All goodies. Elizabeth Peters goes on a bit for me sometimes. Martha Grimes for some reason doesn't grab me. I DETEST Hercule Poirot (sp?), though I adore Miss Marple. Joan Hess is also fun.
Reflecting on your list, I realize that my personal criteria for first class (4.0 grading) are: (this list is off the cuff--if I thought about this I would write it better and perhaps add some factors, but this is on the fly) excellent plotting, characterizations, and location description, superb use of English, writing that draws me into the story and makes me care about the characters, and a craving to re-read the book. There are lots of B books, very good but not the top, missing one or more of my criteria. I would put Hess, Rendell, Peters, and Christie there. Quite enjoyable, well worth reading once, but not A list. Christie is a supberb plotter and has excellent characters, but her writing is, to me, only second rate. Grimes I think has a shot at the A list, but I do find she bogs down at times and I often find myself saying "so what?" |
