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Murder, Mystery and Mayhem:
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These are titles we discovered and enjoyed over the years. Nancy is no longer on the staff and the list is no longer being updated, but we wanted to continue to make this available to all you mystery fans.
Table of Contents
Mystery Corner News January 2000 Cozies: The Amateur Sleuth.
Mystery Corner News November 1999 Favorite Male Authors and Protagonists.
Mystery Corner News July 1999 Mysteries with a Domestic Twist
Mystery Corner News May 1999 Mysteries with Pets
Mystery Corner News February 1999 Favorite Women who write Mysteries
Mystery Corner News November 1998 Northwest Mysteries
Welcome to the first issue of our mystery corner for the new century!!
We hope you all had good holidays and are ready to hit the books. We thought it might be fun to recommend some of our favorite authors who write what are called cozies in the mystery business. Cozies usually have a main character who is not a professional sleuth.
We both love the southern sister’s series written by Anne George. This series is set in the South, with two sisters who couldn't be more different. The dialogue is a riot, and the rapport between the sisters is very realistic. The plots are interesting and credible as the sisters stumble onto murders and try to get themselves out of crazy situations. We can’t wait to read each chapter, and look forward to the other books in the series. The first book to look for is Murder on Girls Night Out.
If you are looking for a fun read, you might try Jill Churchill who writes about Jane Jeffrey a suburban Chicago widow with 3 kids. The first book in this series is Grime and Punishment, a suspenseful whodunit about the murder of a neighborhood cleaning lady. No reader who is, or has been, a suburban Mom can fail to identify with Churchill.
For those of you who like the British mysteries, you might look for the books written by M.C. Beaton. (AKA: Marion Chesney) This author also writes two series. The character Hamish MacBeth is a police constable in a small village in Scotland. Lots of fun to learn about what goes on in this little village. It is important to start this series at the beginning since the characters and Hamish’s relationships with them develop. The first book in the series to look for is: Death of a Cad. The Agatha Raisin series is also written by this author. Agatha is a Miss Marple-like heroine who is contrary, eccentric, funny and entertaining. The first book in the series is: Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death.
For those of you who are interested in genealogy, be sure and look for Family Skeletons the first book in the series written by Rett MacPherson whose main character is Torie O’Shea a wife/mom/genealogist/museum guide who lives in a charming small town near St. Louis Missouri. The author is a good storyteller and the characters are very likeable.
For now, last, but not least, be sure and look for Meg Chittenden’s series which features Charlie Plato, the red haired heroine who lives upstairs of "Chaps" the San Francisco bay area’s hottest country and western bar which she co-owns with 3 partners who all do their best to try and keep out of trouble. The first book to look for is: Dying to Sing.
See you next time, keep reading and visiting the library.
Jackie and Nancy
Mystery Corner News November, 1999
Favorite Male Authors and Protagonists
We hope you have had a chance to read some of the recommendations from our last issue and have laughed your way through some of our favorite books/authors.
As we promised, we have been hard at work compiling a list of some of our favorite male authors and protagonists. Several of the authors write more than one character and we are including all of them.
Remember that we don’t recommend an author and book unless we have personally read and enjoyed that author and title.
The authors not in any particular order are:
Lawrence Block who writes three characters. The Burglar series starring Bernie Rhodenbarr a bookstore owner who is a burglar on the side. These books are fun and exciting to read. First book in the Burglar series is: Burglars Can’t Be Choosers. Block also writes the Matthew Scudder and Evan Tanner series. The first book in the Scudder series is: Sins of the Fathers. First book in the Matthew Scudder series and The Thief who couldn’t sleep is the first book in the Evan Tanner series. The last two series are a little more of the hard-boiled genre.
G.M. Ford: Whose first book is Who The Hell is Wanda Fuca. Mr. Ford is a Seattle author and his character Leo Waterman is a private eye in Seattle who occasionally employs an assortment of bowery-type characters to assist him in his cases.
Carl Hiaasen is an author whose characters include a variety of delightful oddballs. Stories deal with unscrupulous developers and off the wall environmentalists. His first book Tourist Season is about a reporter-turned-private eye that moves from muckraking to uncovering murder in a caper that mixes football players, politicians, and a very hungry crocodile.
Steve Martini whose first book is Compelling Evidence writes books dealing with the legal system. Several of his books have been made into motion pictures.
Jon Katz whose first book is Death By Station Wagon Kit Deleeuw is a disgraced ex-Wall Streeter, hired by some kids to prove that a murder-suicide isn't what it seems. He's the Suburban Detective--and he's about to learn just how deadly the suburbs really are.
