Mysteries
Adamson, Lydia has two series, both largely paperback. One series features Alice Nestleton, a mostly retired actress, who pays the bills by cat-sitting. She also owns two eccentric cats. The other series features a female vet and all have Dr. Nightingale in the title. Dr. Nightingale is a large animal vet, so there aren't cats or dogs. But she does live with an eclectic group of people she inherited from her mother. Not much "blood and guts" in either series.
Albert, Susan Wittig. Lavender Lies. Berkley Prime Crime, 1999. The latest in the Agatha and Anthony award winning China Bayles series, Lavender Lies follows the exploits of the ex-lawyer and herbalist as she prepares for her wedding. When local real estate shark Edgar Coleman is found shot to death in his garage, China realizes she must help her fiancé, interim police chief Mike McQuaid, find the murderer if she is to go on her honeymoon. A cozy series with a host of information on herbs and gardening, the China Bayles books include resources and recipes in each book.
Blanchard, Alice. Darkness Peering.Bantam Books, 1999. An impressive debut this literary thriller is about two murder investigations that take place 18 years apart in the fictional inland Maine town of Flowering Dogwood. In 1980, Police Chief Nalen Storrow fails to identify the killer of a 14-year-old retarded girl, and haunted by circumstantial evidence pointing to his own troubled teenager, Billy, he sorrowfully takes his own life. Then, in 1998, Storrow's daughter Rachel, a police detective following virtually in her fathers footsteps, hesitantly reopens the still unsolved case and almost immediately concludes that Nalen's suspicions were correct. And so Billy, a lifelong underachiever, now employed as a teacher's aide at a local school for blind and handicapped children, must once again be regarded as a prime suspect. Blanchard's clever plot moves into even higher emotional gear when Billy's colleague and soulmate Claire Castillo is reported missing, then reappears savagely mutilated and soon to die in the hospital despite the frantic efforts of its chief surgeon (Claire's own father). Rachel Storrow's heroic efforts to find the link between these two crimes (and later ones cunningly linked to them) bring her into disillusioning closeness not only with the embattled Billy (a sharply observed and believably complex character) but also with a once-notorious teenaged hellion matured by grief and responsibility, a fugitive pair of young lovers, and the married police chief who is her longtime lover. All of all these elements are mixed expertly in an increasingly suspenseful story enriched by crisp writing, vivid forensic detail, and strong characterizations.
Buckley, Fiona. To Ruin A Queen. Simon & Schuster, 2000. Ms. Buckley returns the reader to the world of Ursula Blanchard in her latest novel, To Ruin a Queen. Ursula is a former lady in waiting and sometime spy for Queen Elizabeth I. In this new mystery, Ursula is asked to return to England from France to help solve a mystery – what information does Sir Philip Mortimer have on Queen Elizabeth I, and how dangerous is it? Although this novel begins as a political intrigue, a particularly messy murder proves that it is a mystery only Ursula Blanchard can solve, although she does so reluctantly. This is a great choice for anyone who likes history and mystery to come together.
Churchill, Jill writes the Jane Jeffry mysteries. Jane and her best friend and next door neighbor, Shelley, find themselves in many predicaments, often involving murder. Jane, a widow, is involved with a policeman, whom she met at one of the crime scenes in an early book. Yet another cozy mystery where the amateur sleuths' daily lives are almost as important as finding a murderer. Once again, early books in the series were only published in paperback. Grime and Punishment began the series.
Churchill, Jill. Grime and Punishment. Avon Books, 1992. One of Jill's cozy mysteries set in the Chicago area. Two neighbor ladies find themselves involved in solving a murder- afraid that if they don't soon solve it the murderer will continue to roam their neighborhood -maybe getting them next. The character development is wonderful and with each title in the series you get to know them better, they become comfortable to be with.
