I have always loved ‘whodunit’ mysteries and the crime genre. When I was in my early teens, I read a couple of dozen Agatha Christie books and was hooked from then on. I was determined to tackle this genre for my 7th novel and (as with several previous novels) wanted to incorporate historic elements into the story because of my fascination for social history. My objective was to immerse the reader in the mid-sixties and then layer in the murder mystery element. The books I’ve recommended are all very different but offer a good grounding in the genre.
Sydney, 1965: After a chance encounter with a stranger, tea ladies Hazel, Betty, and Irene become accidental sleuths, stumbling into a world of ruthless crooks and racketeers in search of a young woman believed to be in danger. In the meantime, Hazel’s job at Empire Fashionwear is in jeopardy. The firm has turned out the same frocks and blouses for decades and when the mini-skirt bursts onto the scene, it rocks the rag trade to its foundations.
When there is a murder in the building, the tea ladies draw on their network and put themselves in danger as they piece together clues that connect the murder to a nearby arson and a kidnapping. But if there’s one thing tea ladies can handle, it’s hot water.
Published 200 years ago, The Woman in White is still popular today and considered a masterpiece of the mystery and suspense genre.
It was one of the first novels with a female protagonist as a detective and blazed a trail for others to follow.
The book follows the story of a young art teacher who encounters a mysterious woman dressed in white on a moonlit road. This chance encounter leads to a complex web of intrigue and deception that makes the book the ultimate page-turner.
I first read it about ten years ago and it still plays on my mind. It’s essential reading for anyone tackling the mystery genre.
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'The woman who first gives life, light, and form to our shadowy conceptions of beauty, fills a void in our spiritual nature that has remained unknown to us till she appeared.'
One of the earliest works of 'detective' fiction with a narrative woven together from multiple characters, Wilkie Collins partly based his infamous novel on a real-life eighteenth century case of abduction and wrongful imprisonment. In 1859, the story caused a sensation with its readers, hooking their attention with the ghostly first scene where the mysterious 'Woman in White'…
Magpie Murders has a very clever structure that keeps the reader guessing throughout.
It’s a mystery within a mystery, with a brilliant twist. One part of the book introduces us to editor Susan Ryeland, who is editing the latest manuscript by famous mystery writer, Alan Conway. The second part is Conway's manuscript; a classic whodunit set in an English village. As Ryeland delves deeper into the manuscript, she realizes that the fictional mystery holds the key to solving a real murder.
I was in awe at how Horowitz cleverly intertwined the two converging plot lines, with clues hidden in plain sight. Magpie Murders is a must-read for mystery lovers and there is also a series on Apple TV that is just as brilliant as the book.
'Want to read a great whodunnit? Anthony Horowitz has one for you: MAGPIE MURDERS. It's as good as an Agatha Christie. Better, in some ways. Cleverer.' Stephen King
'The finest crime novel of the year' Daily Mail
*****
Seven for a mystery that needs to be solved . . . Editor Susan Ryland has worked with bestselling crime writer Alan Conway for years. Readers love his detective, Atticus Pund, a celebrated solver of crimes in the sleepy English villages of the 1950s. But Conway's latest tale of murder at Pye Hall is not quite what it seems. Yes, there are…
This novel is one of my favourite Agatha Christie’s with its clever plot twists and turns as the reader tries to solve the murder of the wealthy businessman Roger Ackroyd.
The novel's narrator, Dr. James Sheppard, becomes an amateur detective getting involved in the investigation.
The brilliance of the plot lies in the way Christie expertly misleads the reader, with a carefully crafted web of clues. As Sheppard delves deeper into the case, he discovers shocking secrets and lies, and the final reveal is both surprising and satisfying.
The novel's characters are quite complex which adds to the intrigue and suspense. As always, Christie's writing is crisp and efficient, allowing the reader to get lost in the story, never bogged down by unnecessary details.
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd is a must-read for anyone who loves a good mystery and, in my opinion, one of her best.
The classic "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd", finally at a fair price!The Murder of Roger Ackroyd is a work of detective fiction by British writer Agatha Christie, first published in June 1926 in the United Kingdom. It is the third novel to feature Hercule Poirot as the lead detective.
