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One of my 12 + 4 (I think I might have a couple or three this year) will be to read the 16 books that have resided the longest on our bookshelves. Here they are.
2025 12 + 4 Reading Challenge - Dusty Books
"It's lights out for London's power stations — and Scotland Yard commander George Gideon is about to blow a fuse! "Superb storytelling!" — The New York Times Book Review. Their majestic smoke stacks have withstood the bombs of the Nazis; their whirring turbines are the city's pulse. The power stations symbolize the power of London. So then, it is not surprising that a single power outage could bring entire districts to their knees. But when they become frequent, almost regular happenings, Scotland Yard Commander George Gideon gives his men the nod to go have a look-see. And when reports come in about the presence of a mysterious green bicycle outside of each of the failing plants, Gideon puts himself on the case. If that weren't enough, Gideon also has a kidnapping caper that looks to become a murder case. Then there's a shocking development in a two-year-old murder, a clue that just might prove the condemned man innocent. As London's lights flicker the hooligans have a field day; it's up to Gideon to pull the plug on crime!"
"Gideon knew he was in for a difficult time. There was to be a summit conference in London and the protection of the statesmen from France, Germany and the United States was a prime importance. But Gideon also had to cope with murder - first one, then another, both of them seemingly connected in some strange way ..."
"Commander George Gideon of Scotland yard keeps the peace in London when strikes are imminent , of the Press and at the docks and extreme right-wingers are gathering to break up the dockgate meetings."
"Antiques dealer Lara McClintoch is targeted by ruthless criminals while tying to recover an eighth-century Tang Dynasty silver box-with an alchemical formula for the elixir of immortality etched on the inside of the lid. The rare item holds the key not only to the mysterious death of a museum curator, but to Lara's own survival."
"For over a year, Philadelphia has been plagued by a serial killer dubbed the Plate Glass Killer by the media. But finally, the police think they've caught a break - a man has been arrested at the site of the most recent murder, covered in the victim's blood. The man taken into custody is Henry Tyder, the scion of one of the most socially prominent families on Philadelphia's Main Line, a family that possesses the largest tracts of real estate in the city. He's also a hopeless alcoholic, frequently homeless and often estranged from his family.
Although Tyder has apparently confessed to the crime, his attorney believes him to be too disordered to be capable of actually committing the crimes and asks Gregor Demarkian, retired head of the FBI's Behavioral Sciences Unit, to look into the case. Gregor, however, has other things on his mind - after having been away for nearly a year without a word to him, his live-in girlfriend, Bennis Hannaford, has returned to Cavanaugh Street. And everyone seems to have seen her but Gregor. While he waits for Bennis to finally appear, Gregor finds himself enmeshed in complex case of the Plate Glass Killer. Specifically, what would have drive Tyder to confess to crimes he was seemingly incapable of committing and, more importantly, if Tyder isn't the killer, then who really is behind the murders of the Plate Glass Killer."
"When writer and ex-deb Bennis Hannaford discovers the body of super-heiress Kayla Anson in the family garage, her visit to Litchfield County, Connecticut, is reluctantly extended. Bennis's hostess, Margaret Anson, presents an icy version of the grieving mother, cut out her late husband's will--until now. And when Gregor Demarkian, ex-FBI man and Bennis's lover, arrives from Philadelphia to consult with local police, a media blitz storms in as more suspects crawl out of the woods.
Kayla may have been too blindingly rich for her wild, private school chum; her older, socially ambitious entrepreneur boyfriend; and a divorced, downsized bookkeeper selling her furniture to survive. As Gregor maps out distances, location, and motives, Halloween descends on the dark, silent hills. From a skeleton sprawled on the cemetery caretakers' porch to more deadly mischief and mayhem, the countryside is brimming with secrets. And a killer is about to strike again..."
"Down the aisle--to death
Armies on the eve of invasion could learn a thing or two about preparation from the denizens of Cavanaugh Street, who never do anything halfway. This time it's a wedding that's taking over the collective consciousness of the street...and bringing up painful memories for Gregor Demarkian. So when he's consulted on a murder in exclusive Fox Run Hill, the ex-FBI special agent is grateful for the diversion.
