GOAT Mystery Writers

Raymond Chandler

Chandler is perhaps best known equally for his style of writing as he was for one of literature’s great detectives: Phillip Marlow. He’s known for taking the genre of the detective story and making it something truly crafted and sophisticated; Marlow (and therefore Chandler) isn’t a “two-bit hack” but a smart, capable, to-the-point kind of man that will get things done. The Big Sleep and The Lady in the Lake remain true classics, and a must read for any mystery lover.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

There is perhaps no silhouette more recognizable than that of Sherlock Holmes wearing a deerstalker hat and smoking a pipe, a testament to the timelessness of the fictional hero. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was inspired by the detective storytelling technique pioneered by Edgar Allan Poe, where a detective “deduces” and with logic, reasoning, and wit, solves the mystery. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was a man of incredible life experience, having served in war, practiced medicine, and he enjoyed a respected writing career. The great detective duo of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson remain a part of popular culture, with TV shows and movies bringing these classic characters back to life.

Edgar Allan Poe

One word to describe Poe: macabre. Who could forget some of his more pulse-pounding tales, such as Tell-Tale Heart or The Murders in the Rue Morgue – a novel considered to be the first detective story. Poe’s perspective on the heart and mind are both haunting and sheer genius. If you’re looking for a reboot in your mystery repertoire, what better way to get inspired than to go back to the beginning.

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