Will’s Mystery Project
What is Will’s Mystery Project?
After writing an article for Booklist about how much he hated mysteries, Will was challenged by his blog readers to read 50 mysteries from a recommended list in a one year period. His deadline for completion is June 7, 2011. Here are the Rules of Engagement that Will must follow:
Mystery Books Will Has Read to Date (Click on title to get Will’s review)
1. Andrews, Donna – Murder with Peacocks ***
2. Davis, Lindsey –Silver Pigs *****
3. Spencer- Fleming, Julia – In the Bleak Midwinter ****
4. Christie, Agatha – And Then There Were None *****
5. Winspear, Jacqueline – Maisie Dobbs ****
6. Burke, James Lee – Cimarron Rose *
7. Woodrell, Daniel – Winter’s Bone ***
8. Sayers, Dorothy L. – Murder Must Advertise *****
9. Chandler, Raymond – Farewell My Lovely *****
10. Grafton, Sue – A is for Alibi 0 stars
11. McInerny, Ralph – Celt and Pepper - **
12. Marsh, Ngaio – Colour Scheme *****
13. Macdonald, Ross – The Ivory Grin *
14. Evanovich, Janet – One for the Money ***
15. MacDonald, John D. – The Empty Copper Sea **
16. Tey, Josephine – The Daughter of Time *****
17. Stout, Rex – Might as Well be Dead *****
18. Conan Doyle, Sir Arthur - Study in Scarlet **
19. Knowles, John. A Separate Peace *****
20. Peters, Ellis. A Morbid Taste for Bones *****
21. Truman, Margaret. Murder at the National Cathedral. *****
22. Ferrars, E.X. Seeing is Believing. ***
23. Coben, Harlan Back Spin 0 stars
24. Harwin, Patricia Slaying is Such Sweet Sorrow ****
25. Poe, Edgar Allan. Murders in the Rue Morgue****
26. Gallison, Kate. Hasty Retreat****
27. Chesterton, G.K. The Scandal of Father Brown**
28. Greeley, Andrew. The Bishop Goes to the University **
29. Roosevelt, Elliott. Murder in the Map Room *
The Mystery List for Will to Choose From (as compiled by our blog readers…still a work in progress)
Allingham, Margery – Tiger in the Smoke
Andrews, Donna – Murder with Peacocks
Asimov, Isaac – Caves of Steel
Atherton, Nancy –Aunt Dimity’s Death
Atkinson, Kate – Case Histories
Barr, Nevada – Ill Wind
Beaton, M. C. – Death of a Gossip
Black, Benjamin – Christine Falls
Box, C. J. – Open Season
Bradley, Alan – The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie
Braun, Lillian Jackson –The Cat who could Read Backwards
Brett, Simon – Dead Side of the Mike
Brown, Rita Mae – Wish You Were Here
Cannell, Dorothy – The Thin Woman
Castillo, Linda – Sworn to Silence
Cauldwell, Sarah – Thus Was Adonis Murdered
Childs, Laura – Shades of Earl Grey
Churchill, Jill – Anything Goes
Connelly, Michael - The Lincoln Lawyer
Cotterill, Colin – Coroner’s Lunch
Craig, Philip – A Beautiful Place to Die
Crais, Robert – The Monkey’s Raincoat
Crombie, Deborah – A Share in the Death
Davis, Lindsey –Silver Pigs
Dereski, Jo – Miss Zukacs and the Library Murders
Dexter, Colin – The Wench is Dead
De Poy, Phillip – A Minister’s Ghost
Downie, Ruth – Medicus
Eco, Umberto – Name of the Rose
Fairstein, Linda – Lethal Legacy
Ferraris, Zoe – Finding Nouf
Fforde, Jasper – Eyre Affair
Flynn, Gillian – Sharp Objects
Fowler, Christopher – Full Dark Horse
Franklin, Ariana – Mistress of the Art of Death
French, Tara – In the Woods
Gaus, P.L. – Blood of the Prodigal
George, Elizabeth – A Great Deliverance
Gilbert, Michael – Smallbone Deceased
Goodrum, Charles – Dewey Decimated
Grafton, Sue – A for Alibi
Greenwood, Carrie – Cocaine Blues
Gregorio, Michael – Critique of Criminal Reason
Grimes, Martha – The Man with a Load of Mischief
Gur, Batya – Saturday Morning Murder
Haddam, Jane – Not a Creature Was Stirring
Hall, James – Under the Cover of Daylight
Hammet, Dashiell – The Glass Key
Harris, Joanne – Gentlemen and Players
Hillerman, Tony – The Blessing Way
Hoban, Russell – Riddley Walker
James, P.D. – A Taste of Death
Johnson, Craig – Cold Dish
Kaminski, Stuart M. – Fatal Glass of Beer
Kaye, M.M. – Death in Berlin
Leon, Donna – Death at La Fenice
King, Lauri e –Beekeeper’s Apprentice
King, Ross – Ex Libris
Krueger, William Kent – Iron Lake
Larsson, Steig – The Girl with the Dragon Tatoo
Lehanne, Dennis –Mystic River
Lovesey, Peter – Swing, Swing Together
Lutz, Lisa –Spellman Files
Macbride, Stuart – Cold Granite
Mankell, Henning – Faceless Killers
Maron, Margaret –Bootlegger’s Daughter
