I have long been a fan of mysteries! Starting with Nancy Drew and Phyllis Whitney when I was a kid, I think this is the one type of literature that I have steadily enjoyed during my reading "career". Aside from having various stacks of them laying around, I also keep many of my mystery books in these bins--now full to overflowing as you can see. I tend to go in phases with my mystery reading, and I feel a mystery binge coming. If I find a series I like, I prefer to start at the beginning and then will start "collecting" them (if only I could read them as fast as I have acquired them). This book has been quite helpful in keeping track of my favorite mystery authors (I tend to read books with female slueths-though not exclusively). Unfortunately it is getting rather dated, and I have had to start writing in the newer titles and the book has gotten quite messy. I like all sorts of mysteries, but admittedly I tend to read lots of historical mysteries and lots of British or foreign mysteries as well. I tend to shy away from books that have actual people as their sleuths (for some reason I have a hard time imagining Louisa May Alcott or Jane Austen fighting crime, but as I have never tried any of these books I can't say that they are not as entertaining as any other mystery!).
I have too many books in my collection to list in this post, but I thought I would share a few favorites. I have greatly enjoyed Elizabeth George's Lynley and Havers mysteries, which are set in contemporary London. It is the one series I can say I have read each and every installment. However, I think I might pass up her newest book, which is actually a stand alone novel. I was very disappointed in her last novel, as she killed off one of the main characters. She now goes back in her new novel to tell the story of the criminal who did the terrible deed. I do enjoy the Inspector Lynley Mysteries, which have aired on PBS. I am curious to see where she is going to take the characters now, but apparently I have to wait yet another year!
Ruth Rendell (who also writes as Barbara Vine) is another favorite. She writes a series with Inspector Wexford (another British detective), but I prefer her novels written under her B. Vine pen name--they are more psychological in subject matter, and again I have read nearly all of these as well. Her most recent was The Minotaur, which I read earlier this year (and found her in fine form!). Minette Walters writes in a similar vein, though it has been a while since I have read her work. Morag Joss is a recent find of mine--Sara Selkirk, her sleuth, is a cellist living in Bath, England. Of course you have already heard me sing the praises of Jacqueline Winspear, and I have followed Maisie Dobbs from her very first adventure.
I read lots of historical mysteries. Kate Ross wrote a series of mysteries set in Regency England featuring dandy, Julien Kestrel. Sadly she only wrote four before she died of cancer. I highly recommend them! For a feisty Victorian sleuth there is Amelia Peabody (I really like her--and need to read more...), written by Elizabeth Peters. These are set in England as well as Egypt as Amelia and her husband Emerson are Egyptologists (did I mention at one time I wanted to be an archaeologist?). Her Vicky Bliss mysteries (she's an art historian) are not bad either--though I wish she would write more of them!
Cara Black writes a series of mysteries set in contemporary Paris featuring Aimee Leduc. Sujata Massey's sleuth, Rei Shimura, lives in Japan. J. Robert Janes has written a series of mysteries set in Occupied WWII France. Donna Leon's mysteries are set in Venice, featuring Commissario Guido Brunetti (his wife is a Henry James scholar!!). For a long time I could only order these from the UK, but now I am happy to see she is being published here in the US once again! The Soho Press has an admirable backlist of mystery authors with a decidedly international slant to them.
I do like American authors/settings, too. Along with Americans Elizabeth Peters and Kate Ross, Dianne Day has written some very enjoyable mysteries set in turn of the century San Francisco, starring Fremont Jones (another feisty, independent heroine). Annette Meyers has written a couple of mysteries set in 1920s Greenwich Village featuring Olivia Brown who happens to be a poet (I wish she would write more as well). Rhys Bowen (she's actually a transplanted Brit, living here in the US--like Jacqueline Winspear) also sets her mysteries in New York City during the turn of the century.
I have barely skimmed the surface! I feel like dipping into my bins and seeing what has been hiding there for a while! I do know that after I finish Gaudy Night, I will be picking up And Only to Deceive. Who are your favorites (as always I'm on the lookout for new and exciting authors!)?