Top Five Books for a Novice
Crime and Mystery (Part 1)
It’s the year 2020 and like at every other advent of a new year, a lot of people have made it their new year resolution to read more books. This list is in no way exhaustive and is meant for those who have decided to take up reading post their high school. The omission of non-fictional works and biographies is intentional as this list aims to introduce relative novices to the treasures of reading. When i started making this list, i intended to list the books that i felt would act as a gateway to other books in each genre. But, i soon realised how long that list would be and perhaps in this age of limited attention span, you don’t need another nerd to drone over you.
So, here is a list of five books in the genre of Crime and Mystery that you should read because this would make you feel like reading more. If weed is the gateway drug, then perhaps these are gateway books.
The Truth about the Harry Quebert Affair (Joel Dicker)- The original French version of the novel has sold more than 1 million copies. The novel is set in a coastal New Hampshire town (called Aurora in the original version and Somerset in the English translation). The protagonist, Marcus Goldman, is a successful young novelist who needs inspiration for his next book. Marcus heads to New Hampshire to stay with his college professor, Harry Quebert, to focus on his writing. When the body of 15-year-old Nola Kellergan is found 33 years after she went missing and Quebert is accused of her murder, Marcus works to uncover the truth. The result of his investigation becomes his next book.
This book combines a gripping story with equally emotive characters and dishes out a mystery that is unparalleled in the scope of its microscopic ambition.
State of Mind (John Katzenbach) — A professor of abnormal psychology, Jeffrey Clayton struggles with a dark past. Twenty-five years before, Jeffrey and his mother and sister fled his tyrannical father — a man who was later suspected in the heinous murder of a young student. Though the father was never charged, he committed suicide. Or so it seemed. Since then Jeffrey’s mother and his sister, Susan, have concealed themselves in the remote tangled swamps of the Upper Keys, where Susan creates word games for Miami Magazine. But someone has sent her a cryptic note. Once deciphered, it carries a terrifying message: I have found you. At the same time, a serial killer has invaded a community whose citizens seek a haven of old-fashioned values. And one new-fashioned guarantee: unconditional safety. But no one is safe from this intruder — who murders young girls in unspeakable ways. Is Jeffrey Clayton’s father the source of this latest killing spree? The authorities think so — and they present Jeffrey with an ultimatum: Find the butcher responsible for the newborn spate of carnage. Find your father.
The thread is a flip on many classic premises that reign supreme in this genre. It establishes an undercurrent of emotions that comes woven in strained relationships in an otherwise typical thriller. The novel has its moments when Susan cracks the puzzles and powers ahead but, what makes this novel a must read is its ability to keep you glued to its pages with its crisp set-pieces.
Murder on the Orient Express (Agatha Christie) — Murder on the Orient Express along with ‘And then there were none’ is perhaps Christie’s crowning point at weaving a tale. However, I am partial towards the former because of the existence of one mustachioed Belgian detective — Hercule Poirot. The story revolves around the murder of an American businessman — Ratchett. The murder happens aboard the train in the cabin next to Poirot. The beauty of the tale loves in the simplicity with which it can be summarized while at times it may act as a hindrance for recommendation since saying anything more than this gives away the plot. However, there is one minor detail that can be revealed without risking the big reveal of the climax, this is definitely Poirot’s most daunting case; and that in and by itself should be enough to read this book.
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Steig Larsson) — There are two things that sets this book apart from the rest of the books in this list. When this book was published, it shattered book sale records due to a strong and unapologetic female protagonist who spun the conventional notions of a ‘strong female character’ on its head; and second, the book exposed the underbelly of a relatively ‘civil’ Swedish society. The book can best be described as wasabi.
It is a psychological crime thriller and the first book in Larsson’s millennium series. This book was first published posthumously in Swedish and then later in English. It follows three distinct threads of storyline that converges into a crime mystery. The journalist-publisher Mikael Blomkovist loses a libel case against billionaire industrialist Wennerström and is invited by Henrik Vanger to investigate the whereabouts of his grandniece who disappeared four decades ago in return for evidence against Wennerström. The plot though flimsy till now gathers steam with the entry of Lisbeth Salander, a brilliant but deeply troubled researcher. While the plot ploughs through Blomkovist, it is the character arc of Salander which involves dealing with a legal guardian who sexually assaults her and her reactions to the cart wheeling mystery that keeps the plot chugging. Salander is eerily calm as a mid-noon high sea and springs into action when the situation so demands.
If there is a book that is definitely not on the recommendation list for those with a weak stomach, then this is that book. The climax might seem a bit banal to seasoned ‘crime-mystery’ readers but the allure of a fast paced novel packed with an action packed narrative would be hard for any reader who is just testing the waters to resist.
The Da Vinci Code (Dan Brown) — The da Vinci Code is a book that sparked a revolution in this genre when it was published in 2003. The writing is tawdry at worst and intelligible at best. But, the quality of the prose aside; the plot gets a hold of you from the very first scene during the murder at Louvre. This is the second time that Dan Brown has used the character Robert Langdon, the Harvard professor of Symbology (Langdon first appeared in ‘Angels and Demons’). The novel explores the myth of Holy Grail in and the existence of an order that was sworn to protect the lineage of Jesus Christ.
The book irrespective of its several failings works because of a plot that borderlines conspiracy theories and mixes it with believable hypothesis and certain hitherto unexplored facts about the Catholic Church. The novel follows Langon as he investigates the murder of the Grand Master of Priory of Sion whose body is found in the pose of Vitruvian Man. The novel is filled with cryptography, codes, symbols and layers of conspiracies which draws inspiration from the Catholic Church and the life of Jesus Christ. The plot follows Langdon and Sophie Neveu as they embark on a hunt to find the Grand Master’s killer while cracking these codes along the way to find a deep buried secret.
This is an important read solely based on the impact that this book had on the modern literary world thrillers. Several writes have since then tried to emulate Brown’s style of storytelling by mixing legends and symbols with mystery. In India the most famous of these examples being Ashwin Sanghi whose books, The Rozabel Line and Krishna Key followed a similar formula and tasted success.
