Columbo, but books?
October 31, 2021 2:22 PM Subscribe
I've been watching Columbo lately and really enjoying it. What books would scratch that same itch?
Qualities I'm looking for: the mysteries aren't gory. We know whodunnit and are watching the detective character figure it out. It's comfort watching. We know the bad guys will get caught. There's humor. There's suspense without it being scary. The detective is the good guy, not some tortured soul. The setting is very 1970s (the cars! the alarm clocks!).
I've read some Nero Wolfes but found the plots incomprehensible; Hercule Poirots also can come emotionally close, but neither have the "how will the detective solve the mystery?" aspect I'm enjoying. I don't want anything grim. No alcoholic cops moaning about their ex wives, etc.
Qualities I'm looking for: the mysteries aren't gory. We know whodunnit and are watching the detective character figure it out. It's comfort watching. We know the bad guys will get caught. There's humor. There's suspense without it being scary. The detective is the good guy, not some tortured soul. The setting is very 1970s (the cars! the alarm clocks!).
I've read some Nero Wolfes but found the plots incomprehensible; Hercule Poirots also can come emotionally close, but neither have the "how will the detective solve the mystery?" aspect I'm enjoying. I don't want anything grim. No alcoholic cops moaning about their ex wives, etc.
The Inspector Montalbano series by Andrea Camilleri might scratch that itch. They're originally in Italian/Sicilian, but the English translations are quite good.
posted by figurant at 2:55 PM on October 31, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by figurant at 2:55 PM on October 31, 2021 [2 favorites]
Are we talking full cozy mystery, or something slightly grittier?
posted by zamboni at 4:16 PM on October 31, 2021
posted by zamboni at 4:16 PM on October 31, 2021
I recently enjoyed The Stranger Diaries by Elly Griffiths, which has a sharp detective (British Indian woman, no less!) and some of that Golden Age coziness. There are murders but little gore. The sequel, Postscript Murders, does start with the victim just before she's killed, but you don't "see" the killer and then it cuts away to regular investigation. It's still funny, though, with a trio of amateurs who were I think supposed to be comic relief but very quickly take over the book.
The "howcatchem" angle is pretty unique to Columbo, although Wikipedia mentions a few others. It's harder to do in a book, unless you have an omniscient perspective like a camera would be. You might enjoy caper and heist novels, though they are usually from the POV of the criminals rather than the detectives.
posted by basalganglia at 4:17 PM on October 31, 2021 [1 favorite]
The "howcatchem" angle is pretty unique to Columbo, although Wikipedia mentions a few others. It's harder to do in a book, unless you have an omniscient perspective like a camera would be. You might enjoy caper and heist novels, though they are usually from the POV of the criminals rather than the detectives.
posted by basalganglia at 4:17 PM on October 31, 2021 [1 favorite]
I'm currently reading The Magpie Murders which was recommended to me via one of NPR's best books of the year compilations. It fits the bill of what you desire.
posted by mcstayinskool at 4:36 PM on October 31, 2021
posted by mcstayinskool at 4:36 PM on October 31, 2021
And similar to the lovely Sicilian Montalbano series mentioned above, Inspector Imanishi of Japan is also most excellent.
posted by mcstayinskool at 4:38 PM on October 31, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by mcstayinskool at 4:38 PM on October 31, 2021 [2 favorites]
Response by poster: > Are we talking full cozy mystery, or something slightly grittier?
Not full-on cozy unless it really is Columboesque. No yarn shops, no recipes.
posted by The corpse in the library at 4:47 PM on October 31, 2021 [1 favorite]
Not full-on cozy unless it really is Columboesque. No yarn shops, no recipes.
posted by The corpse in the library at 4:47 PM on October 31, 2021 [1 favorite]
I enjoyed The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency but then found out that the author is a white man and I wondered about cultural appropriation (in interviews he claims "cultural admiration"). They meet the criteria I think but the caveat is worth mentioning.
posted by freethefeet at 6:20 PM on October 31, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by freethefeet at 6:20 PM on October 31, 2021 [1 favorite]
Have you ever read the original Sherlock Holmes? I think they meet all of your criteria although you don't know who did it in advance. Still you can be 100% Sherlock Holmes will figure out so there isn't any uncomfortable suspense. If you've only ever see the movie versions, you might enjoy going back to the originals.
posted by metahawk at 8:49 PM on October 31, 2021 [6 favorites]
posted by metahawk at 8:49 PM on October 31, 2021 [6 favorites]
Laurence Block's Bernie Rhodenbarr mysteries ("The Burglar Who...") are gentle whodunnits. Poor Bernie keeps finding corpses during his burglaries, and must solve the cases before he's framed for them. Lovely reads, if a bit samey.
posted by kandinski at 9:19 PM on October 31, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by kandinski at 9:19 PM on October 31, 2021 [1 favorite]
Seconding both the No 1 Ladies' Detective Agency AND Montalbano. Also recommending Qiu Xiaolong's books.
