Recommend British Murder Mysteries

[Zsofia]

I fifth or something Dorothy Sayers. Gaudy Night is one of my favorite books, period, not just mysteries. Although it’s technically not a murder mystery. Run, don’t walk, to the bookstore, seriously; they’re very literary and oh so amazing. (Some of them are rather obnoxiously Train Schedule Mysteries, though, forewarned.) I’ve been rationing them ever since I read Gaudy Night because obviously she’s long dead and when I’ve read them all, that’s it; I just finished The Nine Tailors and while it’s Vane-less, it’s excellent. The only problem is that:

Like most older British mysteries, some of the clues are soooo freaking obvious. “Oh, back after the original theft, the Bad Servant who got put away escaped and was found dead two years later at the bottom of a quarry, still wearing his convict uniform!” Does anybody on earth not read that and say “Not only is he not dead, but we have already probably met the guy!” I guess that’s one of the problems with a true murder mystery where theoretically you ought to have enough pieces to put it together when the detective does; it’s either too easy or too hard. But that’s okay, I don’t read them to figure out who did it anyway.

[kaylasdad99]

@Cunctator

I agree that they’re generally more readable and interesting. Certainly the depth of character development is far greater. But my biggest complaint about Ngaio Marsh’s novels is that:

In all of them she is overly fond of her “young lover” characters e.g. the squire’s son and the vicar’s daughter in Overture to Death; or Martyn and Adam in Opening Night. You just know that she’s invested too much emotion in them to have them turn out as the guilty parties at the end of the book. Agatha Christie, for all her simplified style and rudimentary characters, doesn’t have this problem

Point taken. But for my money, Christie’s quirks take me out of her stories to a far greater degree than any old reliable plot points in Marsh.

[kaylasdad99]

@Zsofia

But that’s okay, I don’t read them to figure out who did it anyway.

Me neither. I read them in the hope that one day I’ll learn what green baize is, and why the door to the servant’s quarters is always made of it.

[Cunctator]

@kaylasdad99

Me neither. I read them in the hope that one day I’ll learn what green baize is, and why the door to the servant’s quarters is always made of it.

I don’t know either, but I’ve always assumed that the green baize is some sort of soundproofing material.

[blackhobyah]

I enjoy Sarah Caudwell’s books … set around a legal chambers, they are extremely funny while being very deftly plotted.

Lauren Henderson is also a funny writer, and a very good one. Her heroine is a sculptor who has a taste for alcohol, nightlife and murder. Lots of fun.

You might also try Deborah Crombie, who is apparently Texan, but writes the Duncan Kincaid/Gemma Jones series of police procedurals, set in London. I enjoy her characterisation and gentle prose.

I recommend Alison Tayor, she’s written three books set in Wales, which feature Detective Mike McKenna. They tend be very dark, in that understated British fashion, but they’re beautifully written. The Welsh settings are unusual and I found the rhythm of the prose really enjoyable.

I don’t think anyone has suggested Minette Walters? I’m not overly fond of some of her later books, but enjoyed her first three or four.

Look also at Val McDermid’s Kate Brannigan series featuring a Manchester PI, I admit to enjoying these more than Val’s later, grimmer mysteries … but I’m shallow like that.

Absolutely read Reginald Hill. If you read nothing else by him, read “On Beulah Height” which is brilliant novel, crime or otherwise. Pretty much anything by Reginal Hill is worth reading.

Don’t read MC Beaton … this is the only example I can think of where the TV series was much better than the books. The books are dire, but the “Hamish McBeth” series is terrific. (sorry, a digression there).

If you don’t mind very gory, bloody and confronting, then Mo Hayter might be worth a try. I read both of them for review, and while I thought they were well written and plotted, I think they were the first books which made me seriously consider why I enjoyed crime. I’m usually not worried by serial killers or violence, I love John Connolly, for example, but I don’t know that I’d re-read Mo Hayter.

