recommended mysteries

I love mysteries that immerse the reader in another culture, so here is a short (won’t burden you with 80!) list of some of my favorites, all written by authors with a gift for conveying a strong sense of place. There is no Nordic noir on my list. A dead body or two and a certain amount of violence are inevitable in all but the coziest of mysteries, but the Scandinavians tend to take it a little far for my taste. Plus I prefer that the majority of the characters in the books I read be people I would enjoy spending time with! So make yourself a nice cup of tea and curl up with any one of these for a satisfying few hours of reading.

Tannie Maria mysteries by Sally Andrews.
Set in rural South Africa, Recipe for Love and Murder is the first in a series featuring Tannie Maria, a middle-aged widow who loves both to cook and eat and also writes a recipe and advice column for the Klein Karoo Gazette. While assisting other people with their problems, Tannie Maria is forced to deal with her own–and with a murder to boot. Recipes included! The second novel in the series, The Satanic Mechanic, is due out at the end of March 2017.

Vish Puri, Most Private Investigator mysteries by Tarquin Hall.
Set in the colorful, crowded metropolis of Delhi, this humorous series features the endearingly idiosyncratic detective Vish Puri (aka Chubby for reasons that will be obvious), India’s Most Private Investigator, and a boisterous cast of supporting characters including Puri’s irrepressible Mummi-ji and his operatives Tubelight, Facecream and Handbrake. Warning: Do not read these books on an empty stomach, the descriptions of food are positively mouth-watering. No need to read in order.

Commissario Guido Brunetti mysteries by Donna Leon.
Venice is the setting for this best-selling series, which has been running for 25 years and captures the beauty, character and seamy underbelly of life in this glorious city. Brunetti is a good and intelligent man working to keep crime and injustice at bay in his beloved Venice. You read these books as much for his musings and observations about daily life, his beloved family, politics and government as you do for the mysteries. The books are also celebrated for their mouth-watering descriptions of the food, so much so that Donna Leon co-wrote a cookbook featuring some of the fabulous Venetian recipes referenced in her novels. For long-time fans, reading the latest Donna Leon book is like a visit with old friends. Pick up any one in the series and start reading!

Chief Inspector Armand Gamache mysteries by Louise Penny.
Set in Quebec, these books feature one of the most admirable men to ever command a police force. Or pretty much anything else. Multilayered plots, a large and richly described cast of characters and lyrical writing characterize this series which is made even stronger by its incorporation of the complexities of bi-lingual and bi-cultural Quebec. As one reviewer said, “few writers in any genre can match Penny’s ability to combine heartbreak and hope in the same scene.” Still Life is the first in the series of 12 books, which is best read in order.

The Highland Gazette Mystery Series by A. D. Scott.
Set in the northern Scottish Highlands in the 1950s, this series about a mystery-solving newspaper staff in a small town captures the changing world of post-war Scotland. This series has everything I like–richly drawn characters, complicated relationships and well-developed backstories in a setting both beautiful and bleak. Read this fine series in order–the first one is A Small Death in the Great Glen. There are 6 books in all and the author is working on the seventh. As a bonus, you will meet members of the Highland Travelers, an indigenous group similar to the Romani in Europe.

Bruno, Chief of Police mysteries by Martin Walker.
A small village in the Dordogne region of south-central France is the setting for this series, featuring Benoit “Bruno” Courreges, a soldier-turned-policeman who would rather tend his garden or whip up a gourmet meal than use his gun or arrest a suspect. Part of the pleasure of these richly satisfying mysteries is the contrast between the traditional rhythms of life in a French village and the terrors of the modern world. You may miss a few details if you read this series out of order, but it will not dampen your pleasure in the slightest.

Emily Dickinson said it best: “There is no Frigate like a Book To take us Lands away…”

Life has a way of getting in the way, and I’ve had to cut back on my reading. I used to finish a book even if I didn’t like it. But now, if it doesn’t draw me in after the first two chapters, it goes back to the library. It’s been awhile since I’ve finished a book. But, finally, I actually finished two in a row! Not only finished, but I actually finished each one in a day! On two beautiful Sunday afternoons, I sat and read, and read, and read. It was wonderful!

The first one was J.D. Robb’s Apprentice in Death. If you’ve been a fan of Nora Roberts/J.D. Robb, you probably noticed that her last several books were, well……different. Some say she has a ghost writer (which she vehemently denies), others say writer’s block, and others say she’s just spreading her wings and trying something new. Apprentice in Death is more in line with her earlier writings and I was hooked in the first chapter. There is a subtle difference. In the earlier In Death books, Ms. Robb spent a lot of time writing about the actual killings in very graphic detail. In Apprentice, she spends her time inside the characters’ heads and their lives. I love how Roarke and Eve have ‘grown up’. There is a quiet maturity about them, but they still sizzle and crackle. All the supporting characters are back and a few new ones have been introduced, giving hope that future books will be as entertaining as this. This is my favorite book of the In Death series.

Summary

“The shots came quickly, silently, and with deadly accuracy. Within seconds, three people were dead at Central Park’s ice skating rink. The victims: a talented young skater, a doctor, and a teacher. As random as random can be. Eve Dallas has seen a lot of killers during her time with the NYPSD, but never one like this. After reviewing security videos, it becomes clear that the victims were killed by a sniper firing a tactical laser rifle, who could have been miles away when the trigger was pulled. And though the locations where the shooter could have set up seem endless, the list of people with that particular skill set is finite: police, military, professional killer. Eve’s husband, Roarke, has unlimited resources–and genius–at his disposal. And when his computer program leads Eve to the location of the sniper, she learns a shocking fact: There were two–one older,one younger. Someone is being trained by an expert in the science of killing, and they have an agenda. Central Park was just a warm-up. And as another sniper attack shakes the city to its core, Eve realizes that though we’re all shaped by the people around us, there are those who are just born evil.”

The second book I finished was Always A Cowboy (The Carsons of Mustang Creek) by Linda Lael Miller. This is book two of a trilogy. Ms. Miller has been writing about cowboys for a very long time. You think she couldn’t possibly write something new and different, but she proves over and over that she can! Again, I was hooked in the first chapter. This is a gentle romance with just the right amount of spice and it gives us a good look into modern life in the American West. Ms. Miller has a way of making her characters come to life and the settings are rich with details. The story moves along quickly and there is an eclectic assortment of secondary characters that adds a richness to the story.

This book has an added bonus. At the end of the book, Ms. Miller wrote a very personal essay giving us a glimpse into her life. Ms. Miller is one of those authors who shares a lot about herself. She has a wonderful website with news, a blog, and contests. Check it out here.

Summary

Drake Carson is the quintessential cowboy. In charge of the family ranch, he knows the realities of this life, its pleasures and heartbreaks. Lately, managing the wild stallions on his property is wearing him down. When an interfering so-called expert arrives and starts offering her opinion, Drake is wary, but he can’t deny the longing—and the challenge—she stirs in him.

Luce Hale is researching how wild horses interact with ranch animals—and with ranchers. The Carson matriarch invites her to stay with the family, which guarantees frequent encounters with Drake, her ruggedly handsome and decidedly unwelcoming son. Luce and Drake are at odds from the very beginning, especially when it comes to the rogue stallion who’s stealing the ranch mares. But when Drake believes Luce is in danger, that changes everything—for both of them.

Book one in this trilogy is Once A Rancher. It too, was an outstanding read. “ Offering a troubled boy a job on the ranch he shares with his younger siblings, Wyoming businessman Slater Carson falls for the youth’s beautiful guardian, Grace, a resort manager whose busy life is threatened by dangers from her past.”