Mysteries for English Readers of all Levels

Mysteries for English Readers of all Levels

Sherlock Holmes may be the most famous private investigator¹ of them all.

Holmes is also one bookstore owner’s first choice when a new English reader asks him to recommend a mystery novel.

Otto Penzler owns the Mysterious Bookshop in New York City. He also works as an editor, preparing mysteries for publication.

Penzler has spent his career reading, writing, editing² and selling mystery novels. In such books, a character might have been murdered. Or someone stole a valuable possession. A private detective or investigator tries to solve the case.

Penzler serves as the editor of a book that comes out each year. It is called The Best American Mystery Stories. The book is a collection of short stories.

Penzler is an expert on mystery writing. When asked, he has often urged visitors to his bookstore to read Arthur Conan Doyle’s series about Sherlock Holmes. Penzler says English learners also might enjoy reading about Agatha Christie’s detective, Hercule Poirot.

“Because Agatha Christie is a world-wide known name. Somebody who’s sold believe it or not more than two billion books. And appeals to a wide range of people both young, old, male, female, it doesn’t matter. So I would be safe by recommending Agatha Christie and I also always recommend Sherlock Holmes.”

While both Christie and Conan Doyle lived a long time ago, Penzler says “they’re the most self-evident recommendations³ we can make in the store, and we do.” For one reason, their writing is clear and simple.

“[The characters] don’t speak in long paragraphs, they don’t get into areas that are speculative⁴ beyond the crime. They’re not controversial. They don’t start making political speeches. They are directed to the solution of the crime. And they don’t do it long paragraphs. They do it in short paragraphs. And not long sentences. They do it in brief, clear sentences. So it’s easy for anyone to follow.”

Some English teachers are using mysteries as a way to get students involved. Penzler thinks that is a great idea.

“Mastering English really requires you to want to read. You have to want to read the book. And mysteries are more readable than many other kinds of books. Particularly in contemporary literature where many times the writing can be absolutely beautiful, but nothing happens.”

If you want to learn about American life, you probably need to read stories from many different authors.

Penzler says there is no one mystery author who paints a picture of the United States. But as a whole, writers provide detailed⁵ images of what it is like to live in a particular city or state.

Most mystery writers spend their time writing about one character and one city. For example, Michael Connelly writes about a Los Angeles police detective named Harry⁶ Bosch.

Bosch loves jazz music. He often eats pancakes at a diner at the Los Angeles Farmer’s Market when he is investigating a case. Many of Connelly’s stories deal with police and politics in Los Angeles.

John Sandford writes about detectives in the northern state of Minnesota. Sandford once worked as a writer at a Minneapolis newspaper. So his stories present clear details of what life is like in Minnesota.

Robert B. Parker was famous for writing about a private investigator who went by only one name: Spenser. Spenser lived in Boston and so did Parker. Parker wrote about the people and places around Boston: from costly⁷ cocktails⁸ in fancy hotels to doughnut shops in working-class neighborhoods.

Penzler likes to suggest Lee Child for readers who are more experienced with English. Child writes about a retired⁹ Army policeman named Jack¹⁰ Reacher. Reacher travels by bus and train and often gets into difficult situations. But he always comes out safe in the end.

“The Jack Reacher series is appealing to both men and women, both young and old. Again, one of the things that’s important about this is the clarity¹¹ of the style. And Lee Child writes in short, declarative sentences. There’s no ambiguity¹². There’s no trying to figure out ‘what does he really mean?’ Because what he says is exactly what he means.”

The best thing about mystery novels, Penzler says, is that many of the books are part of a continuing series. There are more than 20 books about Harry Bosch, for example.

“Series characters are one of the great attractions. You like a character. You like a [Harry] Bosch or you like a [Jack] Reacher and you can’t wait to see what happens next in their lives, as well as the mystery. And it’s hard to pull off in a single book.”

Words in This Story

contemporary – adj. modern

ambiguity – n. something that does not have a single clear meaning

fancy – adj. costly and usually very popular

pancake – n. a thin, flat, round cake that is made by cooking batter¹³ on both sides in a frying pan or on a hot surface (called a griddle)

contemporary – adj. happening or beginning now or in recent times

speculative – adj. based on guesses or ideas about what might happen or be true rather than on facts

controversial – adj. relating to or causing much discussion, disagreement, or argument : likely to produce controversy¹⁴

character – n. a person who appears in a story, book, play, movie, or television show

novel – n. a book of fiction

1 investigator   

n.研究者，调查者，审查者

参考例句：

• He was a special investigator for the FBI.他是联邦调查局的特别调查员。
• The investigator was able to deduce the crime and find the criminal.调查者能够推出犯罪过程并锁定罪犯。

2 editing   

adj.编辑的

参考例句：

• The processing of data in random order,not subject to preliminary editing or sorting.未经预先编辑或分类，以任意次序对数据进行的处理的做法。

3 recommendations   

n.推荐( recommendation的名词复数 )；推荐信；正式建议；提议

参考例句：

• The board completely disregarded my recommendations. 董事会完全无视我的建议。
• Recommendations from two previous clients helped to establish her credibility. 两位以前的客户的推荐有助于确立她的诚信度。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 speculative   

adj.思索性的，暝想性的，推理的

参考例句：

• Much of our information is speculative.我们的许多信息是带推测性的。
• The report is highly speculative and should be ignored.那个报道推测的成分很大，不应理会。

5 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。

6 harry   

vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼

参考例句：

• Today,people feel more hurried and harried.今天，人们感到更加忙碌和苦恼。
• Obama harried business by Healthcare Reform plan.奥巴马用医改掠夺了商界。

7 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

8 cocktails   

n.鸡尾酒( cocktail的名词复数 )；餐前开胃菜；混合物

参考例句：

• Come about 4 o'clock. We'll have cocktails and grill steaks. 请四点钟左右来，我们喝鸡尾酒，吃烤牛排。 来自辞典例句
• Cocktails were a nasty American habit. 喝鸡尾酒是讨厌的美国习惯。 来自辞典例句

9 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

10 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

11 clarity   

n.清澈，透明，明晰

参考例句：

• His writing has great clarity of style.他的写作风格清晰易懂。
• Mozart's music is characterized by its naivety and clarity.莫扎特的音乐特色是纯朴兴清澈。

12 ambiguity   

n.模棱两可；意义不明确

参考例句：

• The telegram was misunderstood because of its ambiguity.由于电文意义不明确而造成了误解。
• Her answer was above all ambiguity.她的回答毫不含糊。

13 batter   

v.接连重击；磨损；n.牛奶面糊；击球员

参考例句：

• The batter skied to the center fielder.击球手打出一个高飞球到中外野手。
• Put a small quantity of sugar into the batter.在面糊里放少量的糖。

14 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。