Book Week 30 - Crime Fiction

Book Week 30

What is it about crime fiction that captures our attention?  Whodunit, legal thrillers, courtroom drama, detective fiction, spy novels and psychological thrillers.   They entertain and enlighten, amuse and thrill, make us think and makes us blink, say 'hmm!' or 'I didn't see that coming!"   They are bold and cunning, timid and mysterious.  They hide the crime and make us work for it.  Or put it out there for all to see and we watch as the detective tries to put it together.

There is a difference of opinion between the British Crime Writers Association and the Mystery Writers of America on which books rank in the top 100 as of 1995. I think it's time for an updated list.  Who do they agree upon? 

Dashiell Hammett: The Maltese Falcon (1930)

Edgar Allan Poe: Tales of Mystery & Imagination (1852)

Josephine Tey: The Daughter of Time (1951)

Scott Turow: Presumed Innocent (1987)

John le Carré: The Spy Who Came In From the Cold (1963)

Wilkie Collins: The Moonstone (1868)

Raymond Chandler: The Big Sleep (1939)

Daphne du Maurier: Rebecca (1938)

Agatha Christie: And Then There Were None (1939)

Robert Traver: Anatomy of a Murder (1958)2

Agatha Christie: The Murder of Roger Ackroyd (1926)

Raymond Chandler: The Long Goodbye (1953)

James M. Cain: The Postman Always Rings Twice (1934)

Eric Ambler: A Coffin for Dimitrios (1939)

Dorothy L. Sayers: Gaudy Night (1935)

Frederick Forsyth: The Day of the Jackal (1971)

Raymond Chandler: Farewell My Lovely (1940)

John Buchan: The Thirty-Nine Steps (1915)

Umberto Eco: The Name of the Rose (1980)

Dorothy L. Sayers: The Nine Tailors (1934)

John Le Carré: Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (1974)

Dashiell Hammett: The Thin Man (1934)

Wilkie Collins: The Woman in White (1860)

E. C. Bentley: Trent's Last Case (1913)

Martin Cruz Smith: Gorky Park (1981)

Dorothy L. Sayers: Strong Poison (1930)

Dashiell Hammett: Red Harvest (1929)

Len Deighton: The IPCRESS File (1962)

Graham Greene: The Third Man (1950)

Tony Hillerman: A Thief of Time (1989)

Geoffrey Household: Rogue Male (1939)

Dorothy L. Sayers: Murder Must Advertise (1933)

Raymond Chandler: The Lady in the Lake (1943)

Peter Lovesey: Wobble to Death (1970)

Graham Greene: Brighton Rock (1938)

Patricia Highsmith: The Talented Mr. Ripley (1955)

Edmund Crispin: The Moving Toyshop (1946)

Hillary Waugh: Last Seen Wearing ... (1952)

Ian Fleming: From Russia, with Love (1957)

Margaret Millar: Beast in View (1955)

Michael Gilbert: Smallbone Deceased (1950)

Josephine Tey: The Franchise Affair (1948)

Dashiell Hammett: The Glass Key (1931)

Ruth Rendell: Judgement in Stone (1977)

John Dickson Carr: The Three Coffins (1935)

Ellis Peters: A Morbid Taste for Bones (1977)

Check out the links to find out more about the books and you may just find discover a new to you author or two.  

Link Love 

Along with reading crime fiction, I enjoy following crime fiction authors, learning about their books and how they get their ideas.   I recently discovered a wonderful website - Crimespot.net a centralized spot linking to all the crime fiction blogs and websites.   Well worth checking out.

Court Reporter's 100 Best Crime Books Ever Written. Topping the list in Mystery and Crime Fiction

1. The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. One of the most popular of the Sherlock Holmes mysteries, this one takes the case to the English countryside.
2. Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie. This classic mystery takes place on a train where a murder is committed during the night. The conclusion has that trademark Agatha Christie twist.
3. Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky. Considered one of the earliest and greatest crime novels, read this one if you haven’t already.
4. The Secret Agent by Joseph Conrad. Anarchy and espionage in the streets of London are at the heart of this classic crime tale.
5. The Murders in the Rue Morgue by Edgar Allan Poe. Poe’s detective, Auguste Dupin, solves murders in these three tales that are as captivating today as when they were written over 150 years ago.
6. The Three Coffins by John Dickson Carr. This "locked-room" mystery is a classic worth tracking down.
7. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. This classic book explores race issues in the American south.
8. The Woman in White by Wilke Collins. An art teacher smitten by one of his students uncovers a scheme that puts the student in danger. He and her sister head out to rescue her and stumble upon a mysterious woman in white.
9. The Innocence of Father Brown by GK Chesterton. The Catholic priest at the heart of this story, Father Brown, has an uncanny ability to see through situations to solve what the professionals cannot.
10. Rebecca by Daphne DuMaurier. A young bride arrives at her husband’s coastal home only to discover that the husband is haunted by the death of his first wife, Rebecca.

Go check out the rest of the list.  Many of the stories can be read online. 

And for tv mystery fans of Castle

I've pre-ordered my copy from amazon!

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