Octavia Spencer’s The Case of the Time-Capsule Bandit is the Academy Award winner’s first book and launches a planned series of young-adult novels starring an amateur ninja detective. Below, Spencer lists six works that inspired her.
Encyclopedia Brown: Boy Detective by Donald J. Sobol (Puffin, $5). My love of mystery began at the ripe old age of 8 with the Encyclopedia Brown series. I highly recommend it to parents who want to experience a touch of nostalgia or to help their children become better at deductive thinking.
Mind Hunter by John Douglas and Mark Olshaker (Pocket Books, $9). As a budding mystery writer, I realized that I had to understand the criminal mind. This book, co-written by the man who developed the FBI’s profiling system, gave me the insights I needed. I consider his system one of the greatest innovations in criminal investigation since latent fingerprint analysis.
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The Complete Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (Bantam, $14). Two words: pure pleasure. For crime-fiction aficionados like me, having the Sherlock Holmes canon on hand is a must. All four novels and 56 stories are here, including my favorites: the novel The Hound of the Baskervilles and the short story “The Adventure of the Red-Headed League.”
Dead Time by Eleanor Taylor Bland (out of print). A bit of detective work might be required to secure all the books in Eleanor Taylor Bland’s Marti MacAlister series. But consider it a treasure hunt. Bland immediately hooks you into the professional life of a recently widowed detective who is bound by her familial obligations.
Point of Origin by Patricia Cornwell (Berkley, $10). What’s better than a tenacious, hard-boiled lady detective who has nothing to lose? A tenacious, hard-boiled, forensic pathologist with everything at stake! Kay Scarpetta is one of my all-time favorite characters. I first met her in these heartrending, thrill-a-minute pages.
Along Came a Spider by James Patterson (Grand Central, $8). To this crime-fiction lover, there is nothing more fun than reading an Alex Cross thriller and rooting for its protagonist, a black psychologist turned detective turned FBI agent. I’ve always felt a strong connection to Cross, a widower with three young children who are looked after by his grandmother, Nana Mama. Patterson had me from the start.
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Can US tourism survive Trump's policies?Today's Big Question The tourist economy is 'heading in the wrong direction'
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September's books tell of friendship in middle age, teachers versus fascists, and Covid psychosisthe week recommends September books include Angela Flournoy's 'The Wilderness,' Randi Weingarten's 'Why Fascists Fear Teachers' and Patricia Lockwood's 'Will There Ever Be Another You'
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'Total rat eradication in New York has been deemed impossible'Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
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Keith McNally's 6 favorite books that have ambitious charactersFeature The London-born restaurateur recommends works by Leo Tolstoy, John le Carré, and more
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Garrett Graff's 6 favorite books that shine new light on World War IIFeature The author recommends works by James D. Hornfischer, Craig L. Symonds, and more
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Helen Schulman's 6 favorite collections of short storiesFeature The award-winning author recommends works by Raymond Carver, James Baldwin, and more
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Beatriz Williams' 6 timeless books about history and human relationshipsFeature The best-selling author recommends works by Jane Austen, Zora Neale Hurston, and more
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Aysegul Savas' 6 favorite books for readers who love immersive settingsFeature The Paris-based Turkish author recommends works by Hiromi Kawakami, Virginia Woolf, and more
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Geoff Dyer's 6 favorite books about the realities of warFeature The award-winning author recommends works by Ernie Pyle, Michael Herr, and more
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Laura Lippman's 6 favorite books for those who crave a high-stakes adventureFeature The Grand Master recommends works by E.L. Konigsburg, Charles Portis, and more
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Thomas Mallon's 6 favorite books from the 80's and early 90'sFeature The author recommends works by James Merrill, Calvin Trillin, and more
