Difference between revisions of "25 Books to Read Before You're Murdered"

Latest revision as of 00:49, June 22, 2026

25 Books to Read Before You're Murdered is a list of crime novels that Chief Wiggum got a librarian to compile.

25 Books to Read Before You're Murdered

List[edit]

• Alfred Hitchcock's Favorite Ghost-Written Ghost Stories; a reference to Alfred Hitchcock and "ghostwriters".
• The Big Slurp.
• The Black Cat in the Hat; a parody of both The Cat in the Hat, by Dr. Seuss, and The Black Cat, by Edgar Allan Poe.
• Charlie Chan and the Curse of the Talented Mr. Ripley; a reference to the fictional detective Charlie Chan, the 1981 film Charlie Chan and the Curse of the Dragon Queen, and the film The Talented Mr. Ripley.
• Encyclopedia Brown Finds His Keys; a parody of the Encyclopedia Brown book series, written by Donald J. Sobol.
• The English Muffin Mystery by Ellery Queen Elizabeth.
• Fletch Buys the Farm; a reference to the mystery novel Fletch, by Gregory Mcdonald.
• The Friends of Eddie Cantor; a reference to entertainer Eddie Cantor and the novel The Friends of Eddie Coyle, by George V. Higgins.
• Gorky Port; a reference to Gorky Park, a crime novel by Martin Cruz Smith, named after the leisure park in Moscow.
• I, the Jewelry; a parody of I, the Jury by Mickey Spillane. The author's name is a pun on Mickey Spillane and on Tiffany & Co., which is world-famous for its jewelry.
• In Cold Borscht; a reference to Truman Capote's In Cold Blood, and makes reference to Borscht, a popular soup dish eaten in many central and eastern European countries.
• The Lawyer; a reference to the work of John Grisham, a lawyer and author.
• A Murder Most Mysterious; a reference to Agatha Christie books.
• A Mystery Most Murderous; a reference to Agatha Christie books.
• The Name of the Eye of the Day of the Silence of the Rose Needle Jackal Lambs; a reference to The Name of the Rose, The Eye of the Needle, The Day of the Jackal, and The Silence of the Lambs.
• The New Marsupials.
• The Postman Always Ring-A-Ding-Ding's; a reference to the crime novel The Postman Always Rings Twice, by James M. Cain, and the Frank Sinatra phrase "Ring-A-Ding-Ding!", which was later turned into a song and album. The author, James M. Sinatra, is a reference to both Cain and Sinatra.
• The Presumed Innocence of Father Brown; a reference to The Innocence of Father Brown, a collection of short stories by G. K. Chesterton about the fictional priest Father Brown.
• Sherlock Holmes and the Grand Slam Breakfast; a parody of the Sherlock Holmes book series, written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
• The Spy Who Came in with a Cold; a parody of spy novel The Spy Who Came in from the Cold. The author, Iam Flegmy, is a parody of James Bond author Ian Fleming.
• The Thin Mint; a reference to Dashiell Hammett's detective novel The Thin Man.
• The Third S'more.
• Tinker, Tailor, Stinker, Sailor; a reference to the John le Carré's spy novel Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy.
• T is for Title; a reference to Sue Gafton's mystery novel "T" Is for Tresspass.
• To Mock a Killingbird; a parody of To Kill a Mockingbird, written by Harper Lee.

Appearances[edit]

• Book – Chief Wiggum's Book of Crime and Punishment