Best Mysteries of All Time

[muggle not]

James Lee Burke, one of my favorite writers, lists his selection of the "Best Mysteries of All Time":

http://www.parade.com/parade-picks/2009/04/james-lee-burke-favorite-mysteries.html

 

Books

A Master's Choice of Mysteries

 

James Lee Burke, best-selling author of more than 25 novels, most recently “Swan Peak,” was named one of the 2009 Grand Master recipients by Mystery Writers of America. Here are his picks for the best mysteries of all time.

Ron Hansen’s Mariette in Ecstasy is a masterful metaphysical story dealing with the stigmata. Ultimately, it’s about a woman who represents courage and altruism in the midst of mediocrity.

 

James M. Cain once said his stories were about the ultimate human tragedy—people getting what they want. Double Indemnity, a 1930s murder mystery involving an insurance fraud scheme, exemplifies his best work.

 

Mr. Majestyk, by Elmore Leonard, features a farmer who runs afoul of the Mob. It’s one of the best portrayals of professional criminals I have ever read and a beautiful accomplishment in terms of dialogue and style.

 

Selected Tales and Sketches is a collection of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s stories, perhaps the best allegories ever written about the nature of good and evil.

 

The city of Los Angeles is a protagonist in The Black Echo, Michael Connelly’s superb tale about Vietnam vets pulling off the score of scores. Connelly writes with the knowledge and experience of a hard-nosed police reporter, but he’s also an artist.

 

Cormac McCarthy’s No Country for Old Men deals with evil that seems to have no origin. The writing is spartan, the imagery and dialogue as clean as razor cuts in leather. The story seems derived from the collective unconscious; it is frightening and unforgettable.