So Many Mystery Writers, So Little Time - Finding the Right Mystery Writers For You

Are you looking for a new mystery writer to read? Have you ever picked up an anthology and been overwhelmed? There are helpful sites on the web, but how do you filter it down to a manageable level? Some estimate that fifty new mystery titles arrive each month!There are many ways to look at mysteries-loosely defined as a story with a character, who solves a crime. You can take a historical approach and read only the classic writers of the Golden Age (roughly 1913-1941). You can sort by the sex of the main character or the sex of the writer. You can pick a period in history that you like and read only those authors, who write about that period. Or maybe it is the setting that interests you-California and New York are common settings. You can certainly learn a lot about a country through the crime solvers, who live and work there.To begin your focus, ask yourself what you like about mysteries. Is it the style? If you like the puzzle element, then perhaps the whodunit type is yo
ur answer. If you prefer lots of gritty action, perhaps the hard-boiled genre is more to your liking. Avoid violence and graphic sex by reading cozies. Although gory and graphic, forensic crime fighters are all the rage right now. You may have gotten your start with Sherlock Holmes and Nancy Drew and cannot resist a series that delves into the mysterious character of your favorite sleuth.Perhaps an element that is often overlooked in selecting a good mystery is the quality of the writing. For this you can turn to the experts to get a list of those authors, who have withstood the test of time. Obviously there was a need to compile this list and two "Top 100" books came out in the 1990s to help you out: one published by the British Crime Writers' Association and the other published by the Mystery Writers of America (MWA). If you consider yourself a maverick and love to support the underdog consider They Died in Vain: Overlooked, Underappreciated and Forgotten Mystery Novels, e
dited by Jim Huang.If the older classics are no longer at your bookstore, try your local library. MWA, which began in 1945, awarded mystery writers with an Edgar (for Edgar Allan Poe) the year after they were organized. It is more likely that award-winning authors will do a better job of writing. But do not confuse bestselling with best writing. If you read enough mysteries, you are sure to find renowned authors that you do not appreciate. What is it about Jane Austen anyway? Even when you get hooked on a series, some of the books will be weaker than the rest, even if the name of the author is larger than the title of the book.Don't be put off if you don't like some award-winning mysteries. If they were written fifty years ago, the treatment of women and/or minorities may be offensive to you. You can always start with either the winners or the nominees for the latest mystery awards and work backward by year. If you happen upon an author that you like, you can hopefully find
more of his or her work. Along with the Edgar, there are the Agatha, Anthony, Macavity, Ellis Peters, Hammett, Barry, Dilys, Shamus and Nero Wolfe Awards. Go to their respective websites to obtain a complete list of winners. This way you will be assured of modern writing and availability. There is even a Lefty award given by a group for the most humorous mystery.Now go back through the list of categories mentioned above and do some cross-referencing. If you prefer women writers, that eliminates a lot of award winners and narrows down your reading list. If you want only mysteries set in the West that further reduces your list. From those you can select series with a continuing character and now you have become a bit of an expert in your refined mystery book choice. If all else fails call a friend, who reads a lot of mysteries, for a recommendation. If book club catalogs include fifty new mystery titles every month, you have got your work cut out for you. I hope this gives you
a few clues on how to solve your mystery of choosing the right author.

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