I’m not a real big fan of mysteries. Nothing against them, I just struggle to enjoy them. I think part of the problem is that I was cursed with the stupidest superpower in that I can call a twist in a book/movie/TV show without even trying. It’s not much of a thriller when the thrill is gone.
But that doesn’t stop me from occasionally reading them. As it turns out, I’ve discovered that I’m really not that into thrillers, but old school mysteries and sometimes cozies are pretty enjoyable. Yeah, I still call the twists most of the time, but there’s something else about those kinds of mysteries that engages me. Maybe they’ll engage you, too.
The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie- The first Hercule Poirot mystery. A rich older woman is done in by a dose of strychnine and she’s got a house full of suspects, most notably her younger husband and one of her stepsons from an earlier husband’s previous marriage. Poirot has no trouble figuring out this murder is a real family affair.
I got this as an ebook freebie and though I was familiar with Agatha Christie’s work, I never read any of it before this book. I thought this one was fun, as murders go. Poirot is a charming detective to ride along with. There are plenty of red herrings and a fun twist. Honestly, it’s a good time. Because I enjoyed this one so much, I ended up getting another freebie of hers, the first Tuppence and Tommy novel, The Secret Adversary, which I also really liked.
A Study in Scarlet by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle- The first Sherlock Holmes mystery. Split into two parts, the first part details Watson coming to live with Holmes and the two of them investigating first the murder of a man named Drebber and then the murder of his secretary, a man named Stangerson. Naturally, Holmes solves the murder, and the second part of the book is the murderer’s back story. There are Mormons. I wasn’t expecting that.
Prior to reading this, I’d only experienced Sherlock Holmes in movies, mostly Young Sherlock Holmes and the Robert Downey, Jr. version, but also Basil Rathebone in the starring role as well. This was another ebook freebie that I decided to try. I was surprised how much I really enjoyed it, which I shouldn’t have been since I like the movies, and yet! I thought the book was a lot of fun. Like I said, I didn’t anticipate Mormons. I ended up reading The Return of Sherlock Holmes and The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes after I finished this one and still had a good time.
Having Wonderful Crime by Craig Rice- Number seven in the John J. Malone and Jake and Helen Justus series finds Jake and Helen on vacation in New York City when they befriend a drunk bridegroom whose wedding night ends up a horror show when his bride disappears and a beheaded woman is found in her bed. Jake and Helen then call on their friend, attorney John J. Malone, to come from Chicago to help them solve this baffling mystery.
Thanks to Covid, the library’s book sale one year ended up being mystery bags labeled by genre. My roommate got a mystery bag of mystery books and thought I might actually like this one. She was right. It’s a bit screwball and a lot of fun. It’s got that zippy banter you expect between married couples back in ’30s and ’40s. The mystery is also something of a ride. I haven’t read any of the others in this series, or by this author (a woman who wrote under several names), but they’re on my list.
The Sunset Years of Agatha Sharp by Leonie Swann- The aging residents of Sunset Hall, a house share owned by Agatha Sharp, are stunned to hear that their neighbor has been murdered and thrilled that the body the police are currently investigating isn’t the one in their shed. The logical thing for Agatha and her housemates to do is find out who killed their neighbor so they can pin housemate Lilith’s death on them. The investigation takes them all over the village of Duck End as they try to unravel the mystery because of course, nothing is as easy as it seems.
Did I figure out the twists early? Yes. Did it matter? No. The folks living in Sunset Hall are so damn fun and quirky -old folks who had interesting younger years- that they’d be worth the read no matter what. And they still managed to surprise me! Hettie the tortoise is the best character, obviously. She was the only truly reliable narrator. And I was totally prepared to dislike the grandson, but he grew on me, sort of like he did with Agatha. It’s a little darker than some of the cozies I’ve read, but I still thought it was entertaining as hell.
I hope these mysteries solve your problem of liking mysteries. If they don’t, well, go find a clue elsewhere.
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