Whodunnits? The readings in this Year of the Thrillers

-
I am a thrillers fan. 

Alistair MacLean
This obsession sort of started in my early teens when I would devour The Hardy Boys and the Nanacy Drews in the school library and went back asking for more. My father and mother, both avid readers, had the entire Sherlock Holmes' collection at home. Someone gave me a Sidney Sheldon as a birthday present and a few years later my uncle opened the doors of his home library to me (which washout of bounds till I was a certain age) and I was almost drowning in the worlds created by James Hadley Chase, Alistair MacLean, Leon Uris and the likes.

 If you have been a regular reader of my blog then you would know
Hercule Poirot
how after my daughter was born I completely lost touch with reading till a friend gifted me a Poirot ( It was the first one that Sophie Hannah had written resurrecting the little detective with an egg shaped head). 
As I got more and more involved in the business of thrillers, mysteries and crime novels, I found myself getting intrigued by the books and more by the circumstances in which a detective inspector or a private investigator appears- in short, their first case. This year I am dedicating my reading mostly to such novels and books where a detective made their first appearance. 
The book that gave me the creeps

Following the trail that I have set on, I have travelled from Delhi with Vish Puri to New Zealand with Harry Hole. This journey has been so exciting as a reader also because sometimes it is the mundane things that I have managed to give me the creeps and sometimes it is the back story of a certain character that has made me wince with his/ her pain.

 I have often gone back for stuff that would comparatively be called lighter reading and come back refreshed for more thrills. Sometimes an author's writing or the character has been so interesting and alive that I have gone back asking for more of the same like JA Konrath's Detective Inspector Jack Daniels. There are others like this Canadian fellow here and this lady from Botswana here that I will b going back to at a more leisurely pace because these detectives have been sheer joy.

 There have been some amazing stand-alones like No Time for Goodbye and the very recent Your Truth or Mine? also that I have read and enjoyed and I can't recommend them enough if you are looking to pace up your heartbeat. 

 All in all I am always looking for more and more recommendations. Nothing gory or macabre, mind you. I can only deal with shivers once in a while but any investigator that has appealed to you because of his/ her smartness, back story or just guts, please feel free to recommend. If you do have someone you would like me to read, do leave it in the comments section and I will read it and get back to you for a long bookish discussion. 

I am taking my blog to the next level with @BlogChatter's activity #MyFriendAlexa.

Comments

Rahul said…
And I am catching this fever now. Great article.
3:32 PM
ginia said…
My sister is a big fan of agatha christie and sherlock holmes. I somehow never got around to reading them. Though I like psychological thrillers. Maybe I will try poirot now.
6:09 PM
Ritu said…
Loved your post. I too have grown up reading Nancy Drews and Hardy Boys before moving to James Hadley Chase and Alistair MacLean. Thrillers are something I turn to when looking for light reads.
6:34 PM
Dr Roshan Radhakrishnan said…
Thanks for these recommendations. As a fellow lover of whodunnits, was looking out for some myself.
9:51 PM
Shubhra said…
Look like amazing thrillers. #MyFriendAlexa #ShubhraReads
10:31 PM
Surbhi prapanna said…
Honestly speaking this one is really a new genre to me and I had never read a book before from thriller theme..after reading your post thinking about giving it a try. thanks for sharing. #Surbhireads #Myfriendalexa
11:34 PM
gresya12 said…
I shared your childhood fondness for nancy drews & hardy boys of our times though now thrillers have become less fascinating but for Agatha Christie & Sheelock Holmes , i swear by them.
12:33 AM
Urvashi said…
I wasn't an avid reader but chain of events this year has made me go back to books looking for answers for questions in my life. You have inspired me to read mor with wonderful review and your blog. #damurureads #myfriendalexa
12:33 AM
Priyanka Roy Banerjee said…
You've got quite a few recommendations there. I haven't read Harry Hole yet but have watched the movie Snowman based on the book.
12:40 AM
A Lady Lawyer said…
I love some of the ones you have mentioned here! Poirot of course is an all-time favourite. Vish Puri is always enjoyable too!
Noor Anand Chawla
9:36 AM
arv said…
Poirot is one of the best-known detective series apart from Sherlock Holmes. Detective mysteries are quite popular among readers.
11:43 AM
suhavijay said…
Thanks for good recommendations. I got few, but will get the others
12:22 PM
Swarnali Nath said…
Wowww interesting!
12:38 PM
Modern Gypsy said…
I enjoy thrillers and crime fiction, though it has been a while since I’ve read any! I have a recommendation for you: You Beneath Your Skin by Damyanti Biswas. I have a short review here: https://moderngypsy.in/2019/08/16/you-beneath-your-skin-damyanti-biswas-book-cover-reveal/

