My picks for the greatest mysteries
By SHEILAH PEPPER
The Gazette Staff
I covered this topic a couple of years ago, but, as a mystery maven, I am again asked to pick some favorites, in terms of authors.
For me, two men share the top billing: Raymond Chandler and Ross MacDonald. Chandler is the author of two of my favorite titles: "The Long Goodbye" and "The Big Sleep." Both are "big" reads, but the plots, red herrings and Chandler's ability to build depth to his characters will keep you turning the pages. He is also a master of creating a scene and offers compelling glimpses of California as it was in the 30s and 40s.
Most of his books have been made into movies and Humphrey Bogart is excellent as detective Phillip Marlowe in "The Big Sleep", a movie worth getting.
My other top pick is Ross MacDonald, who was Kenneth Millar in his private life. A Canadian native, he lived in and wrote about California as it became the Golden State during the 50s and 60s.
Like Chandler, MacDonald is really excellent in drawing his characters and his pictures of California settings and society at all levels are wonderful. But his greatest strength is his ingenious plots. He throws out red herrings aplenty. But the endings are always stunning. My three favorites are "The Chill," "The Ivory Grin," and "The Blue Hammer." All three of these titles have conclusions that will have you saying, "He fooled me completely." If you love a true mystery, these three are very satisfying reads and you will burn the lamp late at night.
I also want to mention a title by another MacDonald - Philip MacDonald. It is "The List of Adrian Messenger" and abounds in red herrings but he cleverly does give you a chance at knitting the plot to together. It is set in England largely and his detective is the charming and urbane Anthony Gethryn. The author, a Brit, moved to Hollywood and became a screenwriter. "The List of Adrian Messenger" was made into an excellent movie in 1963, directed by John Houston.
I also want to mention a great choice for readers who like charm and humor with their whodunits. Choose almost any book by Rex Stout featuring his reluctant, rotund detective Nero Wolfe and his dapper assistant, Archie Goodwin. The novels are narrated by Goodwin, and the reader will enjoy his description of Wolfe's foibles, including his love of gourmet cuisine and rare orchids. Wolfe takes only a few cases, and charges mightily to maintain his New York townhouse, his personal chef and his rooftop collection of prize orchids. Wolfe is a curmudgeon and does not suffer fools gladly. Stout wrote almost 40 titles, and all are good fun.
Of course, I can't leave the redoubtable Agatha Christie out. She is a champion when it comes to plots and she authored almost 80, far more than any other mystery writer.
I'm not so much of a mystery Maven now, as I feel I've read the best, but among contemporary authors, my favorite is Michael Connolly, especially his first three or four titles. My husband loved a great mystery and his modern favorite was the Lincoln Rhyme mysteries by Jeffrey Deaver.
I think you can find any of these books online at Amazon and perhaps other online sites.
The reviewer is a former marketing executive, a journalist, an award-winning columnist and a contributing author to a series of art textbooks, with a specialty in the art of the West, Southwest and Native America.
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