Thursday, October 19, 2017

Yet Another List I'm Not On

30 Essential Mystery Authors: Think all mystery books are the same? Think again. Thrillers, suspense, crime novels, detective fiction - whatever you call them, mystery books make for some of the most exciting literature out there. The mystery genre has been around for over two centuries, with pioneers like Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Wilkie Collins, Edgar Allan Poe and G.K. Chesterton leading the way. From real-life spies (John le Carr, Ian Fleming, and Graham Greene) to politicians and journalists, mystery authors come from all walks of life and so do their protagonists. From elderly spinster Miss Marple and hard-drinking P.I. Phillip Marlowe, to dashing spy James Bond and medical examiner Dr. Kay Scarpetta, the mystery genre spans far and wide. Whether it's Victorian era crime you're after, or contemporary psychological thrillers are your thing, enjoy our list of essential mystery authors.

4 comments:

Jeff Meyerson said...

A bad and indeed ludicrous list. Kay Scarpetta? That alone disqualifies it from being taken seriously. Sheriff Rhodes could eat her for lunch.

Steve Oerkfitz said...

Actually Jeff Scarpeta is not on the list. I wouldn't put Robert Parker on this list. I can think of dozens of writers of PI novels better than him-Ross MacDonald for one. I also would not choose Spillane either-I find him pretty much unreadable.

Don Coffin said...

Steve--I agree that Spillane is all but unreadable. But I also think it's next to impossible to think about PI novels in the 1950s without at least acknowledging him.

The two great omissions, as far as I'm concerned, are Simenon and Ross MacDonald. And then there are those on the list who didn't even write mysteries (starting with Fleming...).

Cap'n Bob said...

I find Spillane eminently readable and agree with Jeff about Scarpetta.