Conant, Susan. Creature Discomforts. Doubleday, 2000. Creature Discomforts is the thirteenth and most recent book in the "Dog Lover’s Mystery" series by Susan Conant. Holly Winters, a writer for dog magazines and amateur sleuth, is the victim of an "accident" while hiking in the Acadia National Park in Maine. Besides waking up to the discomfort of bruises endured in a fall, Holly must face the discomforting realization that she has amnesia and does not remember who she is, what she was doing in the park, or her own dogs, Alaskan malamutes, Rowdy and Kimi. She does vaguely recall overhearing a conversation about a "tragic accident" and a sense of fear. As Holly manages to find her way out of the park and back to the Beamon Reservation, where she discovers she has been staying, the mystery only deepens. Holly learns that someone named Norman Axelrod has fallen to his death at Acadia National Park and she meets an assortment of people connected to the Pine Tree Foundation for Conservation Philanthropy at a lobster bake held at the reservation. Holly also "meets" her father the next day, who ultimately helps her piece together the puzzles in this mystery. This book is recommended for both dog fanciers and mystery fans.
Daheim, Mary writes a series featuring bed-and-breakfast owner Judith Grover McMonigle (who gets married again during the series and adds Flynn to her name). Her sidekicks are her cousin Renie and cop Joe Flynn (who becomes her husband and later retires). Cozy mysteries with likeable characters. Only recently has this series been published in hardback. Davidson, Diane Mott features Goldy Baer, caterer, in her series of mysteries. Including recipes, these are entertaining cozy mysteries set in Colorado. Goldy's ex-husband was abusive and is a recurring character in the series. As they have a teen-age son, he is still a part of their lives. Another of his ex-wives is Goldy's closest friend. As with some of the other series' amateur sleuths, she becomes involved with a policeman. The first book of the series is Catering to Nobody.
DeMille, Nelson. Plum Island. Warner Books, 1997. "I, John Corey by name, convalescing cop by profession, was sitting on my uncle’s porch, deep in a wicker chair with shallow thoughts running through my mind. It occurred to me that the problem with doing nothing is not knowing when you’re finished." This quote from the first page of this story hooked me and I was not disappointed. Murder, detectives, love, lust, secret government operations and at least one surprise element make up this humor-tinged story. A pair of biologists from Plum Island, the off-shore New York animal disease research center are murdered and the local police involve big city detective John Corey in helping to solve the crime. Corey is drawn into the investigation somewhat against his will since the murdered couple happened to be friends of his. From there a very entertaining story evolves. I recommend it to mystery lovers and those (like myself) who are not great mystery fans.
Eichler, Selma. Murder Can Singe Your Old Flame: A Desiree Shapiro Mystery. Signet Books, 1999. Desiree Shapiro is a private investigator, but not a polished one. In this story, she is hired by her former man friend to clear him of a murder charge. It seems she is getting nowhere with the case and she even wonders if maybe he did do the deed. Desiree sticks with the case until it is solved. This is another cozy mystery with character development instead of graphic, gory details of the crime.
Evanovich, Janet. Two for the Dough: A Stephanie Plum Novel. Scribner, 1996. Bounty hunter Stephanie Plum debuted in Janet Evanovich's award-winning One for the Money. Now she's back, packing a whole lot of attitude -- not to mention stun guns, defense sprays, killer flashlights and a .38 Smith & Wesson -- on the trail of Kenny Mancuso, a boy from the working class burg of Trenton, who's just shot his best friend. Mancuso's fresh out of the army and suspiciously wealthy. He's also distantly related to Joe Morelli, a vice cop with ethics that lean toward the gray zone, a libido in permanent overdrive, and a habit of horning in on Stephanie's investigations. Aided by her tough bounty hunter pal, Ranger, and her funeral-happy Grandma Mazur, Stephanie's soon staggering knee-deep in corpses and caskets, trying to shake Morelli, and stirring up a very nasty enemy. This series is hilarious and great fun, with colorful characters, and fast action.