You might give Ian Rankin’s Inspector Rebus series a try as well. Rankin isn’t a favourite of mine, but he is of a lot of people, so certainly worth a look.

I’m sure there’s more, but that ought to keep you reading for a while!

[Sophistry_and_Illusion]

I seventy-'leventh Dorothy Sayers. Great stuff. I also second Sarah Caudwell. Very very funny stuff. It is a real tragedy that she died young and only wrote three (I think) novels.

[WotNot]

@kaylasdad99

Me neither. I read them in the hope that one day I’ll learn what green baize is, and why the door to the servant’s quarters is always made of it.

Green baize is that cloth they cover billiard tables and card tables with. Why it would be on a door I don‘t know – I’ll guess soundproofing too.

The main problem I had with Ngaio Marsh (or a least with the early novels I read) was the number of times an important plot point depended on an aspirin tablet being a powerful soporific.

[blackhobyah]

Sarah Caudwell wrote four books, the last one came out just before she died in 2000, so if you haven’t found it, there’s one treat still in store.

After an accident last year I didn’t want to read anything new, I wanted comfort books, so I re-read Ngaio Marsh, Dick Francis and Georgette Heyer. Georgette Heyer is probably best known now for her romances, but she wrote a number of enjoyable detective novels in the rhirties. I think Heyer’s particular gift is for dialogue and that’s present in the detective novels as well, although the plots are often pretty thin. Her romances often feature a strong mystery element as well, and on the whole I enjoy them more I think.

I was surprised, on re-reading Ngaio Marsh, at how subtle and clever her characterisation often is, and how well she writes. Marsh was a New Zealander, and a couple of her novels are set in New Zealand, and she writes most beautifully about the landscape.

Could I also suggest, if you enjoy historical fiction at all, Laurie King, who is also American, but writes an historical series about Sherlock Holmes and a young woman who becomes his protege and something more. It’s a wonderful series.

[C_K_Dexter_Haven]

@Zsofia

Like most older British mysteries, some of the clues are soooo freaking obvious. … I guess that’s one of the problems with a true murder mystery where theoretically you ought to have enough pieces to put it together when the detective does; it’s either too easy or too hard. But that’s okay, I don’t read them to figure out who did it anyway.

(Note: Zsofia had this in the spoiler box, I’ve edited out the spoiler.)

This is basically the same problem that Shakespeare has: practically everything he writes is cliche.

People like Dorothy Sayers and Ngaio Marsh and even Agatha Christie, and Americans like Ellery Queen and Rex Stout, were writing in the heyday of the detective novel, roughly 1930s - 1960s, give or take a little. Dorothy Sayers even wrote up “rules” that detective novels must follow (like, the clues must be fair, etc.) The problem is that almost all situations have now been done to death (so to speak) – with the advent of weekly TV shows, etc., it’s very very difficult to find an old novel where the plot isn’t pretty much see-through nowadays. We’re reading back with a vast experience that the contemporary readers didn’t have.

BTW, the most trite of Dortothy Sayers is the one where the cause of murder is injected air bubbles!

BTW, Ngaio Marsh isn’t exactly British, is she? New Zealand, IIRC.

If you’re looking for modern British writers, in addition to these wonderful folks from the 30s - 70s, I suggest Robert Barnard. He’s got a very wicked sense of humor, and writes brilliantly.

[GraceTX]

Most of Christopher Brookmyre’s characters are far from civilised, but they make for an excellent read.

[Zsofia]

@C K Dexter Haven

People like Dorothy Sayers and Ngaio Marsh and even Agatha Christie, and Americans like Ellery Queen and Rex Stout, were writing in the heyday of the detective novel, roughly 1930s - 1960s, give or take a little. Dorothy Sayers even wrote up “rules” that detective novels must follow (like, the clues must be fair, etc.) The problem is that almost all situations have now been done to death (so to speak) – with the advent of weekly TV shows, etc., it’s very very difficult to find an old novel where the plot isn’t pretty much see-through nowadays. We’re reading back with a vast experience that the contemporary readers didn’t have.

