Reading Recommendation on the Crime and Mystery Genre: A GatheringBooks List!

In the first semester of 2011 we hosted our first reading challenge on books under the Mystery and Crime Genre and dedicated the Months of May and April for our own Whodunit reading.  We had quite a number of books we wanted to review, but alas only a few made it to the site. Below are the list of books we’ve reviewed  and I’ll be adding a few other recommendations along the lines of the Whodunit theme.

Detectives, Evidence Trails and Criminals

What is a Whodunit theme without Crime? The books we featured in 2011 were a mixture of picture books, YA Fiction and General (Adult) Fiction.  As Myra mentioned in May, it’s challenging to find picture book titles in this genre. Below are the books we featured. Click on the thumbnails to take you to the review.

A Picture Book “Whodunnit?” by Caroline Browne, Story by Helen Cresswell

Bananas, Apes, and Cold Trails: Detective Small in the Amazing Banana Casper by Wong Herbert Lee

Bug Metaphor and a Kidnapped Queenie Bee: Ace Lacewing Bug Detective by David Biedrzycki

A Whodunit YA Novel: Dovey Coe by Frances O’Roark Dowell

Ellen Raskin’s The Westing Game – Mystery of a Lifetime

Agatha Christie’s The Murder of Roger Ackroyd

One of our contributors, Professor Emeritus Libby Cohen reviewed Stieg Larsson’s Millenium Trilogy. This review inspired our first attempt at hosting a challenge. Other books you might enjoy that our challenge participants reviewed are books by Alan Bradley (Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie) and Eoin Colfer (Artemis Fowl Series). Other popular detective series are by Agatha Christie and MC Beaton. And of course no Whodunit list is complete without the classic Sherlock Holmes by A.C. Doyle.

Shadows and Mysteries

A lot of the books we reviewed were more on the Mystery Genre. And bibliophiles that we are, when we enjoy one author you can be sure to see more of his or her work featured here in our site. During the Whodunit theme, we reviewed a few books by Chris Van Allsburg and Sarah Klise.

Subtlety, Shadows, and Poetry in Chris Van Allsburg ‘s The Mysteries of Harris Burdick

A Wicked Wicked Thing (or not)? The Widow’s Broom by Chris Van Allsburg

 

Mystery behind the Color Striped Marks: Chris Van Allsburg’s Bad Day at Riverbend

A {Ghastly] Family by Choice: Over my Dead Body by Kate Klise and Illustrated by M. Sarah Klise

On Clogged Sinks, Trips to China and a Bean-Loving Senator – Regarding the Sink by Kate Klise and Illustrated by M. Sarah Klise

Around the World in 39 Clues – The Maze of Bones by Rick Riordan

Reading the 39 Clues Book 2 “One False Note” In Vienna by Gordon Korman

Miss Nelson or Miss Viola Swamp? ‘Miss Nelson is Missing!’ by Harry Allard and James Marshall

 

Sneakily, Stealthily, Creepily Audacious: James Stimson’s Thirteen O’Clock

The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield

The Black Book of Secrets by F.E. Higgins – A Reflection

Daily Banalities Shimmer in Mystery, Shrouded in Shrieking Secrecy: Tales from Outer Suburbia by Shaun Tan

The Book Without Words: A Fable of Medieval Magic by Avi

The Courage to Face One’s Fears – Woolvs in the Sitee by Margaret Wild and Anne Spudvilas

Maze Of Mysteries: The Eleventh Hour, A Curious Mystery by Graeme Base

In the Dread of Night: Volume 1

Other titles in this genre worth looking into  are Trenton Lee Stewart’s Mysterious Benedict Society trilogy. Other books that would be great to read would be Pseudonymous Bosch Secret Series.

As I’m writing this, I can’t think of other titles. But as soon as I remember them you’ll most likely find them making their way in our 2012 reviews. I hope you enjoy the titles we’ve shared with you this year.