Beginnings

Marilyn Thiele

Jeff’s invitation to join “Hey There’s a Dead Guy in the Living Room,” combined with that time of year when we think about where we’ve been and where we’re going, got me thinking about my love of mysteries and my lifelong dream (now fulfilled) of owning a mystery book store. Where did it all begin?

There is probably not a female mystery fan who was not started on Nancy Drew. But Cherry Ames was my heroine; she had a career, saving lives as a nurse while bringing justice to the world. Much more impressive than driving a blue roadster!

My real first “favorite author,” though, was Erle Stanley Gardner. I discovered his Perry Mason series on the third shelf up of a quiet nook in the town library where the mysteries were hidden. I was allowed there because I had already read everything in the Children’s Section. Back then, library books then were not covered in plastic, nor did they have colorful jackets full of blurbs to entice the reader. They were small, drab, beige or grey, but filled with …. well, mystery. I did not just stumble upon Perry Mason. The TV show was popular during this time, and I recognized the author. Another beginning: a realization that the books were more interesting, and they were available anytime, not just once a week. Even with today’s endless options for reading and viewing, a book is still my preference for “anywhere anytime” (under the covers with a flashlight then; in bed with a tiny LED reading light to keep peace with the spouse now.)

And so through Sherlock Holmes, Agatha Christie, and Ngaio Marsh. I developed a fear that I would read all the books in print and would be bereft. When I talked to the librarian at my junior high school about having read all the mystery books I thought existed, she handed me The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins. My love of Victorian England having already been nurtured by Dr. Watson’s memoirs and side helpings of Dickens, I was now back at the true beginning. I was hooked for life on crime and detective fiction.

Through short fascinations with Science Fiction, Horror and the classics required of an English major, my love of the detective novel was never long forgotten. When I discovered that there were entire bookstores devoted to crime fiction, I knew that heaven would be living all day every day in such a place. Well, despite some parts that are less than heavenly, I now am in that place… all day… every day. I named it in tribute to the book that started it all, The Moonstone. Who could want anything more than to be surrounded by mystery books all the time?

When I opened the store, I thought I was well-read in the crime fiction genre. I discovered authors I had missed, classic and contemporary, almost daily as I entered the wonderful world of bookselling. The fear of running out of things to read seems to have disappeared; the problem now is living long enough to read everything I want to read.

Many young readers today are still looking for a good mystery. Despite the glut of bestselling young adult stories of vampires and werewolves, there is a need for more straight detective fiction that is age appropriate. There are voracious readers who have devoured Agatha Christie, but are not as fascinated as I was with the Victorian world. Some of the big name authors are dabbling in the middle grade area, but I would love to see more. Although much young adult fiction covers areas I was not even aware of at that age, there are readers more interested in a good puzzle than the miseries of divorce, drugs, and teenage sex. I enjoy nurturing the next generation of crime fiction fans, and I plan to spend part of 2012 finding out what is available for them. I have probably missed a lot of options, as I have with adult fiction, so I would appreciate any suggestions.

.
It would be interesting to learn how other readers (and writers) came to their own love of crime fiction and the mystery genre. How did you get started?