The We Love Detectives Week Tag!

Who's ready to party?

What's this party about? I'm not telling you. Because it's a mystery. Which, in fact, just revealed what it is. Today is the last day of Hamlette's We Love Detectives Week! Each year around Valentine's Day she hosts a week long celebration talking about why we love a certain part of stories. Whether it is an author, genre, or type of character!

This year's focus is detectives, which makes me happy beyond reason. Mystery books were the first genre that I was able to tell apart from others. I LOVED them and told everyone that fact. I wanted to be a detective when I grew up. In fact, my 8th birthday was themed "spy" (because I couldn't tell the difference between spies and detectives, but I was going for detective and my mom knew that). I received two magnifying glasses. One that was pocket sized and I carried it around with me all that summer in a little bag (I lost it once and my mom got me a replacement which was the sweetest thing ever!).

Stories were what influenced me about this. One of the first books I bought for myself was a mystery (it was a rip off of the Nancy Drew series that is set in the modern times, but I loved it all the same. Though I was betrayed when I learned it wasn't the "real" Nancy Drew. But what really is "real" when it comes to Nancy?). I scoured my library for mysteries, and after I was done reading the approx. 15 Nancy Drew books they owned (it's a small library, okay?) I went on to read some REALLY obscure mysteries. Good times. Also, one of my first books I started writing was a mystery. I made it four chapters in (my first time writing on a computer!), drew a picture of my detective (which is rare for me to do! If I start drawing that means I'm really into something), and planned out at least seven books in the series. Maybe one day I will return to it... Even to this date, I've only finished writing two books (I have...drafts for others), and one of them is a mystery (a poor one at that! It needs revisions). When life doesn't make sense I need someone to solve a slice of it for me, then I can plunge back into my own adventures.

That is my ode to mysteries. But that is not all that I'm here for. Hamlette created a tag for the occasion, so I am filling it out here!

For this tag I said I could only use a book or movie once, but I couldn't help myself when it came to one book or movie per question. There are too many to only talk about ten!

Questions: What's your favorite mystery with...

1. ...a historical setting?

I don't know if it is my favorite because of it's setting, but I want to talk about it all the same, because it doesn't fit anywhere else (because, yes, I am answering the first question last.). The Great Mouse Detective (1986)! This movie t e r r i f i e d me when I was little (Fidget. *shudders* Ratigan. *full on chills*) but at the same time my sisters and I loved it and would watch it a lot. Yes, it is an animated movie with animals as the main characters, but it is fully in a historical setting. Just look at what Basil of Baker Street is wearing! And it involves a historical figure, kind of.

2. ...a modern setting?

Knives Out (2019). It is brilliant in more ways than I can count. Most of the mysteries I know of are set in older settings, so this was so fun to see something set in modern times. And on top of all of that, the aesthetic is *chef's kiss*. (Did you guys here that they're working on a sequel??)

3. ...a lone detective?

Hercule Poirot. Technically he usually has a friend to help him out and explain things too, but it is not dependent on a certain person and changes it up every few books. So, we can call him "lone". I love him in the books (though I have sadly only read 5 or 6) as well as David Suchet's and Kenneth Branagh's portrayals (Death on the Nile came out! Ack! I'm waiting to watch it with my sisters, but I am PUMPED.)

4. ...a pair of sleuths?

Ah, this version! I love it too much. So much that I have watched it two days in a row and enjoyed every second both times.

It is cliche to say this, but Sherlock Holmes and John Watson. Some people forget that they are a duo, but they are both so important. I have only found one version where I like Sherlock Holmes without a Watson to accompany him (because there is a different detective there, too...named Enola. But you guys are probably getting tired of me talking about that movie...).

And then you have these two. Who I started out annoyed with but love them so much by the fourth season.

5. ...a professional/police detective?

TinTin! That's all there needs to be said.

6. ...an amateur detective?

