My Favorite Mysteries

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Rosenberg's First Law of Reading:
Never apologize for your reading tastes.

Humorous Mysteries
Traditional Mystery: The Case of the Constant Suicides (1941), by John Dickson Carr
A great opening chapter set on a train to Scotland; Dr. Fell and the Doom of the Campbells.
Cozy Mystery: Rest You Merry (1978), by Charlotte MacLeod
Another great opening chapter -- Bah, humbug! The first Balaclava College mystery.
Caper Mystery: The Burglar who Liked to Quote Kipling (1979), by Lawrence Block
The burglar turns bookseller; this is the first Rhodenbarr book with Bernie's friend Caroline
Funniest Convention: a tie between Bimbos of the Death Sun and Highland Laddie Gone, both by Sharyn McCrumb,
The first book has Jay Omega at his first SF convention, the second has Elizabeth McPherson at a Highland Games festival
Spy Novel: Tanner's Twelve Swingers (1967), by Lawrence Block
Evan Michael Tanner, the Thief Who Couldn't Sleep, is one of the more unlikely secret agents around
Reference Book: Gun in Cheek (1982) and Son of Gun in Cheek (1987), by Bill Pronzini
These are the funniest reference books I've ever read; they are devoted to the *worst* in mystery fiction.

Librarians as Detectives
Jordan Poteet
The Mirabeau, TX, librarian created by Jeff Abbott. First met in Do Unto Others, he is a wonderful character set in a wonderful small town. Excellent writing.
Helma Zukas
A reference librarian at the Bellehaven, WA, library created by Jo Dereske. The first Miss Zukas book is Miss Zukas and the Library Murders; she may appear to be the classic stereotypical librarian, but she has hidden depths.
Edward George
A retired librarian created by Charles Goodrum, Edward George spends a lot of time at the Werner-Bok library in Washington, DC. The first book in the series is Dewey Decimated; my favorite is Carnage of the Realm.
For other librarian mysteries and mysteries with library settings, check out the Bibliomysteries site.

Favorite Titles by Favorite Authors
Dorothy L. Sayers
Murder Must Advertise puts Lord Peter Wimsey to work in an advertising agency; Gaudy Night is my favorite with Harriet Vane.
Emma Lathen
Murder to Go brings banker John Putnam Thatcher into the world of takeout dinners; Murder Without Icing takes him to the hockey game.
Aaron Elkins
Gideon Oliver is an anthropologist who does a lot of travelling. In Curses! he is in Mexico and in Old Bones he goes to Oregon.
Anthony Boucher
Boucher (for whom the Bouchercon mystery conference is named) wrote several series, but my favorite is the non-series The Case of the Baker Street Irregulars, which has a group of dedicated Sherlockians facing off against a Hollywood writer.
Ngaio Marsh
Roderick Alleyn, from Scotland Yard, is the detective in quite a few mysteries; my favorites are Killer Dolphin, set in the theater world, and Died in the Wool, set in New Zealand.
Robert Barnard
You'll never think of British nobility in the same way after reading about the Spenders in The Corpse in the Gilded Cage
Sara Caudwell
All of the Hilary Tamer books are wonderful, but my favorite is The Sirens Sang of Murder, which has a hilarious description of an orgy.
Agatha Christie
For an excellent evocation of the 20's, I enjoy The Secret of Chimneys.
Josephine Tey
The Daughter of Time has Alan Grant in the hospital, solving the mystery of the Princes in the Tower.
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
My favorite Sherlock Holmes is The Hound of the Baskervilles.
John D. McDonald
Travis McGee, the modern knight-errant (or as he calls himself, the noble brave Key-Ho-Te) is a terrific character; my favorite books in the colorful series are Darker than Amber and Cinnamon Skin.
L. T. Meade
With The Sorceress of the Strand, L. T. Meade and Robert Eustace created a femme fatale who leaves most rogues in the dust and rivals the power and evil of Fu Manchu.
Nancy Atherton
Author of the Aunt Dimity books (Aunt Dimity's Death is the first); a supercozy romantic mystery series.

Mysterious Web Sites

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Laurel L. Kristick laurel.kristick@orst.edu
Last Updated 1 November 2000