The Locked Room.

[Zee.]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Locked_room_mystery

Does anyone else feel uneasy reading novels like the above?

I am a horror/thriller addict, but books that tend to hide the truth and present you with what seems impossible really frighten me. Have no idea why - but does anyone else feel this?
What have you read that has left you with that uneasy feeling?

[Thespian1975]

I am a big fan of detective fiction. The golden age in paticular. Agatha Christie, Dorothy L Sawyers. The best locked room author is John Dickson Carr. (AKA Carter Dickson)

I love the impossible murder books and trying to work out how it was done.

I never feel frightened or uneasy by these situations as I know it all a game between you and the author.

[Zee.]

Carter Dickson - any book in particular, from what era?

[aBIGsheep]

http://www.dionaea-house.com/

One of the most elaborate short story sites I've ever had the pleasure of reading. Gives me chills.

[Zee.]

I have this severe..dislike for short stories.

[aBIGsheep]

This'll blow your flippin' MIND.

Give it a chance at least!

But if I had to suggest any thriller, it'd have to be Darkly Dreaming Dexter by Jeff Lindsay. It's an amazing book.

[Zee.]

They really bother me, and i dont even know why, its so weird, i actually get angry reading them.

Apart from D.H Lawrence's short stories, i wont go near any of them.

Especially horror, considering that is my favourite genre.

[Thespian1975]

Carter Dickson - any book in particular, from what era?

The Bowstring Murders - 1934 (Originally published as by Carr Dickson, but Carr's publishers complained that the name was too similar to Carr's real name, so Carter Dickson was substituted.)
The Plague Court Murders (detective: Sir Henry Merrivale) - 1934
The White Priory Murders (Merrivale) - 1934
The Red Widow Murders (Merrivale) - 1935
The Unicorn Murders (Merrivale) - 1935
The Punch and Judy Murders (Merrivale) -1936 (US title: The Magic Lantern Murders)
The Ten Teacups (Merrivale) - 1937 (US title: The Peacock Feather Murders)
The Judas Window (Merrivale) - 1938 (US title: The Crossbow Murder)
Death in Five Boxes (Merrivale) - 1938
Drop to His Death (in collaboration with John Rhode) - 1939 (US title: Fatal Descent)
The Reader is Warned (Merrivale) - 1939
And So To Murder (Merrivale) - 1940
Murder in The Submarine Zone (Merrivale) - 1940 (US title: Nine - And Death Makes Ten, also published as Murder in the Atlantic)
Seeing is Believing (Merrivale) - 1941 (also published as Cross of Murder)
The Gilded Man (Merrivale) - 1942 (also published as Death and The Gilded Man)
She Died A Lady (Merrivale) - 1943
He Wouldn't Kill Patience (Merrivale) - 1944
The Curse of the Bronze Lamp (Merrivale) - 1945 (UK title: Lord of the Sorcerers, 1946)
My Late Wives (Merrivale) - 1946
The Skeleton in the Clock (Merrivale) - 1948
A Graveyard To Let (Merrivale) - 1949
Night at the Mocking Widow (Merrivale) - 1950
Behind the Crimson Blind (Merrivale) - 1952
The Cavalier's Cup (Merrivale) - 1953
Fear Is the Same - 1956, historical mystery

[sytalls]

Thespian, I know you were listing only the books written under the Carter Dickson name, but The Emperor's Snuff Box might be worth mentioning here. :D For mysteries, I love John Dickson Carr (under any name) because of his masterful plotting; Sayers for her depth and cleverness; and Christie for her rich characters.

Each of those authors understood point of view very well, and they used it to create the delicious game with the reader you mentioned. Regardless of reading preferences, for anyone who wants to write fiction, Carr is a good example to follow when learning the basics of building a strong plot.

[Thespian1975]

Totally agree with you sytalls. For me the best john Dickson Carr I've read is the Hollow Man.

Why are his books so difficult to find? :flare: He deserves more exposure than he gets. My Waterstones has nothing by him yet two shelves of Christies.

[sytalls]

Oh! I love The Hollow Man!

I totally agree with you on the exposure--or lack of it. His books are terribly difficult to find in any bookstore. I've never seen more than a copy or two. Dorothy Sayers' books seem to shrink and grow in spells, but Carr simply doesn't get ordered for whatever reason.

A few years ago, I got lucky and came across a woman, through Amazon, who provided me with Carr (and Dickson) novels. She and her sister would pick up books at estate sales for their used book business, and she'd email me with a list of Carr books when she found them. If not for her, I wouldn't have even half of the books I now have of his.

[LitNetIsGreat]

I am a big fan of detective fiction. The golden age in paticular. Agatha Christie, Dorothy L Sawyers. The best locked room author is John Dickson Carr. (AKA Carter Dickson)

I love the impossible murder books and trying to work out how it was done.

I never feel frightened or uneasy by these situations as I know it all a game between you and the author.

:thumbs_up Reading Agatha Christie is pure fun, I have about 70 of them on one of my bookcases. It is a long time since I have been able to read them though, of course it was natural reading for our holiday in Torquay six/seven years ago, I'm sure I pretended I was living in the thirties the whole time, such a romantic fool. :blush: