After reading David Lehman’s The Most Mysterious Romance of Murder (you can read my review here), I decided to go back and reread Lehman’s The Perfect Murder from 1989 (updated version 1999). I remembered I enjoyed The Perfect Murder over 30 years ago. I also remember this:
DAVID LEHMAN’S PERSONAL FAVORITES:
The Hound of the Baskervilles (1902) — Arthur Conan Doyle
Innocence of Father Brown (1911) — G. K. Chesterton
The Maltese Falcon (1930) — Dashiell Hammett
The Three Coffins (1936) — John Dickson Carr
The ABC Murders (1936) — Agatha Christie
Thou Shell of Death (1936) — Nicholas Blake
The Big Sleep (1939) — Raymond Chandler
A Coffin for Dimitrios (1939) — Eric Ambler
The Big Clock (1946) — Kenneth Fearing
Too Many Women (1947) — Rex Stout
The Eighth Circle (1958) — Stanley Ellin
The Chill (1964) — Ross Macdonald
Long Time No See (1978) — Ed McBain
The Name of the Rose (1983) — Umberto Eco
The Singing Detective (1986) — Dennis Potter
As well has providing a survey of detective fiction, Lehman gives his personal list of great mysteries. How many of these classics have you read? Any favorites? GRADE: A
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
| Preface to the New Edition | ix | ||
| Acknowledgments | xi | ||
| Introduction | xiii | ||
| The Corpse on Page One | 1 | (12) | |
| The Birth of a New Hero | 13 | (10) | |
| Mysteries and Myths | 23 | (14) | |
| Murder Considered as a Fine Art | 37 | (8) | |
| De Quincey’s Irony | 45 | (10) | |
| No Police Like Holmes | 55 | (16) | |
| The Legacy of Edgar Allan Poe | 71 | (12) | |
| No Mask Like Open Truth | 83 | (10) | |
| The Double | 93 | (8) | |
| Funerals in Eden | 101 | (16) | |
| From Paradise to Poisonville | 117 | (18) | |
| The Hard-boiled Romance | 135 | (20) | |
| Hammett and Chandler | 155 | (14) | |
| Ross MacDonald and After | 169 | (12) | |
| A Portrait of the Reader as Escapist | 181 | (16) | |
| At the Heart of the Maze | 197 | (14) | |
| Afterword: Shades among Shadows | 211 | (16) | |
| Appendix 1. Further Reading | 227 | (10) | |
| Appendix 2. Personal Favorites | 237 | (4) | |
| Notes | 241 | (10) | |
| Index of Concepts | 251 | (4) | |
| Index of Names and Titles | 255 |
Only read four of these and all are among my favorites.
Dan, I added a couple titles to my READ REAL SOON list.
That’s a pretty substantial list and I scored 10 of 15, which would be OK if I could remember all the ones I’m sure I’ve read. Favorites would be THE CHILL and THE THREE COFFINS, but I might have picked two others yesterday. Every list of this sort has a glaring omission, and here it’s THE MOONSTONE.
Michael, I wondered why THE MOONSTONE didn’t make the cut, too. I’m with you on THE CHILL and THE THREE COFFINS. I’d say 10 of 15 is a pretty good batting average!
I’ve read eight of them. Perhaps one day I’ll get around to reading the others—but I make no promises. I can’t believe of all the Christie mysteries available, he would choose THE ABC MURDERS. Oh well, to each his own.
Deb, I would have picked a Miss Marple mystery for my list. THE ABC MURDERS is iconic for its brilliant murder strategy.
My short list of most brilliant Christies is THE ABC MURDERS, AND THEN THERE WAS NONE, THE MURDER OF ROGER ACKROYD, and MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS. I have others that I love (I am extremely fond of THE SEVEN DIALS MYSTERY, which is the one I’m currently rereading), but if anyone has additions to the “brilliant” list I’d be glad to see them.
Jeff, I don’t know if it qualifies as brilliant, but I have fond memories of reading THE BODY IN THE LIBRARY.
I have read all of them except The Chesterton and the Blake. I would have chosen The Long Goodbye over The Big Sleep.
Steve, THE BIG SLEEP has a lot of fans. But THE LONG GOODBYE might be the better novel.
I’ve read all but THE BIG CLOCK and THE SINGING DETECTIVE (and I may have read THE BIG CLOCK, but if I did, it was back in high school). I would have chosen THE BURNING COURT over THE THREE COFFINS and would have found room for Ellery Queen and Wilkie Collins (THE WOMAN IN WHITE, not THE MOONSTONE).
Jerry, I agree: Ellery Queen should be on this list. I don’t know which EQ mystery I would pick. As a kid, I loved The Egyptian Cross Mystery but I haven’t read it in 60 years! And Wilkie Collins should be on the list, too. Both of his mysteries are classics!
George, I loved all the early EQs; my favorite might be the first Wrightsville mystery (what was the name?). As for Wilkie collins, was there ever a slimier villain than Count Fosco?
Jerry, I think CALAMITY TOWN (1942) was the first Wrightsville mystery. Yes, Count Fosco was a rat!
I believe I’ve read 12 of the 15 titles. I am a big fan of A COFFIN FOR DIMITRIOS. Also the Doyle, Hammett, Christie, Carr, Chandler, Macdonald and Fearing books. I thought this was a poor choice of McBains, as I figured it out in the first chapter. Never read THE NAME OF THE ROSE. THE CHILL was a favorite Lew Archer book but I couldn’t remember it from the rest at this point without going back to refresh my memory. I haven’t read the Blake or the Ellin.
Jeff, well done! I’d say 12 of 15 is impressive. I agree with you on the choice of the McBain. But, I would have to think long and hard to come up with a replacement–so many of the 87th Precinct novels are great!
I highly recommend the BBC adaptation of The Singing Detective. Avoid the Robert Downey Jr version.
Steve, I’ve never seen the Robert Downey Jr. version of THE SINGING DETECTIVE and have heard nothing good about it.