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The Butler Did It

Maile Meloy Lovers:

Meloy has a perceptive piece about detective fiction in "Town and Country." Like the author of this blog, Meloy particularly loves mysteries set in Britain.

Meloy singles out certain writers for praise: J.K. Rowling (the "Strike" mysteries), Kate Atkinson, Waters ("Fingersmith" and "Paying Guests" are crime novels), Pullman's "Sally Lockhart" books (ostensibly for kids).

One treat: Meloy reveals that Le Carre's first two books were actually short mysteries, more than they were spy novels. (Brief and centered on a puzzling death? I'll take it.)

Meloy also rejects a theory from Auden, who said that we read mysteries as a way of coping with our own guilt. (Hmmm?) Meloy says--more plausibly--that the comfort of rooting out evil is just addictive. It's especially nice in these unsettling Trumpian times.

What I can't take is a *bloated* mystery; I think Ruth Rendell's early mysteries (e.g. "Shake Hands Forever," "A Guilty Thing Surprised"), all around 200 pages, are just about ideal.

And you? Your favorites?

https://www.townandcountrymag.com/leisure/arts-and-culture/a9884196/detective-novels/
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