Bill Pronzini whose character the "Nameless Detective" is a very popular series. The first book is Bindlestiff. As a point of interest, Mr. Pronzini is married to mystery author Marcia Muller who writes the popular Sharon McCone series.
Robert Tanenbaum a former Assistant District Attorney in New York City and also former mayor of Beverly Hills writes a great series featuring Butch Karp Butch is a Deputy D.A. in NYC. This is a series that really develops quickly and it is important that you read them in order. The characters grow with the books. The first book to look for is: No Lesser Plea.
Archer Mayor’s character Detective Lieutenant Joe Gunther lives in Battleboro Vermont. The books are well written and it is an opportunity to learn a little something about New England. The first book in this series is: Open Season.
Scott Turow writes legal thrillers and his first book Presumed Innocent was hailed as one of the most suspenseful and compelling novel in decades, Presumed Innocent brings to life our worst nightmare: that of an ordinary citizen facing conviction for the most terrible of crimes. For you movie buffs out there, look for the movie starring Harrison Ford.
James Patterson whose series is based on nursery rhymes writes suspenseful, exciting books some of which have also been made into movies. The first book in the series is Along Came A Spider.
Before we end this issue, can’t leave out Stuart Kaminsky who writes 3 characters. A fun one to start with is Murder on The Yellow Brick Road. Main character Toby Peters lives in early 1940’s L.A. and gets into all kinds of jams with various famous people of that era. The book titles usually are a clue as to what famous character will be involved with Toby.
Inspector Porfiry is a Russian policeman who is successful in solving his cases despite having to work within the Russian criminal system. The first book in this series is: Red Chameleon.
Lieberman’s Folly is the first book in the series about Chicago policeman Abe Lieberman. Think you would also enjoy this series.
Stay inside, read and stay warm and dry.
Enjoy the holidays and we will be back with a new issue after the first of the year.
Nancy and Jackie
Series with a domestic twist:
We hope you enjoy reading our mystery corner as much as we enjoy creating it. For this edition we would like to suggest some authors whose characters deal with the domestic arts.
Kathy Trocheck’s main character Callahan Garrity is a former cop who now operates a house cleaning service with her mom. This series is always enjoyable. Pay particular attention to the “girls” who work for the House Mouse cleaning service. The first book in this series is: Every Crooked Nanny.
Charlaine Harris has created a series featuring Lilly Bard. Lilly cleans houses in Shakespeare Arkansas. Lilly had a life changing experience in her former professional life that affects how she deals with life in Shakespeare. The first book in this series is: Shakespeare’s Landlord.
For all you quilters out there: Earlene Fowler’s series featuring Benni Harper should interest you. Benni is an avid quilter who is married to a policeman in California. All the titles in this series have the name of a quilt design in the title. The first book in this series is: Fools Puzzle.
If you are interested in herbs and natural remedies, don’t miss the books by Susan Wittig Albert. The main character is China Bayles a no longer practicing attorney who now owns a herb shop in a small town in Texas. There is always interesting bits of information about various herbs. The first book in this series is: Witches Bane.
Katherine Hall Page’s character Faith Fairchild is a gourmet chef from New York married to a clergyman and now living in a small New England town. The first book in the Faith Fairchild series is: The Body in the Belfry.
Since we are on the subject of cooks, we can’t leave out the following authors:
One of the first authors to incorporate recipes in with her stories was Virginia Rich. Check out The Cooking School Murders to see what we are talking about.
Can’t imagine that you avid mystery lovers have missed the Diane Mott Davidson books featuring Goldy Schulz. Goldy is a professional caterer who lives in Colorado with her teenage son, and her second husband police detective Tom Schulz. The first book in the series is: Catering To Nobody.
One of our favorite authors is Tamar Myers. Magdalena Yoder owns a county inn in the Pennsylvania Dutch County. You learn lots about the Amish and Mennonite customs as well as getting to try some of their very favorite recipes, which are printed in the books. The first book to look for is: Too Many Cooks Spoil The Broth.
Janet Laurence writes about Darina Lisle a professional caterer from Great Britain. The first book we have in NOLS is: A Deepe Coffyn.
Angie Amalfi is a character created by Joanne Pence. Angie is a gourmet cook who lives an exciting and adventurous life. The first book in the series available in our system is: Cooking Up Trouble.
Next issue we will recommend some of our very favorite male authors.
Happy Reading!!
Welcome to the May edition of Murder, Mystery and Mayhem. We hope our previous recommendations were helpful. Since “Be Kind To Animals Week” occurs in May, we thought we would suggest some of our very favorite series that involve pets.
If you are a dog lover, you will really enjoy Lauren Berenson’s character, Melanie Travis. Melanie is a single parent, special education teacher, actress and French Poodle owner. The first book in this series is: A Pedigree to Die For.