Ladies no 1: Humour, detective is a woman, not scary at all, not grim. The detective is the only woman running a detective agency in the country, so she gets some really interesting cases about things like theft, harassment or something else. Lots of interesting reoccurring humour and rivalries.
NOTE: As freethefeet said, the author is white and used to live in Botswana. He is/was writing another series at the same time and realised that in one book his main character sounded like the main character of his other book and corrected in the next one.
Montalbano: Takes place perhaps in the 1990s? LOTS of humour, not grim, detective is a great guy. I also recommend the television show. (I found The Young Montalbano to be more appealing than the regular one, but your opinion may vary.) Note the television show features nudity on some rare occasions.
You may like Qiu Xialong's earlier books. The detective is a great guy. Lots of descriptions of food. Note some interesting cultural stuff going on in the books since they take place in China in the 1990s or late 1980s.
posted by Ms. Moonlight at 4:18 AM on November 1, 2021 [1 favorite]
Ladies no 1: Humour, detective is a woman, not scary at all, not grim. The detective is the only woman running a detective agency in the country, so she gets some really interesting cases about things like theft, harassment or something else. Lots of interesting reoccurring humour and rivalries.
NOTE: As freethefeet said, the author is white and used to live in Botswana. He is/was writing another series at the same time and realised that in one book his main character sounded like the main character of his other book and corrected in the next one.
Montalbano: Takes place perhaps in the 1990s? LOTS of humour, not grim, detective is a great guy. I also recommend the television show. (I found The Young Montalbano to be more appealing than the regular one, but your opinion may vary.) Note the television show features nudity on some rare occasions.
You may like Qiu Xialong's earlier books. The detective is a great guy. Lots of descriptions of food. Note some interesting cultural stuff going on in the books since they take place in China in the 1990s or late 1980s.
posted by Ms. Moonlight at 4:18 AM on November 1, 2021 [1 favorite]
Columbo was said to have been inspired by Dostoevsky's Crime And Punishment.
posted by SemiSalt at 5:23 AM on November 1, 2021
posted by SemiSalt at 5:23 AM on November 1, 2021
Not set in the 70s but hits a lot of the rest of your wishes: Kate Atkinson’s Jackson Brodie novels. Brodie’s a good guy, there’s plenty of humor, and he will figure it out.
posted by SomethinsWrong at 5:45 AM on November 1, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by SomethinsWrong at 5:45 AM on November 1, 2021 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: I love the Jackson Brodie books but have read them all. So, maybe, what else is on the Columbo - Brodie trajectory?
Many of these recommendations aren't quite what I'm craving this week but look like they'll be great for other times. Thank you!
posted by The corpse in the library at 6:55 AM on November 1, 2021
Many of these recommendations aren't quite what I'm craving this week but look like they'll be great for other times. Thank you!
posted by The corpse in the library at 6:55 AM on November 1, 2021
Jonathan Gash - Lovejoy, the crime solving antiques dealer.
Series starts with the "Judas Pair" (1977)
posted by Fins at 7:36 AM on November 1, 2021 [1 favorite]
Series starts with the "Judas Pair" (1977)
posted by Fins at 7:36 AM on November 1, 2021 [1 favorite]
I will suggest John Sandford's Lucas Davenport novels, where (like Columbo) the protagonist is an active police officer and the criminal's POV is usually included in the story. They start in 1989 so the oldest ones will feel somewhat retro.
posted by goingonit at 7:54 AM on November 1, 2021
posted by goingonit at 7:54 AM on November 1, 2021
Well, since I have often said the British tv show Vera is basically British Woman Columbo, how about the Ann Cleeves' Vera Stanhope series, upon which they were based?
posted by RedEmma at 12:59 PM on November 1, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by RedEmma at 12:59 PM on November 1, 2021 [1 favorite]
For help searching, the genre term that describes the Columbo formula is the "howcatchem" (in contrast to the "whodunnit"). Roy Vickers' "Department of Dead Ends" series, which is about cold cases, is largely howcatchem.
posted by klangklangston at 1:16 PM on November 1, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by klangklangston at 1:16 PM on November 1, 2021 [2 favorites]
I have not read them, but did you know there is a series of Columbo books?
posted by PaulaSchultz at 7:31 PM on November 1, 2021
posted by PaulaSchultz at 7:31 PM on November 1, 2021
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by hydra77 at 2:41 PM on October 31, 2021 [7 favorites]