Marsh, Ngaio – A Man Lay Dead
McCall Smith, Alexander – #1 Ladies Detective Agency
McCrumb, Sharyn – She Walks These Hills
McDermid, Val – Place of Execution
Moore, Christopher – Fluke
Muller, Marcia – Edwin of the Iron Shoes
Murphy, Shirley Rousseau – Cat on the Edge
Neville, Katherine – The Eight
O’Connell, Carol – Mallory’s Oracle
Paretsky, Sarah – Killing Orders
Pattison, Eliot – The Skull Mantra
Parker, Robert - Godwulf Manuscript
Pearl, Matthew –Dante Club
Pears, Iain – An Instance of the Fingerpost
Penny, Louise – The Brutal Telling
Perez-Reverte , Arturo – The Club Dumas
Perry, Anne The Face of the Stranger
Peters, Elizabeth – Crocodile in the Sandbank
Peters, Ellis – Morbid Taste for Bones
Pickard, Nancy – Scent of Rain and Lightning
Preston, Douglas and Child, Lincoln – Cabinet of Curiosities
Robinson, Linda S. – Murder in the Place of Anubis
Robinson, Peter – In a Dry Season
Rosenfelt, David – Open and Shut
Rozan, S.J. – Concourse or China Trade
Sandford, John - Rules of Prey
Sayers, Dorothy L. – Gaudy Night
Saylor, Stephen – Roman Blood
Talton, Jon – Camelback Falls
Taylor, Elizabeth – Angel
Tracy, P.J. – Monkeewrench
Upfield, Arthur – Death of a Lake
Van Gulik, Robert – Judge Dee
Westlake, Donald - Dancing Aztecs
Willis, Connie – To Say Nothing of the Dog
Nix on Murder with Peacocks for me! Couldn’t even reach page 50. Just couldn’t connect to the characters and the setting nor the whole situation. I could see the humor there, but it didn’t make me laugh.
Silver Pigs was a little bit better, but I couldn’t finish it. Maybe because I’m not such a history buff, but I’m not sure that’s the reason. I like Falco and the whole idea of private detective in Roman times but as he headed off for the Britain in the winter I had to put the book aside.
JG
You don’t have any Harlan Coben on this list. His books don’t have a “detective” per se, but they are definitely mysteries. He has a whole series of books starring Myron Bolitar, who is a sports agent. I don’t much care for those, but I really like his stand alone books. They are real page turners. Try THE WOODS or TELL NO ONE or his most recent one, CAUGHT.
As time goes by, you might want to indicate which books you have already read–perhaps with a link to the relevant review, for those who are interested.
Kim, that is a great idea. Thanks. I just need a little time to get this page shaped up.
Maybe also put the star rating next to each title as you finish it in addition to the link? That way a quick scan will give people an idea what is highly rated on this list.
Hard to believe any review of a mystery by you would fair since you so strongly voiced your HATRED of all things mystery.
Mary, you are in for a surprise. Here are my first two reviews: http://willmanley.com/2010/05/31/will-unwound-128-weekend-book-chat-continues-will-reads-his-first-two-mysteries-how-about-a-shout-out/
I know you asked for one detective, but torn between stylistically very different writers and detectives: Donna Leon’s Venetian Guido Brunetti and Andrea Camilleri’s Sicilian Salvo Montalbano. Both cerebral characters; world-weary, yet still somewhat optimistic despite political corruption; and both in love with good food. Sadly, neither of these authors is on the list (nor is Stephen Saylor’s Gordianus the Finder, set in Julius Caesar’s Rome)
No Dick Francis?
I have to say that I have LOVED the Bernie and Chet mysteries by Spencer Quinn! Bernie is the private eye and Chet is his partner and pet dog. All told from the point of view of the dog!
I thought of a series last night while chatting with a friend. Child of Silence by Abigail Padgett. The nasty, i dotter and t crosser, gorgeously dressed supervisor presumably according to local rumor, was based on the author’s boss, I assume former boss! It takes place in San Diego which would give you a title within your adopted state Will. The detective is a bipolar Child Protective Services worker who encounters a child that others are assuming is brain damaged but which she recognized as being deaf. That happens more frequently than most would want to admit to people who are hard of hearing. In any case, the detective is a fascinating person who gets too involved with her clients such as this little boy.
