Anthony Horowitz’s ode to Golden Age detective novels handily lends itself to a long list of readalike titles. Whether you’re in the mood for another mystery, one with a similar tone to tide you over until Magpie‘s queue turns in your favor, or for a little background information on the authors who excelled in visiting crime upon seemingly sleepy English villages, we’ve got you covered with the books below. And if you just want to binge watch Grantchester until a copy of Magpie turns up for you, well, that’s an excellent idea too. There is no such thing as too much James Norton.
(Oh, before I go: I’m reading Magpie Murders–will probably have finished it, sadly, by the time this posts–and it is absolutely worth the wait.)
You’re waiting on this…
“When editor Susan Ryeland is given the manuscript of Alan Conway’s latest novel, she has no reason to think it will be much different from any of his others. After working with the bestselling crime writer for years, she’s intimately familiar with his detective, Atticus Pünd, who solves mysteries disturbing sleepy English villages. An homage to queens of classic British crime such as Agatha Christie and Dorothy Sayers, Alan’s traditional formula has proved hugely successful. So successful that Susan must continue to put up with his troubling behavior if she wants to keep her job.
Conway’s latest tale has Atticus Pünd investigating a murder at Pye Hall, a local manor house. Yes, there are dead bodies and a host of intriguing suspects, but the more Susan reads, the more she’s convinced that there is another story hidden in the pages of the manuscript: one of real-life jealousy, greed, ruthless ambition, and murder.
Masterful, clever, and relentlessly suspenseful, Magpie Murders is a deviously dark take on vintage English crime fiction in which the reader becomes the detective.”
In the meantime…
The Mysterious Affair at Styles – Agatha Christie
“In her first published mystery, Agatha Christie introduces readers to the heroic detective, Hercule Poirot. This is a classic murder mystery set in the outskirts of Essex. The victim is the wealthy mistress of Styles Court. The list of suspects is long and includes her gold-digging new spouse and stepsons, her doctor, and her hired companion.”
Whose Body? – Dorothy Sayers
“Lord Peter Wimsey investigates the sudden appearance of a naked body in the bath of an architect at the same time a noted financier goes missing under strange circumstances. As the case progresses it becomes clear that the two events are linked in some way.”
Footsteps in the Dark – Georgette Heyer
“Locals claim it is haunted and refuse to put a single toe past the front door, but to siblings Peter, Celia, and Margaret, the Priory is nothing more than a rundown estate inherited from their late uncle-and the perfect setting for a much-needed holiday. But when a murder victim is discovered in the drafty Priory halls, the once unconcerned trio begins to fear that the ghostly rumors are true and they are not alone after all! With a killer on the loose, will they find themselves the next victims of a supernatural predator, or will they uncover a far more corporeal culprit?”
(Like the sound of this one? We can get a copy from outside of the NOBLE network. Ask a librarian or visit the Reference Desk.)
The Crime at Black Dudley – Margery Allingham
“George Abbershaw is set for a social weekend at Black Dudley manor, hosted by Wyatt Petrie and his elderly uncle Colonel Combe, who enjoys the company of Bright Young Things. With Meggie Oliphant in attendance, George looks forward to the chance of getting closer to the girl he’s set his heart on. But when murder spoils the party, the group soon find out that not only is there a killer in their midst, but the house is under the control of notorious criminals. Trapped and at their mercy, George must find a way to thwart their diabolical plans while getting himself and Meggie out alive.Luckily for Abbershaw, among the guests is Albert Campion – a garrulous and affable party-crasher with a great knack for solving mysteries and interrogating suspects.The Crime at Black Dudley, first published in 1929, is the first novel to introduce Margery Allingham’s amiable and much loved sleuth – Albert Campion.”
The Man with a Load of Mischief – Martha Grimes
“At the Man with a Load of Mischief, they found the dead body stuck in a keg of beer. At the Jack and Hammer, another body was stuck out on the beam of the pub’s sign, replacing the mechanical man who kept the time. Two pubs. Two murders. One Scotland Yard inspector called in to help. Detective Chief Inspector Richard Jury arrives in Long Piddleton and finds everyone in the postcard village looking outside of town for the killer. Except for one Melrose Plant. A keen observer of human nature, he points Jury in the right direction: into the darkest parts of his neighbors’ hearts…”
Still Life – Louise Penny
“Chief Inspector Armand Gamache of the Surêté du Québec and his team of investigators are called in to the scene of a suspicious death in a rural village south of Montreal. Jane Neal, a local fixture in the tiny hamlet of Three Pines, just north of the U.S. border, has been found dead in the woods. The locals are certain it’s a tragic hunting accident and nothing more, but Gamache smells something foul in these remote woods, and is soon certain that Jane Neal died at the hands of someone much more sinister than a careless bowhunter. Still Life introduces not only an engaging series hero in Inspector Gamache, who commands his forces—and this series—with integrity and quiet courage, but also a winning and talented new writer of traditional mysteries in the person of Louise Penny.”
