Deborah Crombie: Middle Earth Over Thomas Hardy, Any Day
The Author of the Kincaid/James Series on the Books in Her Life
From time to time, we’ll be asking your favorite crime writers (and ours) about the books in their lives. Up first is Deborah Crombie—her latest, Garden of Lamentations, is available now from William Morrow.
What was the first book you fell in love with (and why)?
A Wrinkle in Time. We read it in my sixth grade class and I couldn’t wait for school every day to find out what happened next. I loved the characters, and the setting (the Murrays’ house and garden still seems real to me) and it was my introduction to reading… it really stretched my imagination.
Name a classic you feel guilty about never having read?
Anything by Thomas Hardy. It’s a big gap in my English lit education.
What’s the book you reread the most (and why)?
The Lord of the Rings. I first read the trilogy when I was 14, and I have reread it at least a dozen times since. I think Middle Earth is entwined in my DNA by now. I love everything about it, but especially Tolkien’s language.
Is there a book you wish you had written (if so, why)?
Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch. It combines my three favorite things: a good police procedural, a steeped-in-the-bones sense of London, and magic.
