I was wondering the other day why we (as a society) love Top 10 lists so much. I think it may have to do with the sensory overload we all experience on a daily basis. A Top 10 lists often culls a large or infinite amount of data into something manageable. And, of course, T10 lists are always incredibly subjective, which makes compiling them so much fun. They're a truly stellar way of presenting one's opinions as fact!
Herewith some Mysterious Top 10 lists from me.
Top 10 Ground Breaking Mysteries
I wish I could write a little more about each of these books, but I'm afraid I couldn't do that without some serious spoilers. And I wouldn't want to ruin the treat for anyone, so I'll keep the comments vague, as everyone really must read all of these books.
1. And Then There Were None (Agatha Christie)--The ultimate locked-room mystery-cum-thriller, in which a series of well-executed deaths (pardon the pun) almost (but not quite) goes unsolved.
2. Murder on the Orient Express (Agatha Christie) -- The intriguing setting aside, Christie pulled off something entirely unexpected in the process of murder.
3. The Murder of Roger Ackroyd (Agatha Christie) -- The book that divided mystery writers of the time into two camps: those impressed with her brilliance, and those who believe she cheated in a not-to-be-forgiven way. It's still amazing, decades later.
4. Who Is Simon Warwick? (Patricia Moyes) - A slender, prescient mystery that explored gender bending (in a serious and respectful way) long before it became the stuff of daytime TV.
5. Innocent Blood (P.D. James) - Perhaps the first book by a "mystery writer" to be positioned as a "novel" rather than a mystery. Ground-breaking at the time, it hasn't held up quite as well as I would have thought, but it's still a worthy read.
6. The Scold's Bridle (Minette Walters) - A brutal read that makes shockingly good use of an alternating timeline.
7. The Caveman's Valentine (George Dawes Green) - The ultimate outsider-as-sleuth book. The "detective" is a homeless man living in Upper Manhattan's Inwood Park, and the novel is nothing short of poetic.
8. A Dram of Poison (Charlotte Armstrong) - A mystery without a murder, and an amazingly successful attempt to portray the best of humanity (which is not often the case with mystery fiction).
9. The Dream Walker (Charlotte Armstrong) - Another of Armstrong's innovative books. In this one, we know all the details right from the get-go. The suspense is the process of watching the events take place and learning how the plot was conceived and implemented.
10. An Unsuitable Job for a Woman (P.D. James) - Introduces Cordelia Gray, grandmother and inspiration to so many of today's female sleuths. A good story, too.
With Honorable Mention to...
A is for Alibi (Sue Grafton) - The prototype for the "series character" and long-running series we have come to expect from today's mystery writers.
Top 10 Reasons to Read a Mystery
1. To escape a messy world with no plotline and no consistency of characters.
2. To match wits with a brilliant author. If you figure out who did it, you win. If not, you lose! (And, for me, losing is much more fun than winning.)
3. To see poetic justice being served, with the good ending happily, and the bad ending unhappily. (As Oscar Wilde said, that's what fiction is all about.)
4. To learn something new: about a profession, a hobby, a locale, a period of history.
5. To have all your questions answered by the last page of the book. (In contrast, in life, every answered question only leads to more questions.)
6. To completely re-write reality. (In reality, murder isn't usually entertaining or cozy.)
7. To spend time with a protagonist who becomes like a friend to you--someone who's a lot like you, but who manages to get enmeshed in crimes no matter where s/he goes.
8. To scare yourself silly.
9. To lose yourself in a story that's richer, fuller, and more rewarding than an hour of television.
10. To share your reading experience with a friend, family member, or loved one. (There's no greater feeling than recommending a book you've loved to others.)
Top 10 Plot Devices That Make Me Want to Scream in Horror
1. Recurrent nightmares
2. Serial killer stalking, watching, and waiting
3. Revelatory coincidences
4. Narrative as psychotherapy for the author
5. Alcoholic, depressive cops and P.I.'s
6. 100 pages of backstory at the start of a novel
7. Descriptions of mundane events (taking a shower, brushing teeth)
8. Unending "primary color + noun" phrases: the blue curtains, her white teeth, his black hair, the yellow bananas
9. "Crazed murderer confessing all while brandishing a gun" denouements
10. Stumbling upon the murderer's identity via his/her diary; secret blog; videotapes
May I add: a woman who knows someone is after her either 1) undresses in front of an open window, or 2) goes into a dark underground garage alone.
Margaret Grace
"Murder in Miniature"
Posted by: Margaret Grace | April 09, 2008 at 10:26 PM