Tuesday 13 March 2012

The murder was committed by somebody in this room... (Top Ten Tuesday)

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. Each week a different top ten list is featured. This week, the topic is: top ten books in a genre of your choice.

I toyed with a few different ideas for this, before eventually settling on crime fiction. It's a genre I dip into quite frequently, especially if I'm looking for a quick read. I like a good mystery, and I am a big fan of the Poirot-like denouement at the end!

Here are my top ten crime books:

1. Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie


Poirot is my favourite Christie detective (for some reason, I have never got on quite so well with Miss Marple), and this is my favourite Christie book.

2. Double Indemnity by James M. Cain


Not so much a mystery (!), but still a fantastic read.

3. The Little Friend by Donna Tartt


A huge book that I devoured in a weekend, thanks to the overheated setting and the murky mystery, all wrapped up in the adventures of a young girl with a dead brother.

4. And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie


Another Christie, another classic. The good old "X people stuck on a island, being murdered one by one", done to perfection.

5. The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters

At the time I read this, I lived close to where the book was set. Country house mysteries and people being NOT WHAT THEY SEEM. Muahahahaha... etc.

6. Faceless Killers by Henning Mankell


Featuring one of my favourite fictional detectives, Kurt Wallander. This is the first in the Wallander series.

7. Armadillos and Old Lace by Kinky Friedman


One of my favourite crime authors, I was introduced to Kinky Friedman's books by my dad years ago. Funny, dark and a little bit addictive.

8. The Ice Princess by Camilla Lackberg


More grisly Scandinavian happenings.

9. The Secret History by Donna Tartt


I tried not to duplicate too many authors here, by I loved Tartt's first novel, too, about a group of college students who try and cover up a murder.

10. The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle


Some classic Sherlock to finish!

Recommendations are more than welcome. What's on your list this week?

5 comments:

  1. I really like mysteries but don't read them often enough. Sherlock Holmes is my ultimate guy :-)

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  2. I have always been crazy about The Secret History.

    Thank you for a great list!

    Here's my
    Top Ten Books That Take Place in Paris.
    I'd love to have you stop by!

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  3. Excellent list! I was in a bit of a true crime-reading spree a couple months ago, and some of these look like I'd really enjoy them. I also love Sarah Waters and can't believe I haven't read that one yet! Thanks for sharing your choices. :)

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  4. Great list! I haven't read any Christie, although I've watched tons of the TV adaptations, so I'll definitely have to check out the two you mentioned, as well as the rest of your list!

    Thanks for stopping by! :)

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  5. Crime books fascinate and freak me out at the same time. I've heard Christie is awesome and "And then there were none" is on my TBR list. Looks super!

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