The Mystery, Crime, and Thriller Group discussion
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Why do you like mysteries?
Carol wrote: "Karendenice wrote: "I am bad about coming across something in a book and saying I don't remember that having happened so I have to go back and hopefully find out if I read something wrong and was t..."I find the older i get, them more i can't remember those small references an author mentions, such as how someone is related to someone else or what time of year it is. Then it drives me crazy to not remember something!! To alleviate the frustration of searching back through the book, i put little post-it notes in the front of the book, noting down little things that i might want to reference later.
There...now everyone here knows my OCD secret!
Monica, I do that know also. However it not only includes notes and questions I wast answered but also stuff that I want to read more about and look up on the internet.
Karendenice wrote: "Beth, I read all of the same. And along with Victoria Holt I read Phyllis Whitney and Charlotte Armstrong. Do you remember them?"
Sorry to say I didn't read either Phyllis Whitney or Charlotte Armstrong. Sounds like I'll have to add them to my TBR list!
Monica, also I have found that the stuff I don't think that is important I don't write down. And when I come across something later in the book that I really need to find out what it was I find that I get distracted enough that I have a hard time going forward in the book until I figure it out. A lot of times I feel that it might be something that's really important to the story line so I just have to stop reading and go back. I find this especially hard with reading on a nook. Although I do love my nook! Also are you insinuating that I'm getting older? :D I'm not. I'm 29 and I'll be 29 forever.! :DBeth, I think that there were 5 to 6 authors that I just had to keep up with and these two were in that group. If you do read them I'm pretty sure that you will enjoy them. They are along the lines of Victoria Holt and her other pen names which I can't remember right now off the top of my head.
Pyllis Whitney and Victoria Holt are two of my mother's favorite authors and she shared these with me so I am a big fan of these.Beth wrote: "Karendenice wrote: "Beth, I read all of the same. And along with Victoria Holt I read Phyllis Whitney and Charlotte Armstrong. Do you remember them?
"
Sorry to say I didn't read either Phyllis Whi..."
I'm sure that it's a lot of fun sharing your books with your mother. I wish that my daughter had inherited my love of books. But so far she has not. But the future isn't over yet! :)
At a young age,ten I think, an aunt gave me a Hardy Boys book. I who never thought of myself as a reader got caught up in the Hardy Boys world and read several more books in the series. I understand the mystery part as an appeal, because in this world so many bad things are whispered about but never fully proven. At least in a mystery you can quench your thirst of curiosity and maybe feel superior becuause you figured out the plot after three chapters(something I have never done, but I keep trying anyway). But the real draw is the characters. Are the good guys people you would like to hang out with and/or enjoy some interesting conversation with.
My uncle introduced me to books, he was a teacher and set up a library in his classroom, which he funded himself, and then he would also buy me and my sister at least two books every weekend, from when we were very young. He still buys my kids books and has passed us down his own book collection over the years. I owe my love of reading to him. I'm sure, most of his past pupils would say the same.
Mary wrote: "My uncle introduced me to books,"In my case, it was my father's cousin who was the children's librarian at our local public library when I was a kid. I lost a lot of Saturday mornings there...
James wrote: "I lost a lot of Saturday morning..."
Whaddya mean, lost? ;-)
Whaddya mean, lost? ;-)
I think I like mysteries because I want to know what's happened, but not after the 2nd paragraph!I like the evolution, the development, all the pieces and I like the not knowing.... I like the waiting, the suspense and puzzlement, until it's time to reveal the who or the why :)
I became addicted to reading when I was in the second or third grade. Although my mother read a whole lot she didn't encourage us to read. Us was 5 children. I got addicted to reading after my first trip to the library at school. But the reason behind my addiction was to escape a pretty bad life at home. Especially at that age I was transported to another life, another time and some pretty amazing characters. And even if I happened to be reading a book that was the best my imagination was allowed to soar. Back then even with 5 children, all born between 1956 and 1960, I was able to to totally ignore any and all distractions to the point of not even hearing if one of the other kids started talking to me.
aprilla wrote: "I think I like mysteries because I want to know what's happened, but not after the 2nd paragraph!I like the evolution, the development, all the pieces and I like the not knowing.... I like the wa..."
you phrased that exactly aprilla, I completely agree with you.
Mysteries are like a great snack between meals of heavier reading......I am a history buff but have to take a break from the Crimean War, Napoleon, the Civil War, and the British Raj. What better to do than pick up a good mystery book? I love those written in the "Golden Age" but am also a fan of more recent books such as the Dalgiesh, Morse, Peculiar Crimes Unit, etc. series. Very tasty!!!!
KarendeniceI'm also one of five with a rotten childhood, though it could have been worse. Books were a way to escape and shut out the world, even now if someone wants to get my attention when I'm in a book it's no use shouting my name. Mum has discovered that saying cloth-ears works, don't even have to say it loudly.
I love to see if I can work out before the detective who the killer is.
