Mystery And

I am in a book club that has a number of tastes represented from flighty to serious readerships. The most prevalent genre, appears to be the mystery novel. The usual best sellers are bandied about with expletives. I am not a mystery fan, although once, I was. I love watching television series such as the Brit mysteries, but mostly because of their background scenery, and perhaps the appeal of the actor playing the main part. The mysteries are predictable, or have the usual silly surprises at the end. I've been accused of being a snob reader because I don't rave over the latest mystery books ground out annually by well-known authors whose names are so large they barely fit on the book jackets. Why? They bore me. I am not trying to be a snob, but really how many times do I have to know about Captain Jack Snap or Lieutenant Barbara Brink and their on-the-job frustrations, when it's clear that whatever happens to them throughout the tale, they are going to nail the perp at the end anyway. I doubt that real criminal cases are quite so tangled and torn as are portrayed in crime novels that see police having unlimited time and funds, to run all over town in solving a single case that goes on for months. But I suppose that's what fiction is all about: toying with the impossible. What bothers me most, is that when I do read one of these so-called "books", there's no meat in them. They should be able to be finished in one sitting, a no-brainer. There is nothing of worth to spend much time on other than skipping over the characterizations and settings dumped in, supposedly to give the author some kind of laudable value for the price you pay for the tome - if you can't wait for the library to do it for you. But, and this is my main gripe with these formula mysteries,  there are too many worthless pages in the middle. The beginning starts out with a killer scene that is supposed to yank you into the plot immediately and when that's over get on efficiently with the bits that lead up to the final surprise ending. Unfortunately, that doesn't happen any more. About half-way through these TV dinner books, there is an obvious ending right there, but the authors go on and on tortuously. Agatha Christie, the goddess of mystery, knew how to write, She set things up and then got on with it. Slice, dice, eat and feel full. The end. Mystery writers today, including the "greats", load up way too many pages with a lot of here and there, just for poundage. There appears to be a new movement: buy the book by the pound. And the literature on the pages is missing. Give me author Donna Tartt. Every page is masterfully written and each ending is well worth the reading trip. Six course dinner for hungry readers. No formula writing for her.