Scan barcode
johnbreeden's review against another edition
5.0
I really enjoyed P.D. James take on the early development of Detective fiction. I gained a bit of a list of future books to read.
ridgewaygirl's review against another edition
3.0
I've been eager to read this book, but I found it to be quite a bit slighter than I had anticipated. James talks a bit about her own writing, but primarily this is a shallow overview of the detective novel, with all emphasis put on the "golden age" of British mystery novels; from the end of WWI to the mid sixties. She does make the interesting observation that while mystery novels published in Britain during that time are best describes as "cozies", and featured gentle English village life, undisturbed by the homicide, which provides an interesting puzzle for the sleuth to unravel, American detective novels were going all hard-boiled.
violinknitter's review against another edition
This book was worth the read for the list of books and authors alone! My to-be-read list grew considerably. There was more discussion of the Golden Age of mystery than about modern authors, and an emphasis on British authors rather than American authors, but that's reasonable, considering that a wider survey of literature would have ended with a book twice the size of this one.
sandin954's review against another edition
3.0
The author's views on the enduring popularity of the detective story.
pussinbooks's review against another edition
3.0
P.D. James discusses authors from the Golden Age of Detective Fiction, and ruminates on the future of the genre. She offers interesting tidbits on the lives of many authors, and their feelings of affection and ambivalence toward their chosen subject matter. James also briefly covers the decline of the Golden Age in England as it is taken over by hard-boiled American stories. If you're new to mystery like me, you might have a long reading list when you finish.
spookysoto's review against another edition
4.0
Rating: I liked it a lot
Nov 2019’s random pick project
If you like detective novels I highly recommend this book.
P. D. James gives us an overview of the more representative authors and works of the genre.
This was concise, educational and very honest. I liked how respectful she was, not minimizing or writing off any author or novel.
I was surprised because I think I saw an article where she criticized Christie (a crime in my eyes), but here she wasn’t like that, she wasn’t a little bit snob. Now I wonder if I misunderstood her in that article
Nov 2019’s random pick project
If you like detective novels I highly recommend this book.
P. D. James gives us an overview of the more representative authors and works of the genre.
This was concise, educational and very honest. I liked how respectful she was, not minimizing or writing off any author or novel.
I was surprised because I think I saw an article where she criticized Christie (a crime in my eyes), but here she wasn’t like that, she wasn’t a little bit snob. Now I wonder if I misunderstood her in that article
michael5000's review against another edition
3.0
A perfectly serviceable tour of British detective fiction, noteworthy only because it's written by a famous practitioner, but not especially benefiting from being written by a famous practitioner.
mundinova's review against another edition
3.0
A catch-all book about history of the British mystery and James's approach to writing.
As a P.D. James fan, this was a no-brainer for me to pick up and read. It's short and informative, and if you're at all interested in the origins of the whodunit or what P.D. James thinks about murder mysteries, then this is a no-brainer for you as well.
A word of caution: This book is not all-inclusive. You won't walk away feeling like you just finished a semester of History of Mystery Literature. You'll pick up some interesting insights and check the reference list in the back for future books to add to your TBR pile. You'll also learn the "rules" each reader expects the author to follow when they pick up a mystery. Then you'll learn about all the authors who broke those rules and how they got away with it.
James is one of the best writers there ever was, regardless of genre. I believe if she hadn't picked murder mysteries as her favorite stories to tell then we would be talking about her in the same breath as noted modern literature masterpiece creators. Genre gets a bad wrap at the expense of genius storytellers like James. When someone as talented as James wants to share their love of the craft with you, well, you sit down and take what you can get.
Message: 3 stars
Writing: 5 stars
As a P.D. James fan, this was a no-brainer for me to pick up and read. It's short and informative, and if you're at all interested in the origins of the whodunit or what P.D. James thinks about murder mysteries, then this is a no-brainer for you as well.
A word of caution: This book is not all-inclusive. You won't walk away feeling like you just finished a semester of History of Mystery Literature. You'll pick up some interesting insights and check the reference list in the back for future books to add to your TBR pile. You'll also learn the "rules" each reader expects the author to follow when they pick up a mystery. Then you'll learn about all the authors who broke those rules and how they got away with it.
James is one of the best writers there ever was, regardless of genre. I believe if she hadn't picked murder mysteries as her favorite stories to tell then we would be talking about her in the same breath as noted modern literature masterpiece creators. Genre gets a bad wrap at the expense of genius storytellers like James. When someone as talented as James wants to share their love of the craft with you, well, you sit down and take what you can get.
Message: 3 stars
Writing: 5 stars