I was the middle child of 5, can't say it was a bad childhood except for my very limited access to books until I was old enough to get to the library by myself. I was notorious for my ability to immerse myself in a book and ignore people trying to urge me to do something useful. When my children were young I had to be careful not to read when they were awake because being highly intelligent they figured out very quickly that when Mom was reading she didn't notice what they were doing.I'm not so much interested in finding out the solution to the mystery as I am with enjoying how the author puts the puzzle together and develops the characters to make the story work.
DeanneAre you sure your name isn't Sharon or Marty? :) Also what is cloth-ears? I've never heard of the before.
Dena I agree with about how the author develops the story and their characters but I'm also the type of person that used to be told/and still am sometimes that "curiosity killed the cat". :) I like looking at all sides of the puzzle like the person who's trying to solve the crime is.
Dena wrote: "I'm not so much interested in finding out the solution to the mystery as I am with enjoying how the author puts the puzzle together and develops the characters to make the story work...."Agreed, I don't mind if I don't figure it out, or get it wrong, as long as the author figured it all out well. That in the end it all makes sense. I guess I'm just along for the ride, but I expect a lot!
Anne wrote: "Pyllis Whitney and Victoria Holt are two of my mother's favorite authors and she shared these with me so I am a big fan of these.My mom also loved these authors and started me on my lifelong love of mysteries. Also Agatha Christie and Mary Stewart.
Beth wrote: "Karendenice wrote: "Beth, I read all of the same. A..."
KarendeniceCloth-ears is a term my Dad used to use when he didn't think you were listening, or hadn't heard the first time. He was Nottingham, so it's possible it's from there but he was in the Royal Navy for 27 years.
Deanne, that's so interesting. I never heard of that before. But it does make sense.
I've been told that I am kind of a "know-it-all." I think that I like mysteries because I like to figure out the ending before it actually comes. I'm pretty good at it. My favorite books (and movies) are the ones where I didn't see it coming.
Sandra, you hit the nail on the head!
Sandra wrote: "I've been told that I am kind of a "know-it-all." I think that I like mysteries because I like to figure out the ending before it actually comes. I'm pretty good at it. My favorite books (and movie..."And, Sandra, I like it when a percentage of my readers are "know-it-all"s and figure out whodunnit before the end. That means the mystery was indeed solvable and I gave out enough clues. I just HATE it when a mystery author doesn't play fair with a reader and holds back a vital clue until the very end that turns everything on it's head. Or, when we've been inside the sleuth's head right up until s/he learns the vital clue that solves the mystery, then all of a sudden we aren't privvy to his/her thoughts.
Thumbs up for 'cloth ears'. I'm from Kent and am very familiar with the expression, not least because I got into the habit as a child of asking my great uncle to repeat just about everything he said to me even though I'd heard him very well the first time.As for why I like mysteries? There's a childhood element of wonder about them isn't there? And the curiosity of wanting to know something that someone else wants to keep from us - or the central character. Most of all it's the thing that keep us reading to the end to find the answers. It's a win/win for the writer, too, because if we think we've guessed it, we still have to keeping reading to prove ourselves right.
So many reasons why mysteries are the best! And, so many new authors to talk about: Beth Groundwater, Clark Lohr, Carolyn J. Rose, Tim Hallinan.. speaking of Tim, have any of you read "Shaken"... this is an anthology of wonderfully written short stories by 20 incredible authors. I'll do a reveiew of it soon on GoodReads. All the stories were donated so that all the profits go to charities in Japan to help with the recovery.
I like mysteries because the build up and excitement gets my heart racing and I love the feeling of anticipating what is going to happen. I enjoy trying to solve it on my own too. Part of the excitement is wondering if I will have guessed the "who-done-it" part correctly!
I've always enjoyed mysteries. When I was younger, I think it was probably the "who did it and why?" ... later, of course, after I'd worked in law enforcement and been married to a police officer, I found I enjoyed the police department related mysteries because of my own background.
I like a good story, one that makes you think. One that has interesting characters. One from which I can learn something. One that puts the universe back in order (as P>D> James once said.) Crime Does Not Pay!!!!!!!
My view is that detective fiction is at bottom about the getting and deployment of knowledge, and what counts as knowledge. These things have been personal and professional matters of importance to me most of my life -- how to find out things, how to know when you've found something out, what is the right thing to do with it then. It's also interesting to see how the genre formulas can be bent, turned upside down, twisted this way and that, and still come up with a satisfying story even when crime pays, we never learn whodunnit, or the butler really dunnit, or be slipped like DNA into stories of an entirely different species. Endlessly fascinating.
I like working things out so that the pieces fit, and mysteries fall into that category, whether I'm reading them or writing them. It's a game of wits and I've always enjoyed a good challenge!
A bad childhood impels my interest. Not only do a lot of mysteries seem more like autobiography, they share my experiences and world view. Chicken soup for the soul type books feel very inauthentic and idiotic. I can talk to a police detective far more easily than a home schooling religious housewife.
