# Recommend a mystery for me (but not The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 28, 2011, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-mystery-for-me-but-not-the-girl-with-the-dragon-tattoo/572927 "2011-02-28T15:47:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2011, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-mystery-for-me-but-not-the-girl-with-the-dragon-tattoo/572927/21 "2011-03-01T01:01:41Z")
Since you like Michael Chabon, you should read _The Yiddish Policemen’s Union_ if you haven’t already. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2011, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-mystery-for-me-but-not-the-girl-with-the-dragon-tattoo/572927/22 "2011-03-01T01:27:22Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > I’ve just finished this book and found it astoundingly bad. I based my purchase on its popularity and glowing reviews and was entirely disappointed (much like I was with The DaVinci Code). I just want to point out that the average review for each of these on Amazon is under 3.5 stars, which is pretty low for items of massive popularity, and each has the uptick in one-star reviews which is characteristic of readers who bought on hype and were disappointed. ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2011, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-mystery-for-me-but-not-the-girl-with-the-dragon-tattoo/572927/23 "2011-03-01T02:09:00Z")
I agree with Dashiell Hammett, Rex Stout, or Dorothy Sayers. Almost anything they wrote is (a) well-written, (b) well-plotted, and © engrossing. Specifically to start, though, I’d suggest _The Maltese Falcon_ as Hammett’s best, and _The Doorbell Rang_ as a VERY gripping Nero Wolfe. For Sayers, anything, but _Strong Poison_ is a good detective story to get into, _The Nine Tailors_ is absolutely unique in detective fiction, and _Gaudy Night_ is one of the deepest (most profound, with depth of meaning). I might add Margery Allingham’s _Tiger in the Smoke_ as an unusual but gripping story, well-written. Lawrence Block’s _When the Sacred Ginmill Closes_ meets your criteria. I personally find Agatha Christie fun, and certainly some are well-plotted and gripping, but I don’t find the writing compelling. _Murder on the Orient Express_ or _The Murder of Roger Acroyd_ or _The ABC Murders_. Her plotting got more confusing after about 1965. One modern British writer you might want to try: Robert Bernard. And I agree that Sherlock Holmes and _The Hound of the Baskervilles_ is hard to beat. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2011, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-mystery-for-me-but-not-the-girl-with-the-dragon-tattoo/572927/24 "2011-03-01T02:15:04Z")
> [@The\_Peyote\_Coyote](#): > > Agatha Christie can be hit-and-miss, but _The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, Death on the Nile, and The ABC Murders_ are all classics. I quite liked _Five Little Pigs_, and _Curtain_ is a weird masterpiece. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2011, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-mystery-for-me-but-not-the-girl-with-the-dragon-tattoo/572927/25 "2011-03-01T02:18:19Z")
> [@Long\_Time\_First\_Time](#): > > I really enjoyed the Lincoln Lawyer by Michael Connelly. Seconded—I found this to be a really entertaining example of contemporary popular fiction. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2011, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-mystery-for-me-but-not-the-girl-with-the-dragon-tattoo/572927/26 "2011-03-01T02:26:06Z")
> [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](#): > > Lawrence Block’s _When the Sacred Ginmill Closes_ meets your criteria. All the Scudder books are worth reading, and there are only one or two that are not worth re-reading. His burglar books are also worth reading if you can stand humor in your mysteries. Donald Westlake and Richard Stark. P. D. James. Dick Francis is light reading, but very enjoyable light reading. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2011, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-mystery-for-me-but-not-the-girl-with-the-dragon-tattoo/572927/27 "2011-03-01T03:27:11Z")
Thanks for the replies, everyone. I am researching and considering every suggestions. So far I’m definitely going to read When the Sacred Ginmill Closes and The Lincoln Lawyer. mmm ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_T-Cups](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2011, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-mystery-for-me-but-not-the-girl-with-the-dragon-tattoo/572927/28 "2011-03-01T03:57:58Z")
I am a huge **Boris Starling** fan. My absolute favorite of his is a book called _Messiah_, where there is a London serial killer who kills people with the names of the 12 disciples, in the way they were killed in real life (It’s not a religious book at all in case that turns you off). There are some great twists and turns in it and the ending is SUPURB! ---
**Author:** ![Old\_Goat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/5daacb/32.png) [@Old\_Goat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Old_Goat)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2011, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-mystery-for-me-but-not-the-girl-with-the-dragon-tattoo/572927/29 "2011-03-01T04:23:50Z")
I just finished 'When We Were Orphans by Kazuo Ishiguro. Like his other works, it moves like molasses, but when I got to the end, I was left contemplating rhe whole story and the outcome for the protagonist. Anything by Qui Xiaolong gives insight into Shanghai as it changes to a market economy, the cost of the 'Cultural Revolution, and some excellent Chinese poems, ---
