I found this list on Flavorwire that listed 50 essential mysteries. Since I started reading chapter books I've been primarily a mystery reader. I enjoy other genres and I like to mix it in a little bit but more often then not I'll have at least one mystery going. Lately, I've been reading basically all mysteries so when I saw this list I thought it might be fun to go through it and look at some that I've read, some I want to read, and to see just how many "essential mysteries" I've actually read.
Some I've Read:
Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle - I read this as a kid and then listened to it fairly recently and enjoyed it both times.
The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett - I listened to this one just a couple of months ago after watching the movie. I wasn't a fan - one of the few cases where I thought the movie was better.
Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie - One of my absolute favorites! I've read this countless times and always pick up something different.
An Unsuitable Job for a Woman by PD James - I really expected to love this one but really really didn't. I think the last straw for me was when the main character actually wear the belt on that had been used in the death of another character.
The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins - This was gorgeous with such rich writing that I could only read a chapter or two at a time but I loved every page of it.
Some I Want to Read:
Gaudy Night by Dorothy L Sayers - I really want to read just more from Sayers. I've only read the first book and want to read my way through her books.
The Circular Staircase by Mary Roberts Rinehart - Rinehart is an American writer from the Golden Age of mysteries and one I've sadly neglected.
Beast in View by Margaret Millar - I hadn't heard of this one but it sounds fantastic!
The Thirty-Nine Steps by John Buchan - This is one of those that I've read the title of or mentions of so many times that I kind of forget it was a real book!
The Complete Auguste Dupin Stories by Edgar Allan Poe - I'm a little hesitant of these because I have mixed feelings about Poe but since this the character that created the mystery genre I feel like I shoud read it.
I haven't been reading this type of books lately but I do see a few in the list that I'd like to read like The Thirty-Nine Steps.
ReplyDeleteWow, only one Agatha Christie?! I though she would dominate! I love the Hound of the Baskervilles, one day I’ll have a Sherlock reread.
ReplyDeleteThe Sherlock series sounds particularly interesting to my tastes.
ReplyDeleteI think we are the reverse of mystery reading. I mix in a few now and then!
ReplyDeleteI loved The Hound of the Baskervilles. I’ll get to The Woman in White someday. It’s on a lot of must-read classics lists.
ReplyDeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
I need to check that list out! I want to read Maltese Falcon and Circular Staircase.
ReplyDeleteIt's hard to believe there was no Ngaio Marsh, Patricia Wentworth and only one Agatha Christie. I'll have to check out that list. I might not do so well either!
ReplyDeleteI counted 10 on the list I have read. Not too impressive. A few of the ones I haven't read are on my wish list though. I loved The Woman in White. Such a good book.
ReplyDeleteI have always wanted to read The Woman in White. 👍✨
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