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Mystery & Suspense

Sometime in the last four or five decades the Powers That Be decided every movie mystery would follow basically the same plot so that viewers wouldn't have to worry about the outcome and would be able to enjoy the movie all the way through. Fortunately for those who prefer to let the future unfold itself, there are still mystery novels.

A mystery is simply something you don't know or can't understand. By the time you understand it, it's not a mystery anymore. Part of the fun of detective stories is not knowing what's going on (at least, not for sure) until the end, when sudden light dawns in the midst of the darkness and you fancy yourself a bit dull for not having picked up on the clues earlier.

Trying to figure the solution before the main characters get there is pretty fun, too, though there's another kind of satisfaction from waiting till Hercule Poirot or Sherlock Holmes or Lord Peter Wimsey reveal the criminal by name, the extent of his or her crimes, and the motivations that led them to kill, steal or lie. Though in the end, most of us probably end up in both categories, trying to figure everything out but still surprised by the truth.

Modern mystery novels tend to focus on criminal evil, fascinated by the depths humans are capable of sinking to. While older ones certainly didn't hesitate to point out man's depravity and capacity for wrongdoing, they were even more concerned with justice and the good guys who overcome the bad guys through superior wit and reason.

These are the ones we like. We don't admire Sherlock Holmes only for his formidable genius, but also for his commitment to employ it for the forces of good. Miss Marple doesn't need to solve crimes, but she does—and we rejoice every time she triumphs over a shady perpetrator. In the real world things might not always wind up so neatly, but it's nice to know in some books they always will.