Evanovich, Janet. Four To Score: A Stephanie Plum Novel. Schribner, 1998. Stephanie Plum, the trash-talking New Jersey bail bondswoman of this popular series, is tracking Maxine Nowicki, who's wanted for skipping out on a car-theft charge lodged by her ex-boyfriend. Now the ex-boyfriend's very interested in getting back the love letters he supposedly wrote to Maxine. But what he's really looking for is the secret on which Evanovich hangs her screwball cast of colorful minor characters, including Sally Sweet, a cross-dressing drag queen; Lula, the 250-pound ex-hooker who works for Steph's boss; Cousin Vinnie, the bail bondsman; Grandma Mazur, who packs a Glock and is always looking for a little action; and Joyce, a wannabe bounty hunter who's been cramping Steph's style since she played pass the salami with Steph's ex-husband. The action doesn't get much farther from Trenton than the Jersey Shore, but when Steph's apartment and car are blown up by the others on Maxine's trail and she moves in with Joe Morelli, the handsome, arrogant cop she's been hung up on since high school, it gets hotter than craps table in Atlantic City. Plum's fans won't be disappointed in this fourth outing in the series (which I think is the best one yet!), and they're likely to be even more interested in the snappy patter and sexy shenanigans than in the mystery that holds it all together.
Frazer, Margaret. The Prioress' Tale: A Sister Frevisse Medieval Mystery. After Domina Alys was made prioress of St. Frideswide, the nunnery became a guest house for her relatives, the Godfreys, rather than a place of peaceful service for the nuns. Guests had to be fed and housed at no charge. The relatives took full advantage of that fact. When a longstanding family rivalry between the Godfreys and a family in the nearby village was renewed with a kidnapping and led to murder, it was up to Frevisse to solve the murder and rid the nunnery of its unwelcome guests. (Margaret Frazer was an Edgar Award nominee for The Servant's Tale, the second book in this series.)
Harris, Charlaine. A Bone to Pick. Walker, 1992. Aurora Teagarden, a librarian, suddenly inherits a house—a house with a skeleton not in the closet but in a window seat. Whose is it and who put it there? Why did Jane Engle, just a casual friend, leave Aurora not only a house but also a fortune? Could it be connected to both having been enthusiastic members of the Real Murder Society?
Hess, Joan. A Conventional Corpse. St. Martin’s, 2000. Claire Malloy, a single mother who owns a bookstore in a small town in Arkansas, is suddenly put in charge of running a convention for mystery fans at the local college when the original chairman takes ill. The meeting is called "Murder Comes to Campus" and when it convenes, murder does occur. Claire finds her hands full with sleuthing, trying to please the temperamental authors, and overseeing her teenager.
Kaminsky, Stuart. Dancing in the Dark. Mysterious Press, 1996. In 1943, Arthur Forbes is a respected California businessman, but not too many years earlier he lived in Detroit and was known as Fingers Intaglia because he liked to remove the fingers of his victims. Luna, his mistress, wants to learn to dance, and she wants Fred Astaire to teach her. Fred doesn't have time for private lessons, particularly when the client wants to focus on the horizontal mambo. To get Luna and her lover off his back, Astaire hires Toby Peters, private eye to the stars. When Luna drops dead at Toby's feet, Fingers is ready to resume his former profession but doesn't want a scandal. A deal is cut: if Toby can find the killer, he can live. Such a deal. The nineteenth Toby Peters mystery will delight Kaminsky fans. It has all the elements they've come to expect in the series: clients and suspects from Hollywood's Golden Age; carefully researched and faithfully reproduced period atmosphere; and a witty, self-deprecating, first-person narrative from the world-weary and wryly observant Peters.
Kaminsky, Stuart. The Devil Met a Lady. Warner Books, 1993. Another pleasantly foolish outing for Toby Peters, shamus to Hollywood's Golden Age stars. The client this time (1943) is Bette Davis's husband Arthur Farnsworth, whose aeronautical research on a modified bombsight has brought him to the attention of a gang that wants to swap the plans for an old sound-recording that Toby would rather forget--a record of how Davis's first husband, Ham Nelson, blackmailed Howard Hughes over a little performance coaching she gave him--and threatens to kidnap the star if Farnsworth won't play ball. The play between Toby and Davis, who stops recycling dialogue from her movies only long enough to get snatched three times, is the high point here. Not the best in this waggish, comfortable series………….still an entertaining romp through Golden Era Hollywood.
