Windows To The World

WHO’S ON FIRST

There are  many mysteries that have been widely imitated.  I could rephrase this as writers  enlarging on a good idea. These are the seeds that I think germinated well in the past years. I thought it would be interesting to see who actually came first. One of the first mystery stories was THE WOMAN IN WHITE but I am focusing on those stories that have served as a springboard to others in the same vein.

I can’t tell you how many book covers mention that the hero within is the next Philip Marlow. He is a staple on the back of the book blurbs and is held up as a paragon of the lone detective. Who was Philip Marlow?  A detective on the mean streets of LA written by Raymond Chandler in 1939 but this was preceded by THE MALTESE FALCON written by Dashiell Hammet in 1930 who made Sam Spade a synonym for tough and the followers in his footsteps were Mike Hammer, by Mickey Spillane ’47, Robert Parker's Spencer 1973, and PI’s by the handful that we all grew to know and love.

Another one of the most cloned writers  was Tony Hillerman, who started the western Native American mystery from the southwest in 1970. Peter Bowen has a series that he started in ‘94  in the North West, Margaret Coel one in ’95 and there have been threads  on Amazon dedicated to this very classification of mystery because there are so many authors in this genre.

Another subtype that spawned a few in the same vein is the intrepid young woman who was an ambulance driver or similar in WWI and never looked back We have Kerry Greenwood in 1989 with Phryne Fisher in COCAINE BLUES, a series about a typewriter in San Francisco Fremont Jones, written by Dianne Day in 1995 Jacqueline Winspear in 2003 with MAISIE DOBBS, Suzanne Arruda in 2006 with MARK OF THE LION, and Barbara Cleverly’s Leatitia Talbot series in 2007.

The Gentleman Detective Class is heavily populated , but the first may have been  Sherlock Holmes that well known character of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle who entered the world in A STUDY IN SCARLET in 1887. Jaques Futrelle's The Thinking Man S.F.X. Van Dusen who fist came to life is 1906 followed by R. Austin Freeman first story THE   RED THUMB MARK in 1907.  Hercule Poirot was introduced in 1920, Peter Wimsey followed the prototype in 1923 as he was witten by Dorothy Sayers. Ngaio Marsh joined the parade in 1934 with Roderick Alleyn, P. D. James was writing aboutAdam Dalgliesh, the poet in ’62, , Elizabeth George in 1988 with Lord Lindley, Cassandra Chan in 2005 with Betancourt, Dolores Gordon Smith and Jack Haldean in 2007.

Jane Marple and the Cozy. She needs no explanation. Cozies abound. MURDER AT THE VICARAGE was written in 1930 by Agatha Christie but I don't know if she was the first but she is the alpha and the omega to many.

Exotic Location policing is a great category. I don’t know where it really began, but it got a good start for me with Graham Greene with his book ORIENT EXPRESS of 1932 and my favorite followers include Martin Cruz Smith ’and Stuart Kaminskyboth writing about Russia in 1981 and Batya Gur about Israel in 1988, Eliot Pattison  about Tibet in ‘99, and Leighton Gage’s Series in Brazil of 2007.

Nordic Nastiness:  Swedish, Norwegian, Danish and Finnish mysteries are being translated at an ever rapid rate and Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö were first translated in ‘67 then  Mankell ’99, Jo Nesbø’97, Håkan Nesser 1993, Åke Edwardson 2005 with SUN AND SHADOW, and last but not least the Stieg Larsson trilogy starting with THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO in 2008.

Female Police is a good category, and perhaps there should be a category of ex-police as well. Margaret Maron’s Sigrid Harald was written in ’81, Laurie King’s Kate Martinelli series started 1993, Carol O’Connell ‘s Mallory in ’94, Steven Havill with Estelle Reyes- Gusman as the Under sheriff of Posadas County In SCAVENGERS in 2002.

 Female PI Series are an ever expanding genre. My first was Sharon McCone by Marcia Muller in ’77,  then Liza Cody ’80, Sue Grafton’s A in ’82 and Sara Paretsky’s V.I Warshawski in ’82 and on to the many female PI’s of today, Kat Colorado, Carlotta Carlisle, The Spellman family etc, not forgetting Rachel Cord by R.E. Conary 2008.

Historic Detectives abound these days but I started with Peter Lovesy’s WOBBLE TO DEATH in 1970 with Victorian policemen, Elizabeth Peters wrote her CROCODILE ON THE SANDBANK in 1975, Ellis Peters was writing in 1977, Anne Perry Pitt Series was in 1979, Matthew Pearl’s The Dante Club was written 2003, Charles Finch with The Beautiful Blue Death 2007.

Everybody is CSIing it these days but Patricia Cornwell’s Kay Scarpetta Forensic series is one of the first of that type done in 1990, Kathy Reichs wrote her first in’97, Simon Beck began his series set in England in 2006 and many, many more have followed. The one I read most recently was Erin Hart’s HAUNTED GROUND  ’03.

Another main genre that is one of my favorites is the police-procedural. Whether the detective be from the  inner city,or small town British or hailing from Ulan Bator as in Martin Walker's series they were following the path of perhaps Inspectoor French in Freeman Willis Crofts' 1925 INSPECTOR FRENCH'S GREATEST CASE, or John Creasey's 1948 THE INSPECTOR TAKES THE CASE. One of the best known is the 87th precinct series by Ed McBain which began in 1956 with COP HATER. 


 There are other sub-genres I have not mentioned, such as unusual avocations, religion themed mysteries, everything from socialists to scientists getting  in on the sleuthing game, but the more I read I find that these books mentioned here are most likely not the first, but are certainly pioneers.