Mysteries are my favorite!

I've always loved mysteries. In second grade we had this day where we got to change our name, and the teacher called us by our fake name all day. I was Nancy...as in Nancy Drew of course... although I also adored Trixie Belden. I was convinced that when I grew up I was going to be a detective/ballerina when I grew up. I figured that ballet would offer me an entree into high society, and I could solve crimes among the important types who thought they were above the law.

In about fourth grade I became obsessed with Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot and his silly little "moustaches". And I got paranoid that I was going to get hit by a car and die, and no one would be able to identify me since I didn't have a drivers license yet, so every morning I wrote my name and phone number on the bottom of my shoes, just in case. (Sad but true. Just ask my mom!)

Then came middle school, and a sudden adoration of cheesy suspense: Mary Higgins Clark, John Grisham, Tom Clancy, I read 'em all. In high school I tried cozies: Jill Churchill, Elizabeth Peters, Dorothy Gilman, etc. In college I went for the more classic British type mysteries: Georgette Heyer, Patricia Wentworth, Joyce Christmas, and company. But really, I was slightly saddened by the fact that I couldn't find anything I loved as much as I had loved Nancy Drew.

Then, however, I started working at Bookmans, and found shelf upon shelf of awesome books. Fred Vargas, Henning Mankell, Donna Leon, Arnaldur Indriðason, Ian Rankin, Peter Lovesey...I could seriously keep listing for a while. I fell in love with these authors, all of whom happen to be either European or ex-pats. There are certain similarities that most of them share:

(1) Cynical, quirky, humorous detectives, who are usually divorced, or alchoholic, or both. The characterization is believable, and while admittedly sometimes a bit stereotypical, still interesting. And, importantly, all of their detectives are actually detectives...not caterers or housewives or cats or craft shop owners who just happen to solve crimes on the side.

(2) A vivid sense of place. Each writer conjures up the locale of their respective detectives with accuracy and ingenuity, whether it be Ystad, Venice, Bath, Paris, Edinburgh, or Reykjavik. These books are all glimpses into other places and cultures, which adds additional interest to the policework that forms the main part of the story.

(3) An intriguing crime, where the detective's mental prowess is important--none of these authors write books that are what I call "CSI-ish" or "forensic". That's what I hate about most current American authors that I've read, the importance of the detective has been lost, it's all about the science of the crime, and I find that much less enjoyable. These books require the detective to actually detect, sometimes successfully, and sometimes not. They aren't the type of books that always have a happy ending, sometimes the criminals get away with their crimes, and sometimes the detective can't even figure out "whodunit".

(4) They are well-written. Don't look for mid-air collisions of bullets (yes I'm talking to you David Baldacci) or other ridiculously improbable plotlines. Don't look for two page chapters or huge margins (yup, James Patterson, your secret is out). Expect to have to actually read (I realize I'm still talking about genre fiction here, I'm not saying it's War and Peace or anything, but most of these are very well-written books). Expect quirky characters, fascinating sub-plots, bizarre crimes, political subtexts, and surprisingly beautiful moments, particularly if you try Fred Vargas.

I highly recommend any of the European authors I discussed. So if you haven't read a mystery in a while, give one of these authors a shot! (No pun intended. Since they're European there are very few handguns in these novels anyway.)