♬ It’s Only Mystery, But I Like It ♬*
Bill Walsh ·
Jul 9, 2011 at 6:35pm
Ok, by request, historical mysteries. Huge category, definitional problems aplenty, but like Justice Stewart, you probably know it when you see it.
Have at it.
♬ It’s Only Mystery, But I Like It ♬
* Ok, fine, I give. It’s a song by Éric Serra (who writes a lot of music for Luc Besson’s movies) off the soundtrack to Subway (1985). I think I may have misquoted it, now that I think about it. It think it might be “and” instead of “but.” Ah well.
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Sep '10
Re: ♬ It’s Only Mystery, But I Like It ♬*
And here i was thinking it was a reference to "It's Only Rock n Roll" by the Rolling Stones.
Re: ♬ It’s Only Mystery, But I Like It ♬*
I'm coming to this late, Bill, and I'm totally baffled about just where to post this comment--here? Under "Part the First" or "Part Deux"?--but I have to register my astonishment, astonishment so complete that I cannot deny it tends, just a little, toward disapprobation. To wit:
Whereas many members of the Ricochetoise commendably mentioned John D. MacDonald of the flawless Travis McGee novels, you yourself did not. How can this be? Westlake's Dortmunders are all marvelous in their way, but they nearly all have at least a moment or two when you can sense the driver's getting out of the car and walking around to the back to give the vehicle a shove. The Dortmunders are wonderful contrivances, but they're just that, contrived. MacDonald's McGees? Slight but perfect, every one of them. And they move of their own accord, like--was this Frost's metaphor?--ice chips on a stove.
Since I'm an easy confessor, I'll assign you as your penance to choose a McGee at random, then give us all a sentence or two on how you loved it.
Mar '11
Re: ♬ It’s Only Mystery, But I Like It ♬*
I like historical fiction, and I like mysteries, but for some reason, the two have never really gelled for me outside of Ellis Peters and her Brother Cadfael novels.
Oh, and Bill? The MacDonald books you are looking for all have a color in the title. The Deep Blue Good-by, Freefall in Crimson, The Girl in the Plain Brown Wrapper, etc. There are three of his books that have colors in the title that aren't Travis McGee tales: The Brass Cupcake, A Flash of Green, and The Girl, the Gold Watch, and Everything.
Jul '11
Re: ♬ It’s Only Mystery, But I Like It ♬*
You'll never regret reading James Crumley's "The Last Good Kiss". Actually most of his work was very impressive. Very real and fallible protagonists that are tough PI types.
May '10
Re: ♬ It’s Only Mystery, But I Like It ♬*
It is tough to find a better series than the Ellis Peters novels. As a fan of the late Roman Republic, I enjoy Steven Saylor (Gordianus the Finder) for content and the John Maddox Roberts SPQR series for fun.
One of my favorites has been less recognized than these authors. I highly recommend Alan Gordon and his Fools Guild series. The premise is great: medieval jesters as a spy network dedicated to advancing their humanitarian goals and opposed by both church and state. The first in the series in "Thirteenth Night," a 'sequel' to Twelfth Night. After several novels, he returns to a Shakespearian theme in "An Antic Disposition," my favorite and goes on to several more in the series. I've enjoyed every one.
Re: ♬ It’s Only Mystery, But I Like It ♬*
Peter,
I didn't mention MacDonald in the first post because I was just hypothetically arguing the case for Westlake, taking off from Dirda’s remark. I expected him to come up (enthusiastically) in the “who else you got?” category.
However, and this is more than slightly embarrassing—I've never actually read any of his stuff. Both my maternal grandfather and father were big fans, and I've been looking for the family cache of his books for years, to no avail. Obviously, I just need to simply shell out some bucks and spend a month reading them all…
Edited on Jul 10, 2011 at 10:41am