over willowy women with russet brown hair and the upper-class woman who married the Italian count. One nitpick that always gets me about that series, though, is the time line. Are they supposed to each be set in the present day (i.e. the publication date)? Because Jury was a child during the Blitz--wouldn't that make him in his 60s now?

I think I mentioned that particular nitpick upthread a ways. I like when authors address it, like Sue Grafton going on record saying that in Kinsey's world, there's only a couple of months between cases, which explains why she drives a VW Bug, uses a typewriter, doesn't have a cell phone, etc. And on the other end of the spectrum, Sharon McCone has aged approximately equivalent to the dates the books are published--she now runs a thoroughly modern detective agency with computer geeks like her nephew on the payroll.

[SGleason]

The amazing thing about Phyllis A. Whitney is that she is still alive at 106!

I remember my mom had a paperback of hers; the cover illustration heroine wore one of those little-girl dresses that made her look totally vulnerable and pregnant.

[biondetta]

One nitpick that always gets me about that series, though, is the time line. Are they supposed to each be set in the present day (i.e. the publication date)? Because Jury was a child during the Blitz--wouldn't that make him in his 60s now?

Yeah, I've never been sure about that, either. I usually end up thinking of them all in some timeless world and adjust my mental images according to what works best for me.

[Deleted]

I did read Mary Stewart and Victoria Holt as a teenager. I wish there were more books like that, I really enjoyed them. (Well, at a certain point Victoria Holt became like Mary Higgins Clark, where all her books became exactly the same and I stopped reading her. But it was fun while it lasted.)
I just read Laura Lippman's newest book (forget the title). Anyway, I thought it was pretty good. The plot was interesting, though I did figure out the twist on my own and I liked the characters. I don't care for her series with the female detective (Tess something or other), but her stand alone mysteries usually keep my interest.

[PearlySweetcake]

I'm a fan of the gritty, hard-bitten Noo Yawk detective novels, and would buy Lawrence Block's grocery list if he published it. I love every one of his series - Matt Scudder, Bernie Rhodenbarr, Tanner, Keller - God, does this man even sleep? I also buy every Robert K. Tannenbaum book as soon as it's released. Other favorites are the Laurie R. King series with Kate Martinelli and Mary Russell (the Sherlock Holmes tales), and anything written by anyone who contributed to Naked Came the Manatee.

And don't get me started on the Alfred Hitchcock short story collections on Dell paperbacks from 40-50 years ago.