Solving the Crime in the Nick of Time

[Arianna Stonewater]

Father Brown is a kindly Catholic Priest. But he's also a small-town detective! Or at least, he solves mysterious (much to the annoyance of the town police department and real detective.) He is not an Agatha Christie character in a novel, but rather a mini-series super-sleuth brought to life by G.K, Chesterton. Chesteron wrote a series of short stories about this priest and how his curiosity gets him into trouble and solves the crime! I read this years ago, but after finally finishing all the episodes of the BBC's Father Brown currently on Netflix (Featuring our own Arthur Weasley as Father Brown!!!) I decided to reread it.

I loved reading this collection, as it reminded me of the mystery stories I read as a child- Nancy Drew, Encyclopedia Brown, and the Hardy Boys. As an adult, it also reminds me of sitcoms. In 5 minutes we get the problem, followed by some sub-plot twists that make the problem worse, but everything is tied up neatly with a bow in an hour or less! What kind of life that must be! Even knowing that it's all going to work out, I still enjoy these because half the excitement is figuring out the process! It's like an Ocean's Eleven movie or a magic trick; you know the end result, but how did it happen?

Are there are collections of mystery stories you like?

[Shiloh Adlar]

A series that comes to mind rather quickly is Dan Brown's starting with The Davinci Code. I actually saw the movies to these books first before reading them, and I must say that after reading the books, I cannot watch the movies because of how much is taken out. I love that I am constantly kept on the edge trying to figure out what is going to happen next. I think what draws me to this series over others is the conspiracy aspect of it. I always loved the National Treasure movies as well simply because of all the conspiracy theories and history mixed in with the plot just like Dan Brown does excellently for the Robert Langdon books.

Growing up, I also remember liking Nancy Drew and the Box Car Children. I remember the library actually had those books in a little box car on one of the shelves. I also remember reading the Mandie mystery series, though I couldn't say now what they were about. It almost makes me want to go back and read these books all over again.

[Prof. Amy Lupin]

I really enjoyed Dan Brown's books, although I confess I have yet to read Origin. One of my favourite mysteries is probably The Clockwork Scarab by Colleen Gleason. It follows Sherlock Holme's fictional niece as well as Bram Stoker's fictional sister as they try solve the matter at hand together. It also blends the steampunk and science fiction genres together. Unfortunately I didn't get very far in the second book of the series, as I lost interest part of the way in, which I was rather disappointed about.

I also enjoy Agatha Christie's works, particularly those that feature Poirot, the famous Belgian detective, and Miss Marple. I confess I've only read a handful of the books, but I'm slowly working my way through the TV series for both. So far, my favourite ones are probably Hickory Dickory Dock and Murder on the Orient Express (I wasn't too keen on Kenneth Branagh's adaptation though).

[Prof. Tarma Amelia Black]

The Dan Brown books are great. I particularly like the character Robert Langdon. He's not the typical hero but someone who is scholarly, loves dealing with his students and then happens to get thrown into extraordinary circumstances. Through his quick thinking and inner gnosis of a situation, he manages to solve the puzzles presented and stay alive. (He also relies on the expertise and knowledge of others who are in the story. That's sort of awesome.) I like, also, that this hero can and does make errors and when they are pointed out, is gracious (and sometimes even thankful) that they are pointed out -- and then resumes his sleuthing with even more determination!

Agatha Christie - I read The Man in the Brown Suit and never looked back. The mystery of the story was great and I loved the settings of it. It read like she had actually been in those locations, and had such a feel for the country and people. Then I found out that she was, indeed, a traveler and had been to most, if not all, of the places in which she set her stories. One of my favorite set of people in her stories is Tommy and Tuppence. They are great and I enjoy the stories in which they are featured. Hercule Poirot ... yes, indeed, to Murder on the Orient Express. I watched only the first movie made of it, with Albert Finney playing the Belgian detective, and it was totally wonderful. Awesome cast, and so perfectly cast. I read the book, watched the movie and then read the book again. Such a pleasure! As for Miss Marple, at first I did not like her in the books. The stories were great but somehow the character just was sort of 'nope' for me. Then I saw some shows with Joan Hickson as Miss Marple and YES! That I can see, and feel, as Miss Marple. She resonates with a determination and, somehow, gentleness, to find out what is true. As said in one of the movies - "Head up, nose down!" She WILL track down the answer! From then on, whenever reading a Miss Marple story, I simply put Joan Hickson in it, and everything was great.