Why did country-club matron Patsy MacLaren Willis coldly shoot her husband in his sleep? Why did she remove every trace of her existence from the home they'd shared, pipe bomb her own car--and then disappear? The police think it's another marriage gone bad, but Demarkian thinks there's more to the case. And it soon looks like he's a second pipe bomb explodes, with devastating results, and Gregor knows that he must find a killer wedded to an explosive secret--before more victims take that final walk down the aisle."
"A murder has been committed - but as the victim was a rapist, recently released from prison, no one is too concerned about the crime. That is, until Detective Inspector John Rebus and DS Siobhan Clarke uncover evidence that a serial killer is on the loose ...
When Rebus also starts looking into the apparent suicide of an MP, he is abruptly warned off the case, not least because the G8 leaders have gathered in Scotland, and Rebus's bosses want him well out of the way. But Rebus has never been one to stick to the rules, and when Siobhan has a very personal reason for hunting down a riot cop, it looks as though both Rebus and Clarke may be up against their own side ..."
"It's late autumn in Edinburgh and late autumn in the career of Detective Inspector John Rebus. As he tries to tie up some loose ends before retirement, a murder case intrudes. A dissident Russian poet has been found dead in what looks like a mugging gone wrong. By apparent coincidence, a high-level delegation of Russian businessmen is in town - and everyone is determined that the case should be closed quickly and clinically. But the further they dig, the more Rebus and DS Siobhan Clarke become convinced that they are dealing with something more than a random attack - especially after a particularly nasty second killing. Meanwhile, a brutal and premeditated assault on a local gangster sees Rebus in the frame. Has the Inspector taken a step too far in tying up those loose ends? Only a few days shy of the end to his long, inglorious career, will Rebus even make it that far? "
"When Edwin Garland died of a heart attack, no one outside the expectant circle of his relatives was concerned. But when, on the evening of his funeral, his son was shot dead, the situation changed dramatically and Superintendent Wycliffe was called in to investigate the seemingly motiveless murder. The disappearance of another relative and a further death occur before Wycliffe manages to unravel a story that had begun several years before, with the death of a famous Cornish artist. Only then is he able to identify the killer."
"Murder and mayhem strike when a small group of people are confined to an island in the middle of a New Zealand lake in one of Ngaio Marsh’s last – and best – novels.
The luxury mansion on New Zealand's Lake Waihoe is the ideal place for a world-famous soprano to rest after her triumphant tour. Among the other guests are Chief Superintendent Alleyn and his wife - but theirs is not a social visit. When tragedy strikes, and isolated by one of the lake's sudden storms, Alleyn faces one of his trickiest cases…"
"The richest wine merchant in Paris is found dead—killed by a bullet in front of an elegant house where discreet clients are in the habit of renting rooms for discreet purposes. Everything seems to point to a crime sparked by jealousy.
But Maigret is surprised to find a curious absence of shock or grief in the victim's family and colleagues, and further investigation into the life and habits of the murdered man reveals some singularly unlovable traits.
Simenon has created another superb and subtle exposition of one of Maigret's chief preoccupations: the idea of guilt."
"The discovery of a body in a quarry creates a baffling case for Detective Superintendent Wycliffe
Simon Meagor was a lonely middle-aged man. With a broken marriage behind him, his life was centered on his antiquarian bookshop. In his past was the memory of a murder trial where his evidence had resulted in the conviction of a man who had subsequently killed himself. Now, to his horror, the daughter of that man was applying for a job in his shop and, almost mesmerized by her, Simon found he was agreeing to her employment. Cleverly, over a period of time, Morwenna manipulated herself into his work, his life, and finally into his flat above the shop. And then she disappeared.
When her body was discovered in a flooded quarry, at first suicide was considered. Morwenna was suffering from a fatal disease. But everything pointed to murder and, inevitably, suspicion fell on Simon Meagor.
