Crime Fiction Recommendations

[SensualPoet]

Originally Posted by poohbear_nc

Just finished Louise Penny's "A Trick of the Light" - more detailed comments are here: https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...ostcount=10723 and here: https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...35&postcount=2

I can't recommend this book highly enough.

It's on my list but I am still working through the other titles. I'm trying to savour them.

Happily, this Louise Penny title IS sold in ebook form to Canadians -- as Kindle, Kobo and Nook.

[SensualPoet]

Recently, Sourcebooks, which represents Georgette Heyer in the US, put 46 of her romance and mystery novels on sale for $1.99 for one week to mark the 109th birthday of the author (who passed away in 1974). Her dozen mysteries begin with Footsteps in the Dark, a stand-alone "country manor mystery" published in 1932, and is very much along the lines of then fashionable authors Agatha Christie, Ngaio Marsh, Margery Allingham and Gladys Mitchell; she also wrote a couple of series starring Inspector Hannasyde and Inspector Hemingway. This tale might easily be called "romantic mystery" as it is decidedly written for the gentle romance mixed with a bit of harmless fun and not to leave the reader biting ones nails, breathelessly holding still, aching for the suspense to be relieved.

Peter, Celia and Margaret are siblings; with Celia's husband Charles, the foursome have inherited a run down country mansion and decide to spend a holiday there. There's no electricity but plenty of candles, draughts, fireplaces and shadows ... and, apparently, ghosts. When a human skull is heard rolling down the stairs, and the bones of its owner discovered behind a secret panel in a wall, every new creak and howl portends a new mystery … or is it just the wind? The house isn't called The Priory for nothing: an old grave yard and the ruins of long abandoned church sits attached to the property. Then there are the warnings to “get out!” issued by several villagers -- including a tourist named Michael Strange who surely isn't quite what he appears to be. And then there's a murder ....

Although frankly pretty slow to get going, once the story finds its pace, it clips along with charm and good humour. It may be rather predictable at several turns, the author dropping clues quite generously, but it is well crafted, a good example of its genre and time of publication. Easy, escapist fare, with nothing much to trouble you, the family banter and stock characters amuse as they are designed to do.

Available for Kindle and Nook for about $9; and at Kobo, still, for $1.99.

[rhadin]

Two excellent writers I'd recommend for mysteries are our own Vicki Tyley and L.J. Sellers. I found their books to be engrossing.

• Vicki Tyley: http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/vt
  
• L.J. Sellers: http://ljsellers.com/

[SensualPoet]

Since 1981. American author Martha Grimes has written a successful series of detective novels which feature Scotland Yard Inspector Richard Jury and his friendship with aristocrat Melrose Plant (aka Lord Ardy). Her third novel won her a Nero Wolfe Award; she's recently completed the 22nd book in the series, The Black Cat, in 2010. In The Lamorna Wink, the 16th Jury novel published in 1999, it is Melrose Plant who is the star. In fact, Jury does not turn up till the third act leaving his "Watson" to do much of the sleuthing.

Melrose Plant has decided to take a three month break from his home and the hectic buzz of his London life by renting Seabourne, a house perched on a seaside cliff in Cornwall owned by American transplant Chick'nKing fast food magnate Moe Bletchley. As Plant discovers, the house has a history: including the death of Bletchley's two grandchildren at the base of the cliff four years earlier. When a local co-owner of bakery cafe suddenly disappears, and another woman's body turns up, murdered, Plant quickly finds himself in the middle of current and past deaths and the charming (and some less charming) entanglements of the locals, not least of which include 17 y/o Johnny, the missing bakery owner's nephew (and amateur magician). Coincidences or interconnections? As a second death takes place, Jury joins Plant to try to outwit a murderer before he or she kills again and gets away scot free.

This is a nice balance between witty storytelling, cozy mystery and police procedural, with winning, believe characters and dialogue. Grimes likes to provide multiple perspectives for the reader while staying grounded, in this case, largely with what one character -- Melrose Plant -- knows. The secondary characters, like young Johnny, are affectionately drawn; but the tragic parts of the tale strongly register, delivered in unvarnished starkness. Given this novel focusses heavily on Plant, not Jury, it's probably not the best introduction to the series, yet it is an enjoyable read on its own.

