English Mysteries Club discussion

Hi all
I have always been on the edge of being a huge mystery fan but the shelves can be hard to navigate and with many Prolific writers a bit intimidating. I could use some suggestions of all time favourite author/books. I have read Sherlock, and am making my way through miss Marple and Poirot. Thanks for all of your help.

Welcome Aja!

Some (not all!) of Josephine Tey's books are good. The Daughter of Time is one of the best books I've ever read (any genre) & I also liked Brat Ferrar.

Ngaio Marsh can be good.

Georgette Heyer wrote some good mysteries. I'm in the process of rereading them, but I know originally my favourites were Death in the Stocks & Envious Casca.

My favourite more modern read are the works of PD James.

***Carol*** wrote: "Some (not all!) of Josephine Tey's books are good.

*leaves group*

***Carol*** wrote: "Welcome Aja!

Some (not all!) of Josephine Tey's books are good. The Daughter of Time is one of the best books I've ever read (any genre) & I also liked Brat Ferrar.

Ngaio Marsh can be good.

Ge..."

I whole-heartedly agree with you, Carol, except that the only PD James I started to read was Death Comes to Pemberley. And I didn't finish it. I was afraid Jane Austen's ghost would strangle me in my sleep if I did...

And don't forget Margery Allingham and Dorothy L. Sayers. And Ellis Peters, especially the "modern" Felse mysteries. And Patricia Wentworth is fun, too, and...

Tracey, librarian on strike wrote: "***Carol*** wrote: "Some (not all!) of Josephine Tey's books are good.

*leaves group*"

You didn't really leave the group, did you, Tracey?

Thank you all! I look forward to your suggestions!

Karlyne, I've heard Death Comes to Pemberley isn't great.

But I think I've enjoyed all her earlier works.

Karlyne wrote: "Tracey, librarian on strike wrote: "***Carol*** wrote: "Some (not all!) of Josephine Tey's books are good.

*leaves group*"

You didn't really leave the group, did you, Tracey?"

That's really weird. I've never had any interaction with this poster before.

***Carol*** wrote: "Karlyne, I've heard Death Comes to Pemberley isn't great.

But I think I've enjoyed all her earlier works."

I think I just couldn't enjoy Pemberley because it tried so hard to be Austen and it failed so terribly!

Catherine Aird too!
And Peter James. oh dear, I could go on and on......

Death Comes to Pemberley, the book, defeated me but the PBS show airs tomorrow night in the states. Ill be watching.

I have read four books by P.J.Tracy and enjoyed all of them. I find out about a lot of good authors on the "currently reading" discussion of this group. I just read a book by Jussi Adler-Olsen for my local book club and have reserved the next one. Not British, but really good.

Please don't judge P D James oeuvre by her dire 'Death Comes To Pemberley', we all make mistakes!!!
Catherine Aird is very underrated in my view.

Karlyne wrote: "***Carol*** wrote: "Karlyne, I've heard Death Comes to Pemberley isn't great.

But I think I've enjoyed all her earlier works."

I think I just couldn't enjoy Pemberley because it tried so hard to..."

You'll enjoy her other books. They are excellent mysteries and very well written. Try An Unsuitable Job for a Woman which is the first of a two book series or Cover Her Face which is the first of the Adam Dagleish series. Very different to Pemberley.

And Susan Hill's Simon Serailler series is one of my favourites.

You've both convinced me to give her another try! I'll keep my eyes peeled when I'm book shopping.

I thought Death Comes to Pemberley was...okay. Not my favorite, but I did read it all the way through. In general, P.D. James is a fabulous writer. I've read most of her books (and she seems to still be going strong at 80 or whatever she is now).

You've reminded me to watch the new Masterpiece mystery film of her Pemberley book. I hope it's on the PBS site for online viewing.

Whew! the TV version of Death Comes to Pemberley is quite watchable (though I can't warm up to this Darcy) - much less grating than the book, where James never got within a mile of Austen's voice.

Where and when is this airing? I actually liked the book. It wasn't "a great book" but I enjoyed it.

If you want to try another attempt at a murder with Austen characters then check this out. I thought it was better than the Pemberley book.

It started on PBS, in the states, on Sunday.

I *loved* the PBS series! I thought the production was wonderful and all the attention to detail outstanding.

I haven't read the book, but now I'm tempted to see what all the tempest in a teacup was all about! :)

I thought the
series was much better than the book but see for yourself. We are all so different in our likes and dislikes.

