Modern mystery trap

Come on, really?

I am trying to like modern mysteries.  I really am.   Just once I would like to find a writer of modern day mysteries that has a classic sensibility.    I really miss the way  mysteries used to be written.

I started reading the Frozen Shroud by Martin Edwards and it had promise.   It had real atmosphere.  A small town in the Lake District,  a huge mansion,  a crime that happened in the past that created the legend of a wandering ghost,   a much more recent crime that mimicked the earlier crime,  and all of this happening on Halloween.   What more could you want?   I was ready for twists, turns, and suspects.

Then we meet the man who would be solving the case,  and he starts rambling about his life.   Soon, we meet his ex girlfriend and she starts rambling about her life,  and we have to hear about her ex husband,  and her best friend, and all the problems they are having in their lives,  and pages and pages and pages are going by, and we are NOT DISCUSSING the mystery AT ALL.   Soon, I start to forget why I am actually reading this novel,  and my reading slows down to a crawl.

You guys reading this blog know I love Agatha Christie.   How much do we really know about Poirot or Miss Marple?  Not much, really.  Just enough to keep us interested while they solve the case, and delve into the suspects, motives, alibis and clues.   That is what I want when I read a mystery.   The life of the detective is not important to me, and frankly, it wastes pages.

Please, writers, take a note of this.   I want to find a writer that really can write a mystery worth reading.