This is, of course, a highly subjective matter; a Mickey Spillane fan
would give a very different answer than would an admirer of G.K.
Chesterton. I am approaching this from my own personal tastes (which,
while broad, are not all-inclusive, since I tend somewhat more toward
older British "manor house" style mysteries rather than modern-day
gritty detective novels.)
If I had to pick only one mystery as "the best," I would choose Agatha
Christie's "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd." In this 1926 novel, Dame
Agatha turns the conventions of mystery writing topsy-turvy with a
brilliant twist that caused much controversy among her fellow mystery
writers, and is still suprising readers today.
A few remarks from critics:
"The Murder of Roger Ackroyd," wrote a New York Times reviewer,
"cannot be too highly praised for its clean-cut construction, its
unusually plausible explanation at the end, and its ability to
stimulate the analytical faculties of the reader." "The secret [of
this novel] is more than usually original and ingenious," a Nation
reviewer thought, "and is a device which no other writer could have
employed without mishap." William Rose Benet of Saturday Review
recommended that The Murder of Roger Ackroyd "should go on the shelf
with the books of first rank in its field. The detective story pure
and simple has as definite limitations of form as the sonnet in
poetry. Within these limitations, with admirable structured art, Miss
Christie has genuinely achieved."
Barnes & Noble
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbninquiry.asp?isbn=0425173895&userid=1PHJT37G0A
Here are a few reasons why I am selecting "The Murder of Roger
Ackroyd" as THE mystery novel to read, if you are reading just one:
1. One of the greatest fictional detectives of all time, Hercule
Poirot, is in fine form in this book. Although this was Christie's
third novel to feature Poirot, the little Belgian sleuth's personality
seemed to come to full flower in "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd." This
was the book that put Agatha Christie and Poirot "on the map." The
book is still in print after more than seventy-five years, a testament
to its continuing ability to entertain readers.
2. Christie's delicious depiction of the incidental characters is most
delightful to me. As an American who has never traveled abroad, I
neither know nor care whether the descriptions of characters and
places are accurate depictions of English country life of the 1920s;
they are so vividly drawn that they are real to me, whether or not
they resemble fact.
3. In this novel, as in many others, Christie's intricate plot, while
being (literally) deadly serious, has also some qualities of a comedy
of manners (perhaps "manors" would be more apt in this case!) The
crowning comic touch is the reader's realization that he or she has
been monumentally misled throughout the narrative, as if the entire
book is an elaborate joke on anyone who would attempt to foresee "who
done it." Some readers dislike trick endings which seem tacked on.
This mystery is a trick from first to last, with the ending being
merely the coup de grace. I have seldom met anyone who read "The
Murder of Roger Ackroyd" only once. Most readers, upon finishing the
book, immediately begin rereading it in order to savor the cleverness
of the stunning twist which places all the story's events in a new
light.
If I could cheat a bit and list ten classic mysteries which could be
taken to a deserted island for a lifetime's enjoyment, this would be
my list:
1 - "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd," Agatha Christie
2 - "Strong Poison," Dorothy L. Sayers
3 - "The Blind Barber," John Dickson Carr
4 - "The Man Who Was Thursday," G.K. Chesterton
5 - "Some Buried Caesar," Rex Stout
6 - "False Scent," Ngaio Marsh
7 - "Rebecca," Daphne du Maurier
8 - "The Long Goodbye," Raymond Chandler
9 - "The Green Ripper," John D. MacDonald
10- "Death of an Expert Witness," P.D. James
Here are a few excellent sites that may be of interest to you in your
quest for the perfect crime novel:
Grobius Shortling's Mystery List
http://www.mysterylist.com/newindex.htm
OLEKSIW'S 100 CLASSIC BRITISH MYSTERY NOVELS
http://home.attbi.com/~dwtaylor1/oleksiw.html
Christian Henriksson's Mystery Bibliography
http://hem.passagen.se/orange/jdclist.htm
Mystery Booksellers: The 100 Favorite Mysteries of the Century
http://www.mysterybooksellers.com/favorites.html
My Google search stragegy:
"mystery" + "novels"
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=classic+mystery+novels
Thank you for asking a question which was most enjoyable to answer! If
anything I have said is not clear, if you need further information, or
if any of the links do not function, please ask for clarification
before rating my answer, and I will gladly provide further assistance.
Best regards,
pinkfreud |
