Good writers always influence their readers, especially when their readers are other writers. That's obvious, of course, yet “Books to Die For,” edited by John Connolly and Declan Burke and published in 2012, underscores this very obvious statement.

The idea was to ask some of the world greatest living mystery writers to write about their favorite mystery novels. Thus Joe R. Lansdale writes a brief essay about Raymond Chandler's “Farewell, My Lovely,” Laura Lippman writes about James M. Cain's “Love's Lovely Counterfeit,” Max Allan Collins writes about Mickey Spillane's “I, the Jury,” Kathy Reichs writes about Thomas Harris's “The Silence of the Lambs” and so forth. This is great stuff for any reader of crime novels, a good way to both revisit old favorites and to discover novels you missed and really must read.

Yet what struck me most about this book was how virtually every author discussed — and there are more than a hundred of them — has been influential in some significant way. Many of the contributors talk about how a particular book or author helped shape their own careers. Joseph Wambaugh, for example, tells how Truman Capote, the author of “In Cold Blood,” led him to write “The Onion Field.” Elmore Leonard says “The Friends of Eddie Coyle” by George V. Higgins made his own fiction much better.

In other cases, the influence was much broader and even more profound. What people like Edgar Allan Poe, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Dashiell Hammett, Raymond Chandler and Agatha Christie did for mystery fiction has been commented upon many times. But how many of us have considered the impact of the Nancy Drew books, Sue Grafton's “A Is for Alibi,” Patricia Cornwell's “Postmortem” or Eric Ambler's espionage thrillers? Every year or so, it would seem, a mystery novel comes along that sends crime fiction off in a new direction, and the genre is much better for it.

Many of the entries here may surprise you. Most readers probably do not think of A.S. Byatt, Stephen King and Donna Tartt as mystery writers, yet their books are discussed here. “Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency” by Douglas Adams gets an entry, as does Mary Stewart's “Touch Not the Cat” and Daphne du Maurier's “Rebecca.” Other authors are notable for their absence. The editors do a good job of including crime novels from around the world.

This book, while not as good as almost any of the books discussed in it, is nevertheless a feast for mystery fans. ( )

A series of essays, written by one hundred nineteen noted mystery authors, combine to create a unique guide to the mystery novel. Among the essays/essayists: Julia Spencer-Fleming on Margaret Maron; Deborah Crombie on P.D. James; Kathy Reichs on Thomas Harris; Meg Gardiner on Sue Grafton; Reed Farrel Coleman on Daniel Woodrell; Lee Child on Kenneth Orvis; Dennis Lehane on James Crumley; William Kent Krueger on Tony Hillerman; Joseph Wambaugh on Truman Capote.

While the elements of the mystery tale may be malleable, these essays concern that elusive “something” in each of the selected works that capture the reader’s imagination. And, as each writer describes the specialness of the author they’ve chosen for this anthology, readers will find much to appreciate in these enlightening, entertaining offerings.

Highly recommended. ( )

I really enjoyed dipping in and out of this book. Some of the best mystery authors of our day, weigh in on their favorite mysteries and their authors. It was fun to see what they picked and why and even more enlightening to see what some constituted as a mystery....Rita Mae Brown picking 'Bleak House' was a pretty far out choice. I've never thought of that as a mystery! ( )

The title says it all: 119 authors from 20 countries share the one mystery that is the most important one they've read. With this many authors represented, there's a wide range of books being shared, and one of the joys of reading a book like this is agreeing-- or disagreeing-- with each author's choice.

Each essay also tells us a bit about the author writing it, and as I read, I also found myself learning not only about the authors and the books chosen, but about the history and evolution of crime fiction as well. Books to Die For is a feast on many levels.

For me, this wasn't a book that I started reading at page one and worked my way steadily through to the end. No, I had two lines of attack. One was to find my favorite authors to see what their favorite books were. Louise Penny? Josephine Tey's The Franchise Affair. Deborah Crombie? P.D. James' Cover Her Face. Ann Cleeves? Henning Mankell's The Man Who Smiled. And the list goes on.

My second line of attack was to find one of my favorite books to see which author recommended it above all others. Peter Temple's The Broken Shore? John Harvey. Charles Dickens' Bleak House? Sara Paretsky. And so it goes. The reasoning behind each choice was often fascinating and illuminating.

One thing that I can guarantee about reading this book is that your own reading lists will expand. I was intrigued by authors and books I'd never heard of as well as by lesser known books by authors I was very familiar with. Read Books to Die For at your own peril for you will be consumed by the hunt for more mysteries to read! ( )

The world's leading mystery writers have, in their inimitable way, dissected some of the greatest mystery novels ever written. In a series of short essays that often reveal as much about themselves, their own work, often how they were influenced by a particular book they are still passionate about. Fascinating that these people felt so strongly about a book they read, to some it was a life changing experience. Find a writer or a book you admire and travel a little journey with them or discover how another writer found that book or person. Books to Die For is the most ambitious anthology of its kind. Authors are cross referenced alphabetically at the back of the book. ( )