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.
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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?
Welcome, Marilyn! I got my start, as did many kids my age, with Encyclopedia Brown, and I'm still shocked he hasn't made it to the silver screen. Very interesting to see how Moonstone got started--I never realized the origin of the name. Thanks for joining us DEAD GUYs!
Posted by: Jeff Cohen | January 07, 2012 at 09:50 AM
Looks like you are going to be a great blogger! I've had success selling those "Gilda Joyce Psychic Detective" books by Jennifer Allison. Each one goes to a different location - Nevada Barr for the younger set (or maybe Mrs. Pollifax!)
Posted by: Robin Agnew | January 07, 2012 at 09:54 AM
Happily my mother was a reader and started me off early. Nancy Drew, the Hardy Boys, and Alfred Hitchcock mysteries were staples under the tree and on my birthday. I also grew up with the classics - the Five Little Peppers, Little Women et al., the biographies of Jenny Lind, Clara Barton and others. I made the switch to almost entirely mystery about 25 years ago when I discovered that trying to solve the puzzle was a real bonus to reading the book. You have fulfilled one of my dreams and I wish you the very best at it.
Posted by: Mare F | January 07, 2012 at 10:06 AM
I got started with Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys, but my deep fascination with mystery came from swiping the books from my Dad's bookshelves. His favourites: Rex Stout and A. A. Fair (Earle Stanley Gardener). There were a few Agatha Christies hidden in the shelves but not nearly as many as I have now. I spent dozens of years hunting the mystery section of bookstores, but it wasn't until I found San Francisco Mystery Bookstore (then a used-only, on weekends only bookshop) that I really expanded. And then, of course, I found DorothyL and my reading tastes expanded and expanded and . . .
Welcome, Marilyn!
Posted by: Theresa de Valence | January 07, 2012 at 10:17 AM
This post could have used a bit more BSP! Where is your bookstore? I clicked on your photo and the link just goes to an empty placeholder site.
Posted by: twitter.com/trow125 | January 07, 2012 at 11:59 AM
Welcome. An inspiring post. I'm going to drag out that young reader mystery ms I relegated to the waste basket when I couldn't think of anywhere to insert a vampire. Kids still like puzzles? Really!
Posted by: Roy Innes | January 07, 2012 at 12:13 PM
Sue, that placeholder link is my fault. Marilyn's getting the bookstore's site ready, and I jumped the gun on it. Sorry about that.
Posted by: Jeff Cohen | January 07, 2012 at 12:33 PM
I think I got started much as you did, Marilyn, in the stacks of libraries, with one book after another in a series to go through. Nancy Drew, yes...Cherry Ames...I can still see those beige Trixie Belden spines--how gratifyingly many of them there were.
Now my first novel (a literary mystery) will be coming out in a year, and it is truly the fulfillment of a lifelong dream.
We are embarking on a cross-country tour of bookstores as a family when the book is out--another lifelong dream. Where is your store?
Thanks for the post, and thanks to Jeff for bringing you on Dead Guy!
Posted by: jenny milchman | January 07, 2012 at 03:38 PM
Marilyn, I too went from being afraid I would run out of books to read, to hoping I live long enough to read all I want. So far, so good.
Jeri
Posted by: Jeri Bates | January 07, 2012 at 05:07 PM
I would agree with the comment about Encyclopedia Brown. Forty years later, and I still have those books on my shelves.
Junior year, Brown University - honestly, I was looking for something easy and something fun. My parents and friends stared at me when I told them I was taking a class called "The Spy Novel." And yes, that's exactly what the class was about. It was easy, and it was fun, but I learned the hell out of how to craft a suspenseful story.
William Doonan
www.themummiesofblogspace9.com
Posted by: William Doonan | January 07, 2012 at 07:59 PM
I have to admit, I came to mysteries later than the rest of you all. I do, however, share the library experience and venturing into the adult section because I had read all the "kiddy" books. Up until my late teens and 20's I was more into historical romance (heavy on the historical light on the romance, please!) and to this day I don't think I've read a Nancy Drew book. My sister, however, voraciously read Sherlock Holmes which I turned my nose up at because I thought it was "unfair" that he knew more than I did and there was no way I could figure the mysteries out! I loved the Perry Mason series and then Ellery Queen came along and suddenly I was reading mysteries in the Ellery Queen magazine. Almost simultaneously I discovered Agatha Christie because I've always been an Anglophile and then there was no turning back! For some reason, in my 30's, as a young wife and mother I went off romances and murder mysteries seemed to appeal more (go figure--I dunno why...). Now I rarely read anything other than cozy, historical or cooking mysteries (recipes included, 2 treats in one!) Best wishes on the success of the bookstore. I always thought that would be a dream job too! Wish I were closer to come in and browse!
Janet McCord http://janetmccord.blogspot.com
Posted by: janetmccord | January 08, 2012 at 09:31 AM