There’s nothing quite a good old-fashioned whodunit to help you curl up by the fire on a rainy day, while away a long train journey or escape on a sunny beach. By very definition whodunits are primarily plot-driven, and the very best of the genre are edge-of-the-seat page-turners that twist and turn their way towards seemingly impossible solutions. Whether you’re in the company of Sherlock Holmes, Hercule Poirot or Chief Inspector Morse, the ultimate challenge of the whodunit for the humble reader is to solve the crime before the detective does. So disconnect that phone, dig out your magnifying glass and switch on those little grey cells, because here are 10 classic whodunits that will keep you glued to your seat until the penny drops…
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Murder on the Orient Express (Hercule Poirot) Agatha Christie |
Agatha Christie is the best-selling writer of books of all time and, with William Shakespeare, the best-selling author of any kind. Author of a staggering 80 detective novels and creator of two of the world’s best-loved fictional detectives, Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple, Agatha Christie is the undisputed Queen of Crime. Murder on the Orient Express is a genuine masterpiece of detective fiction, in which Hercule Poirot finds himself stranded in a snowdrift with a dead body and a carriage full of suspects.
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The Various Haunts Of Men (Simon Serrailler 1) Susan Hill |
The enormously talented novelist Susan Hill turned her hand to detective fiction for the first time with The Various Haunts Of Men. The result gives you the best of both genres; a beautifully-written, character-driven novel combined with a thrilling and suspenseful mystery. You’ll find yourself half way through before you even notice turning the pages, and the twist will leave you reeling…
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Dissolution (Shardlake) C. J. Sansom |
C.J.Sansom’s Shardlake novels are crime stories set during the reign of Henry VIII. This, the first in the series, sees the hunchbacked lawyer, Matthew Shardlake, dispatched to the monastery of Scarnsea on the Sussex coast to investigate the horrific death of Cromwell’s Commissioner. With its refreshingly flawed protagonist, its vivid and atmospheric depiction of Tudor England and its enthralling plot, Dissolution represents the very best of historical crime novels.
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The Moonstone (Penguin Classics) Wilkie Collins |
Famously describe by T.S.Eliot as ‘the first, the longest and the best of modern English detective novels’, The Moonstone is often seen as the ultimate template for modern whodunits. Complete with its archetypal sleuth, Sergeant Cuff, a memorable cast of suspects, a number of mysterious clues and a seemingly impossible crime, The Moonstone is beautifully written and impeccably constructed.
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The Way Through The Woods (Inspector Morse) Colin Dexter |
Immortalised by John Thaw and Kevin Whately in the television series, Chief Inspector Morse and his trusty sidekick Lewis tackle one of their most challenging and extraordinary cases in The Way Through The Woods. Morse is on holiday when he chances upon an article in The Times – an article that will throw the unsolved mystery of a missing woman wide open again…
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
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The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo Stieg Larsson |
The three novels that make up Stieg Larsson’s Millennium trilogy, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played with Fire and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets’ Nest have become a publishing sensation, and justly so. Sharply penned, with multi-layered plotlines and one of the least conventional heroines ever written, Larsson’s detective novels are a cut above the rest.
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A Place of Execution Val McDermid |
Probably better known for her Tony Hill ‘Wire in the Blood’ thrillers, Val McDermid has created in A Place of Execution a perfectly-crafted and thoroughly satisfying stand-alone murder mystery. Journalist Catherine Heathcote is writing a book about the chilling case of 13-year-old Alison Carter, who disappeared from her isolated Derbyshire hamlet 35 years ago. But when one of the chief witnesses withdraws his evidence, Catherine is forced to reinvestigate the mystery – with devastating results.
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The Name Of The Rose (Vintage Classics) Umberto Eco |
Brother William of Baskerville is forced to turn detective when his investigation into accusations of heresy in a wealthy medieval Italian abbey is overshadowed by a series of grotesque murders. Umberto Eco blends together theology, history and religion with vivid characterisation and a sinister plot to create a classic novel that is as enlightening as it is gripping.
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Mystery Mile (Campion Mystery) Margery Allingham |
Judge Crowdy Lobbett has found evidence pointing to the identity of the criminal mastermind behind the deadly Simister gang. After four attempts on his life, he enlists the assistance of amateur gentleman sleuth, Albert Campion. Margery Allingham’s deceptively affable hero is plunged into one of his most dangerous adventures as he attempts to protect his client and uncover the truth behind the Simister gang. Light-hearted, action-packed and thoroughly entertaining.
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The Hound of the Baskervilles (Penguin Classics) Arthur Conan Doyle |
Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson travel to the desolate moorlands of Devon in an attempt to solve the mystery of the death of Sir Charles Baskerville before his heir meets an equally gruesome fate. With its dramatic plot twists, its atmospheric location and, of course, its legendary detective, The Hound of the Baskervilles remains one of the most powerful whodunits of all time.