From the Shelves of the Paco Library

I don’t consider myself a mystery buff, but there are certain authors in the genre whose works I find practically addictive. Here are a few of my favorites (pretty much off the top of my head; there are others I’ll profile in future Shelves features).

1) In the Marcus Didius Falco series, Lindsey Davis has combined an in-depth knowledge of Roman history with an astounding skill in characterization and a fine sense of humor to create a detective (styled “private informer” in the novels) in the reign of the Emperor Vespasian who possesses a modern sensibility and a wise-guy attitude highly suggestive of noir fiction. Falco is an ex-army man who served in Britain, and has settled down to a career as a professional snoop in Rome. He lives by his (considerable) wits, and when he’s not ducking gladiators working as part-time debt collectors, he’s carrying out missions for the Emperor which bring him into contact with a vast array of spies, murderers, crooks and high-handed politicians. Much of the charm of the novels derives from our expanding acquaintance with Falco’s large and troublesome family, including a disapproving mother, a gaggle of sisters, and various obnoxious brothers in law. Falco also enjoys a tumultuous relationship with Helena Justina, the daughter of a senator, who is not only his soul mate and the eventual mother of his children, but a frequent partner in his private investigations.

The novels carry Falco and Helena Justina throughout the Roman Empire, and along the way, we are not only entertained by their often hair-raising adventures, but are exposed to an on-going history lesson, with rich period details worked into the stories in a way that is never tedious or pedantic. The first book in the series is The Silver Pigs; there are, I believe, 18 books in the series, thus far, so if you haven’t met Falco, you’re in for a treat.

2) Peter Lovesey has created a number of fascinating gumshoes, including Sergeant Crib and Peter Diamond. The one I want to highlight here is HRH, Albert Edward, Prince of Wales – known familiarly as Bertie. Like that other, more famous Bertie of literature, the Prince of Wales is an open, friendly and curious fellow who does not precisely shine in the intellectual department; both are also plagued by disapproving elderly females (Bertie Wooster by his aunts, Prince Albert by his mother, Queen Victoria). Unlike Wodehouse’s Bertie, however, HRH is a rather randy buck whose love of the ladies sometimes complicates his life rather embarrassingly.

There are three books in the series: Bertie and the Tinman, Bertie and the Seven Bodies and Bertie and the Crime of Passion. Written in the first person, in the form of sleuthing memoirs, the stories are masterpieces of the comic mystery tale.

3) The office on the Quai des Orfévres…the pipe-tobacco smoke in the air…inspectors Lucas and Janvier bustling in with reports, evidence or, occasionally, bottles of beer… the endless parade of witnesses and suspects, by turns frightened, mistrustful, angry…and at the center of it all, Chief Inspector Maigret of the Police Judiciare, watching, thinking, putting himself mentally into the shoes of the criminal, bringing to bear superior powers of reasoning and intuition to catch his man (or woman, as the case may be).

Georges Simenon was a prolific author whose best known creation is Jules Maigret, the venerable detective who featured in some seventy-five novels and a score or so of short stories published from the 1930’s up until the early ‘70’s. In most of these stories, the crime – be it murder or theft – has already occurred, and we pick up Maigret as he is commencing his investigation. The stories are gems characterized by the psychological dueling that goes on between the Chief Inspector and his quarry, and they are richly enhanced by the setting – ranging to all parts of Paris, from Maigret’s stuffy office, to cafes, hotels, factories and private apartments, and even into the French countryside. Ably assisted by his worshipful assistants, Lucas and Janvier, Maigret is perhaps the mystery genre’s first (and perhaps, only) impressionist detective – and since the action takes place in France, this creative approach strikes at least this reader as being perfectly appropriate.

One of the great things about this series is that you can start anywhere, since each book stands alone as an artistic achievement. I recently completed a book of Maigret short stories - Maigret’s Christmas - which serves up nine stories that take place in the winter holiday season, and it’s as good a place as any to start. Also, if you haven’t seen them, treat yourself to Michael Gambon’s portrayal of Maigret in the ITV television series (available on DVD); wonderful stuff!