Posts by sandra
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Up Front: Reading Murder Books, in reply to Lilith __,
Thanks Lilith, I will try 'A Study in Emerald'. For Holmes fans I’d also recommend the slim volume (novella) that is 'The Final Solution' by Michael Chabon. It’s not predictable and rather sad - and I don't think the name 'Sherlock Holmes' is ever mentioned.
Also, 'The Yiddish Policeman’s Union' by Michael Chabon which is dazzling and puzzling and sometimes both at once but thoroughly enjoyable. Its initial twist is that the Jewish homeland wasn’t successful in Israel and so Alaska was settled instead.
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Had a walk round Mauao yesterday - birds washing in a bit of a rocky stream (tui and yellowhammers mostly); rabbits twitching their ears in the sunlight; a Danish-flagged log ship passing by on its way to goodness knows where, so close we thought we could touch it - and later the yellow Pilot Boat doing a U-turn beside it (with Mayor Island as a backdrop) and heading back in; pohutukawa coming out and such a deep red they took our breath away; Nippers on the beach doing their training; and these clouds. Thanks to my son, HF, for the pic.
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Ooooh, can I add just one more?
Louise Penny. I found her quite by accident on the library shelves a couple of years ago and after I’d read one I grabbed everything else they had asap. She’s good – it’s not so much the murder or even the detection (although that is good) but it’s more about her great characters and the atmosphere she creates. Almost all the stories are the traditional ‘locked room’ mystery; in this case the snowbound mansion is most usually replaced by a village near-ish to Montreal (Three Pines) that doesn’t appear on maps and is cut off from everything except landlines. There’s also one that’s set in a remote Canadian monastery, accessible only by seaplane or (at a push) boat, and a couple set in Montreal itself.
Her main character, Chief Inspector Armand Gamache (recently retired), is a real person to me, he’s that well drawn, and the minor characters much the same. They’re all complex and so not predictable.
From Ms Penny's website:
My books are about terror. That brooding terror curled deep down inside us. But more than that, more than murder, more than all the rancid emotions and actions, my books are about goodness. And kindness. About choices. About friendship and belonging. And love. Enduring love.
If you take only one thing away from any of my books I'd like it to be this:
Goodness exists.
Whatever your biggest recommend is Emma, I double it!
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Up Front: Reading Murder Books, in reply to Emma Hart,
They’re awful, but in a really endearingly sweet kind of way
I agree. These authors know their audiences and are writing exactly what their fans want to read.
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Up Front: Reading Murder Books, in reply to Biobbs,
my absolute fav detective of all time is Lauren Henderson’s hilarious Sam Jones
Thanks for this - one I don't know. Library, here I come!
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Okay, I'm going to bring it up ...
The 'cozy' mysteries that American woman writers churn out ... I occasionally read one just because there's no intellectual work needed, kind of like a lie down or goofing off! Turns out, 'cozy mysteries' is an actual sub-genre.
Diane Mott Davidson is (slightly) a cut above the others in terms of her plotting and characters: Goldy Schulz is a caterer in Colorado (recipes in every book, including details for altitude) whose motto is 'Everything is Just Right'. She's married to a sheriff and has a chatty OTT rich friend and an abusive ex. Her son looks up to her student employee. There's a dog and a cat. The number of bodies she's found makes me wonder about her motto.
Katherine Hall Page is the other above-average in this field: Caterer Faith Fairchild has done the one thing she vowed never to do - marry a vicar. Which comes in handy when she finds the bodies, I suppose. Anyway she lives in a rackety manse in a small Massachusetts town, full of eccentric characters. She has 2 children and a great next-door neighbour, and there are recipes in every book.
Sarah Graves also doesn't do a bad job if these sorts of books are your cup of tea: Jake Tiptree has left being a financial advisor in NY to renovate a big, old house in a small coastal town in Maine (handy tips in every book). She has her son, her abusive ex, her ruggedly handsome coastguard boyfriend, her 'sleuthing partner'. Oh god, there's a cat.
Monica Ferris: Middle-aged Betty Devonshire owns Crewel World (cross-stitch pattern in every book!) in a Minnesota town and 'sleuths' at the behest of others. Her co-worker Goddy is gay and sometimes flip, she has an overweight cat and more lately has acquired a gentleman friend. Not too bad, and although some of the minor characters are tedious, Betty is well-rounded.
