Books to Die For: The World's Greatest Mystery Writers on the World's Greatest Mystery Novels
John Connolly (Editor) and Declan Burke (Editor)
Atria/Emily Bestler, Oct 2 2012, $29.99
ISBN: 9781451696578
This is an excellent collection of 120 essays based on the premise that a current great mystery writer selects a mystery that they personally enjoy and explain why. The emotional depth of the entries varies but each contribution provides a solid rationale as to their respective selection with the range being cast from Kellie Stanley’s homage to Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express to Chris Brookmyre lauding Douglas Adams' Dirk Gentry’s Holistic Detective Agency to Liza Marklund loving the Nancy Drew classic The Ghost of Blackwood Hall by Carolyn Keene. The anthology includes articles on nineteenth century works by Poe, Dickens, Collins and Doyle and another Doyle classic from 1902 (The Hound of the Baskervilles). Most of the compilations occurs between 1928 and 2008; this providing a wide range. I personally enjoyed reading the 1930s and 1940s contributions as many are books I read years ago and became movies that I saw with my husband years ago in midnight movie theaters though the Cold War and subsequent decades commentaries are also engaging.
Harriet Klausner
John Connolly (Editor) and Declan Burke (Editor)
Atria/Emily Bestler, Oct 2 2012, $29.99
ISBN: 9781451696578
This is an excellent collection of 120 essays based on the premise that a current great mystery writer selects a mystery that they personally enjoy and explain why. The emotional depth of the entries varies but each contribution provides a solid rationale as to their respective selection with the range being cast from Kellie Stanley’s homage to Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express to Chris Brookmyre lauding Douglas Adams' Dirk Gentry’s Holistic Detective Agency to Liza Marklund loving the Nancy Drew classic The Ghost of Blackwood Hall by Carolyn Keene. The anthology includes articles on nineteenth century works by Poe, Dickens, Collins and Doyle and another Doyle classic from 1902 (The Hound of the Baskervilles). Most of the compilations occurs between 1928 and 2008; this providing a wide range. I personally enjoyed reading the 1930s and 1940s contributions as many are books I read years ago and became movies that I saw with my husband years ago in midnight movie theaters though the Cold War and subsequent decades commentaries are also engaging.
Harriet Klausner
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