Another favorite author of mysteries is Rex Stout - with his Nero Wolfe stories. There was a copy of one of his books in my parent's house and I read it maybe a zillion dozen times as a kid. (I read everything they had, including the encyclopedias ... what do I say? I like to read.) This book, In The Best Families, introduced me to a whole other world, one of detectives and mysteries and, yes, Archie Goodwin.

[Prof. Maxim Trevelyan]

I love mystery books!

My favorite mystery book author is Sir Arthur Conan Doyle with his well-known protagonist Sherlock Holmes. I think this series is the one from which I have the most books, all of the novels and different versions of the collections of his stories with my most recent additions (The Complete Novels and Stories Vol. I and II) being over 1000 pages. I love that Doyle showed him as a somehow realistic character, with as many, if not more, flaws than positive characteristics. He also relies a lot on Dr. Watson and other people. His deductive powers may seem magical, especially when it appears he sometimes takes the truth out of thin air. Luckily, he always manages to explain the solution to others when he solves the crime (or not) in the nick of time.

Another detective I have come to love, albeit recently, is Bill Hodges from End of Watch. While the book is from a prolific author, Stephen King, it is a recent edition to the author’s bibliography, where the first book in the series Mr. Mercedes was published in 2014. I accidentally read the last book in the series, End of Watch, a few months ago while on a trip to Vienna. I just grabbed the first interesting English book I saw in a bookstore. The blurb said nothing about it being the third book of the series, but barring some of the same characters and allusion to some occurrences in the previous books, you would not even notice, since everything is explained as needed. I loved the detective, whose sole mission was to stop a criminal that he faced off with before while dying of cancer. True grit!

I heartily recommend both mystery novels to read if you have not managed to do so before.

[Prof. Maxim Trevelyan]

Perhaps not a traditional “crime solving” story, Provisionally Yours by Antanas Sileika is certainly a gripping spy thriller set in a country that one does not normally think of.

I have to admit that I purposefully sought out this book because lovely Sky Alton dared me to read a book set in Lithuania explicitly just for this reading activity. I am not the one to turn away from a challenge like that, so I eagerly accepted it. I looked online for books set in this lovely Baltic country and happened upon this one.

After Czarist Russia falls apart, veteran counterintelligence officer Justas Adamonis returns to his Lithuanian hometown in a shattered Empire, unsure of what he will find. His parents are gone, he has not seen his sister since she was a teenager, and Kaunas has risen to prominence as the new state's political capital. He hardly got off the train when he is drafted again, this time for the nascent government, which is keen to obtain his devotion and wide experience.

This book kept me turning the pages despite the late hours because of the people, the political happenings, and the spying intrigue. It transported me to a location and era I was unfamiliar with, and it was an enjoyable read. The plot is convoluted at times, but that is not necessarily a bad thing, it just makes you think. A big plus is that there are a lot of devious characters in it, which I liked.

This story is compelling in and of itself, but the book is more than just a Lithuanian spy story. It captivates the reader because of its in-depth look at living in that unstable little corner of the planet at one of history's pivotal moments.

[Hiya Debnath]

While my favorite mystery author is definitely Arthur Conan Doyle who wrote the Sherlock Holmes stories, I would like to mention Satyajit Ray as a mystery author here. He wrote a series of books called the "Feluda" series. This series is about a detective called Feluda and his assistants Topshe and Jatayu. Topshe is a younger boy, perhaps the nephew of Feluda, and Jatayu is an old man who loves books. The story is usually narrated by Topshe from Topshe's perspective. The stories in this series are an interesting mix of murder crimes, thefts, and robberies. The narrative is amazing and the books are page-turners. One cannot figure out the real criminal in the beginning but the whole story is like a puzzle that one tries to piece together while reading to reach the conclusion in the end. Satyajit Ray, through these stories, forces one to enter the story and imagine themselves within the world, living the events for real and solving the crime alongside Feluda. It's very interesting. I would say that one could read these books multiple times and one would still find it as difficult and intriguing to solve the puzzle. It's just like a jigsaw that you do more than once. The second time or third time you may be faster, but you still enjoy fitting the puzzle pieces nonetheless.



2.10.2024 - Beans sent - Tarma