Yes, I have been on an Agatha kick, particularly dear Miss Marple, for some time. I’ve been laid up (that is beginning to sound so redundant, isn’t it?) recently, so am doing much more reading than writing. Reading can be done horizontally. I just can’t get the hang of typing on a laptop while flat on my back.

I suppose having Agatha Christie at the top of my favorite mystery authors list is also probably fairly redundant. I’m guessing that there are a lot of mystery writers out there whose list of inspirational sources start the same way. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Edgar Allan Poe are probably also somewhere on those lists, I’m sure. Yes, I know many people associate Poe with horror, but he also had a flair for creating intriguing mystery scenarios that teased the intellect while they shivered the spine.

How about you? Who are your favorite mystery writers? They can be ancient, classic or modern. They can be well-known or (maybe even more fun) obscure. What books or stories turned you on to them? What about their writing inspires you to create? If you’re not a writer yourself, what inspires you, period?

Feel free to leave a comment; I look forward to reading your lists — and broadening mine!

• • Image credit to the NY Times, as posted in the article in the image link: Sherlock Holmes Is in the Public Domain, American Judge Rules