Do you join me in liking mysteries? If so, tell me your favorite genre and why.

i love any work by Agatha Christie, especially her Hercule Poirot series. i’ve read one Mrs. Marple book, and didnt like it as much. Poirot has a certain ambiance that Christie develops very well.

i forget who said it, but some person in the 1940’s said “there are only 2 good things that came out of British colonial times: the afternoon tea and the detective novel.” i disagree with the 1st thing because that’s what caused so much disaster and imperialism; a few leaves, but i strongly agree with the second.

@Mtl_zack My mom was a huge Christie fan, and that was what got me into mysteries in the beginning. Did you like the PBS Poirot series? I really loved the gorgeous art deco sets. I see your point polictically about tea, but I love it so I cannot regret its invention. My mother loved Poirot and Miss Marple, but I am with you—I never felt Miss M.

@ marina: PBS art Poirot series? whats that? please elaborate or pm me about that. maybe its interesting.

Surprise! I like horror. Esp. Clive Barker.

I do like mysteries and thrillers, but not so much involving police.
I love psychological thrillers…
And I love end of the world/new world type books.

I definitely enojoyed the Poirot stories from Christie, but I’m still partial to Sir Arthur and his brilliant detective

When I was growing up, i really enjoyed the Encyclopedia Brown stories, but I can’t imagine them sustaining me now.

I like the psychological thriller type mysteries. Stephen King, John Saul… to name the only two I can clearly remember at this point. I’m sleep deprived and just took pain medicine. lol

And would I be completely nuts to say I still delight in reading The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler? Granted I’m way too old for it, and it’s probably because I read them all multiple times when I was little, but I think they’re excellent for curious kids. I probably like them because of the memories associated with them… but that’s beside the point. Every few years I’ll stumble over them while getting something out of the attic and sit and read through them, and thoroughly enjoy myself.

I started with Agatha Christie, too. I really like old Alfred Hitchcock anthologies…some of the best short stories I’ve ever read. Today, I still like some mysteries, but find others tedius. Alex Cross (James Patterson), Alex Delaware (Jonathon Kellerman), Kinsey Milhone (Sue Grafton) and Kay Scarpetta (Patricia Cornwell) are all favorite characters. At times I can relax with a good medical mystery, too. Some things I don’t like are most other books by James Patterson, or just about anything by Mary Higgins Clark.

My true favorite genre though is “horror”...Stephen King, Dean Koontz, et al.

@augustian – I agree that most mysteries just don’t grab me nowadays either.

King and Koontz grabbed my attention for several years and have hardly relinquished their hold. But I do love good spiritual journeys.
~Zen and the art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Pirsig
~Way of the Peaceful Warrior by Millman
~Teaching of Don Juan by Castaneda

Thank you august… I read a few Mary Higgins Clark because my family was concerned that I was reading Stephen King before I even a teen… they tried to wean me off with her books, and while they weren’t terrible, they were entirely forgettable. I was trying to mention it in my post above but couldn’t even remember her name! that’s how forgettable they were. LOL

@fireside: When I read Way of the Peaceful Warrior it seemed earth shattering to me, like it would change my life. Now I can’t remember why I felt that way! I’m going to have to re-read that someday.

I loved Alfred Hitchcock when I was younger! No one comes close to his work these days.

Agatha Raisin and the >>>>>> series by M.C. Beaton. A Brit.
She also writes a series that supposed to take place in Scotland, oh yeah, it’s Hamish MacBeth. The titles are usually Death of a >>>>>>>>
Very exciting – she’s such a crab.

Look up J.J. Abrams’ talk on http://ted.com. You’ll love it, I promise you.

I like Agatha Raisin but I love Hamish McBeth Yay MC Beaton. Has anyone read Isaac Asimov’s mysteries? Really good puzzles. I went through an Ed McBain period. I’m not into violence but it was fun to figure out what he was really writing about, There was one about a mass murder in a drug dealer’s apartment that turned out to be an allegory of the Nixon administration.

I like British mysteries. Agatha Christie was my 1st BTW Joan Hickson was the bestMs Marple. All of the rest tried to jazz her up or dither her down. If I really want to British out I read Dorothy Sayers, my favorite is Busman’s Honeymoon. But I also enjoy Dalgleish and Pascoe in PD James’ series.

Then there are the historical series. I loved Ellis Peter’s Cadfael, Lindsey Davis, Steven Sayler, Anne Perry and Peter Tremaine’s Sister Fidelma.

And for fast and fun. American ‘cozies’, especially the ones with recipes. Tamar Myers, Diane Mott Davidson and Jill Churchill are among my favorites.

When I was growing up I loved the corny children’s mysteries such as The Happy Hollisters, Trixie Belden, Nancy Drew, and of course those Hardy Boys. I read them all over and over. As I got older I learned about Stephen King and it was true love from there on out. I do enjoy Patricia Cornwell (Kay Scarpetta only) and various Brit mysteries, especially Agatha Christie.

I would recommend Amanda Cross to anyone that likes female detective writers (her protagonist Kate Fansler is an English Professor so the stories are literary mysteries)and for your classic British whodunnit, Dorothy L. Sayers.

@tupara i have enjoyed some Amanda Cross books, but not others. i do like Dorothy Sayers.

Your list looks good to me. I’m a big fan and read the authors first mentioned. Have you looked at Nevada Barr? My all time favorite is Stuart Kaminsky. Donald Westlake is a fun read.

I am a sap….I love almost all mysteries I can get my hands on. I liked the James Patterson ones. Esp. the ones that led tothe Womens Murder Club on TV

@NVOldGuy Great to hear form you. I hadn’t seen you posting in a while. I read the Nevada barr series for a while and liked it. It took an awfully dark turn for me that made me stop reading them.

@Mitsu_Neko I really liked the TV version of Women’s Murder Club. I am hoping it comes back after the writers’ strike.

It says online that they have hired on for at least 3 more episodes