Mysteries for the Non-Mystery Reader
I am not usually a reader of the mystery genre, in fact I tend to be much more of a Fantasy reader. However I DO love a good challenge and when talking with my coworkers about genres it became clear that not many of us read mystery at this point. So I decided to try and expand my horizons and try something a little different! - Drew
Part of what is so impressive about this book has got to be that John Lecare is still cranking out new books at the age of 88 and is doing it in a fascinating way. Agent Running in the field is all about the dangers of extreme nationalism, in particular with regards to Russia, Brexit and the 2016 election. I found that terribly refreshing! As someone who has no real interest in cold war spy stories reading something that felt timely was really great. In addition this is my first Le Carre book and I have got to say he is a really talented storyteller and does a great job balancing beautiful details with quick action. I would recommend this book.
So when I said before that I didn’t really read the mystery genre that may have been a slight misrepresentation. I have a deep love of Agatha Christie and One By One is a book that certainly follows in the Christie tradition. Set in a Ski Chalet One by One is the story of a company retreat gone terribly wrong. What was supposed to be a collection of trust falls and leadership building turns into something much darker when an avalanche hits and people begin to disappear one by one. When you’re snowed in and you can't trust anyone, what will you do to climb the corporate ladder to safety?
So, you had to know that we were unlikely to get through a list of mystery novels without at least something a little…fantasy like. The Relic is that book! Preston and Child’s Pendergast Novels tend to take the approach of imagining a supernatural event and trying to come up with a science based answer for them, and this novel is the first one in the series. Something is hunting through the halls of the New York Natural History Museum and it's been murdering people with a brutal animalistic intensity, what’s more is that it can't be human. If you liked scooby doo as a kid (or you still like it as an adult) I recommend this book!
I originally was going to be a history teacher and as a result anything set in the past is going to draw my attention, this book is no exception. Set in the second world war a young woman from Oregon is air dropped by the allies into paris with one goal, assassinate Hitler. But when it all goes sideways Kate begins to wonder if she was set up as she has to escape Paris before it's too late. Cara Black has claimed that she wrote this books as a hypothetical answer as to why Hitler only spent three hours in Paris and never returned, no one know why Hitler never returned….but I do like this book’s answer.
I mentioned earlier that I have a love of Agatha Christie novels, so it is only fitting that I end this blog post with one of my favorites. And Then There Were None is (in my opinion) Christie at her best! Set on a small island ten strangers gather at the behest of a mysterious benefactor, and then the murders begin. One by one everyone is bumped off in a way that fits an eerie song that was played on a mysterious phonograph and the as the tensions rise, the truth comes out about these “Strangers”. I won’t spoil it for you but there is a reason that this book is a classic, the twist ending.