I love a good mystery. Especially when the characters in it are drawn so well in the writing that they feel like friends from across town, even in exotic settings.
You get drawn in to a good mystery. Sometimes pulled in as though the charaters were yanking you into the page if you are really lucky and the writing is wonderfully, carefully crafted.
That doesn't always happen, but sometimes you get lucky with a book. Or with a particular character that just connects with you -- as Precious Ramotswe did with me from the very first time I laid eyes on her stories in The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency.
It is always the characters that draw me back in time and time again.
That is why Alexander McCall Smith's Precious Ramotswe speaks to me: her life may take place far away from my own world here in West Virginia, but the problems she solves for her clients and herself? Problems we all try to solve for each other in our own lives, exotic locale or not. And her courage in the face of fear, her sense of right and wrong when others might equivocate? Priceless.
I love the HBO series No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency almost as much for the exotic locale footage as I do the funny scenes that the actors get to enjoy playing out for the cameras. (Anyone know if they'll be doing another season of this? I know Anthony Minghella passed away, but will another director be taking the reins?)
But it all starts with good writing.
Every good mystery has, at its core, a story that strikes at the heart of who we are, what we want, and how far we will go to get it. In short, it starts with a really good story and some all too human characters.
Just as it does with Sherlock Holmes.
Or with Agatha Raisin.
Or Miss Marple.
Or...well, why don't you tell me what your favorite mystery series are? And why?
(Youtube above -- an intro to the HBO series of The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency.)
1 comment:
Alexander McCall Smith's other series are a wonder, too. Not mysteries. Just...people books. He's wise, funny, and a great story teller.
My favorite is his 44 Scotland Street series, which has recurring characters (and they are characters!).
The Isabel Dalhousie series has recurring characters as well, and it's an absolutely charming read.
Last week, David's brother and wife sent me books from a different series for my birthday (which, btw, was election day and not much bette politically than when that last happened in 2004).
Authored by Charles Finch, they're Victorian-era mysteries. Haven't read one yet, but G&A turned me on to AMS's other series, so I'm guessing they're pretty darn good!
All of this looms wonderfully as I am finishing up "Freedom."
So many books, so little time, says my favorite T-shirt. Yeah, baby. Ain't it so?!
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