BEST OF 3: Author June Trop Picks Crime Classics

As the author of the Miriam bat Isaac Mystery Series, folks often ask me which mysteries are my favorites. Hard question. I’ve read mysteries my entire life and still do. But the following three in no particular order stand out as my all-time favourites.

 1) The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle

The Hound of the Baskervilles (1902), a Sherlock Holmes novella by Arthur Conan Doyle, tops the list of best detective stories ever written. This richly atmospheric story set on the grim moors of Devonshire features a legendary curse about a blood-chilling hound-like beast about to strike the new heir to Baskerville Hall.

 2) A Long Line of Dead Men by Lawrence Block

A Long Line of Dead Men (1996) by Lawrence Block, the Mystery Writers of America’s 1994 Grand Master, is the twelfth Matthew Scudder novel. Someone in a secret and exclusive male dinner club notices that members are dying at a higher rate than expected. Aside from the original plot and the gritty New York City setting, Matthew Scudder’s flawed character evolves throughout the series as he wrestles with his alcoholism and searches for a moral compass.

  3) The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie

The spellbinding ending of Agatha Christie’s The Murder of Roger Ackroyd (1927), fourth in her series of Hercule Poirot investigations, still thrills me even though I first read it more than fifty years ago. Unlike Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes and Block’s Matthew Scudder, Christie’s characters are cardboard, but no one does tricky, multilayered puzzles better. When you’ve read the book, you’ll understand why the climax continues to generate controversy among cozy-mystery fans.

 Last Thoughts

Ask me another day and I might have chosen others, such as Ruth Rendell’s Shake Hands Forever. But none of my favorites—except my own Miriam bat Isaac Mystery Series set in first-century CE Roman Alexandria—is a historical mystery novel, not even Hound because it’s set during Doyle’s own time. After you’ve read at least one of my favorites, I recommend you read the books in the Miriam bat Isaac Series. Each stands alone so it doesn’t matter where you start. Just go to http://www.junetrop.com, click on the Home Page, and pick one. They’re available as e-books or paperbacks!