So, Santa Claus came and I got some more books to read... First one I already read and at the same time I remembered how nice it actually is to read good crime novels every now and then. I used to read them a lot as a kid. My first love was of course Agathe Christie. I still remember when I walked home from library and started to read it. (Yes, I do walk and read... It's not that hard. Just remember to get your head up when you cross the street.) It was "Murder on the Orient Express" ("Idän pikajunan arvoitus") and I loved it from the very first sentences. Pretty soon after that I read also all the others Christie's books, even her "An Autobiography" ("Vanha hyvä aikani") which I liked a lot. I would also like to read this Jared  Cade's book "Agatha Christie and eleven missing days" ("Agatha Christie katoaa") which tells about those 11 days in 1926 when Christie "disappeared" and the whole England was looking for her. Her husband had just left her for another woman and people thought that maybe he had murdered her. Finally she was found from a small hotel where she had used the same name as her husband's new lover. Now people started to think that maybe she wanted to murder her husband and her lover instead, but Christie herself said that she couldn't remember anything about what had happened...

After Christie, at age 14, I started to read also Maria Lang, Matti Yrjänä Joensuu and some other crime novels but now, for a while I haven't read them that much. Well, couple of years ago I read all Liza Marklund's books in two weeks, so sometimes it still happens. There are still murderers behind the next corner...

This time I read Henning Mankell's "Kennedys hjärna" ("Kennedyn aivot") which reminded me a lot of John Le Carré's "The Constant Gardener" ("Uskollinen puutarhuri"). They both tell sad and hopeless stories about people whos loved ones die and when they start to investigate what has happened they also find out sad and ugly things that are happening in medicine industry in Africa. Both books have strong political voice and basic feeling during the book is very dark and sad.

Anyway, it felt nice to read some crime novels again. What about you, readers, what are your favourite crime writers? Can you recommend some books that I really should read?

(And for Finnish readers, go and see this page. It looks really nice.)