Mysteries

I am a fan of mysteries and police procedurals, but with certain caveats.

I don't like mysteries with graphic violence, sex and immorality, excessive foul language, and pervasive cynicism. And I find the "Hallmark" kind of mysteries aimed at women to be kind of boring. 

I prefer the old-fashioned mysteries, and what is sometimes called cosies. 

Part of the attraction for me is that in a world tainted by evil the best mysteries have good defeating some of that evil. There is a sense of justice, and in some of the good ones (like the Father Brown ones or those of Fiorella De Maria), of possible repentance. 

One of my quibbles with some of the Agatha Christie ones is that the killer is given a chance to commit suicide. Perhaps in a British mind that is viewed as an "honorable" way of bringing about justice, but I find it unsatisfying.

And there are mysteries where the plots repeat some of the same elements - like when the protagonists keep repeating the same mistakes, as if they never learn or grow.  

I like the Father Brown mysteries, Dorothy Sayers' mysteries, some of Agatha Christie's novels. I also like the Navajo mysteries of Tony Hillerman. I have enjoyed the Father Gabriel mysteries of Fiorella De Maria.

One problem for me is that I've read all of the Father Browns, all of the Sayers, all of the Hillermans, all the De Maria. 

Yeah, when I find a writer I like I tend to read everything by that writer that I can find.

While I have mentioned some of the writers whose works I like, there is one book by another author that I really liked: The Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey (Elizabeth MacKintosh). It deals with a contemporary investigator exploring the alleged killing of the Princes by King Richard III. It's an intelligent, well-crafted book.

So, who do I read now?

I'd like to read more of Ellis Peters' Brother Cadfael mysteries. I'll have to scour the local libraries to find more. De Maria is still young, so there will hopefully be more Father Gabriel books to come. And there are many Christie's I have not yet read.

Out of curiosity, I looked back over my lists of books read in the past six years - post retirement - to see who I have read. I discovered 82 titles!

Meanwhile, here's a mostly complete list of mysteries/police procedurals I've read since 2020.

The Scandal of Father Brown by G. K. Chesterton

The Secret of Father Brown by G.K. Chesterton

“The Donnington Affair” by G. K. Chesterton

“The Vampire of the Village” by G. K. Chesterton

The Incredulity of Father Brown by G. K. Chesterton

The Innocence of Father Brown by G. K, Chesterton

Trent’s Last Case by E. C. Bentley

The Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey (Elizabeth MacKintosh)

The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins

Missing, Presumed Lost by Fiorella De Maria

May Day!  by Fiorella De Maria 

The Vanishing Woman by Fiorella De Maria

See No Evil by Fiorella De Maria

Death of a Scholar by Fiorella De Maria

The Sleeping Witness by Fiorella De Maria

The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club by Dorothy Sayers  

Have His Carcase by Dorothy Sayers

Gaudy Night by Dorothy L. Sayers

Strong Poison by Dorothy L. Sayers

Busman’s Honeymoon by Dorothy L. Sayers

The Five Red Herrings by Dorothy Sayers

Murder Must Advertise by Dorothy Sayers

The Nine Tailors by Dorothy Sayers

Whose Body? by Dorothy L. Sayers

Clouds of Witness by Dorothy L. Sayers

Talking God by Tony Hillerman

Coyote Waits by Tony Hillerman

Sacred Clowns by Tony Hillerman

A Thief of Time  by Tony Hillerman

People of Darkness by Tony Hillerman

The Ghostway by Tony Hillerman

Skinwalkers by Tony Hillerman

The Dark Wind by Tony Hillerman

Listening Woman by Tony Hillerman

The Dance Hall of the Dead by Tony Hillerman

The Blessing Way by Tony Hillerman

The Shape Shifter by Tony Hillerman

Skeleton Man by Tony Hillerman

The Sinister Pig by Tony Hillerman

The Wailing Wind  by Tony Hillerman

Hunting Badger by Tony Hillerman

The First Eagle by Tony Hillerman

Curtain by Agatha Christie

And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie

Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie

Sleeping Murder by Agatha Christie

A Murder is Announced by Agatha Christie

The A.B.C. Murders by Agatha Christie

The Murder at the Vicarage by Agatha Christie

Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie

The Holy Thief by Ellis Peters

Dead Man’s Ransom by Ellis Peters

An Excellent Mystery by Ellis Peters

The Valley of Fear by Arthur Conan Doyle

The Sign of Four by Arthur Conan Doyle

A Study in Scarlet by Arthur Conan Doyle

Rough Cider by Peter Lovesey

The Thin Man by Dashiell Hammett

The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett

In the Woods by Tana French

All the Dead Heroes by Stephen F. Wilcox

A Red Herring Without Mustard by Alan Bradley

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley

The Clue of the Whistling Bagpipes by “Carolyn Keene”

Maigret on the Defensive by Georges Simenon

Twice Buried by Steven Havill

Out of Season by Steven Havill

Before She Dies by Steven F. Havill

Murder in the Lincoln White House by C. M. Gleason

Murder at the Capitol by C. M. Gleason

Winter’s Child by Margaret Coel

Killing Custer by Margaret Coel

The Spirit Woman by Margaret Coel

Advent of Dying by Sister Carol Anne O’Marie

Requiem at the Refuge by Sister Carol Anne O’Marie

Sine Qua Nun by Monica Quill (Ralph M. McInerny)

Last Things by Ralph McInerny

Thistles and Thieves by Molly MacRae

The Cracked Spine by Paige Shelton

The Loch Ness Papers by Paige Shelton

Pax et bonum