Join us in person or online to look at the history of Mystery as a book genre.

It has been almost 200 years since the publication of Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Murders in the Rue Morgue,” and since then, mystery as a genre has exploded in form, length, language, and more. From The Lady in White, Wilkie Collins’ novel that is considered the first of the genre, through the serialized adventures of Sherlock Holmes, the Golden Age of Agatha Christie, the advent of noir, the rise of thrillers, romantic suspense, and an international cast of characters ranging from retired police officers to meddling sleuths, some famous twins, and armchair detectives.

TIME MAGAZINE PICKS THE 100 BEST MYSTERY NOVELS OF ALL TIME

Each month we might read an article, a short story, a book, or a selection from the same author or the same country. We’ll look at award winners and debut novelists, the standard bearers and the rule breakers. We may talk about movies and TV, too.  We’ll work our way through the decades, looking at similar themes, exotic settings, and recent innovations in a genre that is both familiar and new.

Some of the authors we’ll cover: Agatha Christie, Dashiell Hammett, Mary Higgins Clark, Alexander McCall Smith, Jo Nesbo, and more!

Join us at our first meeting in January to talk about how the book club will work, and discuss the Poe short story, “The Murders in the Rue Morgue,” that launched the genre. Click here to download a free PDF of the story, or stop by the Reference Desk to pick up a copy.

We’ll run this group as hybrid, so anyone can join. Click below to register for the program, and either request the Zoom link, or indicate if you’ll join us in person.

At the end of the day, the butler may have done it, but we’ll decide if he was justified!

February: THE WOMAN IN WHITE, by Wilkie Collins

Click HERE to place a request for this title in the catalog (hardcover, paperback, audio, or dvd adaptation), or call our Reference Desk at 610-828-0441 x 103 to see if there’s a copy available now.

Register below. If you prefer to join us virtually, the registration confirmation will include a Zoom link.