May / Detective Fiction Poll

[Scheherazade]

In May we will be reading a detective novel.

Please post your nominations in this thread by March 31st.

[rima]

At first i thought on Edgar Alan Poe who is considered the inventor of detective- fiction genre.His short story "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" has been recognized to be the first detective story.
I liked ""The Black Cat" ;there are other stories by Edgar Alan Poe you can take in consideration.
Thank you

[Taliesin]

Have we read Umberto Ecos' "The Name of the Rose" here?
I am sorry, because I haven't paid a lot of attention and I am not sure whether we have read it or not, but if not but I think that it qualifies. So I'll nominate it.
If we have then I'll defend myself that my brain is not working properly at the moment.

[Drkshadow03]

Ficciones by Borges. Well, some of the stories in the collection are detective stories. What are the rules about that?

[Niamh]

Have we read Umberto Ecos' "The Name of the Rose" here?
I am sorry, because I haven't paid a lot of attention and I am not sure whether we have read it or not, but if not but I think that it qualifies. So I'll nominate it.
If we have then I'll defend myself that my brain is not working properly at the moment.

It was read last year. :)

No.1 Ladies Detective agency! :D hehehe!

[Virgil]

The Maltese Falcon by Dashiel Hammett. Hammett probably started the tough guy detective type.

[Nightshade]

Storm Front-- Jim Butcher.

[papayahed]

The Maltese Falcon by Dashiel Hammett. Hammett probably started the tough guy detective type.

Nice! I've been trying to read this one for quit some time.

[Dark Muse]

I have to go with

The Mystery of Marie Roget by Poe

I have not red that one yet. I always put it off becaue it is one of his longer stories.

[Scheherazade]

At first i thought on Edgar Alan Poe who is considered the inventor of detective- fiction genre.His short story "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" has been recognized to be the first detective story.
I liked ""The Black Cat" ;there are other stories by Edgar Alan Poe you can take in consideration.
Thank youWould you like to nominate one?

Nominations so far:

1. Ficciones by Borges

2. No.1 Ladies Detective Agency

3. The Maltese Falcon by Dashiel Hammett

4. Storm Front by Jim Butcher

5. The Mystery of Marie Roget by Poe

[Thespian1975]

Agatha Christie, so many to choose from but....

And then there were none (1939)- Agatha Christie

[JBI]

I nominate Foucault's Pendulum, Umberto Eco.

Though, it would be interesting if someone nominated The Crying of Lot 49.

[Dark Muse]

Ooh Foucault's Pendulum when be good. I am currently in the process of reading that one

[Scheherazade]

Nominations so far:

1. Ficciones by Borges

2. No.1 Ladies Detective Agency

3. The Maltese Falcon by Dashiel Hammett

4. Storm Front by Jim Butcher

5. The Mystery of Marie Roget by Poe[/QUOTE]

6. And Then There Were None - Agatha Christie[/QUOTE]

7. Foucault's Pendulum by Umberto Eco

I would like to remind that this is not a crime genre reading but specifically detectives; so, if there are any books that would not fit into this category, please let us know.

[kasie]

Please may I nominate an Inspector Wallander book by Henning Mankell, The White Lioness? I do not read Swedish so I don't know how accurate the translation by Laurie Thompson is, but it reads smoothly in English.

[TheFifthElement]

A Study in Scarlet - Arthur Conan Doyle

[DeadAsDreams]

I nominate Foucault's Pendulum, Umberto Eco.

Though, it would be interesting if someone nominated The Crying of Lot 49.

Thy will be done, I nominate The Crying of Lot 49

[Janine]

Wow, I am interested in Henning Mankell, also. I heard his books are very intense and well written.

[Scheherazade]

Nominations so far:

1. Ficciones by Borges

2. No.1 Ladies Detective Agency

3. The Maltese Falcon by Dashiel Hammett

4. Storm Front by Jim Butcher

5. The Mystery of Marie Roget by Poe

6. The body in the Library by Agatha Christie

7. Foucault's Pendulum by Umberto Eco

8. The White Lioness by Henning Mankell

9. A Study in Scarlet by Arthur Conan Doyle

10. The Crying of Lot 49


We have the 10 nominations we need. Thank you everyone.

[Thespian1975]

"And then there were none" has no detective so can I change it to "The Body in the Library" Agatha Christie which is a Miss Marple book

[Emmy Castrol]

Can I please nominate 'The Tiger in the Smoke' by Margery Allingham? It explores the concept of 'The Science of Luck', basically the concept that there is a natural law which allows criminals intended on pursuing murder to succeed as long as their conscience remains 'hard'. At the moment their conscience emerges, and allows them to hesitate, the success of their criminal activity is doomed.

[optimisticnad]

NOthing by Arthur Conan Doyle, please! I read all his stuff when I was about 12 so everything s too predictable now. Or Hammett's Maltese Falcon - also read in the past.

Agatha Christie is fine.

Jody Shields - The Fig eater , here's the plot in case no one has read/or heard of it: 'Fashion writer Shields (All That Glitters; A Stylish History) achieves atmospheric suspense in her compelling first novel, set in 1910 in Freud's Vienna. It opens on the discovery of the grisly murder of a young woman, Dora (whose name recalls Freud's famous patient), found strangled in a disreputable part of town. Two separate investigations are launched, only one official. The unnamed Inspector, with his assistant, Franz, begins with the physical evidence at the scene, and later watches for telltale signals from his initial crop of suspects: Dora's mother and father, her lover and his wife. He interprets their reactions by means of his growing familiarity with psychoanalysis, a pioneering work of which is excerpted throughout the novel. Meanwhile, his wife, Ersz?bet, an amateur painter and Hungarian mystic, begins her own clandestine inquiries with the help of a young English governess, Wally...' (From Amazon)

What about something by Raymond Chandler?