Oh, also - if you haven’t read it, I can’t recommend the The Truth About the Harry Quebert Affair by Joël Dicker enough. It’s absolutely brilliant!
9:08 AM
Leha said…
Whodunnits have been an all time favourite. I like Robin Cook too
1:26 PM
Leha said…
Whodunnits have been an all time favourite. I like Robin Cook too
1:26 PM
Nazish said…
I am looking forward to experiment with new genres will try this one out just for a change. Nice read.
7:26 PM
Brinda said…
I too am a fan of thrillers! I loved my Alistair Maclane and Agatha Christies! Nancy drew books were my first thrillers! Glad you are writing about them...
11:50 PM
Tina Sequeira said…
A good list and some of my faves in there too.
2:30 PM
Jessica Lyles said…
I'm into science fiction specifically JD Robb books and her in death series! Must reads!!
7:05 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A Decade of Motherhood: Give in

-
Image
Generally age is counted according to the number of years that you have been on this planet. But then  how do you know what your age is when the role that you are accounting for is a not as old as you? The simple answer would be to say that it would be equal to the number of years you have been in the role.  So, this is one of the most important lessons that I have learnt as a decade old mum. My daughter Netra, more commonly referred to as BhindiSood on social media, was born in 2007. Ah! your eyebrows go up. She bluffs, you think, to keep up with the theme. Dear reader but that is not the case. I might be being generous with myself when I m saying that I am a decade old mummy but I am not really bluffing. I did not (and maybe even now) know how to be a mother to a child who I was desperate to get but knew nothing about raising her for all the unaccounted years in between. But then fear not, this isn't either a self pitying sort of a post nor I intend for it to be a te
Read more

To, The Enablers

-
Image
तबस्सुम कैसी हो? हम सब यहाँ बिकुल ठीक हैं।आशा है की तुम भी सही सलामत होंगी। आज मैं ये चिट्ठी इसलिए लिख रहि हूँ की तुम्हे बता सकूं की मैं अक्सर तुम्हारे बारे मैं सोचती हूँ। सोचती हूँ अब तुम क्या करती होगी, काम पे जाती हो अब भी? कोई मना तो नहीं करता? सास बच्चे संभाल लेती है तुम्हारे पीछे से? वो तो अब बड़े भी हो गए होंगे न? स्कूल जाते होंगे? मुझे अब कोलकाता मैं रहते हुए ६-७ साल हो गए  हैं। जब चंडीगढ़ से निकले थे तो उम्मीद न थी की इतना समय इस परायी नगरी में निकल जाएगा। नेत्रा को याद करती हो कभी? वो इस साल १२ की हो गयी है। उसे तो तुम्हारी याद नहीं लेकिन आज भी जब वो ज़िद्द करती है की मैं उसे खाना खिला दूँ और मैं बहुत थक गयी होती हूँ, तो झट से तुम्हारी याद आ जाती है। तुम होती तो मुझे चाय का कप पकड़ा कर उसे प्यार से फुसला के ले जाती और खुद ही खिला देती। कहती, "मेरे पास आओ नेत्रा, माँ को रहने दो। आओ मैंने तुम्हारे लिए कुछ स्पेशल रखा है।" कितने सारे अंग्रेजी के नए नए शब्द सीख गयीं थी न तुम. कुछ तो तुम्हारे ख़ास बन गए थे। जैसे बॉय, गर्ल, रेफ्रीजिरेटर, टेलीविज़न और स्पेशल जिसे त
Read more

Book Review: Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear (Maisie Dobbs #1)

-
Image
Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear is a historical mystery novel set in London. But don't just head out and get it if you prefer your mysteries or crimes a bit on the stronger, harder, more depraved side. This novel is set after the World War 1 and is a peek into the realities and harshness of a war. Maisie Dobbs starts as a househelpat the Belgravia Mansion which belongs to the Comptons. But thats not where the book starts. The book opens in the year 1929, with Maisie setting up her detective agency and a man approaching her to investigate if his wife is having an affair. Soon after solving the crime, the book takes us back to the beginnings of Dobbs as a private investigator. We learn about her dexterity at the Belgravia mansion and how the lady of the house Mrs Compton and her friend Maurie Blanche, discover her to be an intelligent girl and decide to mentor her. She goes as far as getting admission in the university but the war breaks out and she enlists as a nurse. Sent to
Read more