Review by C. Hollis Crossman
C. Hollis Crossman used to be a child. Now he's a husband and father who loves church, good food, and weird stuff. He might be a mythical creature, but he's definitely not a centaur. Read more of his reviews here.
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Active Filters: 11th grade (Ages 16-17), Trade Paperback, New Books & Materials
Adventures and Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes
by Arthur Conan Conan Doyle
from Penguin Classics
for 7th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$11.90
And Then There Were None
by Agatha Christie
75th Anniversary from HarperCollins
Murder Mystery for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$16.14
Atlas Shrugged
by Ayn Rand
50th Anniversary Edition from Signet Classics
for 10th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$9.99
Big Four
A Hercule Poirot Mystery #5
by Agatha Christie
Reissue from SeaWolf Press
for 9th-Adult
in Seawolf Illustrated Classics (Location: FIC-SW)
$9.99
Big Over Easy
by Jasper Fforde
from Penguin Putnam
for 11th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$18.00
Body in the Library
A Miss Marple Mystery #2
by Agatha Christie
2022 Reissue from William Morrow & Company
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$16.14
Brit. Lit. Volume 8
by Arthur Conan Doyle, Dorothy Sayers, G. K. Chesterton, Agatha Christie
from Logos School
for 10th-12th grade
in Logos Brit. Lit. (Location: LITCUR-LOG)
$21.99
Busman's Honeymoon (11)
A Lord Peter Mystery, Book 11
by Dorothy L. Sayers
Reprint from HarperCollins
Murder Mystery for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$18.99
Caribbean Mystery
A Miss Marple Mystery #9
by Agatha Christie
from William Morrow & Company
for 8th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$16.14
Clouds of Witness (2)
A Lord Peter Mystery, Book 2
by Dorothy Sayers
Reissue from HarperCollins
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$19.99
Code Name Verity
by Elizabeth Wein
from Hyperion/Madison Press
for 9th-12th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$9.34
Complete Father Brown Stories
by G. K. Chesterton
from Wordsworth Classics
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$6.79
Daughter of Time
by Josephine Tey
from Touchstone
for 7th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$18.00
Death on the Nile
A Hercule Poirot Mystery #17
by Agatha Christie
from HarperCollins
Mystery & Suspense for 8th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$16.14
Disappeared
by Francisco X. Stork
from Arthur A. Levine Books
for 7th-12th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$9.34
Dorothy L. Sayers: The Complete Stories
by Dorothy L. Sayers
from Harper & Row
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$19.99
Dumb Witness
A Hercule Poirot Mystery #16
by Agatha Christie
Reprint from William Morrow & Company
for 8th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$16.14
Five Red Herrings (6)
A Lord Peter Mystery, Book 6
by Dorothy Sayers
from HarperCollins
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$18.99
Fourth Bear
by Jasper Fforde
Reprint from Penguin Putnam
for 11th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$17.00
Gaudy Night (10)
A Lord Peter Mystery, Book 10
by Dorothy L. Sayers
Reissue from HarperCollins
Murder Mystery for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$16.14
Have His Carcase (7)
A Lord Peter Mystery, Book 7
by Dorothy L. Sayers
Reprint from HarperCollins
Murder Mystery for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$16.14
Hound of the Baskervilles
by Arthur Conan Doyle
from Dover Publications
for 7th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$4.25
Lord Peter
by Dorothy Sayers
Reprint from Harper & Row
for 8th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$18.99
Maltese Falcon
by Dashiell Hammett
from Vintage Classics
for 10th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$16.00
Man in the Brown Suit
A Colonel Race Mystery #1
by Agatha Christie
from SeaWolf Press
for 9th-Adult
in Seawolf Illustrated Classics (Location: FIC-SW)
$8.49
Morbid Taste for Bones
Brother Cadfael
by Ellis Peters
Reissue from Mysterious Press
for 8th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$14.99
Murder at the Vicarage
A Miss Marple Mystery #1
by Agatha Christie
2022 Reissue from William Morrow & Company
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$16.14
Murder of Roger Ackroyd
A Hercule Poirot Mystery #4
by Agatha Christie
from SeaWolf Press
for 9th-Adult
in Seawolf Illustrated Classics (Location: FIC-SW)
$9.99
Murder on the Links
A Hercule Poirot Mystery #2
by Agatha Christie
2020 Reissue from SeaWolf Press
for 9th-Adult
in Seawolf Illustrated Classics (Location: FIC-SW)
$8.49
Mystery of the Blue Train
A Hercule Poirot Mystery #6
by Agatha Christie
2022 Reissue from SeaWolf Press
for 9th-Adult
in Seawolf Illustrated Classics (Location: FIC-SW)
$9.99
Nine Tailors (9)
A Lord Peter Mystery, Book 9
by Dorothy Sayers
from Harcourt
Murder Mystery for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$18.99
No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency
No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency #1
by Alexander McCall Smith
from Anchor Books
for 10th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$16.00
One Corpse Too Many
Brother Cadfael
by Ellis Peters
Reissue from Mysterious Press
for 8th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$14.99
Phantom of the Opera
by Gaston Leroux
from Bantam Books
Mystery/Horror for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$5.95
Picture of Dorian Gray
by Oscar Wilde
Revised from Penguin Classics
Mystery and Suspense for 10th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$7.65
Poirot Investigates
A Hercule Poirot Mystery #3
by Agatha Christie
2020 Reissue from SeaWolf Press
for 9th-Adult
in Seawolf Illustrated Classics (Location: FIC-SW)
$9.99
Secret Adversary
A Tommy and Tuppence Mystery #1
by Agatha Christie
2016 Reissue from SeaWolf Press
for 9th-Adult
in Seawolf Illustrated Classics (Location: FIC-SW)
$8.49
Spy Who Came in from the Cold
by John Le Carre
from Penguin Putnam
for 10th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$16.00
Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
Signet Classics
by Robert Louis Stevenson
from Oxford University
Mystery/Suspense for 8th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$6.76
Strong Poison (5)
A Lord Peter Mystery, Book 5
by Dorothy L. Sayers
Reissue from HarperCollins
Murder Mystery for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$17.99
Unnatural Death (3)
A Lord Peter Mystery, Book 3
by Dorothy Sayers
Reprint from HarperCollins
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$18.99
Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club (4)
A Lord Peter Mystery, Book 4
by Dorothy Sayers
Reissue from HarperCollins
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$17.99
Whose Body? (1)
A Lord Peter Mystery, Book 1
by Dorothy Sayers
Reprint from HarperCollins
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$16.99
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