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Topic: New to mystery and to Agatha Christie

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Subject: New to mystery and to Agatha Christie
Date Posted: 12/10/2009 6:04 PM ET
Member Since: 10/12/2009
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Hi,

I'm tired of reading the same type of books, so I was browsing and And Then There Were None caught my eye.

I saw one other book that I may get, Murder on the Orient Express, but it says 'Hercule Poirot, Bk 11,' but is it okay to read this by itself, or would I be missing something by not reading previous books?

I'm open to any other mystery/thriller suggestions...

Thanks! :)

caviglia avatar
Date Posted: 12/10/2009 6:22 PM ET
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For Agatha Christie, order really doesn't matter.  And Then There Were None and Orient Express are good places to start. 

If you're interested in the classics, try Dorothy Sayers's Wimsey books next. 

flfraidycat avatar
Date Posted: 12/10/2009 7:28 PM ET
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Those are both good choices (and darned good mysteries). As Caviglia says, order doesn't matter much. Christie has a few people she's written several books about, but they don't build on each other, and rarely refer other than perhaps in passing to other things that have taken place. You may also enjoy Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe books.  These are all more mystery, less thriller. :-)

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Date Posted: 12/11/2009 5:00 AM ET
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Thanks for the recommendations and clearing that up for me :).

I needed some suggestions because I have a feeling I will really like mystery.



Last Edited on: 12/11/09 5:05 AM ET - Total times edited: 1
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Date Posted: 12/11/2009 11:06 AM ET
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I'd also recommend Ngaio Marsh.  These can also be read out of order.  You also can't go wrong with the Perry Mason series by Erle Stanley Gardner.

caviglia avatar
Date Posted: 12/11/2009 12:01 PM ET
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What kind of books do you normally read and enjoy?  That often helps in giving recomendations.

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Date Posted: 12/12/2009 5:23 PM ET
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I usually read biographies, and books on athletes/others in the athletic field.
 

In the mail I have coming: And Then There Were None, Murder on the Orient Express. I just started reading The Godfather, and don't know what I want after I'm done with that.

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Date Posted: 12/12/2009 10:18 PM ET
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You might try the Myron Bolitar series about an ex basketball player turned sports agent by Harlan Coben.  The first book in this mystery/thriller series is Deal Breaker.  While I have read all of Coben's stand alone books, I have not read this series.  They do, however, come highly recommended by others.

Terri

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Date Posted: 12/13/2009 3:10 AM ET
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I liked both And Then There Were None(think this one was Ten Little Indians but not sure) and Murder on the Orient Express. I also liked The Mirror Crack'd. I saw Towards Zero on tv and think that would be a good one too.

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Date Posted: 12/13/2009 5:34 AM ET
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Coben's Myron Bolitar series is good, I've read several so far and have more in my TBR pile. I also have some of his stand alones, but haven't read any of those yet.

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Alice J. (ASJ) - ,
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Date Posted: 12/13/2009 7:49 AM ET
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Mark,

Try Troy Soos. He has an excellent mystery seires set in all the old baseball parks. He also has another good series set in turn of the century New York.

I will also suggest some of my favorite historical mysterys

Steven Saylor - excellent mysters durning ancient Rome 80-40 BC. Lot's of Cicero and Julius Caesar

David Wishhart - later in Roman Empire

Owen Parry - Civil War

Anne Perry - Victorian Era and a very good series set in WWI 1st book is No Graves Yet excellent

Laura Joh Rowland - feudal Japan - First three are excellent.

Go to www.fantasticfiction.com  and put in any of these authors and it will list out the books in series by chronilogical date.

Enjoy.

Alice

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Date Posted: 12/14/2009 12:48 AM ET
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All the books sound good... should have me busy for a long time. :)

Do you guys usually read one book at a time or are you able to juggle a few?

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Alice J. (ASJ) - ,
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Date Posted: 12/14/2009 7:35 AM ET
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Hi Mark,

Generally I only read one book at a time, don't want to confuse the plots.

Alice

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Geri (geejay) -
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Date Posted: 12/15/2009 7:36 PM ET
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Mark,

Another place to check out mysteries is

http://www.stopyourekillingme.com/new.html

You can look by author or charachter or almost any way you want to search.

I'm a more than one book at a time reader.  Right now I have four going.  I have had as many as eight but that was a bit much.  I think the ideal is three.  I also have a book here and there so I'm not carrying them around.  And, the car book.  No I don't read while driving.  That;s the emergency book, gotta wait in line for something?  Car book.  DOctor's office, car book.  I have a book cover for it and it's just on the back seat until it's needed.  If I really get into it then it becomes the primary book and I find a new car book.

I think Agatha Christie is a very good place to begin.

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Date Posted: 12/16/2009 8:12 AM ET
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Welcome, Mark! You can't go wrong with Agatha Christie...I started reading her when I was about 10 and she is still my favorite overall mystery author. I re-read And Then There Were None earlier this year and enjoyed it as much as I ever have, even knowing "whodunit."  As you explore, you will find that there are many "types" and "styles" of mystery. I love 'em all, from the tea 'n crumpets cozy mystery (well, some of them--I'm less fond of those these days) to the hard-boiled classic private eye novels to complex literary mysteries, to straightforward whodunits. Have fun!!

Cheryl

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Date Posted: 12/16/2009 9:57 AM ET
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Mark, how lucky you are to be reading Agatha Christie for the first time!

I usually have between 4-6 books going at one time, although mostly, only one mystery.  If I'm reading more than one mystery or more than one general fiction, I make sure they have very different styles and plots so I don't mix them up.  I read a lot of non-fiction, and some of the heavier topics require that I read other things in between, that's why I have several going at one time.  Plus, I just love reading so much that I can't resist starting one book before I finish another...

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Date Posted: 12/16/2009 3:05 PM ET
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Mark, how lucky you are to be reading Agatha Christie for the first time!

That's exactly how I feel!  I read her long before I thought of rationing out authors I love.

I often read 2 or 3 books at the same time, but they are pretty much always extremely different from each other.  i.e. literary fiction for the subway, a book of fairy tales for the tub and a mystery for home, for example.