# Your nominations, please, for the greatest mystery writer of all time. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 8, 2010, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-nominations-please-for-the-greatest-mystery-writer-of-all-time/563373 "2010-12-08T03:41:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2010, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-nominations-please-for-the-greatest-mystery-writer-of-all-time/563373/1 "2010-12-08T03:41:10Z")
(You knew this was coming, right?) Rather like the recent poll about Science Fiction writers, there will eventually be a run-off poll and then a best of five. In the meantime, please post your nominations here in this thread, and share your criteria for deciding who is the greatest, if you wish. I’d like to start things off by dropping Dorothy Sayers’ name into the hat, based on the puzzle of her mysteries, the strength of her writing and her characters. What do the rest of you think? ---
**Author:** ![Implicit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Implicit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Implicit)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2010, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-nominations-please-for-the-greatest-mystery-writer-of-all-time/563373/2 "2010-12-08T03:46:11Z")
Agatha Christie. /end thread ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2010, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-nominations-please-for-the-greatest-mystery-writer-of-all-time/563373/3 "2010-12-08T03:49:02Z")
Hard to top Agatha, but I’ll add Raymond Chandler and Dashiel Hammett. ---
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2010, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-nominations-please-for-the-greatest-mystery-writer-of-all-time/563373/4 "2010-12-08T03:57:12Z")
I imagine Agatha Christie will make a strong showing - I just can’t warm to her writing. I could quite happily pare her writing down to 5 books and really not feel the loss of all the others. In fact, I’m certain we gave away everything of hers the last time we moved. I can’t imagine re-reading anything of hers. Sayers, on the other hand, got kept and gets re-read often. ---
**Author:** ![koeeoaddi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/koeeoaddi/32/408_2.png) [@koeeoaddi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/koeeoaddi)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2010, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-nominations-please-for-the-greatest-mystery-writer-of-all-time/563373/5 "2010-12-08T04:26:05Z")
Arthur Conan Doyle Alexander McCall Smith P.D. James Tony Hillerman Elizabeth George Wilkie Collins Ruth Rendell/Barbara Vine ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2010, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-nominations-please-for-the-greatest-mystery-writer-of-all-time/563373/6 "2010-12-08T04:30:29Z")
I always found Agatha Christie kind of overrated. It seemed like her MO was to think of the most ridiculous ending/killer and go with it. I’ll second P.D. James and Ruth Rendell. Ruth Rendell was actually the first who came to mind for me. Very dark, sinister, and fun. ---
**Author:** ![Implicit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Implicit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Implicit)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2010, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-nominations-please-for-the-greatest-mystery-writer-of-all-time/563373/7 "2010-12-08T04:34:03Z")
Not only did Agatha Christie create two of the most interesting and unusual detectives in Poirot and Miss Marple, but the variations where the murderer is revealed to be the narrator, multiple people, the most obvious, the least obvious, etc. raise her stories above the rest. Elizabeth George is a current favorite of mine and I admit to the guilty pleasure of reading Dick Francis (even though all his characters are essentially the same). ---
**Author:** ![pinkfreud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pinkfreud/32/17603_2.png) [@pinkfreud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pinkfreud)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2010, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-nominations-please-for-the-greatest-mystery-writer-of-all-time/563373/8 "2010-12-08T04:41:16Z")
For sheer reading pleasure, no one tops Dorothy L. Sayers. I’ve been rereading the Wimsey books for more than fifty years, and they still have much to offer. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2010, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-nominations-please-for-the-greatest-mystery-writer-of-all-time/563373/9 "2010-12-08T04:44:26Z")
My personal favorites are Dorothy Sayers, MM Kaye, and Dick Francis. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2010, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-nominations-please-for-the-greatest-mystery-writer-of-all-time/563373/10 "2010-12-08T05:09:58Z")
I’ve always liked the sharp, witty character of Archie Goodwin in the Rex Stout novels, but I think I’ll go with Richard Parker for the win. His Spenser novels reinvigorated the tough-guy detective by making him a total wiseass who could back up his wiseassery with bullets or fists, as needed. Also, I liked the fact that Spenser actually worked out. I always wondered how Archie got so tough from walking several blocks every couple of days. I mean, Archie was fit compared to Nero Wolfe but … so what? Richard Parker then, with Rex Stout trailing by a bit. ---
