VM BURNS: I can trace my obsession with mysteries back to one author and one book. I grew up three blocks from my branch library and it became my home away from home. My best friend and I visited that small library at least twice every week. It’s there that I discovered my first Agatha Christie, The Murder of Roger Akroyd. That book blew my mind. When I got to the end, I can honestly say, “I didn’t see that coming.” The next day, I rushed back to the library and looked for another book by the same author. My librarian gave me, And, Then There Were None. I read the back cover, and I wasn’t sure this book would be as thrilling. I mean, ten people are on an island and they are each murdered. Obviously, the last one left standing would be the killer, right? Oh well, I had the book and decided to give it a try. HOLY COW! SPOILER ALERT, she kills them all!!! I should have known from the title, “And, Then There Were None,” but that little detail escaped me. Who was this woman with the diabolical mind who had twisted my twelve-year-old brain? The next day I went back to the library and grabbed every Agatha Christie book I could find. Thus, started my love of mysteries and my obsession/fascination with the Queen of Crime Fiction.
Agatha Christie is the bestselling author of sixty-six crime fiction books and 14 short stories. Her play, The Mousetrap, set a record for the longest-running play in London, running from November 25, 1952, until the theatre was closed due to the pandemic on March 16, 2020.
Christie’s style of manor house mysteries featuring nosy old spinsters or finicky Belgian private detectives may not be everyone’s cup of tea. Twenty-first-century readers may struggle not only with her sleuths but also with her prose. However, her plots are IMO brilliant. I re-read these books regularly. Each time, I see a clue or a red herring I missed previously. A Cup of Flour, A Pinch of Death is my twenty-first mystery. They say you never forget your first love, and that’s especially true in my case.
Do you remember the book/author that got you hooked on mysteries?
Valerie (V. M.) Burns is an Agatha, Anthony, and Edgar Award-nominated author. She is the author of the Mystery Bookshop, Dog Club, RJ Franklin, and Baker Street Mystery series. As Kallie E. Benjamin, Valerie writes the Bailey the Bloodhound Mystery series. She is an adjunct professor in the Writing Popular Fiction Program at Seton Hill University in Greensburg, PA. Born and raised in northwestern Indiana, Valerie now lives in Northern Georgia. Connect with Valerie at vmburns.com.