My sister recorded it for me, so I was able to watch it last weekend. I had read the book, and I liked it a lot. The TV production was even better. Less "dry" perhaps, and you didn't have all of the back story digressions. There were some flashbacks, but only a few. I didn't have any objections to the actors. Lydia was especially good, I thought. And Georgiana. I will watch it again.

I thought Death Comes to Pemberley weirdly miscast. Especially Lizzy without her fine eyes. But it was a tolerable mystery.

To go back to the OP's post:

Aja wrote: "Hi all
I have always been on the edge of being a huge mystery fan but the shelves can be hard to navigate and with many Prolific writers a bit intimidating. I could use some suggestions of all time..."

I am currently going through Dorothy L. Sayers, and can tell you the best place to start on her, IMO, is Strong Poison. Great fun and I am quite in love with her detective, Lord Peter Wimsey :)

Emily wrote: "I thought Death Comes to Pemberley weirdly miscast. Especially Lizzy without her fine eyes. But it was a tolerable mystery.

To go back to the OP's post:

Aja wrote: "Hi all
I have always been on t..."

I wiggle between Wimsey and Campion, probably because there are similarities!

What is the best book to start Campion with? The first according to Goodreads is The Crime at Black Dudley, but apparently he is only a minor character in this? Any advice, I'd appreciate it - I heard good things!

Emily wrote: "What is the best book to start Campion with? The first according to Goodreads is The Crime at Black Dudley, but apparently he is only a minor character in this? Any advice, I'd appreci..."

I wouldn't call Campion a minor character in Black Dudley. He isn't as defined as he becomes in the later books but he is still the hero IMO. Unfortunately, I don't remember enough of the individual books to suggest a good starting place (other than just following the publication order)...

Thank you Leslie!

I agree with all the suggestions here - especially Sayers, Marsh, and Peters. As for Campion, anything before "Fashion in Shrouds" (which is, I believe, where his romance begins - at least it's well established in "Traitor's Purse") is fine for starting. "Mystery Mile," the second published one, sets the tone nicely for the rest of the series, somewhat better than "The Crime at Black Dudley," I think.

Thank you E.L. that sounds great, especially the romance bit! One of the things I love about Lord Peter, other than that his character develops over the course of his adventures, is his romance.

Ooh, I just finished Daughter of Time and thoroughly enjoyed it! :)

Rebes wrote: "Ooh, I just finished Daughter of Time and thoroughly enjoyed it! :)"

It is a wonderful book, isn't it!

Emily wrote: "What is the best book to start Campion with? The first according to Goodreads is The Crime at Black Dudley, but apparently he is only a minor character in this? Any advice, I'd appreci..."

www.stopyourekillingme.com has books listed in order, by author, genre, location, occupation, etc. I use it all the time.

Everyman wrote: "Rebes wrote: "Ooh, I just finished Daughter of Time and thoroughly enjoyed it! :)"

It is a wonderful book, isn't it!"

Indeed! One of my all time favourite mysteries. I would love to read again!

Susan wrote: "www.stopyourekillingme.com has books listed in order, by author, genre, location, occupation, etc. I use it all the time. "

Thank you!

This is the best site ever. I know what I'll be doing for the rest of he day. Thanks

Susan wrote: "This is the best site ever. I know what I'll be doing for the rest of he day. Thanks"

I've just signed up for the newsletter - thanks!

Really enjoying reading this thread and welcoming the recommendations. For modern writers, I recommend Reginald Hill and Barry Maitland. I find both writers consistently good. And totally agree with the Georgette Heyer recommendation for her murder mystery books.

Has anyone tried the Sara Woods series with Anthony Maitland as the detective?

I read the Anthony Maitland books years ago, my local library had lots of them.

Shauna wrote: "I read the Anthony Maitland books years ago, my local library had lots of them."

We're they good, Shauna? I guess you liked them if you read lots of them?

They were about 3 stars I think. A pleasant read but nothing more than that. I used to read a lot of Michael Underwood too
Michael Underwood

Thanks, I might give them a try. I'll chase up Michael underwood too.

Death Comes To Pemberley died around page three. It was a made-for-TV soap masquerading as a classic detective piece.
anna

I agree with Anna, I gave up.

How about Ruth Rendell? Comments ? "Judgement in Stone" is wonderful . What else?

This thread has been renamed, so members can find it more easily.

I wonder what you´re thinking of Patricia Wentworth´s GA mysteries? I got a bunch on kindle, when they were on sale, but obviously they´re rather superficial. Thoughts?