The 2008 thread was a major fail.

Does anyone read a lot of mystery and spy novels? I've always been a fan, but there is an overwhelming amount of them out there by so many different authors that I don't know what is worthy of reading.

I've read quite a few by Ludlum, Ken Follett. Classics like Agatha Christie. and beach-reading fodder by Jack Higgins and the like.

I've been thinking about giving La Carre a try. Anyone else have any thoughts?

5/24/2012 9:01:21 AM

I want to get back into this, been a long time since I've read these.

5/24/2012 9:02:44 AM

I read "Evil Under the Sun" by Christie and "The Hunt for Red October" by Clancy...both were decent but because they're not really my thing they were kind of a chore to get through. But if since you're into myster/spy I'd recommned either. I think most people have read Red October or seen the movie anyway.

5/24/2012 10:07:29 AM

Spy vs. Spy always keeps me on the edge of my seat.

5/24/2012 10:37:50 AM

Read the 007 Series.

Im working my way through them, On Dr. No now. Ive found them all to be entertaining, rather quick reads.

[Edited on May 24, 2012 at 10:58 AM. Reason : .]

5/24/2012 10:58:02 AM

5/24/2012 11:12:04 AM

dammit, jbrick, that's exactly what derailed the 2008 thread

5/24/2012 11:14:52 AM

it's quality mystery shit man...don't hate

My sister loved her some Nancy Drew growing up:

5/24/2012 11:16:10 AM

Surprised they haven't made a Hardy Boys movie with Jonah Hill and Sean William Scott

5/24/2012 11:16:48 AM

^ I hope they don't read tdub because that shit will be next if they get the idea.

Quote :

"Read the 007 Series."

How do they compare with the films? Better/worse...stick to/stray from the novel?

5/24/2012 11:24:50 AM

Flemming's originals were published between '54 and '64 so you have to take that into account. In them days the "Bond Car" was I think a 1933 bently. The early movies (dr. No, russia with love) were pretty true to the books. as time went on the shit got more silly every year.
There were other writers that were commissioned to continue the literary Bond.

5/24/2012 12:03:04 PM

Le Carre has some really good ones. The Spy Who Came in from the Cold is brilliant, probably his best and one of the true classics of the genre.

5/24/2012 11:24:43 PM

i've been wanting to read Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy since i saw the movie and hated it due to having difficulty following the story and characters. those who read the book had nothing but good things to say about it.

i read The Spy Who Came in from the Cold years ago and it was really good; i may actually download that to my Nook and re-read it.

5/25/2012 7:38:53 AM

I actually have that on my Kindle right now. that's the one that got me to make this thread.

I've been reading the ASoIaF series lately, can't decide if I want to take a quick break and read Le Carre or not.

5/25/2012 8:37:03 AM

Quote :

"i've been wanting to read Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy since i saw the movie and hated it due to having difficulty following the story and characters. those who read the book had nothing but good things to say about it."

i'm about half way through and still have no idea what is going on. i think the author is one of those guys that intentionally make everything extremely vague and hard to follow

5/25/2012 9:33:24 AM

I read TTSS and enjoyed it. It is hard to follow in places, agreed, and the story line takes the entire book to fully converge. But it's worthwhile. I think the slight murkiness of the way it plays out could be seen as a literary device that fits the mood and subject matter of the book.

I do wish I had read The Looking-Glass War previously, as it would provide some backstory on Smiley and Guillam. Though Smiley's story arc goes all the way back to Call for the Dead, Le Carre's first novel... (have not read those two but would like to)

5/25/2012 12:32:39 PM

^ Yeah some backstory on Smiley would definitely be helpful. I'm confused, is he 'retired' or 'semi-retired' in TTSS? It seems that all the guys talk about are the 'old days', which makes me think he is not active anymore.

5/25/2012 1:28:22 PM

I'd like to read the Ludlum series (Jason Bourne).

5/25/2012 2:23:22 PM

^^retired but gets recalled through unofficial channels.

5/25/2012 2:24:02 PM

I don't really put mystery and spy genres together normally so just to be clear, you're looking for mystery or spy novels (or perhaps a crossover ideally)? And what about straight up detective novels (which are sort of mystery by default)?

If you're interested in the latter, I enjoyed Jonathan Lethem's Motherless Brooklyn. I also liked Gun, with Occasional Music. Motherless Brooklyn is fairly traditional local, private detective stuff. Gun, with Occasional Music is a little different. It's a hardboiled detective novel with a sci-fi twist.

Quote :

"The novel follows the adventures of Conrad Metcalf, a tough guy private detective and a wiseass, through a futuristic version of San Francisco and Oakland, California. Metcalf is hired by a man who claims that he's being framed for the murder of a prominent urologist. Metcalf quickly discovers that nobody wants the case solved: not the victim's ex-wife, not the police, and certainly not the gun-toting kangaroo who works for the local mafia boss."

5/25/2012 3:58:18 PM

Quote :

"you're looking for mystery or spy novels (or perhaps a crossover ideally)? And what about straight up detective novels (which are sort of mystery by default)?"

any and all. i don't think i've read any hard boiled detective novels.

5/29/2012 7:47:57 AM

I don't read a lot of spy books, but I loooooove thrillers/mysteries.

I've read Patricia Cornwell's Scarpetta series. The older novels are great - lots of twists with in-depth science/medical explanations. The 2 or 3 most recent books focus too much on Scarpetta's love life. I think a new one is coming out soon and I hope it goes back to the older style. I didn't read them in order and they stood on their own very well, but it did ruin a few surprises.

I also like Karin Slaughter - more cop/detective stuff with a little medical examiner thrown in. They're probably more graphic/descriptive (blood guts violence - there's one about a child porn ring that was pretty intense, and another one had a guy stab women then fuck the wounds) than other mysteries I read, but by far the most captivating. I usually finish in a day or two. I read these in order and it really helped the character development, so I would recommend that but it's not necessary.

Just started Josie Bates' Wintess series. First book was good once it got going, but at times could be a little too descriptive of the scenery without any real importance.

[Edited on May 31, 2012 at 12:28 PM. Reason : .]

5/31/2012 12:23:38 PM

The 'Jack Ryan' series, if you like spy/political/specops thrillers. They always start fairly slow but the last few hundred pages I always finish in a night because after all that buildup it's balls to the wall to the finish when the shit starts hitting the fan.
Bonus points if you read then in chronological order:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Ryan_%28Tom_Clancy_character%29#Chronological_order

[Edited on May 31, 2012 at 4:24 PM. Reason : ]

5/31/2012 4:22:33 PM

I started reading Rainbow Six a couple years ago and got a few hundred pages in before kind of forgetting about it.

5/31/2012 5:02:48 PM

Loved Rainbow Six, one of my favorites

5/31/2012 5:29:53 PM

reading The Spy Who Came in from the Cold.

how do you pronouce Leamas?

is it Lee-MAS

Lay-ma

Leemus

7/17/2012 11:00:28 AM