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Christie, Castle, and CSI: Miami
Here's the thing: I like murder mysteries.
Murder mysteries - you know? Those stories where someone gets murdered, and they have to find out who the murderer is, or maybe they don't even know the death was a murder until the one person who did know tries blackmailing the murder and a second murder happens, and anyway there are only a few people who could be the murder, and the detective is running around trying to figure out who it is, and one suspect is clearly the most likely person so it can't be them, and then someone else gets killed...
Yep. Them.
I'm not such a fan of thrillers.
Thrillers - you know? Those stories where someone gets murdered, and the hero gets framed for it, and goes on the run to clear his name, or maybe the first murder was a warning that the hero was going to be killed next, so he goes on the run to stay alive somehow until they can uncover the conspiracy, and there are explosions, and guns, and fake names, and codes, and any moment now he might get killed...
Not so interested in those. I'm sure they're fascinating to some people - but not to me.
Another thing I'm not that interested in is forensic detective stories.
Forensic detective stories - you know? Those stories where someone gets murdered, and there are all these clues, like the smashed bottle of ink, and a missing usb drive, or maybe the fingerprints on the murder weapon look like they got put on there afterwards by the murderer trying to divert suspicion to someone else, and there are lots of suspects getting hauled in for questioning, and misleading answers, and bursting into tears, and just when they're about to make the arrest, the science lab guys suddenly realise that the weird substance they couldn't identify was nail polish mixed with yoghurt! which solves the whole case, and they rush downstairs to the interrogation room before justice is completely done away with.
Exciting, in some ways. But not my cup of tea.
The problem is, when you go into a bookshop and ask for "murder mysteries", 80 percent of the books you'll find will be thrillers.
If you try looking on TV for murder mysteries, you'll get forensics.
Which means that, as a murder mystery fan, I have seen countless hours of CSI, NCIS, Cold Case, CSI: Miami, and others; and read hundreds of thrillers that I couldn't possibly name because after a while they all start to blend together.
What I haven't read are that many murder mysteries. They're just not out there.
So I keep reading Agatha Christie, grousing about the lack of proper stories on the market, and keeping an eye on the thrillers and forensic detective shows in the hopes that one day one of them will turn out to actually be the murder mystery it keeps marketing itself as.
...and then there's Castle.
Fabulous, fantabulous Castle.
This show is fun (which is good). And has Nathan Fillion (even better). But most importantly, it's an actual murder mystery.
If you took a random Agatha Christie novel, moved it to America, put it through a time machine, and made it into a TV show, Castle is what you'd get.
And I rather love it. I think I'll probably continue to - even if it one day stops being quite so awesome - because I've been looking for it for so long.
Murder mysteries - you know? Those stories where someone gets murdered, and they have to find out who the murderer is, or maybe they don't even know the death was a murder until the one person who did know tries blackmailing the murder and a second murder happens, and anyway there are only a few people who could be the murder, and the detective is running around trying to figure out who it is, and one suspect is clearly the most likely person so it can't be them, and then someone else gets killed...
Yep. Them.
I'm not such a fan of thrillers.
Thrillers - you know? Those stories where someone gets murdered, and the hero gets framed for it, and goes on the run to clear his name, or maybe the first murder was a warning that the hero was going to be killed next, so he goes on the run to stay alive somehow until they can uncover the conspiracy, and there are explosions, and guns, and fake names, and codes, and any moment now he might get killed...
Not so interested in those. I'm sure they're fascinating to some people - but not to me.
Another thing I'm not that interested in is forensic detective stories.
Forensic detective stories - you know? Those stories where someone gets murdered, and there are all these clues, like the smashed bottle of ink, and a missing usb drive, or maybe the fingerprints on the murder weapon look like they got put on there afterwards by the murderer trying to divert suspicion to someone else, and there are lots of suspects getting hauled in for questioning, and misleading answers, and bursting into tears, and just when they're about to make the arrest, the science lab guys suddenly realise that the weird substance they couldn't identify was nail polish mixed with yoghurt! which solves the whole case, and they rush downstairs to the interrogation room before justice is completely done away with.
Exciting, in some ways. But not my cup of tea.
The problem is, when you go into a bookshop and ask for "murder mysteries", 80 percent of the books you'll find will be thrillers.
If you try looking on TV for murder mysteries, you'll get forensics.
Which means that, as a murder mystery fan, I have seen countless hours of CSI, NCIS, Cold Case, CSI: Miami, and others; and read hundreds of thrillers that I couldn't possibly name because after a while they all start to blend together.
What I haven't read are that many murder mysteries. They're just not out there.
So I keep reading Agatha Christie, grousing about the lack of proper stories on the market, and keeping an eye on the thrillers and forensic detective shows in the hopes that one day one of them will turn out to actually be the murder mystery it keeps marketing itself as.
...and then there's Castle.
Fabulous, fantabulous Castle.
This show is fun (which is good). And has Nathan Fillion (even better). But most importantly, it's an actual murder mystery.
If you took a random Agatha Christie novel, moved it to America, put it through a time machine, and made it into a TV show, Castle is what you'd get.
And I rather love it. I think I'll probably continue to - even if it one day stops being quite so awesome - because I've been looking for it for so long.
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Ngaio Marsh also comes to mind, although I've actually read very few of hers.
Ooh, and Dorothy Sayers, of course. I have to assume you've read the entire Lord Peter series? I haven't finished them yet, but they're definitely actual murder mysteries, with well-written characters and lots of contemporary/historical flavor to add interest. (Example: the initial accused in one book is suffering from effects of fighting in the Great War.)
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And hurrah! Recs!
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...now I want to watch Castle. And I rarely ever want to watch TV. :D
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(Loving the timing of this post, I actually just started At Bertram's Hotel a couple of days ago.)
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I want the new episodes!! It's so frustrating- my friend in the US is waiting for us to hurry up and get them so we can discuss them, and no go!
Argh.
So you must also like the new Sherlock then, right? It's pretty standard cluey-detectiveness. :-D
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*craves Castle episodes*
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The denouement is really really good.
I need to know what happens next! Need next series! Hurry up and film it, dammit!
Yes, Castle is a must-have...new Bones, meh. I used to love it, but it's just not that great anymore. I think (honestly) because after being followed directly by Castle, it can't compare. Castle has ruined me for other shows. :-p