In 2013, the British Crime Writers' Association voted it the best crime novel ever.
The Thursday Murder Club is a hilarious whodunit that had me chuckling from beginning to end.
The novel follows a group of retirees who meet every Thursday to solve cold case murders, but their latest investigation quickly becomes a real-time murder mystery.
The humour in this book is both clever and silly, with witty one-liners and humorous observations about aging, technology, and society. The characters themselves have their own unique quirks and personalities which adds to the book's charm.
One of the standout elements of the humour in The Thursday Murder Club is its ability to balance the light-hearted moments with the darker aspects of the murder investigation. It's a delicate balance, but Osman handles it well, creating a book that is not only entertaining but also thought-provoking.
If you’re after a mystery novel that keeps you guessing and makes you laugh, then The Thursday Murder Club is the book for you.
A New York Times bestseller | Soon to be a major motion picture from Steven Spielberg at Amblin Entertainment
"Witty, endearing and greatly entertaining." -Wall Street Journal
"Don't trust anyone, including the four septuagenarian sleuths in Osman's own laugh-out-loud whodunit." -Parade
Four septuagenarians with a few tricks up their sleeves A female cop with her first big case A brutal murder Welcome to... THE THURSDAY MURDER CLUB
In a peaceful retirement village, four unlikely friends meet weekly in the Jigsaw Room to discuss unsolved crimes; together they call themselves the Thursday Murder Club.
A Murder at Malabar Hill is a murder mystery that offers a fascinating insight into Indian culture in the 1920s.
The story takes place in Bombay, where the character of Perveen Mistry is the city's first female lawyer. The cultural and social challenges she faces as a woman in a male-dominated profession are woven into the story, as well as the complexities of India's caste system.
Through Perveen's interactions with her clients, we learn about the intricacies of Islamic and Hindu marriage laws, the importance of family honour, and the difficulties faced by women in traditional Indian society. I found this book fascinating, and with the wonderful descriptions of food, clothing, and architecture, felt transported to the streets of Bombay.
Winner and Top Pick of the 2019 American Library Association Reading List for Mystery Winner of the 2019 Mary Higgins Clark Award Winner of the 2019 Lefty Award for Best Historical Novel Winner of the the 2018 Agatha Award for Best Historical Novel Finalist for the 2019 Shamus Award Finalist for the 2019 Harper Lee Legal Fiction Prize
'Marvelously plotted, richly detailed . . . This is a first-rate performance inaugurating a most promising series.' The Washington Post
'Perveen Mistry has all the pluck you want in a sleuthing lawyer, as well as a not-so-surprising - but decidedly welcome -…
I write historical crime fiction, and my latest novel is set in a hospital, a real place, now closed. The South London Hospital for Women and Children (1912–1985) was set up by pioneering suffragists and women surgeons Maud Chadburn and Eleanor Davies-Colley (the first woman admitted to the Royal College of Surgeons) and I recreate the now almost-forgotten hospital in my book. Events take place in 1946 when wartime trauma still impacts upon a society exhausted by conflict, and my book choices also reflect this.
A historical thriller set in south London just after World War II, as Britain returns to civilian life and the men return home from the fight, causing the women to leave their wartime roles. The South London Hospital for Women and Children is a hospital, (based on a real place) run by women for women and must make adjustments of its own. As austerity bites, the coldest Winter then on record makes life grim. Then a young nurse goes missing.
Days later, her body is found behind a locked door, and two women from the hospital, unimpressed by the police response, decide to investigate. Highly atmospheric and evocative of a distinct period and place.
One cold dark night, as a devastated London shivers through the transition to post-war life, a young nurse goes missing from the South London Hospital for Women & Children. Her body is discovered hours later behind a locked door.
Two women from the hospital join forces to investigate the case. Determined not to return to the futures laid out for them before the war, the unlikely sleuths must face their own demons and dilemmas as they pursue - The Midnight Man.
‘A mystery that evokes the period – and a recovering London – in…
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