The talented Mr Ripley would be a very interesting study into the detective fiction because it breaks with the genre in several ways.

[Scheherazade]

Emmy and Nad> Thanks for your nominations but we have already got the 10 nominations we need.

[eyemaker]

when will the poll start scher?

[Scheherazade]

when will the poll start scher?In April.

[Amethyst2010]

Somewhat surprised that there isn't any from P D James in the nominations.
Look forward to see the polls.

[kasie]

Somewhat surprised that there isn't any from P D James in the nominations.
Look forward to see the polls.

I thought of suggesting one of her books but all the later and imo better ones are rather long and I thought the busy people on these Forums might have difficulty finding time to get through a longish book. Ditto Elizabeth George. Actually I was spoiled for choice in making suggestions (a favourite genre!) and plumped for Mankell in the hope of introducing him to a wider readership.

[stlukesguild]

I would like to reread Foucault's Pendulum... although I felt that The Name of the Rose was a far better book. The Poe selection is quite poor from what I recall: no where near as strong as Murders in the Rue Morgue or a number of others. It was concocted from excerpts from the papers about an actual murder and was dry in the extreme. None of the marvelous atmosphere that is so much Poe's strength.

[MissScarlett]

Am I allowed to vote or does one need a certain number of posts? Thanks!

[Scheherazade]

Am I allowed to vote or does one need a certain number of posts? Thanks!Yes, you can vote MissScarlett. You have already already that number! ;)

StLukes> I would like to read Foucault's Pendulum as well but I voted for Maltese Falcon because it has been nominated so many times but never got chosen.

[MissScarlett]

Thank you. Then even though I adore Miss Marple, The Maltese Falcon gets my vote. I watched the movie again the other night, I've been wanting to read the book for a long time, and I think it would be terrific to discuss.

[Scheherazade]

Maltese Falcon is leading...

[crystalmoonshin]

My vote goes to "Ficciones" by Jorge Luis Borges. We discussed "Los dos reyes y los dos laberintos" in class last semester and I want to read more of Borges' works.

[Uberzensch]

For anyone that has read the book and seen the Bogart movie. (And please forgive the question if it's stupid!) Is the book much better than the movie? Is there more depth to it?

I know people have raved about the book, so my guess is that, yes, there is more too it. However, I can't help but suspect that perhaps there isn't. Any help?

[Virgil]

For anyone that has read the book and seen the Bogart movie. (And please forgive the question if it's stupid!) Is the book much better than the movie? Is there more depth to it?

I know people have raved about the book, so my guess is that, yes, there is more too it. However, I can't help but suspect that perhaps there isn't. Any help?

Not sure if there is more depth than the movie, it is a detective novel after all, but the prose writing is outstanding. The movie follows the book fairly well.

[Don Quixote Jr]

Why can't I vote in this poll? Anyways, I'm "writing in" my vote for The Maltese Falcon!


For anyone that has read the book and seen the Bogart movie. (And please forgive the question if it's stupid!) Is the book much better than the movie? Is there more depth to it?

I know people have raved about the book, so my guess is that, yes, there is more too it. However, I can't help but suspect that perhaps there isn't. Any help?


The book is more detailed than the movie, but I like the movie so much it's hard to say if the book was "better." I'd certainly hate to have to choose one over the other with a loaded gun pointed at my temple...
You should read the book and decide for yourself!

[Scheherazade]

Why can't I vote in this poll? Anyways, I'm "writing in" my vote for The Maltese Falcon!Hi Don Quixote Jr.

You need to have at least 50 posts to be able to vote in the polls.

I am sure you will reach that number before the end of the month. :)

[Jeremiah Jazzz]

There are very interesting choices this month. I voted for Borges seeing how I'm reading it now and am very fond of his style of writing. But I'd be very interested to read Eco or Pynchon's The Crying Lot of 49.

[Janine]

May 1st is still a ways off....hhaha...

[Scheherazade]

May 1st is still a ways off....hhaha...True but I was expecting more interesting in detective books!

[isabellecg]

Could I nominate Wilkie Collins, Woman in White - or the Moonstone? As these were the first full length detective novels after Poe - I haven't read the Moonstone but Woman in White is wonderful....

Ohh or Miss Smilla's feeling for snow - I would absolutley love to read that again!

[Janine]

True but I was expecting more interesting in detective books!

Yeah, it seems that by now there would be more votes. I see the voting is heavily tilting towards "The Maltese Falcon by Dashiel Hammett", but does one of those votes count? It does sound like a good book to me. I don't know much about this genre, but maybe I should try it, right? How long is "The Maltese Falcon", do you know? I will have to hunt for the book, if that is the one chosen. I loved the film version; so the novel has to be good.

[wateredwhisky]

If I could vote I'd be all in for crying of lot 49. But if The Maltese Falcon ends up getting chosen I'll probably participate. I'm actually just finishing up a detective fiction course at my university, so I've done a lot of work with Hammett lately.

And if you're looking for some different detective fiction to toss in for the vote, any of Chandler's Marlowe novels (The Big Sleep, The Long Goodbye, etc.) would probably be great choices Also, Ellroy's L.A. Confidential is an amazing detective fiction novel.

[Scheherazade]

Shall I order The Maltese Falcon, then?

[lupe]

I bought Ficciones in Februray and have not read it yet... Hope it wins...:)

[Scheherazade]

Going once...

[Scheherazade]

Going twice...

[eyemaker]

done voting!:)

[Scheherazade]

Last couple of hours to vote!