The "Name 10 Books That Have Influenced You" (and don't think too long about it) meme is going 'round Facebook again. And, of course, I did it--it's about books and I can't resist lists. But then I thought why not do ten crime/mystery novels that have influenced my reading in some way? So I did. And here they are:
1. The Celebrated Cases of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle: The first serious mysteries I ever read. Nancy Drew may have been my gateway to reading, but Holmes was my introduction to master detectives. This volume was a Christmas present from my parents.
2. Murder on the Calais Coach (aka Murder on the Orient Express) by Agatha Christie: The first Christie I ever read. I got it at the annual book fair at our elementary school (along with At Bertram's Hotel--which I thought little of at the time and have yet to reread). My mom was a bit worried about me and my fascination with murder.... [I tried to find the exact cover--the book is packed away--but I could not find the little hardback that I loved.]
3. Cat of Many Tails by Ellery Queen: The first Queen novel I sampled. And quite a good one.
4. Bodies in a Bookshop by R. T. Campbell: One of my very first academic mysteries--and you all know how I adore those.
5. If Death Ever Slept by Rex Stout:Not my all-time favorite Nero Wolfe, but the first one I ever read. My introduction to that orchid-loving detective and his right-hand man, Archie Goodwin.
6. Smallbone Deceased by Michael Gilbert
7. Death & Letters by Elizabeth Daly: For about ten years I abandoned mysteries--my first love--for the siren call of science fiction. I discovered Elizabeth Daly and her character Henry Gamadge in a tiny little public library in rural Indiana...and fell in love with mysteries all over again.
8. The Three Coffins by John Dickson Carr: My first, I believe, Carr novel. But certainly not my last--I'm still working my way through them all.
9. Anatomy of a Murder by Robert Traver: One of the first novels I read that was based on a real case.
10. The Nine Tailors by Dorothy L. Sayers: My very first WWII Pocket Size Edition. Found at my very first Red Cross Book Sale here in Bloomington. I now have an obsession with these tiny-sized books and I must grab them up whenever I see them. We will also allow this Sayers book to stand in for all books in the series.