True, true, but I don’t think readers in the 30’s were fooled one little bit by that spoiler. It practically had neon lights around it, and I don’t think there’d even been a murder by the time it came out!

[Gadarene]

Michael Gilbert is uniformly excellent.

[BarnOwl]

This thread is utterly fantastic? How am I going to save it all?

I mean it.

Someone please tell me. Is it ok to copy and paste the whole thread into WordPerfect?

[Rayne_Man]

Another suggestion is the** Inspector Banks** series of novels by Peter Robinson. They are quite like the Rebus stories but set in the Yorkshire Dales. Peter Robinson (who now lives in Canada) has written 14 novels in the series so far.

I am glad someone mentioned the Flaxborough novels of** Colin Watson**. There are only 10 of those in the series because the author died in the mid 70’s, at the age of 62. I am trying to collect the full set , they are fairly rare and out of print but they can be found on Abebooks , Amazon and Ebay.

[SpoilerVirgin]

@Zsofia

I fifth or something Dorothy Sayers…I’ve been rationing them ever since I read Gaudy Night because obviously she’s long dead and when I’ve read them all, that’s it…

That depends – Jill Paton Walsh has written two new Wimsey mysteries based on unfinished material left by Sayers, and I’m hoping she writes more. Of course, purists object to anyone taking on a series after the original author has died, and I’ve read some horrific examples, but for me the Paton Walsh books really capture the spirit of the originals and I’ve enjoyed them very much.

[Exapno_Mapcase]

@C K Dexter Haven

Dorothy Sayers even wrote up “rules” that detective novels must follow (like, the clues must be fair, etc.)

Are you thinking of the Detection Club Oath? Sayers was one of the founders of this club of the leading mystery writers in Britain in the 1920s. She’s usually credited with writing the oath, but others, including G. K. Chesterton, have also been named.

There were so many bad and now totally forgotten whodunit writers of that day that almost every good one was setting down “rules” for their lesser imitators to follow. This was the era of “the butler did it,” or at least when the disparaging notion became popular. When you read the rules, you’ll shake your head in wonder that anyone - let alone lots of people - could have used these premises. Of course, the really clever could devise ways to circumvent even the hoariest of these clichés, but how many of those ever existed?

Ronald Knox wrote a Ten Commandments for Detective Novelists and others jumped on his basics to expand, revise, and revoke them.

Over in America, S. S. van Dine promulgated Twenty Rules for Writing Detective Fiction.

Some of his rules are too silly to pay attention to, but overall he has some good ones.

And they all want to make absolutely sure that no one ever, ever, ever does The Mystery of Roger Ackroyd ever again!

[Miss_Mapp]

I’ve only scanned through the thread quickly, but I don’t think anyone’s mentioned Margery Allingham’s Campion mysteries yet.

Allingham was a contempory of Christie, Marsh, and Sayers; I only recently became acquainted with her work through the 1980’s TV series with Peter Davison, now on DVD, and have been seeking out her books since. I’ve found 2 so far–“Look to the Lady” and “The Fear Sign”–plus a collection of short stories, and enjoyed them enough to recommend them.

[cher3]

I also thought of Caroline Graham. She hasn’t been very prolific, but I’ve liked what I read.

They are more stories than novels, but if you haven’t read John Mortimer’s Rumpole books, you should.

[BarnOwl]

You’re all wonderful. Thank you very much for your responses. I now have enough material to last a lifetime and a half.

But please keep 'em coming! I’m not the only one benefitting.

[Rayne_Man]

Two more suggestions , both of which have been made into TV series, are the **Frost novels of R.D.Wingfield and the Dangerous Davies stories of Leslie **Thomas. There are only 4 or 5 in each series although the TV shows have more stories “based on characters” from the books.

A new discovery for me are the** Inspector Pitt** novels by Anne Perry. These are set in the late Victorian era and not only give an insight into the police methods of the time but also Victorian society.