Will:
I would suggest A Test of Wills by Charles Todd. It is the first in the Inspector Ian Rutledge series. Rutledge is a shell shocked veteran of WWI haunted by the man he was forced to execute on the battlefield.It is a compelling story of a man trying to function with disability. Rutledge is the outsider who is sent to solve murders in remote villages of post war Britain before highways, cell phones (or even phone service in some places)and modern forensics.
Thanks Andy. Funny you should bring that up because right now I am in the middle of a mystery by Jacqueline Winspear entitled Maisie Dobbs that takes place in post WW I England and it deals with men who were disfigured from combat. That between the wars period is quite an interesting one in England.
I second Andy Thorpe’s recommendation of the Todd Ian Rutledge mysteries. I logged in just to make that suggestion! You will see correlations with Maisie Dobbs, but I found the Rutledge character and writing more compelling.
Will, I noticed there were no Elmore Leonard books. While he’s not considered a “Mystery” writer, he is considered one of the best “Crime” writers around. He actually started with writing westerns, and has written quite a few famous stories (3:10 to Yuma is one, as well as most of the westerns starring Tom Selleck). He has also written many famous crime novels, including Get Shorty, Killshot, Out of Sight, Rum Punch (which is what the movie Jackie Brown is based on), Switch, Stick, and so many more. If you were going to read just one, I would recommend either Get Shorty, Maximum Bob, Swag, or Out of Sight.
I usually agree with you on most topics, including cats, but am compelled to respond to your irrational, intense hatred of mysteries. At least you gave Agatha Christie 5 stars! As a novel lover and book collector, surely you must try John Dunning’s Booked to Die.
Nancy, it’s definitely on my list, when I get the list updated. BTW…I’m loving mysteries now. Call me a convert. Is a cat next? Never.
Now Will, where is that open minded attitude? Just because a cat isn’t a book is no reason to declare you won’t ever get a cat! Suppose Sophie falls in love with cats but her Mom or Dad or Connor is allergic to them? Are you really going to deprive poor little Sophie of her potential kitty cat?
Couldn’t resist Will, you made it just about impossible to ignore the challenge!
Joan, I just don’t have time for a cat in my life. Cat…golf…cat….golf….cat….golf. Cat loses everytime!
Unless there is more about golf than I know, I don’t think golf is a game for night time or rain. Cats are good for those occasions. Besides, what about Sophie and Connor? They need to experience the variety of life we share this planet with. Cats are great for teaching kids to respect other forms of life. They won’t accept anything less than respect.
OK, Will, I’m giving you a hard time. If you want me to stop, just tell me so and I will. But I really couldn’t resist!
Hi Will, I would suggest that you read Tell no one by Harlan Coban. So do you want to know how you can get email from your deceased wife? Then read this book NOW!!! I was not a big mystery fan until I read this book. Everyone was asking for it all the time at the Ref Desk, so I had to read it. I was up half the night trying to finish!! Just read it now!!!! Karrie
Hi Will,
I’m not much of a mystery (or horror) fan either… I did, however, enjoy “The Ruby in the Smoke” by Philip Pullman. And the Janet Evanovitch stories, while not really my cup of tea, were at least mildly amusing. (not to the degree I would read the whole series, but…) Happy hunting!
Hi Will…greatly enjoying your blog and your Mystery Book project. I’m not a huge fan of mysteries myself as a general rule, but I have enjoyed a few selections from the “The cat who…” series.
While more of a suspense/thriller, I would suggest Christopher Rice’s latest, “The Moonlit Earth.” I just finished it over the weekend and thought it was a real page turner with a plot complex enough to require a lot of attention.
Just my two cents worth!
Thanks, Kenneth, for the kind words and the suggestion.
Try the Lord Ambrose series by Jane Jakeman. The first is Let There Be Blood. Ambrose is a fascinating hero. It’s one of my favorite historical mystery series!
Thanks, Sue.
Oh good, somebody recommended Dorothy Sayers. I named my firstborn son after her character Lord Peter Wimsey, on whom I have had a crush since I “met” him in 1977 (my husband was OK with that because he likes Sayers too). Although a librarian, I also do not generally like mysteries; the suspense always seems so artificial. If I have to read one, I jump to the end first to find out whodunit, then read the book for character and imagery — that’s why I like Sayers!