I've been asking myself this question lately as I have been devouring a few series I had let go of and others I learned of here. For me they replace TV series, I think. You get to know characters, evolving plot lines time and place, but at your own pace, and using your own imagination to view everything. And of course, there is so much more depth in a book! I too started with Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys, and my aunt introduced me to Phyllis Whitney and Mary Stuart. It was the PBS Mystery series that really hooked me on the British mysteries, though, Dorothy Sayers and P. D. James are the best.
I love having a puzzle to solve while I'm reading, and I always learn something new from a mystery book!
I, too, like the puzzle of a good mystery novel. I like the characters to be well developed enough that they seem real to me, and I like a series where I can get to know the characters over time, and feel that their life stories evolve realistically as well. I'm not a fan of thrillers or evil villains, or the kind of mystery that has a new dead body show up every few chapters.
Julie wrote: " It was the PBS Mystery series that really hooked me on the British mysteries, though, Dorothy Sayers and P. D. James are the best. "
I do so miss the PBS Mystery night... can't watch over here *sniff*
It was my weekly date with my dad. I loved watching with him.
I do so miss the PBS Mystery night... can't watch over here *sniff*
It was my weekly date with my dad. I loved watching with him.
I like to thrill and to be thrilled. I love nothing more than to be curled up in my recliner chair, reading a thriller, as long as my cat is cozily sleeping on my lap to provide me comfort. When I write, I expect my cat to walk all over my keyboard, making me smile at times, helping me to calm me down since I am actually a reader as I write. And reading a good thriller, I never know what will come next. I am so thankful that I have my cat there to support me, especially when night comes, and the house darkens, and the tension mounts, and the--what's that noise out there? But my cat is still purring, so I guess I can faithfully return to my reading.Mike
Jonathan wrote: "I'll couch my comment with the admission that I like a particular vein of mysteries: the sort with a noirish detective. The appeal for me is reading the narrative of a loner who doesn't belong to ..."I loved Spenser too. It's that "rogue" that is appealing in most of my favorite protagonists. One of the best is Carol O' Connell's Mallory.
Have you read Lindsey Davis, Jonathan? Or do you like historicals?
I love to solve the puzzle and I love to be shocked (in the fictional world).
Yes, that's Lindsey Davis - the first one is The Silver Pigs. Often described as "Sam Spade in a toga," which is why I thought of it.
I read mysteries for many reasons. I think the oddest one is they comfort me when I have a lot going on. I think when I am a bit overwelmed a read where everything is resolved in the end makes me feel betterSusanna I am currently reading a Lindsey Davis. Its the Jupiter Myth. Its excellent as always. Another author set in ancient rome is Stephen Saylor. Its as good.
Yes, I like both Saylor and Davis (my mother likes Davis more, and I prefer Saylor; but they're both fun reads).
Let me pose a question to the group. I'm writing a crime/detective book and am trying to emulate the style and feel of Raymond Chandler's work.I was working on this over the weekend and writing it in a narrative third person style. Occurs to me that Chandler's best work was the Marlow books and they were all in the first person.
Do any of you have a preference? My feeling is a lot of readers get turned off by the first person view. I started doing a conversion of my work and I'm finding I like the first person view at least as a writer. It means I had to leave a few segments out from other viewpoints but the character can explain them later.
Let me know if anyone has any druthers and why. Thanks.
I like first person narratives as you get "into thehead" of the character.
Ken wrote: "Let me pose a question to the group. "
Hi Ken, why don't you open a thread in the Author's Corner asking your question. More people will see it there.
Hi Ken, why don't you open a thread in the Author's Corner asking your question. More people will see it there.
How do you get to the Author's Corner?
Go to the group's home page and then scroll down. You'll see all of the folders.
I couldn't tell you why. Everyone in my family reads, so I've been a lifelong reader. I watch every mystery TV has to offer, and all the old mystery movies; (luckily I married a man who enjoys them also). I just like reading mysteries. They make your brain WORK, just like crossword puzzles (which I also love). I like books that make me think. And I'm crazy about Poirot, about how he reasons things out. I guess mysteries are as much a part of my life as anything I do.I like detectives and reading how they go through the steps of solving the murder(s). Although I'm not really interested in the 'blood and guts' types (serial killers, dismembered bodies, etc.) There's too much of that in the real world, and reading is, for me, an escape that is supposed to be relaxing. I much prefer the intellectual type of mystery (Holmes, Poirot, etc.). That, for me, is true bliss.
The Mystery, Crime, and Thriller Group
Books mentioned in this topic
Under the Never Sky (other topics)Raymond Chandler Speaking (other topics)
The Power of Point of View: Make Your Story Come to Life (other topics)
The Platte River Waltz, introductory chapters (other topics)
The Silver Pigs (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Erle Stanley Gardner (other topics)P.D. James (other topics)
Jo Nesbø (other topics)
I really hate that when you cant recognise a reference the character makes and you need to go back and find it. So irritating!