CLASSIC & LOCKED ROOM MYSTERIES
Classic mysteries
What is a classic mystery?
“Books we classify as classic whodunits are defined primarily by their plots, which must have a strong puzzle element. The classic whodunit protagonist is usually brainy and eccentric, of a depressive or antisocial bent, and possessed of quirky areas of knowledge. He (there are female examples, but they are rare) may be a police officer (especially in British examples), but the procedural details are so sketchy as to be nonexistent. This type of book usually has little sex, violence, humor, or physical action -- the focus is cerebral and sometimes intuitive.” - Mystery Guide)
Examples of authors/titles
Dashiell Hammett – The Maltese Falcon
Raymond Chandler – The Long Goodbye
Dorothy Sayers
Anna Katherine Green
G.K. Chesterton
Mary Roberts Rinehart
Rex Stout
Ngaio Marsh
Josephine Tey
Margery Allingham
John Dickson Carr
Agatha Christie
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Wilkie Collins – The Moonstone
The Woman in White
Edgar Allen Poe – The Murders in the Rue Morgue
The Mystery of Mary Roget
The Purloined Letter
Locked Room Mysteries
What is a locked room mystery?
"Many mystery writers wrote about Impossible Crimes. These are crimes that do not seem to have any rational explanation. The most popular kind is The Locked Room: a corpse is found inside a room that is locked from the inside. How was it possible for the murderer to kill his victim, then escape from the room, which is completely locked from the inside? At the end of the tale, the detective will explain how this was done. Other stories deal with killers who apparently flew through the air, or walked through walls, or read minds. Eventually their crimes are given logical, realistic explanations." (http://mikegrost.com/classics.htm - A Guide to Classic Mystery and Detection)
Edgar Allen Poe – The Murders in the Rue Morgue
Gaston Leroux – The Mystery of the Yellow Room
Agatha Christie – The Pale Horse, The Body in the Library
John Dickson Carr – The Three Coffins
The Crooked Hinge
Ellery Queen – Chinese Orange Mystery
The King is Dead
Edgar Wallace – Clue of the New Pin
Michael Gilbert - Smallbone Deceased
Israel Zangwill – Big Bow Mystery
Hake Talbot – Rim of the Pit
Carter Dickson – The Judas Window
Arthur Conan Doyle – The Speckled Band
Newer Locked Room Mysteries
Henry Kane - Too French and Too Deadly
Tucker Coe - Murder Among Children
Bill Pronzini - Hoodwink
Lawrence Block - Even the Wicked