Available at Kindle (US only), Nook and Kobo for under $9.

[carpetmojo]

[QUOTE=SensualPoet;1736836]......................
Melrose Plant has decided to take a three month break from his home and the hectic buzz of his London life by renting Seabourne, a house perched on a seaside cliff in Cornwall owned by American transplant Chick'nKing fast food magnate Moe Bletchley.................QUOTE]

Ah ha - I may not know who dunnit, but....

I know, and have been many times to Lamorna Cove/Bay in Cornwall, beautiful little (relatively unknown) spot,bit tricky to find, and there are indeed a fair few "perchy" houses - but doubt any are owned by this particular pillar of industry !

[alansplace]

i just finished the earliest published (1925) charlie chan mystery, 'the house without a key' by earl derr biggers, there were 5 more published and all 6 are out-of-copyright and available at project gutenberg, australia.

[DoctorOhh]

Originally Posted by alansplace

i just finished the earliest published (1925) charlie chan mystery, 'the house without a key' by earl derr biggers, there were 5 more published and all 6 are out-of-copyright and available at project gutenberg, australia.

All six are available right here in Mobileread's library in a very nicely formatted omnibus edition. ePub, Mobi(prc), LRF

Here is the full html list of all 21000+ volumes available here at Mobileread. You can also search available books by genre, author or format here.

Also the Mobi, prc and epub versions found here are easily converted to other formats using calibre.

[alansplace]

Originally Posted by dwanthny

All six are available right here in Mobileread's library in a very nicely formatted omnibus edition. ePub, Mobi(prc), LRF

Here is the full html list of all 21000+ volumes available here at Mobileread. You can also search available books by genre, author or format here.

Also the Mobi, prc and epub versions found here are easily converted to other formats using calibre.

didn't know that, these were all txt files and they converted very nicely into epubs and then ultimately into mobis (for my kindle). thanks for the heads-up. i got that location from a participant in the mobileread calibre forum.

[SensualPoet]

Originally Posted by alansplace

i just finished the earliest published (1925) charlie chan mystery, 'the house without a key' by earl derr biggers, there were 5 more published and all 6 are out-of-copyright and available at project gutenberg, australia.

Funny you should mention this. I just yesterday tossed the first Chan onto my TBR ebook pile. I try to keep the "official pile" down to a half dozen titles or so so it will actually get read in the coming weeks.

I have always enjoyed the 1930s/40s movies (esp. the Warner Oland years) so I figured it was time to get around to these.

In the same vein, Leslie Charteris The Saint, Erle Stanley Gardner Perry Mason, SS Van Dine Philo Vance, Maxwell Grant The Shadow are all from the same vintage (although some spanned decades longer) and stand up well today. Some are public domain, most are out of print but available on the Darknet.

[alansplace]

Originally Posted by SensualPoet

Funny you should mention this. I just yesterday tossed the first Chan onto my TBR ebook pile. I try to keep the "official pile" down to a half dozen titles or so so it will actually get read in the coming weeks.

I have always enjoyed the 1930s/40s movies (esp. the Warner Oland years) so I figured it was time to get around to these.

In the same vein, Leslie Charteris The Saint, Erle Stanley Gardner Perry Mason, SS Van Dine Philo Vance, Maxwell Grant The Shadow are all from the same vintage (although some spanned decades longer) and stand up well today. Some are public domain, most are out of print but available on the Darknet.

don't forget nero wolf (rex stout) and sam spade (dashiel hammett) as well

[SensualPoet]

I put Stout, Hammett and Chandler in a different class in terms of both story telling and a facility with words. As much as I enjoy Perry Mason, for example, once the book is read, it's finished; Chandler's prose has a way of hanging around as does Stout's endlessly amusing observations through the mouth of Wolfe and Archie.

[nigel p bird]

Here are the top 8 e-book crime collections as recommended by Crime Fiction Lover

It's full of peaches.

nigel

[SensualPoet]

Originally Posted by nigel p bird

Here are the top 8 e-book crime collections as recommended by Crime Fiction Lover

It's full of peaches.

nigel

And a couple of plums!

[Geco]

henning mankell

[carpetmojo]

Yes, yes, yes.....