Why Mysteries?
Contemplating this year’s go-to fiction
I think the majority of the books I’ve read so far this year have been mysteries. The genre has always been a favorite, and thanks to my mom’s influence, novels by Agatha Christie and Dorothy L. Sayers top my list. As a kid I loved Encyclopedia Brown and Nancy Drew, and Sherlock Holmes mysteries are still delightful, the stories and the nostalgia. I have an old volume of the complete Sherlock Holmes that I read every time we visited my grandmother’s home, though at some point I removed her signature spine fixer-upper: duct tape. I probably should have left the tape on, because we discovered a few years ago that a page is missing!
When we headed up to Michigan this summer, I’d just discovered that another favorite series, the Brother Cadfael mysteries by Ellis Peters, were available on our basic Audible account for no extra cost. I’d wanted to reread them for a while, so having the audio for our road trip was perfect. They’ve been my go-to audio book since, and every time I think I should move on to something different I find myself gravitating to the next in the series. I love the unique time and setting, a monastery in England on the border of Wales during the mid-1100s. If you follow the books in order, you get a glimpse into the history of the time, and Peters’ weaves her close-up explorations of characters and mysteries into the bigger historical events. Brother Cadfael is a crusader-turned-monk, which makes for some interesting ethical and theological intrigues. The pattern of each book is classic: the scene is set, a murder happens or is discovered, wrong people are accused, the true culprit is discovered, order is restored. They’re very satisfying, and Peters’ writing glows.
Soon into our visit to Michigan I knew I didn’t have the time, much less the brain space or energy, to get into the new, physical book I’d brought. Instead I snagged Have His Carcase, by Dorothy L. Sayers, from my daughter Clare. It’s one of Sayers’ Lord Peter Wimsey mysteries, and I’ve read it a few times, so I knew I could pick it up if I only had a few minutes to read and needed rest for my mind. This proved very true. Every time I opened it, I enjoyed a little of Lord Peter and Harriet Vane’s banter, or walked with them through one of the puzzles they were trying to solve. It didn’t matter that I knew “who done it;” part of the pleasure was seeing how Sayers’ sprinkled clues throughout the story. In the end, the murderer was foiled and order restored.
All this mysterious reading has gotten me pondering why mysteries have been my go-to this summer. I know I like the structure of a mystery, and I remembered hearing something by Angelina Stanford from House of Humane Letters where she spoke about a detective novel and how it’s purpose is to bring order out of chaos. I hopped onto their Literary Life podcast site to pull up an episode they did a number of years ago about detective fiction, and found that it’s just been re-released in preparation for reading Murder Must Advertise, another Lord Peter Wimsey mystery. Perfect timing! Sure enough, Stanford discusses the formula of the detective mystery, and why it’s so satisfying1. Her argument makes sense to me, particularly this year, when so much has been in disorder.
This year it’s been particularly fun to see friends from my online writing community, The Habit, also get hooked on Sayers’ mysteries. Earlier this year Jonathan Rogers, The Habit director and teacher, dangled Sayers’ Gaudy Night dangled in front of us as a possible writing class. Sadly he realized it would be too long for a six-week class, but we will still get Lord Peter in short story form. If you’re interested, whether just in reading the stories or in getting some writing insight, you can check out the information about the class which starts next week. You won’t regret it.
In the meantime, I’ve still got my eyes fixed on Gaudy Night, so once I’ve read Murder Must Advertise, The Nine Tailors, and the short stories for our writing class, I’ll return to that one. I don’t think I’ll give up Cadfael any time soon, either. Apparently my mind still needs reordering ☺️ .
Another good foray into the structure of detective fiction and why it’s satisfying is in Jonathan Rogers’ recent article, “Dorothy Sayers on the Limits of Detective Fiction.”
Art for the Week
May I introduce this intrepid pair, Fishsticks and Remington, created by my daughter, Evie. This particular episode seemed to fit today’s topic of mysteries:
Check out Daughter of Arden at Bandersnatchbooks.com, along with other great titles.
You can find links to more of my writing at A Shaft of Sun Through the Rain and my old blog, Willing, Wanting, Waiting.
Don’t forget to check out Bandersnatch Books’ podcast, including my interview in Season 1, episode 2!
My childhood was filled with solid mystery literature. My mom was an avid Agatha Christie reader, and I read nearly everything she wrote when I was a teen. I was also a big Sherlock Holmes fan, even though my mom didn't care for his stories.
As an adult, I've always been partial to the hardboiled detectives of the early 20th century. Part of that is because I have a MEGA soft spot for old-time radio -- The Shadow, Sam Spade, Richard Diamond, and the like. Also, I discovered Raymond Chandler and more recently did a deep dive into Nero Wolfe. A different flavor from Sayers and Christie and Cadfael, but still in the same vein.
I think Nine Tailors is my favorite Sayers! :-D