My Classic Mystery List for 2024 - Recap

 

At the beginning of this year I picked 10 classic mysteries to read over the course of the year.  Here are my quick thoughts on all ten.

1.  Death on the Agenda by Patricia Moyes - I liked about 95% of this quite a bit but there is one scene that isn't even really related to the mystery that kind of ruined it for me.  I can't quite look at quiet unassuming and loving husband Henry Tibbett the same. 

2.  A Deadly Affair by Agatha Christie - This is a collection of short stories that have mostly been published in other collections but all are on the same theme.  I thoroughly enjoyed it and always look forward to reading Christie short stories.

3.  A Late Phoenix by Catherine Aird- This was a fun mystery set in post-war England and had quite a few twists and turns.  Aird is definitely an author that I really want to read more from.

4.  Pursuit of a Parcel by Patricia Wentworth - Set during World War II there is a lot more intrigue than I usually expect in a Wentworth mystery.  While I do think Miss Silver would have been a fantastic edition to this one it was still an entertaining mystery.

5.  Strong Poison by Dorothy L. Sayers - Peter Wimsey meets Harriet Vane which in itself is pretty fantastic but throw in a murder trial and a rather shocked family and it's even more fun.

6.  The Man in Lower Ten by Mary Roberts Rinehart - I very much enjoy murder on trains apparently and this has quite a lot of drama to make it extra fun.  I've found I really enjoy this author's touch of Gothic-ness mixed in with a solid mystery.

7.  The Franchise Affair by Josephine Tey - I have a bit of a rocky history with Tey but this one I enjoyed.   The premise is unique, and I liked the combination of country lawyer and Scotland Yard detective investigating

8.  Wildfire at Midnight by Mary Stewart - This was a fun read set in the wilds of Scotland that was more of a mystery than most of the other books I've read by Stewart.  It is a bit dated but overall I enjoyed it.

9.  Nothing Venture by Patricia Wentworth - I really enjoyed this one and is one of the few Wentworth books without Miss Silver where I didn't feel the lack of Miss Silver.  This was a very traditional Wentworth mystery with gorgeous characters and lots of secrets and people with questionable motives.

10. Overture to Death by Ngaio Marsh - This one blew me away and was one of my favorite reads of the year.   The mystery was so fun and the method of murder was definitely unique.  

Did you read any classic mysteries in 2024?  Any of these look interesting?