We would also like to suggest Carol Lea Benjamin. Her character Rachael Alexander is a former dog trainer turned P.I. The first book in this series is: This Dog’s For Hire.
Melissa Cleary writes about Jackie Walsh, another single parent and teacher and amateur sleuth. The first book in this series is: A Tail of Two Murders.
Susan Conant’s character Holly Winter is a journalist for “Dog’s Life” magazine and an animal trainer. She has a malamute named Rowdy. The first book in the series is: A New Leash On Life.
The books in the above series are not only enjoyable they are also very informative with lots of helpful information for pet owners.
For all you cat fans!
Most of our patrons anxiously await the latest installment from Lillian Jackson Braun. Qwilleran and his Siamese cats Koko and Yum Yum investigate crime in the farthest northern county in the lower USA.
If you would like to start with the very first book in this series you need to look for: The Cat Who Could Read Backwards. Ms. Braun began this series in 1966. She took a 20 year hiatus and didn’t write again until 1986 with her book, The Cat Who Saw Red.
Lydia Adamson writes two series. Alice Nestleton, an actress/cat sitter and her two cats Bushy and Pancho are fun to read. The first book in this series is: A Cat in the Manger. Ms. Adamson also writes the Dr. Nightingale series. These books are about veterinarian Deirdre Quinn Nightingale and her adventures.
Last, but not least we recommend you to read the series by Rita Mae Brown and her grey tabby cat Sneaky Pie Brown. This series is about Mary Minor “Harry” Haristeen, the postmistress of Crozet, VA. And her cats Mrs. Murphy, Pewter and dog Tee Tucker.This series is special because Mrs. Murphy often narrates it. The first book in this series is: Wish You Were Here.
These are just a few of our favorite reads.
Happy reading!
Mystery Corner News February 1999
We hope our patrons have had an opportunity to check out some of the Northwest authors we suggested in our last edition. We would like to suggest some of our other very favorite female authors/protagonists for your reading pleasure.
You can't miss with Janet Evanovich. Not one person we have recommended this author/series to has failed to rave!!! Now all of her fans can't wait for her next book. The first book in her series is One For the Money.
Another very popular author/series is: Sue Grafton's Kinsey Milhone. You need to look for A is for Alibi to start at the beginning.
P.I. Kat Colorado is Karen Kijewski's character. The first book in the series is Katwalk.
Can't end this edition without mentioning Joan Hess. Joan writes two characters, Arly Hanks the police chief of Maggody Arkansas and Claire Malloy who owns a bookstore in a small southern town. Maggody Malice and Strangled Prose are the first books in these two series.
We would also like to recommend some upcoming titles which will soon be available at your local branch:
- Balloon Man, by Charlotte MacLeod
- The Cat Who Saw Stars, by Lilian Jackson-Braun
- Prime Cut, by Diane Mott-Davidson
- Murder In The Mist, by Willard Scott
Happy Reading!
Mystery Corner News November 1998We would like to suggest some Washington authors and titles for your mystery reading pleasure. These books are currently available in the library system.
Mary Daheim writes mysteries with a touch of humor. She has two characters. First character is Emma Lord, editor and publisher of a weekly newspaper in Skykomish. The first book in this series is The Alpine Advocate. The titles all start with Alpine and go down the alphabet. Ms. Daheim's second character is Judith McGonigle Flynn who owns a Bed and Breakfast in the Seattle area. The first book in this series is Just Desserts.
Aaron Elkins character Gideon Oliver is a forensic anthropologist who lives in a town that sounds very much like Port Angeles and he has a wife who is a park ranger in the Olympic National Park. The first Gideon Oliver book is Fellowship of Fear.
Earl Emerson, in real life a Lieutenant with the Seattle Fire Department, also writes two characters. One character is Thomas Black, a Seattle based P.I. Mr. Emerson always includes lots of different Seattle neighborhood information in his books. The first book in this series is The Rainy City. His second character is Mac Fontana, a fire chief in a small Eastern Washington town. The first book in this series is Slow Dancing.
When recommending Washington authors, we can't leave out J.A. Jance and her Seattle based private eye J.P. Beaumont. The first book in this series is Until Proven Guilty.
Listed below are some additional titles to look for in the coming months:
- A Holly Jolly Murder, by Joan Hess
- Fire & Ice, by Dana Stabenow
- Chili Death, by Susan Wittig Albert
- The Merchant of Menace, by Jill Churchill
Don't hesitate to ask us to recommend mystery authors. We love to get "our" patrons hooked on books.
Back to Mystery Corner Table of Contents
Back to Forks Branch Library Home Page.
Last revised April 10, 2008
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