It’s Christmastime and finding the right gift is always a challenge if you want to find something that the recipient will enjoy. This list is for you if you have a fan of detective fiction in your life and would like some gift ideas. Below are books, movies, and audios that I’ve found enjoyable  and that I recommend as gift ideas. I’m a fan of a lot of detective fiction but I lean towards older material, but there are some newer items here as well.

In the hopes, this list will help you with your Christmas shopping. Here are some favorites I’ve enjoyed and would recommend as gifts.

Books:

1) The Greek Coffin Mystery by Ellery Queen: There are few names that say detective fiction quite like Ellery Queen. This book, while not the first Queen book published is set at the start of his mystery solving career and finds him investigating will and then a bizarre murder. Then Ellery lays out his facts-only to be proven completely wrong.  The older style of language may be a barrier to some readers, but if you can get past it, it’s great if you enjoy puzzle mysteries.

2) Lady in the Lake by Raymond Chandler: This is one of Chandler’s best. Marlowe’s investigation into the disappearance of a wealthy man’s wife puts his life in danger and puts him on the wrong side of a corrupt local police force. The book is stocked with some of Chandler’s most enjoyable characters. Great for lovers of hardboiled private eyes.

3) Homicide Trinity by Rex Stout. I wanted to include a Nero Wolfe book on the list and I wanted to also throw in a short fiction collection on the list, so this book is the winner. This book collects not one but three Nero Wolfe stories, all of them are good and “Counterfeit for Murder” contains the best one time character that Rex Stout ever created.

4) Back on Murder by J Mark Betrand: The Roland March mystery series by Bertrand is simply superb. This first story is a great tale of a veteran detective struggling for one last chance to make it back to the Homicide department. This is a fantastic police procedural and a great character story.

Movies:

5) The Thin Man Collection: This is the classic romantic comedy Detective film series. The chemistry between Myrna Loy and William Powell is just remarkable. The first two films are the best, but three through five are also quite good.

6) The Maltese Falcon: Humphrey Bogart, Mary Astor, Sidney Greenstreet, and Peter Lorre in the most iconic hard boiled detective film of all time on DVD for less than $7. A wonderful gift.

7) The George Sanders Saint Movie Collection: Many consider Sanders the definitive screen “Saint.” This collection of five films showcase the charm and style that made Sanders a star.

Television:

8) Columbo: The Complete Series: This affordable DVD collection features all 69 Columbo Telefilms from the beginning starting with the 1968 telefilm Prescription: Murder through the 2003 telefilm, Columbo Loves the Night Life. 

9) Sherlock Holmes: The Complete Series: All 39 episodes of the  very good 1950s syndicated series starring Ronald Howard and Frances Marion as Holmes and Watson.

Audio:

10) Perry Mason: The Case of the Howling Dog: This isn’t the Raymond Burr version of Perry Mason, rather a very faithful audio adaptation of Erle Stanley Gardener’s original novels. This is just a very rich and complex mystery. While all of the Colonial Theater Perry Mason adaptations are good, this one is the best.

Bonus: 

Jim French Productions offers a wide variety of Detective audio dramas on their website. Most notably, those featuring Harry Nile, a detectives whose adventures from the 1940s-1960s have been told by French in true Golden Age style for several decades, and the delightful Hillary Caine series.

Happy shopping, hope these give you some good ideas.

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