Laura Childs has three series going on but I've only tried her Teashop Mysteries: Theo owns a teashop in Charleston and regularly comes across dead bodies in the course of catering things (recipes in every book) or just walking around. Her tea master is a stuffy Anglophile while her cook is a ditzy blonde - they profess not to get on. She has a dog and has had various relationships, none of which have stuck. The overweight police detective has come to grudgingly admire Theo. Occasionally there are interesting facts about tea and the Charleston setting is interesting.
Her other series are Scrapbook Mysteries and The Cackleberry Club (oh, all right I read one of these - it was so dire I'm trying to pretend it never happened).Joanne Fluke: Hannah Swensen owns a bakery in a small Minnesota town (Minnesota, crime capital of the US?). She has two handsome beaux - a steady dentist and a charming but unreliable police detective - and an overweight cat. Recipes in every book. Her mother is a ditzy pain, her sister a ditzy real estate agent ... Meh.
Maggie Sefton: Accountant Kelly Flynn has moved to a small town in Colorado when she's left a house. (No wait, Colorado is the murder capital...) Across the street (or something) is a fibre shop that holds knitting classes (pattern in every book). You guessed it. Kelly takes up knitting and sleuthing. The dialogue, characterisation and plotting in these books is terrible. Which is why I stopped after about 4!
Cleo Coyle: Claire Cosi owns a coffee shop in Greenwich Village ... blah, I can't go on.
The only other thing to note about ALL these books is the punning titles or a 'series title' like 'The Body in'. It's a 'thing'. Match the titles to the author:
Wreck the Halls, Purl Up and Die, Chamomile Mourning, Peach Cobbler Murder, Darned if You Do, The Cereal Murders, The Body in the Vestibule, A Brew to a Kill.
Don't say I didn't warn you!!
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Curious London settings and mysteries to be found in the Bryant and May series by Christopher Fowler. The odd facts about the grand old city are true which makes the stories even better.
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Up Front: Reading Murder Books, in reply to Rob S,
I endorse this wholeheartedly:
Inspector O series of books set in North Korea, written by James Church.And would mention Colin Cotterill's series featuring Dr. Siri Paiboun that are set in the Laos of the mid-70s. Not as serious as the Inspector O books but a good read.
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Oh, okay, just one more ..
James Lee Burke ... do not go past James Lee Burke. I started with the Dave Robichaux novels and although they have been getting bigger and bigger and somewhat formulaic (poetic description of the landscape/weather-action-landscape/weather-action-Dave wonders whether to drink-Clete does something outrageous-landscape/weather) he is still worth a huge recommend. Fascinating morality tales told through the character of a Vietnam vet-police detective-sober (for now) alchoholic. Since Hurricane Katrina there has been a new element of anger at the political systems that plague Louisiana.
I resisted reading the Billy Bob Holland series for I don't know why. Also great.
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Among the foreign writers that I enjoy reading in translation (in no particular order) are:
Fred Vargas (French: Commissaire Adamsberg)
Andrea Camilleri (Italian: Salvo Montalbano). A mention of translator Stephen Sartarelli here, he does a brilliant job.
Jo Nesbo (Norwegian: Harry Hole)
Hakan Nesser (Swedish: Inspector Van Veetern). These books aren't set anywhere in particular, just in a city in Europe.
Arnauldur Indridason (Icelandic: Detective Erlendur - lately the books have been revealing more and more of the childhood tragedy he was involved in).
Karin Fossum (Norwegian: Inspector Konrad Sejer).
Janwillem van de Wetering (1931-2008) (Dutch: Adjutant-Detective Henk Grijpstra and Detective-Sergeant Rinus de Gier).
Henning Mankell (1948-2015) (Swedish: Kurt Wallander). If you can get your hands on a DVD of Kenneth Branagh as Wallander do give it try.Authors I enjoy who set their books in Italy but aren't Italian are Donna Leon (Venice: Commissario Brunetti); Magdalena Nabb who died suddenly in 2007 (Florence: Marshal Guarnaccia) and Michael Dibdin who also died in 2007 (Venice to start with, then all over Italy: Aurelio Zen).
