I’ve always loved mysteries, more specifically the kind that actually make you exercise your brain a little, the whodunnit and such. My favorite is a good locked room/impossible crime tale. I, of course, love John Dickson Carr for this, but most of the authors who’ve tried this subgenre (such as Ellery Queen) are fairly old. This is, of course, because of the incredible difficulty of trying to come up with something cool that hasn’t been used before. I mean, there are so many neat tricks that I’ve read that, of course, can never amaze me again once I’ve read it:
Falling corpse of the victim used with string to bolt the door? Done. Locked cabin with a roof that’s not attached to the frame, liftable with a jack? Done. Building a wall that wasn’t there before to create a locked room? Done.
Of course, when done well, it’s particularly satisfying. Hell, even TV and cartoons (Banacek and Clue Club, respectively) have tried their hands at revolving entire series around them, with varying success.
So, can anyone suggest works in the last twenty or thirty years or so where I can get my fix? Spoilerless (of course) advice appreciated!