Are there crime fiction books so good you hold on to them and re-read them? Name a few classics and inspirations.
Oh good grief…how long have you got?
My house is awash with crime fiction books I can’t bear to get rid of…and, no, I might not re-read all of them, but…you know…you never can tell when the mood will take me to dive into a book for the second, or even sixth time, so stay with me they must - “just in case”.
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| Beautifully bound - my Christie collection |
Those that have been with me the longest are those I found earliest in my life. My collection of Agatha Christie books made the trip with me when I migrated from the UK to Canada, and collecting them was a labor of love (or…maybe…obsession?). I was lucky to work in London just around the corner from the world-famous Foyles book shop on Charing Cross Road, so I was able to spend countless hours there “just browsing” (who am I kidding? I wore the numbers off my credit card in there!).
It took a couple of years to gather together all the titles you see here, and I have continued to add the “new” books by Christie that have come out since (though not in the same bindings, which is a shame). I look across at this shelf from my desk on a daily basis, and Christie’s work-ethic spurs me on, though I cannot imagine I’ll ever equal her output in terms of quantity, nor quality. But I can try!
More recently, my Kindle tells me that I have re-read books several times, and I don’t feel guilty about that at all. I don’t find it annoying to re-read books where I already know whodunnit, because I read them again for a different reason – to enjoy the writing as well as the storytelling. The books I have re-read most often turn out to be those written by Lawrence Block…which I think speaks to the richness of his writing, as well as his ability to spin a yarn that’s just as engaging on its third or fourth iteration – a true master. Indeed, his Evan Tanner books are so bizarre and complex that I usually can’t even remember “what happens next”, so there’s the added bonus of the constant delight of rediscovery as I read. And the Diamond books by Peter Lovesey also allow me the fun of a re-read that inspires, but isn’t dulled by familiarity.
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| Much-loved copies of beloved books I've owned, and re-read, for decades! |
Beyond that? While dealing with crimes of many types, I wouldn’t call Nana, by Zola, a work of crime fiction, but I find myself re-reading that frequently, and I revisit Thomas Mann’s Magic Mountain every couple of years too. Also, by way of full disclosure, I still find myself drawn to many of Shakespeare’s tragedies which never cease to astound and thrill me with their use of language and tempo.
If you'd like to find out more about my work, you can do that at my website: https://www.cathyace.com/
5 comments:
I didn't keep my Christies when I moved and I regret it. They were nasty 1970s paperbacks, bought for 10p at a secondhand bookstall and I still miss them.
At this moment I'm re-reading Peter Robinson's INNOCENT GRAVES, but accidentally. I didn't realize I'd read it until certain characters began to sound familiar. But that's okay because I can't remember who the killer is!
I don’t reread much crime fiction, but as I have aged I return more and more to the beloved 19th century British novels I have loved—Dickens, Hardy, Eliot, Trollope, and others. I did reread Christie’s “Hallowe’en Party” because of the upcoming movie “adapted” from it, and strangely set in Venice with Tina Fey as Ariadne Oliver (!). Since that Christie novel has one of my favorite “clincher clues,” I can’t wait to see how they transfer a British village party into a seance in Venice. I have also reread several other Christies after seeing Poirot/Marple adaptations on Britbox. So often they cut out a number of characters to simplify the story, in some cases making the adaptations sleeker and even better than the originals. During lockdown I reread Ruth Rendell’s “The House of Stairs” writing as Barbara Vine. Just as I suspected from my reaction when I read it on publication—it’s still my favorite mystery novel—full stop.
I loved the Evan Tanner books and just read all the Peter Diamond books this summer.
CATHY: I am envious that you worked so close to Foyles and were able to max out your credit card there! I only browsed/shopped there once & I still treasure the books I brought back from that trip.
Like Catriona, I had paperback versions of Christie as well as my collections of Ngaio Marsh (UK Granada) and Ellery Queen mass market paperbacks that I left at my childhood home when I left home to go to university. Alas, my parents were not devoted book nerds, and threw them out! Fortunately I did take the Allingham, Sayers & Tey paperbacks with me.
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