BOOKS: Best Whodunit?

[throwittoblythe]

My wife and I saw "Knives Out" this past weekend and I really enjoyed it. It got me wondering, what are some of the best whodunit books out there? I'm talking mystery/murder/suspense that allows the reader to piece the events together as the book unfolds.

Any recommendations from CF?

 

[Mr Janny]

Classic Agatha Christie is the easy go-to. "Murder on the Orient Express" or "And then there were none". The thing I found interesting when I read classic mystery books is that they seem a little cliched. But then you realize that they are the reason that the cliche exists in the first place, so it's something that you have to take into account.

 

[Cyclones_R_GR8]

My wife and I saw "Knives Out" this past weekend and I really enjoyed it. It got me wondering, what are some of the best whodunit books out there? I'm talking mystery/murder/suspense that allows the reader to piece the events together as the book unfolds.

Any recommendations from CF?

Knives Out had a pretty solid weekend.
8.1 on IMDB and over 90% on Rotten Tomatoes. Might have to check it out

 

[throwittoblythe]

Knives Out had a pretty solid weekend.
8.1 on IMDB and over 90% on Rotten Tomatoes. Might have to check it out

I enjoyed it. It reminded me of the old Clue movie, without all the comedy (though there is some good comedy mixed in). I was worried that with the famous cast that you'd have all these scenes shot individually, then stitched together to appear as one movie. That was not the case so the movie flowed well.

Without spoiling, I thought it was interesting in that they tell you exactly how the person died early in the movie, but you still spend the rest of the time trying to figure out why it unfolded like it did. So, sort of a reverse mystery.

It's not going to win an oscar or anything, but it was a solid, entertaining 2 hours.

 

[yez]

We saw it as well, great movie! Marta was easy to look at

 

[coolerifyoudid]

I'm a fan of some of the works of Preston and Child. I originally read Cabinet of Curiosities followed by Still Life With Crows. Their style mixes mystery, suspense and murder and the protagonist is interestingly written. Relic was their first book and it was later made it into a movie.

 

[C.A.H.]

I'm a fan of some of the works of Preston and Child. I originally read Cabinet of Curiosities followed by Still Like With Crows. Their style mixes mystery, suspense and murder and the protagonist is interestingly written. Relic was their first book and it was later made it into a movie.

Thanks! I will look into these!

 

[Cyclones_R_GR8]

I enjoyed it. It reminded me of the old Clue movie, without all the comedy (though there is some good comedy mixed in). I was worried that with the famous cast that you'd have all these scenes shot individually, then stitched together to appear as one movie. That was not the case so the movie flowed well.

Without spoiling, I thought it was interesting in that they tell you exactly how the person died early in the movie, but you still spend the rest of the time trying to figure out why it unfolded like it did. So, sort of a reverse mystery.

It's not going to win an oscar or anything, but it was a solid, entertaining 2 hours.

I saw it this past week. Fun movie

 

[dahliaclone]

And Then There Were None. Full stop. End of thread.

 

[dahliaclone]

I'm a fan of some of the works of Preston and Child. I originally read Cabinet of Curiosities followed by Still Like With Crows. Their style mixes mystery, suspense and murder and the protagonist is interestingly written. Relic was their first book and it was later made it into a movie.

Still Life With Crows is fantastic.

 

[Sigmapolis]

Anybody notice all the characters in Knives Out are cutouts for various stereotypes in our politics these days (and pretty funny ones, for that matter)?

Sad The Last Jedi did not work out. Rian Johnson is a good director.

 

[intrepid27]

I thought the Red Dragon/Hannibal Lector series by Thomas Harris are very well written.
In Red Dragon one of the main characters is blind which was and interesting perspective.

After reading the basement scene in Silence of the Lambs, I was afraid to go into MY basement. Probably the most intense thing I've ever read.

 

[throwittoblythe]

Anybody notice all the characters in Knives Out are cutouts for various stereotypes in our politics these days (and pretty funny ones, for that matter)?

I did not notice that specifically, but the political themes were hard to miss. I rolled my eyes pretty hard at the political debate scene they showed at the party.

 

[Sigmapolis]

I did not notice that specifically, but the political themes were hard to miss. I rolled my eyes pretty hard at the political debate scene they showed at the party.

I do not want to Cave this, but going through them...

Ana de Armas = "anchor baby"
Jamie Lee Curtis = "made her fortune... with a small loan of $1 million"
Michael Shannon = the idiot son running his father's business
Don Johnson = the "Trump dad"
Toni Collette = New Age lefty hippy
Christopher Plummer = self-made, unsympathetic Boomer
Katherine Langford = "snowflake" radical paying way too much for a "Studies" degree
Jaeden Martell = alt-right teenage edgelord 4chan type
Chris Evans = just generally an *******

I read some of the themes of it as --

-- These people suck, and they are the reason this family/our politics sucks.
-- All the people born into the bounty of the Thrombey family/America are really not acting like they deserve it; Marta is the only decent person there.
-- Even Christopher Plummer's character, for all his hard work to make his own success, did a terrible job preparing his family to lead their own lives.
-- Just like the Boomers... they created plenty, for themselves, but they are doing a much less admirable job creating prosperity and harmony for all.
-- Might be some time for soul-searching as a family/nation (and the allegory of a nation like a family is very effective here) about our behavior.

I like Rian Johnson as a director. He managed to make a very entertaining detective movie with interesting characters and subtext. I like films that can work *both* as two-hours of solid entertainment but also give you more when you think about it.

 

[srjclone]

Listened to the book Dark Places by Gillian Flynn, and I found myself constantly thinking about what could've happened. Wasn't expecting it to grab my attention as well as it did.