Just read the Booklist article. I am a librarian who doesn’t HATE mysteries, but definitely doesn’t love ‘em either. I can’t name a series I liked enough to get beyond either one or two, like Grafton, I think I stopped at “B is for Burglar”. I don’t see the only one I would like to suggest on the list yet. You really must try “The Yiddish Policeman’s Union” by Michael Chabon. I think it qualifies as a mystery. At least it is in mystery at my library. Happy reading with this one, for sure.
Pat LaRose
Newport Public Library
Newport, RI
Will I read your article in Booklist about mysteries and librarians and LOL’d at #9. Want that sticker…anyhow…China Mieville’s City & the City. I wouldn’t say I HATE mysteries but I certainly would never choose one from a pile…unless it was written by Mr. Mieville.
Thanks, Jorge!
OK, I’m finally going to recommend a Marcia Muller. Her books are about the people as much as the mystery, so it may be a bit weird coming in 2/3 of the way through the series, but I’d say read The Ever-Running Man. Muller’s been writing this series for 30 years. There have been hits and misses, but for my money she’s done the best job of keeping a series from becoming stale and formulaic – in spite of the fact the she essentially created the formula for the modern female detective. (If you don’t like her work, I won’t be offended. If everyone liked the same thing a lot of librarians, and authors, would be out of work).
Seriously, I would not read Edwin of the Iron Shoes as a first, and possibly only, Marcia Muller. I don’t remember it being put-me-out-of-my-misery bad, but she hadn’t begun to hit her stride yet. If you’ve just finished something as polished as a PD James, or Dorothy Sayers, that first book of Muller’s will pale in comparison. Read The Ever Running man, Burn-out, or Listen to the Silence instead.
How about Ruth Rendell, Reginald Hill and Arnaldur Indridason?
Thanks, Sarah.
Sorry to see you read Murder Must Advertise as your entry for Dorothy Sayers. my recommendation would have been one of the books that included Harriet Vane as well as Peter Wimsey. Would personally recommend Gaudy Night for its setting in a women’s college at Oxford, but Strong Poison is excellent, and is the book that introduces Harriet to the series.
Will: There’s a typo in the listing for Fowler’s “Full Dark House” Horse should read House! Make a world of difference. I just read it recently and had to make a list of the characters! A bit confusing but fun anyway.
I would like to suggest Booked to Die by John Dunning. It’s been a while since I read this, but I remember it as being great. Aside from the mystery, there’s also lots of information about collectible books and the used book trade that’s quite interesting.
I would also recommend something by Joanne Dobson. Her books all take place in a New England college setting and all of her mysteries involve books. Again, these are good mysteries with that little something extra. They are all good, but if pressed to put forward a title I’d say go for either The Raven and the Nightingale or The Maltese Manuscript.
Happy reading!
Thanks, Becky!
WILL! I say stand firm! I too, am a librarian, and I too, cannot abide mysteries. No, that’s not true – I HATE them with a passion! I don’t get them; they are a chore to read and the whole format just drives me nuts. I’ve tried mysteries on topics that interest me, such as the Tony Hillerman books, and while I appreciated his knowledgable portrayals of Navajo and Hopi contemporary cultures, they were still MYSTERIES! And that just got in the way of everything else for me.
So, I say, STAND FIRM! You can despise mysteries and still be a librarian! Now there’s at least two of us!
Lisa
“A Separate Peace” is a mystery? The only question is was the “accident” premeditated or just a momentary impulse? I haven’t decided after nearly 4 decades of off and on pondering. Have you read Stockton’s “The lady or the tiger?” recently — if not it presents a fine conundrum.
On re-reading your list, I suggest looking at the results of a google or bing search for “Margaret Truman ghost writer.” I wonder if her daddy would have approved.
Will, did you complete the mystery project? It looks like you stopped after book #29.
Ah—I see that Donna Leon IS on your list to consider. I am reading her DRAWING CONCLUSIONS now and realize that I have started in the middle of the Guido Brunetti series. I plan to finish this one and then go back and tackle them in order.
Set in Venice—these are a delight. Here is Bill Ott’s comment:
“The appeal of Guido Brunetti, the hero of Donna Leon’s long-running Venetian crime series, comes not from his shrewdness, though he is plenty shrewd, nor from his quick wit. It comes, instead, from his role as an Everyman . . . [his life is] not so different
from our own days at the office or nights around the dinner table. Crime fiction for those willing to grapple with, rather than escape, the uncertainties of daily life.”
—Bill Ott, Booklist on Blood from a Stone
I was going to recommend Tana French’s books (starting with In the Woods) but I see In the Woods already on your list. Just a note, though, her first name is “Tana” not “Tara.” I hope you enjoy it!
Motherless Brooklyn by Jonathan Lethem was the best I’ve read in a long time.
You need to include Patricia Cornwell’s Kay Scarpetta novels, starting with her first, the classic- Postmortem.