Comments on: You Tell Me: A Good Mystery

By: Fyrefly

Fyrefly — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 15:39:24 +0000

Thirteenth Tale and Girl With the Dragon Tattoo are both excellent, and should be readily available. The Egyptologist by Arthur Phillips is great, and would be fun to discuss. The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie would also be fun, but that's pretty recent and so wouldn't be out in paperback yet.

By: Ariel

Ariel — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 23:58:52 +0000

I posted three suggestions already and then I came across this one that so good I am getting it and thought of your search. So I had to share it with you.

Cezanne’s Quarry by Barbara Pope – available in paperback. 352 pages

A beautiful young woman is found murdered . . . and the clues to her death point to her spurned lover, Paul Cézanne – the famous painter. In this richly atmospheric novel, a mysterious young woman named Solange Vernet arrives in Aix-en-Provence with her lover, a Darwinian scholar named Charles Westbury, and a year later is found strangled in a quarry outside the city. The young and inexperienced magistrate, Bernard Martin, finds his investigation caught in the crossfires of a raging cultural debate.

Initially assuming that Solange’s murder was a simple crime de passion by either a jealous Cézanne or a betrayed Westbury, Bernard soon finds himself on a mission to unravel the secrets of Solange and Cezanne’s hidden past. Exploring questions of science and religion that persist even to this day, Cezanne’s Quarry is a provocative debut mystery about life, death, love, and art.

Ariel
http://www.mysterysuspence.blogspot.com/

By: Heather J.

Heather J. — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 03:25:02 +0000

Ooh, I LOVE Eva’s suggestion of The Beekeeper’s Apprentice – I love that entire series!
.-= Heather J.´s last blog ..BBAW – go vote now please! ***sticky post *** =-.

By: mari

mari — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 16:39:09 +0000

I would agree with The Thirteenth Tale and In The Woods. Both are really great.

By: caite

caite — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 12:59:27 +0000

Just looking over what I read recently…
I know a lot of folks recommended The Thirteenth Tale, but I don’t consider that a mystery really. Actually, I did not love it either.

For new books, I did love Linda Castillo’s Sworn To Silence. Good mystery, good story.
The Dead by Ingrid Black. Irish, available used, in paperback.
Any Tess Gerritsen book…can start with the first in the series, The Surgeon.

By: Christine

Christine — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 00:26:57 +0000

I'll put in a plug for two of my all-time favourite mystery writers: Dorothy L Sayers and Elizabeth Peters. Sayers has a number of shorter mysteries, but the best of them all is Gaudy Night, which is a bit longer but wholly delightful. Her main characters are Lord Peter Wimsey and Harriet Vane; the novels are set (and largely written) in the 1920s-30s(ish). Gaudy Night takes place mostly in Oxford. Peters writes hilarious and clever mysteries set among archaeologists in Egypt toward the end of the 1800s. The first in the series is Crocodile on the Sandbank and there are about fifteen more that follow. Peters is very witty and this is a much-reread series in my home. .-= Christine´s last blog ..Things I Hate About Libraries =-.

By: Eva

Eva — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 23:03:56 +0000

I don’t think The Thirteenth Tale or The Ghost Writer are really *mysteries*, even though they’re both good books (I prefered The Ghost Writer).

I’d recommend The Beekeeper’s Apprentice for a literary book that still fits in the mystery genre. Or you can go old school and read one of Dorothy Sayer’s Lord Wimsey books-Strong Poison introduces Harriet Vane, who is a lot of fun!

By: S. Krishna

S. Krishna — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 21:48:00 +0000

I know everyone’s recommending The Thirteenth Tale, and I loved that one but I’d say THE GHOST WRITER by John Harwood. It’s an amazing gothic mystery, very spooky and well-written. The ending was really interesting and isn’t even satisfying unless you can discuss it with others.

By: Louise

Louise — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 21:45:04 +0000

Saw your request on Twitter and then your post here – I also thought of The Thirteenth Tale, but can see that many beat me to it. I liked that book, but I didn’t love it. I agree though that is is both creepy and has literary qualities. But in my opinion maybe it sort of tried to hard (to have those literary qualities). I can recommend it though.

Just plain creepy is ‘Salems Lot by Stephen King. It is one of his earlier works and I remember reading it on the beach Egypt in high summer (temps well over 100 F) and I was freezing! Its that creepy and I am usually not that creeped out. I’ve recently read about Anne River Siddons’ The House Next Door and how it is supposed to be real scary, but I haven’t read it myself though.

Louise )

By: Diana Raabe

Diana Raabe — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 21:07:25 +0000
Brian Freeman's first book, Immoral, is a real page-turner and done well. It's a whodunnit that takes place in Duluth, MN and sparked a whole series of books starring the main character, detective Jonathan Stride. For those interested in a dark psychological thriller, check out The Exception by Christian Jungersen. It takes place in Copenhagen and will have you guessing all the way through it. It's a very smart read. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, by Stieg Larsson, is quite a mystery, too. I dare you to solve it too early. Some of the subject matter is not for the faint of heart, but the book is well written. If you want just plain scary, read Bram Stoker's Dracula or The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux (not the same as the one you saw on Broadway).