The mystery genre, like most, has a lot of subdivisions to it. My favorite (generalized), however, is the whodunnit. And not just any whodunnit; I have to get every clue I need to figure it out in advance of the ending (what’s called “playing fair” by some). Seems these days folks don’t go for that cerebral stuff, which seems to be why I’m stuck with the more classic authors, like Ellery Queen.
Can someone suggest mystery authors, past or present (but preferably present) who have a reputation or habit of producing stories where I have a completely fair chance of beating the characters to the ending? Or, if you don’ t have that, even one work you felt did it particularly well? Any and all suggestions appreciated for my reading list! Thanks!
I don’t know of anyone who is up to the past masters of the Queen era. You do occasionally find a true play-fair whodunnit, but I can’t dredge up a current example I’d recommend. Maybe if more people post, it’ll jog my memory.
My favorite oldster, other than Queen, is John Dickson Carr (who also wrote as Carter Dickson and you might find those books under either name these days) who wrote about 80 books in the 30s and 40s. His specialty was impossible crimes and locked rooms. If you don’t know him, then he is absolutely the first one to turn to.
Well, you could check out the Murder, She Wrote novels. They are not based on any of the TV episodes, they just chronicle more of Jessica Fletcher’s travels. And murders. Not the best writing, but the few I have picked up have played fair.
I always felt I had been done right by when I picked up a Rex Stout or a Ngaio Marsh mystery.
And Agatha Christie can . . . well, this is Cafe Society, so let me just say I’m keeping my wallet shut when presented with an opportunity to buy one of her books.
Leaper: Nevada Barr, Blind Descent. Protagonist is a female ranger with National Parks, setting is a New Mexico cave open only to National Park personnel (or others with NPS permission), the action and descriptions are wonderful. And yes, I think she played fair.
I wouldn’t call it cerebral since it’s action-oriented and not strictly a puzzle mystery, but it is a whodunit. She has other books, some in which I’ve guessed the murderer before the sleuth did (and was right). This one is contemporary and really quite unlike Agatha Christie or John Dickson Carr.
Mystery/Whodunnits are my favorites, too. I can’t recommend Joy Fielding’s Don’t Cry Now enough. You’ll have all the clues alright – but I bet you’ll still be shocked at the end!
I just finished writing about this in another thread. I highly recommend Robert Hans Van Gulik’s “Judge Dee” stories. These are based on old Cghinese mystery novels dating back to the 18th century (and possibly earlier). Gulik recast them in a more “western” form, and he plays very fair. If a plot point revolves around a phonetic pronunciation, he renders it in English. If it involves artwork, somehow, it shows up in the illustrations for the book. If it involves some quirk of Chinese culkture (these novels are set in 7th century China), he makes sure the important detail is worked into the plot.