Wycliffe became increasingly disturbed by a case which grew more and more complicated as he explored many dark and murky secrets from the past."
"There are 206 bones in the human body. Forensic anthropologists know them intimately, can use them to reconstruct every kind of violent end. When Tempe finds herself regaining consciousness in some kind of very small, very dark, very cold enclosed space—bound, hands to feet—Tempe begins slowly to reconstruct...
Tempe and Lieutenant Ryan had accompanied the recently discovered remains of a missing heiress from Montreal to the Chicago morgue. Suddenly, Tempe was accused of mishandling the autopsy—and the case. Back in Montreal, the corpse of a second elderly woman was found in the woods, and then a third. Seamlessly weaving between Tempe’s present-tense terror as she’s held captive and her memory of the cases of these murdered women, Reichs reveals the incredible devastation that would occur if a forensic colleague sabotaged work in the lab. The chemistry between Tempe and Ryan intensifies as this complex, riveting tale unfolds, proving once again, that Reichs is the dominant talent in forensic mystery writing."
Tempe and Lieutenant Ryan had accompanied the recently discovered remains of a missing heiress from Montreal to the Chicago morgue. Suddenly, Tempe was accused of mishandling the autopsy—and the case. Back in Montreal, the corpse of a second elderly woman was found in the woods, and then a third. Seamlessly weaving between Tempe’s present-tense terror as she’s held captive and her memory of the cases of these murdered women, Reichs reveals the incredible devastation that would occur if a forensic colleague sabotaged work in the lab. The chemistry between Tempe and Ryan intensifies as this complex, riveting tale unfolds, proving once again, that Reichs is the dominant talent in forensic mystery writing."
"Donna Leon's Commissario Brunetti series has made Venice a city that's beautiful and sophisticated, but also secretive and corrupt, one of mystery fans most beloved locales. In this brilliant new book, Brunetti is summoned to the hospital bed of a respected pediatrician, where he is confronted with more questions than answers. Three men had burst into the doctor's apartment, attacked him, and kidnapped his eighteen-month-old son. What could have motivated an assault so violent that it has left the doctor mute? And could this crime be related to the moneymaking scam run by pharmacists that Brunetti's colleague has recently uncovered? As Brunetti delves deeper into the case, a story of infertility, desperation, and illegal dealings begins to unfold."
"Jane Marple is from the village of St Mary Mead and applies her skills of observation and deduction to a wide variety of mysteries. Several of the supporting characters appear in many of these stories, including her nephew Raymond West, Dolly and Arthur Bantry of Gossington Hall, and Sir Henry Clithering formerly of Scotland Yard.
Miss Marple made her first appearance in a book in 1930, and her twelfth and final novel was published shortly after Agatha Christie's death almost 50 years later. In the intervening years Miss Marple also featured in 20 short stories, published in a number of different collections. But never before have they been available together.
In this complete volume, Miss Marple uses her unique insight to deduce the truth about a series of unsolved crimes - cases of a girl framed for theft, some disappearing bloodstains, the cryptic last message of a poisoned man, a woman killed within days of writing her will, a spiritualist who predicts death, a mortally wounded stranger in a church, a Christmas tragedy...
In all 20 ingenious crimes, every one guaranteed to keep you guessing until the turn of the final page."
Miss Marple made her first appearance in a book in 1930, and her twelfth and final novel was published shortly after Agatha Christie's death almost 50 years later. In the intervening years Miss Marple also featured in 20 short stories, published in a number of different collections. But never before have they been available together.
In this complete volume, Miss Marple uses her unique insight to deduce the truth about a series of unsolved crimes - cases of a girl framed for theft, some disappearing bloodstains, the cryptic last message of a poisoned man, a woman killed within days of writing her will, a spiritualist who predicts death, a mortally wounded stranger in a church, a Christmas tragedy...
In all 20 ingenious crimes, every one guaranteed to keep you guessing until the turn of the final page."
As you can see I was going through a mystery phase back then. To be fair, mysteries have become my favorite genre. I hope you get some reading ideas from the selection.
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