I used to read whodunits almost exclusively thirty years ago. But over the years, they began to lose their luster since they can be formulaic.
But some writers do them well and they have the satisfaction of completing a puzzle.
Who writes the best whodunits now? Or who is your favorite classic whodunit writer?
18 comments:
As you point out, Patti, classic "whodunits" have pretty much disappeared. I still consider Agatha Christie the best at these kinds of puzzle novels. I've recently read some wonderful "impossible" crime novels by John Dickson Carr that were great.
For me, thr early Ellery Queens are the best. Toward the end, though enjyable, the cousins'(and their ghost writers) lost some of that luster.
I've never explored classic "whodunits" very much, let alone modern incarnations. I'll keep an eye on this chain of comments for recommendations.
I think I'm hanging around with the wrong group of people for this question. I just wondered if there were writers I was missing. DorothyL list perhaps.
DorothyL yes, ShortMystery maybe.
It has been a while since I've read a fair-play puzzle novel (Charlotte McLeod?...I don't remember the details well enough to say) and there is only a bit of that in the magazines, indeed, and nothing that leaps to the forefront of my mind as brilliant and new.
A newish novel, that is.
A lot of people seem to be really impressed with Canadian Louise Penny. I've only read her first novel, "Still Life", but liked it enough that I'm planning to continue. There are currently five books in her series, with a sixth coming later this year.
Ah, yes I read STILL LIFE and liked it very much. I can't believe she's written that many more since.
Carr was wonderful. I think I read every one of his back when. My mother had the Ellery Queens and I read a fair amount of them and Perry Mason as a kid. I don't think I've ever read McLeod.
One of my complaints about contemporary mysteries is that they are so looooong. I'm not opposed to a 500-page book, but in a mystery novel that means lots of secondary characters and red herrings and pages of (unnecessary?) exposition. Compare the length of some of P.D. James's or Ruth Rendell's early works to their most recent books. The newer books are almost triple the size of works from the 1960s. As I said, I'm not opposed to long books, but many mysteries today are bloated to make the page count.
British mystery writer Robert Barnard writes sleek, slim mysteries with compelling characters, interesting plots, and (in many cases) an unexpected but totally organic "twist" at the end. I recommend giving his works a try.
Deb-in my attempt to write a novel, people tend to tell me it has to be long. Or short. Never just right.
Margery Allingham, Agatha Christie, Cyril Hare, Robert Barnard, Colin Dexter, Amanda Cross, Rex Stout, Peter Lovesey. There are many more.
Those I've read. No one writing them today, I guess.
How exactly do you define a whodunit?
I think P.D. James and Ruth Rendell, plus younger writers like Ann Cleeves and Martin Edwards could be considered temporary writers of whodunits.
I bope to be dipping more heavily into my backstock of EQMM, AHMM, and THE STRAND (I suspect NEEDLE and OUT OF THE GUTTER and CRIMEWAVE won't be as likely venues), and as any fair-play detection stories come up, and not those from among the last works of Ed Hoch, come into view, I'll give a holler.
For me, it's still Rex Stout.
I guess I would classify a whodunit as a book where finding out who is the murderer is the primary focus rather than the crime itself, the detective or anything else. The solving of that puzzle is paramount.
Or other criminal. Certainly a fair amoung of thefts in fair-play detection, among other crimes.
Thanks for the kind mention, Dorte. I'd add the name of Kate Ellis to the list.
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