When discussing the whodunit, few authors spring to mind more than Agatha Christie, and few characters spring to mind more than eccentric Belgian detective Hercule Poirot. Where better to start, then, than with The Mysterious Affair at Styles, Christie’s first published novel and Poirot’s first appearance? Though she has written better, more famous novels in the years since, it is no surprise that Styles launched her career. The same brisk pace, simple yet effective characterisation, and clever twists that made Christie’s writings so successful are on full display.
In terms of ubiquity, Poirot is second only to one other literary detective: Sherlock Holmes. Arthur Conan Doyle’s litany of stories starring the sleuth are distinctly different from those of Christie, however, with far more fantastical elements, as well as the same adventurous spirit that so marked his other works. That shouldn’t make you shy to read these classics, though, with my personal recommendation being the iconic Hound of the Baskervilles. Despite its age, the creeping dread and nail-biting suspense woven into the pages remains as palpable as ever, and no reader will forget the mysterious demon dog of the title.
For a more obscure book, look no further than thriller writer Eric Ambler’s Epitaph for a Spy, in which a hapless language teacher must hunt down a dangerous agent to secure his own freedom. While it does not feature a murder as the inciting incident, everything else about the novel, from the diverse cast of suspects to the numerous red herrings, makes it a classic whodunit. I found Ambler’s style gripping, and have never, before or since, been more invested in a character’s struggle than that of this novel’s protagonist. To put it bluntly, if you read one work listed, make it this one.
The most fantastical prose novel to be mentioned is Isaac Asimov’s The Naked Sun. Most famous for his Robot stories, Asimov clearly showed how the whodunit could be grounded in a futuristic, sci-fi setting. The plot, in which an Earth detective is sent to investigate a murder on the far-off planet of Solaria, is immediately engaging. Asimov’s straightforward writing style creates a rich, thriving world, where the agoraphobic Earthmen, who live their lives in vast underground caves, are set against the Solarians, who live in isolated estates and cannot bear the thought of being near another human.
My last recommendation is probably the most unusual: The Human Target was written by ex-CIA operative Tom King, drawn by the inimitable Greg Smallwood, and, quite crucially, is a comic book. King, known for his deconstructionist takes on well-worn superhero properties, turns his attention to the eponymous Human Target, an obscure DC character fatally poisoned and left with twelve days to hunt down his killer, the identity of whom, we’re told, is none other than a member of the Justice League. As expected from the premise, the recently concluded series is full of ridiculous concepts, arcane DC lore, and at least a couple of what terminally online fans would deem ‘character assassinations’. All permeated with hard-boiled noir sensibilities, beautifully rendered by Smallwood, it exemplifies the whodunit’s inimitable ability to transcend genre, medium, and demographics.
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