My first introduction to mysteries was the novels of Agatha Christie. I'd read just about all of them by the time I was sixteen. They formed the model of what I considered a "mystery novel" -- a legitimate puzzle that the reader had a legitimate chance of solving. "Play fair with the reader" was Dame Agatha's dictum.

Whether or not I solve the literary puzzle before the end of the book, most of the mysteries that attract me explore the idea of truth, the destructive effects of denial and falsehood, the healing effects of light.

I've branched out to a wide variety of mystery and detective stories now: hard-boileds and cozies, courtroom dramas and comic fluff with a pun in the title, fictional explorations of other cultures, religions and historical periods, glimpses into sciences from forensics to the dating of fine art to golf. I read faster than I can type, but I'll try to keep you posted on what I discover.