MacDonald, John D. Travis McGee series Knoph Publishing. A combination detective thief, McGee makes a living by recovering stolen property. Although he works outside the law, his victims and invariably criminals. McGee’s standard contract permits him to keep half of what he recovers, but profit is not his only motivation. McGee lives on a fort Lauderdale – based boat, the Busted Flush, which he won in a card game. His neighbor and assistant in many adventures is Meyer, a very successful economist. MacDonald’s highly successful Travis McGee series can be identified by the titles which all include the name of a color. (Mike Stewart’s books, Sins of the Brother and Dog Island, are being compared to this series.)
Mystery Writers of America ; edited by Bill Pronzini, Martin H. Greenberg, and Charles G. Waugh. The Mystery Hall of Fame : an anthology of classic mystery and suspense stories. Morrow, 1984. This selection is just what it professes to be. A collection of some of the best mystery short stories you can find. Edgar Allen Poe, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Dashiell Hammett, Raymond Chandler, Cornell Woolrich and Bill Pronzini are among the well known authors represented in this volume. Read it for yourself!
Pears, Iain. Immaculate Deception. Simon & Schuster, 2000. Would you like a really good whodunit to cuddle up with? If so, you might want to check out Immaculate Deception. Iain Pears has returned with the familiar cast of characters from the Argyll series, named after art – dealer turned academic, Jonathan Argyll. Other mysteries in this art-themed series include The Bernini Bust, The Titian Committee, The Last Judgement, Giotto’s Hand, and Death and Restoration. Immaculate Deception appears at first to be an innocuous cozy mystery. A painting has been stolen, and the acting head of Italy’s art theft squad, Flavia di Stefano, has to do some sleuthing to figure out what happened to it. Just when you think you have it all figured out, a murder occurs and the situation becomes much more dangerous for everyone entangled in this mystery. There is also a seemingly unrelated subplot involving Flavia’s husband who is attempting to discover the origin of a painting owned by Flavia old boss and mentor. That the two plots come together makes the ending a double surprise, and the novel is quite fun! Iain Pears also wrote a fantastic mystery set in 17th century England involving science, witchcraft, reason and insanity. Its title is An Instance of the Fingerpost and it is a bit more intellectually hefty than the art themed novels he has previously written. Many people will find it quite engrossing once they get into it. The story centers on four characters who are thrust into the midst of a mystery following the murder of a prominent Oxford don. Each tells his own version of events and its very difficult to decide who might have done the deed. As with Immaculate Deception, the ending is incredible!
Perry, Anne. Face of a Stranger. Fawcett Columbine, 1990. William Monk awakens after a carriage accident to find that a blow on the head has robbed him of his memory. This would be traumatic for anyone, but Monk is a police detective--how can he continue in his profession when he can barely remember his own name and next to nothing of his life? Set in London shortly after the Crimean War, Face of a Stranger introduces us to a trio of characters drawn together by extraordinary circumstances: William Monk, amnesiac detective; Hester Latterley, a nurse who has served in the Crimea and is discontented with the lack of respect afforded to nurses in London hospitals; and Oliver Rathbone, a lawyer with a penchant for taking on hopeless cases--and winning them. Plot twists abound as the three are drawn into the controversy of a murder investigation that Monk attempts despite his amnesia. Perry offers something for almost everyone. For readers looking for a good plot, she delivers suspenseful and unexpected developments; those who enjoy descriptive detail will be treated to highly evocative pictures of Victorian London; the people-oriented reader will be mesmerized by the interactions of Perry's complex characters, particularly the stubbornly determined Monk who fights the dual battle of solving a murder and coming to terms with his own past--or the lack of it. Other novels in the William Monk series: A Dangerous Mourning; Defend and Betray; A Sudden, Fearful Death; The Sins of the Wolf; Cain His Brother; Weighed in the Balance; The Silent Cry; A Breach of Promise; The Twisted Root; Slaves of Obsession.
Roberts, Gillian. Helen Hath No Fury. Ballantine, 2000. Amanda Pepper, a prep school teacher in Philadelphia, belongs to a book discussion group. When a member of the group purportedly commits suicide, Amanda isn’t convinced that her friend did kill herself. When other group members are injured, Amanda is even more certain that murder may have been committed. Amanda is one of my favorite female amateur sleuths.
