I need some help, please!

i need to read a mystery for lit types, and i don't know any good ones, can any1 think of one?

The Athenian Murders, by José Carlos Somoza

The Dante Club by Matthew Pearl
The Club Dumas by Arturo Perez-Reverte
Lots of things by Edgar Allan Poe

The Flanders Panel (also by Arturo Perez-Reverte)
An Instance of the Fingerpost by Iain Pears (several of his other books would probably qualify, too.)
The Quincunx
The Name of the Rose

The Conjure Man Dies: A Mystery Tale of Dark Harlem, by Rudolph Fisher, who was a Harlem Renaissance writer. It's a good mystery and a good novel that should appeal to "lit. types."

Master of the day of judgment by Leo Perutz. You will not regret it.

I second The Quincunx. I zoomed over to your profile and I may be going against type here, but anything by Dorothy Sayers - specifically Murder Must Advertise or Gaudy Night. MMA is a standalone (well, mostly) and GN is part of a series but is wonderful by itself.

P.D. James in general tends to write her mysteries in a very literary style.

I was thinking P.D. James too. I also think Elizabeth George is pretty literary. (Skip the most recent book, though -- What Came Before He Shot Her. The only mystery there, for me, was why anyone published it and why anyone would read it. The early ones are the best.

I also second anything by Dorothy L. Sayers. As far as I'm concerned, she's the Grande Dame. I'd start with the first and read in order. Although there's a whole lot of story arc, there is *some* and it's also fun to watch Lord Peter grow and change. Murder Must Advertise may be her best, and if you're into that sort of thing, the BBC adaption is not half bad.

Although it's a bit less literary, you might dip into Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe books. They are what got me hooked on mysteries in my teens and I think they still hold up well.

DianeS
owned by Wilma, Angel, and Simba
rented out by Fleur, Gizmo, Hedwig, Itsy, and Jaspurr

If the person is not just a lit. type but an academic, Amanda Cross might be a good choice, too. I agree with DianeS, too; lit. types tend to enjoy Stout as well as Georges Simenon and his Maigret series.

Try the Inspector Morse books.

I'll third the recommendation for P.D. James. I really like her books. Elizabeth George is pretty good, too, exploring some complex ideas.

Case Histories by Kate Atkinson is fairly literary, too. The sequel, One Good Turn is good, but not as good.

Perhaps Michael Innes, too, such as From London Far, in which the protagonist is a "lit. type."

The Egyptologist is a mystery of sort, and a darn good one too. Also very well written (by the author of Prague and Angelica).

Two of the very first mysteries ever written are The Woman in White and The Moonstone, by Wilkie Collins. Both were fascinating, though I think upon reflection I preferred The Moonstone.

Oh, yes, and another very well-written literary mystery was Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon. Though it isn't one of my favorites, I found it entertaining enough.

Pick up any of Robert Goddard's books, very atmosperic and good plots

I enjoyed Interred with their Bones quite a bit. It's a mystery whose solution involves theories about the authorship of Shakespeare's works and a search for a lost WS manuscript.

I'd suggest:

Miss Smilla's Feeling for Snow by Peter Hoeg
The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco
My Name is Red by Orhan Pamuk

i agree with these three titles..but would add THE UNBURIED by Palliser(he wrote The Quincunx)...it is equally dramatic...but a little Nastier as far as the protagonist....word up

On the lighter side of literary crime fiction, I'd agree with Dorothy L Sayers, P D James, Amanda Cross. Maybe also Sarah Caudwell if you are looking for dry academic wit.

Perhaps also freedom and necessity by Steven Brust and Emma Bull. (It may be listed as fantasy, but it's more of a historical/suspense novel).

Some of the earlier Robert Barnard books such as The Missing Bronte or Death in Purple Prose. Death of an Old Goat is I think about a professor of English. They are hilarious.

I second the vote for The Dumas Club and others by Peres Reverte.

Dorothy Sayers' Peter Wimsey mysteries are fun for lit types, with a smorgasbord of obscure references.

I second Shadow of the Wind - a marvellous book!

Josephine Tey To Love and Be Wise, mystery as a contemporary Shakespearian comedy. Tey has a lot of very smart mysteries, each different from the others even though the same detective (Inspector Grant) shows up in many of them.