Crocodile on the Sandbank – Elizabeth Peters
“Set in 1884, this is the first installment in what has become a beloved bestselling series. At thirty-two, strong-willed Amelia Peabody, a self-proclaimed spinster, decides to use her ample inheritance to indulge her passion, Egyptology. On her way to Egypt, Amelia encounters a young woman named Evelyn Barton-Forbes. The two become fast friends and travel on together, encountering mysteries, missing mummies, and Radcliffe Emerson, a dashing and opinionated archaeologist who doesn’t need a woman’s help — or so he thinks.”
Cover Her Face – P.D. James
“Sally Jupp was a sly and sensuous young woman who used her body and her brains to make her way up the social ladder. Now she lies across her bed with dark bruises from a strangler’s fingers forever marring her lily-white throat. Someone has decided that the wages of sin should be death…and it is up to Chief Inspector Adam Dalgliesh to find who that someone is.”
An Autobiograpy – Agatha Christie
“Fans of Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple and readers of John Curran’s fascinating biographies Agatha Christie’s Secret Notebooks and Murder in the Making will be spellbound by the compelling, authoritative account of one of the world’s most influential and fascinating novelists, told in her own words and inimitable style.”
Women of Mystery: The Lives and Works of Notable Women Crime Novelists – Martha Hailey DuBose
“Unlike other works on the subject, Women of Mystery is not merely a directory of the novelists and their publications with a few biographical details. DuBose combines extensive research into the lives of significant women mystery writers from Anna Katherine Green and Mary Roberts Rinehart with critical essays on their work, anecdotes, contemporary reviews and opinions and some of the women’s own comments. She takes us through the Golden Age of the British women mystery writers, Christie, Sayers, Marsh, Allingham and Tey, to the leading crime novelists of today, focused on the women who have become legends of the genre. And though she laments, “so many mysteries, so little time,” she makes a good effort a mentioning “some of the best of the rest.””
Dorothy L Sayers: Her Life and Soul – Barbara Reynolds
“Mystery writer Dorothy Sayers is loved and remembered, most notably, for the creation of sleuths Lord Peter Wimsey and Harriet Vane. As this biography attests, Sayers was also one of the first women to be awarded a degree from Oxford, a playwright, and an essayist–but also a woman with personal joys and tragedies. Here, Reynolds, a close friend of Sayers, presents a convincing and balanced portrait of one of the 20th century’s most brilliant, creative women.”
The Golden Age of Murder – Martin Edwards
“Detective stories of the Twenties and Thirties have long been stereotyped as cosily conventional. Nothing could be further from the truth. The Golden Age of Murder tells for the first time the extraordinary story of British detective fiction between the two World Wars. A gripping real-life detective story, it investigates how Dorothy L. Sayers, Anthony Berkeley, Agatha Christie and their colleagues in the mysterious Detection Club transformed crime fiction. Their work cast new light on unsolved murders whilst hiding clues to their authors’ darkest secrets, and their complex and sometimes bizarre private lives. Crime novelist and current Detection Club President Martin Edwards rewrites the history of crime fiction with unique authority, transforming our understanding of detective stories, and the brilliant but tormented men and women who wrote them.”
Or if you’re in the mood to binge watch…
Poirot starring David Suchet
“Agatha Christie’s brilliant Belgian detective is on the case in the first series of the hit PBS mystery. Fan favorite David Suchet stars as the dapper sleuth who solves the thorniest of cases with his formidable intellect. Set in glittering 1930s Europe, these remastered adaptations capture every splendid detail of the Art Deco era. Also starring Hugh Fraser (Sharpe) as the affable Captain Hastings, Philip Jackson (Robin of Sherwood) as Chief Inspector Japp, and Pauline Moran as Miss Lemon.”
Grantchester starring James Norton
“Fond of whisky, jazz, and women, Reverend Sidney Chambers gives clergymen a fresh image. In GRANTCHESTER, a young vicar and a veteran cop join forces to solve baffling murders around a placid English village in 1953. James Norton stars as Reverend Chambers, with Robson Green as Inspector Geordie Keating, in this drama based on James Runcies acclaimed Grantchester Mysteries.”
The Lord Peter Wimsey Mysteries starring Ian Carmichael
“Ian Carmichael stars in the original BBC adaptations of the Dorothy L. Sayers crime thrillers. Hailed by critics as one of the finest mystery series ever filmed, its success on PBS’s Masterpiece Theatre inspired the spin-off Mystery! Running at least three hours each, these dramas do full justice to Sayers’s vivid characters, trenchant wit, and lavish 1920s settings.”
Endeavour starring Shaun Evans
“The continuing stories of rookie Constable Morse. Shaun Evans (The Take, The Virgin Queen) stars as the young Endeavour Morse, before his signature red Jaguar, but with his deductive powers already running in high gear.”
Have you read or watched all of the titles on the list? If you would like additional recommendations, let us know! Fill out the form below and we will send you suggestions via email.