Ross, Kate. Cut to the Quick. Viking Penquin, 1993. As a guest in the home of the Fontclair family, London dandy Julian Kestrel is forced unexpectedly into the role of amateur detective when the body of a murdered girl is found in his bed. To everyone's surprise--including his own--Kestrel makes an excellent detective, untangling a twisted plot of blackmail and family quarrels, and finding a higher purpose for his own life than how his coat is cut or how his cravat is tied. Kate Ross sets the Julian Kestrel series in Regency London (circa 1820's) and peoples the books with an intriguing cast of characters: Kestrel, the man-about-town famed for his elegant clothing and his imperturbable presence in the social whirl; Kestrel's valet "Dipper," a reformed pick-pocket; Vance of the Bow Street Runners, who handles the professional details not open to a private citizen like Kestrel; and the curmudgeonly Doctor MacGregor, who cuts through Kestrel's pretenses of emotional invulnerability and reminds him that he does have a heart and gifts worthy of better uses. Sadly, the Julian Kestrel series has ended, as Kate Ross died shortly after the publication of the fourth novel. However, those novels are excellent reads for anyone interested in the Regency period; also, the character of Kestrel as a witty observer of his society might especially recommend these novels to fans of another such detective--Dorothy L. Sayers' Lord Peter Wimsey. Other novels in the Julian Kestrel series: A Broken Vessel; Whom the Gods Love; The Devil in Music.
Stewart, Mike. Sins of the Brother. G.P. Putnam & Sons. 1999. How many of us have heard of Cooper’s Bend, Alabama---much less wanted to go there and spend time? Although it is his hometown, Tom McInnes has no burning desire to return to the place of his birth, but the murder of his black-sheep brother Hall and the mystery surrounding his death pulls Tom home and into the whirl of life-changing events. This book is a "page-turner". If you don’t like graphic descriptions of the blood and gore variety, then perhaps you should pass on this book; however, if you can enjoy a central figure who has "underworld" connections being from Mountain Brook, Alabama, then speed reading through the blood and gore sections might just be worth your while. The frequent twists and turns in the plot keep the reader interested. The small Southern town scenes, along with the family squabbles and secrets revealed are all very believable, especially if the reader was raised in the South. Great read!
Stewart, Mike. Sins of the Brother. G.P. Putnam & Sons, 1999. Tom McInnes is an attorney with a private practice in Mobile, Alabama. He's not exactly prospering but he's doing okay. Then news comes of his younger brother Hall's murder back in Cooper's Bend, Alabama. Tom's father Sam asks him to get to the bottom of Hall's death. In doing so, Tom learns about Hall's gambling debts, cocaine habit, "trailer park" girlfriend, and ren-ins with the law. Tom enlists the help of Joey, a not-so-gentle giant who acts as his investigator. As they start putting the pieces together and close in on the culprit(s), Tom becomes a target and his life is in peril. Tom's chief adversary becomes Mike Gerrard, a mobster who happens to dwell in Mountain Brook, Alabama. From Mountain Brook and Birmingham to New Orleans, the action never lets up until the mystery is solved.
Stewart, Mike. Dog Island. G.P. Putnam & Sons, 2000. Tom McInnes is back and this time he takes the case of Carli Monroe, a teen runaway who has witnessed a brutal murder in an isolated beach cottage on the Florida Panhandle. Tom soon learns that the local sheriff is in cahoots with the killers. Joey, a strapping former Navy intelligence agent who is now a private investigator, agrees to help Tom with the rough stuff. All clues point to the Bodines who are known on the Panhandle as the Redneck Mafia. Tom narrowly escapes death several times after being placed on the Bodines' hit list. Carli disappears, a mysterious Cuban enters the action, and McInnes and his crew find themselves in deep trouble. Although it's a good, fast read with a well-plotted ending, the violence may not be to some readers' liking.
Sprinkle, Patricia writes Southern mysteries. Sheila Travis, the amateur detective, is an executive who lives in Atlanta. Many of the series are set in that area. Murder at Markham is the first in the series.
Thurlo, Aimee and David write the Ella Clah mysteries. Tony Hillerman fans may enjoy these as they are set on the Navaho reservation. Ella Clah worked for the FBI and is now an investigator for the native police. Blackening Song is the first in the series.