**Author:** ![Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kolak_of_twilo/32/73_2.png) [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolak_of_Twilo)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2011, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-mystery-for-me-but-not-the-girl-with-the-dragon-tattoo/572927/30 "2011-03-01T04:57:15Z")
Every so often someone asks this question and I always have to suggest Rennie Airth and his novels about Inspector John Madden. [River of Darkness](http://www.amazon.com/River-Darkness-John-Madden-Mysteries/dp/0140291962) is the first of three books and probably the best. ---
**Author:** ![Reno\_Nevada](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Reno\_Nevada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reno_Nevada)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2011, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-mystery-for-me-but-not-the-girl-with-the-dragon-tattoo/572927/31 "2011-03-01T14:53:04Z")
Most of my favorites have been mentioned–I will second Dorothy Sayers and van Gulik–but I will add Sarah Caudwell. Her first novel is Thus Was Adonis Murdered. They are tons of fun. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2011, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-mystery-for-me-but-not-the-girl-with-the-dragon-tattoo/572927/32 "2011-03-01T14:57:02Z")
_Changeling_ is a ghost story starring George C. Scott but it features some top notch detective work. Scott plays a character trying to figure out why the temporary home he has moved into is haunted and follows a lot of clues to figure it out. Pretty good movie but it’s a product of the 1970s and the pacing isn’t the same as more recent movies. ---
**Author:** ![Saltire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saltire/32/553_2.png) [@Saltire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saltire)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2011, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-mystery-for-me-but-not-the-girl-with-the-dragon-tattoo/572927/33 "2011-03-01T15:20:43Z")
I’m not a big reader of mysteries, but I’ve enjoyed a couple of series for both the sleuthing and the setting: Medieval England. Both have great characters, and use a semi-cloistered smart person as their detective. The first is the excellent Brother Cadfael books by Ellis Peters. The second is the Sister Frevisse books by Margaret Fraser. ---
**Author:** ![Floater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/dc4da7/32.png) [@Floater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Floater)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2011, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-mystery-for-me-but-not-the-girl-with-the-dragon-tattoo/572927/34 "2011-03-01T15:40:55Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > Even if you’re NOT particularly interested in the world of horse racing, I think you’ll find Dick Francis to be smart and compelling. I like him very much, but there is one thing that puts him a little on the minus side. His books are set in many different environments, not necessarily horse racing as such, and whenever he has written about something **I** know anything about I can sense that his knowledge on the subject is very shallow. He has studied it enough to be able to throw some terms around, but, then again, I guess it’s OK if the reader knows next to nothing about it. I can also recommend [Ian Rankin](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ian_Rankin). ---
**Author:** ![Philliam](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/philliam/32/3011_2.png) [@Philliam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philliam)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2011, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-mystery-for-me-but-not-the-girl-with-the-dragon-tattoo/572927/35 "2011-03-01T19:13:41Z")
Scandanavian excellence: Series of novels by Maj Sjovall & Per Walhoo (sorry, don’t know how to add the proper diacriticals) Series by Henning Mankell (Wallender now on PBS!) Peter Hoeg - “Smilla’s Sense of Snow” Van deWettering - Gripstra & DeGier Series (kinda quirky) ---
**Author:** ![Lunar\_Saltlick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/977dab/32.png) [@Lunar\_Saltlick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lunar_Saltlick)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2011, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-mystery-for-me-but-not-the-girl-with-the-dragon-tattoo/572927/36 "2011-03-01T20:36:08Z")
> [@Frank](#): > > All the Scudder books are worth reading, and there are only one or two that are not worth re-reading. His burglar books are also worth reading if you can stand humor in your mysteries. > > Donald Westlake and Richard Stark. > > P. D. James. > > Dick Francis is light reading, but very enjoyable light reading. Donald Westlake had a prodigious but uneven output. Writing as Richard Stark, he produced by far his best work. As I’m sure Frank knows, Stark’s original Parker series, written from the late fifties to early seventies, aren’t really mysteries – they’re crime novels, featuring a highly amoral thief named Parker. Parker isn’t cute. Parker isn’t a thief with a heart of gold. He doesn’t cook or read poetry. Parker