I already mentioned Nancy Drew a lot in my ode to mysteries, but those were the books. Not the 2007 movie. In this movie Nancy is actually prohibited by her dad to solve mysteries. And she really wants to do what he says, but they come to her despite her best attempts. She never wants payment, she just wants to help people.

Or the Scooby Doo gang! I could watch these cartoons for hours (and have...). Those meddling kids always solve everything and I love them.

7. ...a young sleuth?

Though I've only read 3 of the books (out of 21. I'm a 7th of the way through!), my current favorite is Sammy Keyes from the Sammy Keyes books by Wendelin Van Draanen. Yes, I have deep nostalgia for Nancy Drew, but lately anytime I read one of those books I'm just cringing and making fun of it the whole time. It was perfect for me at a certain age! Whereas with Sammy Keyes, I still enjoy them at this age because there is more depth to the characters. I mean, Sammy is getting in trouble all the time and has so many mysteries up her sleeve. I think if I had read Sammy Keyes when I was younger I would have made more of an effort to read them all. Don't get me wrong, I am enjoying these books SO much, but more as a treat from time to time than I need to breathe in these books. You know what I mean?

I have a hilarious story about another young sleuth. Flavia de Luce is a 12 year old British detective-chemist genius from the 50s in books by Alan Bradley. While I didn't adore the only book I've read as it fell into a mystery trope that I LOATHE (and have only seen done correctly ONCE. Which, actually, is on this list somewhere...any guesses?), I saw a lot of potential and have been meaning to get back to the series. (I tried a few months ago by checking out an audiobook, but I hated it because the narrator said every single name differently than I had). 

ANYWAY. Back to the story. I first heard about these books when my librarian read the first one. She recommended it to me because she said there were three sisters and they reminded her of my sisters and I. That intrigued me enough to read it. As soon as I met 'Philia, Daph', and Flav' I started cracking up with laughter. I guess our librarian thinks of my older sister as stuck up and obsessed with her appearance, she thinks of me as rude and obsessed with books and the piano (only partly true), and she thinks of my younger sister as the genius of our century (the one correct element). And that we are all trying to kill each other all the time? I have never seen sisters more far apart than my sisters and I, but I guess that is a mystery to everyone else...

8. ...an aging detective?

I feel like I've seen a brilliant aging detective, but my mind is blanking. I cannot think of one! Man, I guess all I read about is young whippersnappers.

9. ...a cozy feel?

My grandma has a few mystery books and when I got old enough to read them I was so excited, and just thinking about them gives me the coziest feeling. Both The Secret of the Old Post Box - by Dorothy Sterling and The Pink Motel - by Carol Ryrie Brink. Though not complex (in fact, the mystery is quite obvious), The Pink Motel is so cute that I've read it more than once (which is rare for me).

And if I just want to feel cozy in the Old West, I love reading Jedidiah Jones solve what is going on in  Dancing and Doughnuts - by Rachel Kovaciny. Our own dear host of this blogathon!

10. ...a shocking reveal?

...is it a spoiler to tell someone that a book or movie was surprising? I don't know. Well, it isn't for my sister because she goes into every book and movie expecting 100% what is going to happen so when it doesn't she's surprised. As for me, I go in without a thought so everything is surprising...

The Illusionist (2006) keeps me on my toes. The pace of this movie is INSANE as things are always happening or are deathly still. There is no in between. This is one of my favorite movies because (some content aside) it is one of the most ingenious things I've ever seen and my mind is blown every time I watch it. Which is quite a few times.

Enough about me. Check out the other entries HERE! This week had been a blast and has made me what to seek out some mysteries (fictional, not in my life. I don't need more of those). I have my eye on either Sammy Keyes or Flavia de Luce now...

A huge thank you to Hamlette for hosting this! Thank you also to all of you for reading! What do you think of my answers? Have any of you seen or read any of these? I'm especially wondering about Nancy Drew (2007) and The Illusionist (2006)...

Until next time, friends! 

Chloe the MovieCritic