**Author:** ![Tinkertoy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f19dbf/32.png) [@Tinkertoy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tinkertoy)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2010, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-nominations-please-for-the-greatest-mystery-writer-of-all-time/563373/11 "2010-12-08T05:37:20Z")
Ed Mcbain Dashiel Hammett Ruth Rendell Dorothy Sayers Agatha Christie Kind of hard to weed it down as I’m sitting in my office surrounded by nearly 4000 mystery books. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2010, 8:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-nominations-please-for-the-greatest-mystery-writer-of-all-time/563373/12 "2010-12-08T08:03:13Z")
I’m not a huge fan of mysteries, but based on the stories I’ve read I’ll go with Dorothy Sayers, with honorable mention to Fredric Brown. ---
**Author:** ![Raiko](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/3da27b/32.png) [@Raiko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raiko)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2010, 8:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-nominations-please-for-the-greatest-mystery-writer-of-all-time/563373/13 "2010-12-08T08:27:11Z")
Arthur Conan Doyle hands down Agatha Christie has no dynamic or actual mystery about it the character who was least likely to have anything to do with it did it. Holmes could out-deduce both Marple and Poirot with one hand behind his back even on his most tweaked out crack binge. ---
**Author:** ![Invisible\_Chimp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/f05b48/32.png) [@Invisible\_Chimp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Invisible_Chimp)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2010, 8:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-nominations-please-for-the-greatest-mystery-writer-of-all-time/563373/14 "2010-12-08T08:28:32Z")
Franklin W. Dixon and Carolyn Keene 😉 ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2010, 9:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-nominations-please-for-the-greatest-mystery-writer-of-all-time/563373/15 "2010-12-08T09:15:11Z")
Wilkie Collins Josephine Tey Dashiell Hammett Georges Simenon Graham Greene Raymond Chandler James M. Cain Donald E Westlake Elmore Leonard John le Carré Tony Hillerman ---
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2010, 9:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-nominations-please-for-the-greatest-mystery-writer-of-all-time/563373/16 "2010-12-08T09:15:24Z")
Most of my favorites are listed, except Stephen J. Cannell. ---
**Author:** ![Dervorin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Dervorin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dervorin)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2010, 10:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-nominations-please-for-the-greatest-mystery-writer-of-all-time/563373/17 "2010-12-08T10:38:04Z")
> [@Raiko](#): > > Arthur Conan Doyle hands down > > Agatha Christie has no dynamic or actual mystery about it the character who was least likely to have anything to do with it did it. Holmes could out-deduce both Marple and Poirot with one hand behind his back even on his most tweaked out crack binge. Really? I love Sherlock Holmes, but as I’ve been reading it as an adult I’ve come to realise that he depends quite heavily on confessions from suspects, and bizarre coincidences just as much as pure deduction. None of this detracts from the pleasure I get from reading the Holmes stories, but I don’t think they are actually that well written. My nominations would be: Ruth Rendell Ellis Peters Ngaio Marsh (I can’t believe I’m the first person to suggest her) Colin Dexter PD James Dorothy L Sayers ---
**Author:** ![pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pseudotriton_ruber_ruber)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2010, 10:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-nominations-please-for-the-greatest-mystery-writer-of-all-time/563373/18 "2010-12-08T10:44:42Z")
> [@Evil\_Captor](#): > > I’ve always liked the sharp, witty character of Archie Goodwin in the Rex Stout novels, but I think I’ll go with Richard Parker for the win. His Spenser novels reinvigorated the tough-guy detective by making him a total wiseass who could back up his wiseassery with bullets or fists, as needed. Also, I liked the fact that Spenser actually worked out. I always wondered how Archie got so tough from walking several blocks every couple of days. I mean, Archie was fit compared to Nero Wolfe but … so what? > > Richard Parker then, with Rex Stout trailing by a bit. Richard Parker is a poster here. He"ll be glad to know you’ve nominated him. You mean Robert B. Parker. ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2010, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-nominations-please-for-the-greatest-mystery-writer-of-all-time/563373/19 "2010-12-08T11:52:52Z")
No one listed ANY of mine yet?! John Dickson Carr (top of my list… I think. Hmmm.) Ellery Queen (by whom I mean Dannay and Lee, not any of the other guys who wrote with this name) Christianna Brand I’d love to nominate Ed Hoch, but he’s a little modern. I’m willing to let him “stew” for a while. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2010, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-nominations-please-for-the-greatest-mystery-writer-of-all-time/563373/20 "2010-12-08T12:16:48Z")
To all intents and purposes, Arthur Conan Doyle invented the genre (although foreshadowed, in some respects, by Wilkie Collins). Everyone since Doyle has just been working variations on his themes. Some of the more recent writers can create more rounded characters (Tony Hillerman and P.D. James, for example, but certainly _not_ Agatha Christie, whose fame comes largely just from the sheer volume of her production), but in respect of the creation of mysteries, fascinating puzzles to be solved by the application of reason, Doyle has not been surpassed, only well (or, more often, badly) imitated. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-nominations-please-for-the-greatest-mystery-writer-of-all-time/563373.md?page=2)