Jeremy Vine might be best known as one of Britain’s most familiar broadcasting voices, but more recently, he has turned his hand to mystery writing – first with the bestselling Murder on Line One, and then its recent follow-up Turn the Dial for Death. But he is also a reader and a lover of crime books. Here, he shares the five that have shaped his life and writing…
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle
“I read these to my daughters; they are the most immaculate short stories you will ever read. If I may, I will suggest you start with ‘Silver Blaze’, a story about the mysterious death of racehorse trainer John Straker. It contains one of the greatest exchanges in the history of English literature.Detective: ‘Is there any other point to which you would wish to draw my attention?’Sherlock Holmes: ‘To the curious incident of the dog in the night-time.’Detective: ‘The dog did nothing in the night-time.’Sherlock Holmes: ‘That was the curious incident.’”
Penguin Clothbound Classics, £18.99
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon
“Well, after ‘Silver Blaze’, I had to go here. From horse to dog – but the poor dog is dead in scene one. And the fabulous thing about this book is the parallel narrative – young Christopher solving the upsetting murder of the dog, while the reader follows the mazy paths of his autism. He is both more literal and more complex than 99 per cent of other characters in novels written in the past century, and I think he paved the way for characters like Carrie Mathison in Homeland, whose bipolar illness is not a curiosity (think Rain Man), but just a fact she has to work around.
“One of my favourite scenes is the one where the maths teacher patronisingly tells Christopher that autistic kids like maths because there are straightforward answers, and Christopher disagrees, citing the famous Monty Hall problem as one of the simplest and most baffling in the world of maths.”
Vintage, £9.99
The Stranger Beside Me by Ann Rule
“If you like true crime, this is the must-read. Aspiring crime writer Ann meets a bright young man called Ted when they volunteer at the Suicide Prevention Hotline in Seattle. At the same time a number of young women disappear. The suspect is called Ted and drives a Volkswagen, ‘just like yours, Ted’. But Ann can’t believe this charming would-be lawyer with an interest in tough-on-crime Republican politics could be the bloodthirsty hunter of women whom the press are telling her about.
“When he flees, she knows the truth. But she still lacks certainty – how can someone be so completely evil and yet so apparently benign? Ted Bundy murdered at least 30 women before his capture and execution. What makes this book extraordinary is that Ann had already set about chronicling the unsolved murders in her area when she befriended the man committing them.”
Little, Brown, £12.99
The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie
“Published in 1920, I re-read this on its centenary and I didn’t even guess the murderer the second time. It is fascinating, because it shows how brilliant even the younger Agatha was (although already 30 when this came out) and it contains some of the great markers of her style: the sketch of the house at the start, the character obviously wearing a false beard, the use of poison (nearly 30 of her novels feature poison as the murder weapon), and of course – the dining room denouement.
“The first mystery introducing us to her famous Belgian detective Hercule Poirot, she wrote it while working as a dispensing chemist and nurse during the First World War. Agatha inspired me to write my own books. In a fantasy dinner party, she would be my first guest.”
HarperCollins, £9.99
Apple Tree Yard by Louise Doughty
“The sheer invention and ingenuity of this thriller takes your breath away. The best books often hinge on the reader receiving an unreliable account – think Gone Girl (Gillian Flynn), The Blind Assassin (Margaret Atwood), The Wasp Factory (Iain Banks), Disclaimer (Renee Knight) and The Murder of Roger Ackroyd (Agatha Christie). But in this tale of illicit love and lies, following the downfall of a scientist, you never see the next twist or turn.”
Faber, £9.99
‘Turn the Dial for Death’ by Jeremy Vine is published by HarperCollins, £20
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