FAVOURITE BRITISH MYSTERY AUTHORS

Hello Everyone,

I was wondering if anyone out there happens to be fans
of Catherine Aird and Ruth Rendell a.k.a. Barbara Vine.
I have just abour every thing Ruth Rendell has written including her books written under Barbara Vine.

Bye for now,

Librarianwannabe

I always wondered why Ruth Rendell she wrote some books as Barbara Vine. I know that the first edition of at least one of the Vine books went out credited to `Ruth Rendell, writing as Barbara Vine` - I actually doubted whether the copy I saw was the first initially, for that reason.

Obviously, it was no secret they were one and the same person.

Anyone know ?

I don't know why she does it, but Vine novels are quite different from Rendell novels. At least to me.

I think authors pick a pseudonym when they want to branch out, write something quite different than what their readers have come to expect, and are a little hesitant about the reaction they might get under their own name. Or they want to keep "serious" work separate from the stuff they write with the market in mind. Louisa May Alcott supported her family for years with "blood and thunder" stories written under a pseudonym (or even anonymously) before she was known under her own name for Little Women and its sequels. Another example is Anne Rice, who wrote some pretty racy erotic books under the name of Charlotte Rampling.

HMMM, excuse me, laytonwoman3rd, it was not Charlotte Rampling (famous British actress), but Anne Rampling or A.N. Rocquelaure...
:-))

{scans aluvalibri's library for literary smut!} : )

Back on topic, I've read some Simon Brett and some Minette Walters and find them both good. Touchstones asleep at the wheel, as usual.

It's been a very long time since I have read a Ruth Rendell or a Barbara Vine novel; however, if my feeble memory serves me right, didn't the Vine novels begin by telling you who did it and then showing you how they got away with it? That might not be exactly it but I remember being attracted to it because there was something bass-ackwards about it...

Some of them are like that, but not all. The difference I find with the Vine books is that they are more psychological in nature and less plot driven. There are more old secrets, too. Sometimes a family secret that's been covered up and comes back to haunt the present day. There's usually a murder, but it's not the main feature of the book; how the participants past and present deal with it and are affected by it is the story. I also find there is more covert manipulation going on in a Vine story - the characters are opaque and you seldom know everything when the story wraps up. Very ambiguous endings.

Oh, aluvalibri, of course you are right. Just goes to show I don't really know my erotic literature very well, eh?

eh eh eh eh eh.......;-)

My favorite is still Agatha Christie.

Mine too, heina!

My favorite is Agatha Christie

Anybody else a P. D. James fan?

Yes, I like her too, fallaspen.

I like PD James a great deal, but I also like Josephine Tey and for a bit of rough, Ian Rankin.

I am partial to M. C. Beaton. I've read a few Hamish McBeth. Just started with the Agatha Raisin series but I've really enjoyed it so far!

P.D. James fan - check :)

my faves are Agatha Christie and Dorothy Sayers

Diane Rapp is worth looking into. I read Murder on a Ghost Ship and found it enjoyable.

These are my favourite British mystery writers:

Agatha Christie
Colin Dexter
Dick Francis - early books are best
John Francome - more horse racing
Robert Goddard
Graeme Kent - set in the Solomon Islands
Val McDermid
Ellis Peters - the Cadfael series
Dorothy Sayers
Josephine Tey
and
P.D. James - I have enjoyed some, but not all
Chris Ewan as far as I know, only one published so far, but this author has promise

I like the British mysteries by Margaret Yorke

Of the modern British crime writers I've tried, I think my favourite would have to be the late Reginald Hill: he wrote well, was rarely predictable, and managed to combine wit, characterisation and ingenious plots seamlessly. P.D. James writes well too, her minor characters and the way they interact are very believable, but I find her high tory politics (esp. in her books from the late 1980s onwards) a bit irritating and her detective always far too bland. I don't think she's very interested in writing about men, which is a pity when she has a male central character. I haven't read many Ruth Rendell novels - of the few I've read so far, I preferred the "Barbara Vine" ones. If we're including Scots, some of Ian Rankin's books are very good too.

Agatha Christie is the queen of plot construction, but I find her books very unsatisfying to read because the characters are all so two-dimensional and the jokes rather thin and repetitive. I have a soft spot for Agatha Chrisite on stage, though - memories of seaside rep performances where the butler always picks the telephone up before it rings, the scenery shakes when someone tries to come in through the French windows, and the corpse has an attack of cramp at just the wrong moment.
From the thirties, I'd always pick Dorothy L. Sayers, despite Lord Peter being so insufferably perfect most of the time.

I am a huge fan of Agatha Christie (more Miss Marple than Hercule), P.D. James, and the 'Maisie Dobbs' series from Jacqueline Winspear. Any cozy mystery suits me just fine, actually.

Anyone mention Anne Perry?

Susan Hill has become a favorite of mine, for her Simon Serrailler series. I have to force myself to take them in small doses so I don't run out!

Agatha Christie will always reign supreme for me!

Michael Innes (who also wrote excellent academic novels under his real name J.I.M.Stewart)

Christianna Brand

Margery Allingham

Dorothy L. Sayers

Christopher Fowler

Agatha Christie

Cyril Hare

Josephine Tey

I'm sure I'll remember other particular favorites after I post. As you can see, I'm mainly old school. :)