2022 reading resolution: Classic crime fiction

Happy New Year! It’s been a while since I set myself a reading goal, but it feels right for 2022 and I was inspired by a recent read, so here we go…

Last year I chose The Mistletoe Murder by P.D. James as one of Christmas reads and it was the foreword by Val McDermid in that book that triggered this reading resolution. She said in her intro that P.D. James cited these amazing writers as the four Queens of Crime Fiction, contributing to the era in 1920s/30s known as the Golden Age of Detective Fiction:

• Dorothy L Sayers
• Agatha Christie
• Margery Allingham
• Ngaio Marsh

I am a big Agatha fan, have lots of her books under my belt, so will be concentrating on discovering the works of the others writers on the list.

I had never heard of New Zealand writer Ngaio Marsh and from this summary, I can’t wait to read her. Dorothy L Sayers is a name I was familiar with and have just checked Whose Body? out of the library, same for Margery Allingham – I had heard of her but am not aware of any of her titles. So I’m very excited to dedicate time in 2022 to their respective back-catalogues.

I am also adding a few more writers to my classic crime fiction list: Patricia Highsmith, P.D. James herself and, as a modern option, Val McDermid.

I mean, I love crime fiction, so the list of writers in this genre I want to read could potentially be massive. For example, others that intrigue me are Edgar Allen Poe and Arthur Conan Doyle, who, in her aforementioned foreword, Val McDermid mentioned as the founders of the genre – primarily using short stories, interestingly.

So yes, I’ll be more than happy if I tick one read each from these great crime fiction writers off my TBR list this year.

What about you – do you have any 2022 reading resolutions?