steals money, and if you get in his way, he kills you. End of story. It’s the tightest, leanest series of crime novels ever produced, each one clocking in at about 160 pages, except for the final one, _Butcher’s Moon_, which went over 300. Westlake/Stark took up the Parker cudgel again in the late 90s and produced about 7 more novels, but they weren’t as good as the original ones. For one thing, in the new series, Parker works with frills! C’mon! That’s not the Parker I knew and loved. Anyway, Westlake passed away a couple years ago, so his output has ended. I also liked some of the novels he wrote under his own name, including _The Axe,_ a chilling tale of how one desperate man gets his dream job. I’m also a big P. D. James fan, and John Le Carré. Don’t know if anyone has mentioned Robert Goddard. He’s often overlooked in these threads. I particularly liked \*Borrowed Time \*and _In Pale Battalions_, though neither one is usually held up as a shining example of his work. Some of his other novels get a tad cutsie for me – such as _Sea Change_. The grand-daddy of mystery books, is, however, The Chronicle of Battle Abbey. It’s an actual historical document composed over the course of 300 years by monks in Battle Abbey scheming to avoid paying taxes to any lord. They get away with it for a few centuries, but ultimately, the king’s court rules against them in a climactic finish that’ll have you gripping the edge of your straw chair and raising your tankard of ale to your lips in a stupor. Anyway, Méchant Monsieur Moutarde, I loved _The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo_, so take my suggestions at your own risk. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2011, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-mystery-for-me-but-not-the-girl-with-the-dragon-tattoo/572927/37 "2011-03-02T14:52:02Z")
I love Rex Stout’s Nero Wolfe books. However, I’ve read some of his stories that don’t feature Archie and Nero, and I found them to be distinctly mediocre. You have to read _Bimbos of the Death Sun_ by Sharon MacCrumb, if you can find it, especially if you are an SF fan. It’s dated, but it’s still good. I loved the Dream Park series by Larry Niven, but you’ll find them in the SF section, as Niven is primarily an SF writer who uses mysteries and puzzles in his stories. I’m re-reading Flatlander, which is a series of short stories about a detective in the future. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2011, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-mystery-for-me-but-not-the-girl-with-the-dragon-tattoo/572927/38 "2011-03-02T14:58:03Z")
> [@](#): > > You have to read Bimbos of the Death Sun by Sharon MacCrumb, if you can find it, especially if you are an SF fan. It’s dated, but it’s still good. A great book if you’re into SF conventions. I’ve been told McCrumb recommends it to those who have never been to one. She also wrote a pretty good sequel: **Zombies of the Gene Pool** , but it’s harder to find ---
**Author:** ![MovieCriticNextDoor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85e7bf/32.png) [@MovieCriticNextDoor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieCriticNextDoor)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2011, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-mystery-for-me-but-not-the-girl-with-the-dragon-tattoo/572927/39 "2011-03-02T21:53:39Z")
> [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](#): > > Every so often someone asks this question and I always have to suggest Rennie Airth and his novels about Inspector John Madden. > > [River of Darkness](http://www.amazon.com/River-Darkness-John-Madden-Mysteries/dp/0140291962) is the first of three books and probably the best. I second these. They’re set between the world wars and are very well-written. I’d like to also add anything by Ruth Rendell. Under that name, she writes the Chief Inspector Wexford series – they would technically be classed as police procedurals, but they’re certainly not just that. Under the name Barbara Vine, she writes less-traditional mysteries, more along the lines of psychological thrillers. She’s spooky good at writing through the eyes of a murderer. Live Flesh is a favorite of mine, as is Anna’s Book. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2011, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-mystery-for-me-but-not-the-girl-with-the-dragon-tattoo/572927/40 "2011-03-02T22:00:39Z")
> [@Lynn\_Bodoni](#): > > I love Rex Stout’s Nero Wolfe books. However, I’ve read some of his stories that don’t feature Archie and Nero, and I found them to be distinctly mediocre. > > You have to read _Bimbos of the Death Sun_ by Sharon MacCrumb, if you can find it, especially if you are an SF fan. It’s dated, but it’s still good. > > I loved the Dream Park series by Larry Niven, but you’ll find them in the SF section, as Niven is primarily an SF writer who uses mysteries and puzzles in his stories. I’m re-reading Flatlander, which is a series of short stories about a detective in the future. Yes, the other series aren’t anywhere near as good (the one book staring Inspector Cramer is OK). Nor are the “continued after death” books by Goldsborough, altho the first one is not bad. Good book, but a bit of a one-hit-wonder. There’s also the Asey Mayo (aka Codfish Sherlock) mysteries, which are nice as period/location pieces. (around WWII and Cape Cod). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-mystery-for-me-but-not-the-girl-with-the-dragon-tattoo/572927.md?page=1)