Reading right now:

            “Red Line” by Brian Thiem. Thiem’s first novel marks the beginning of a new series featuring Oakland homicide detective Matt Sinclair. When a teenager is dumped at a bus stop in Oakland, Sinclair is assigned the case. Unfortunately for the city and for Sinclair, it is only the first in a series of killings. This is an excellent police procedural from a veteran Oakland police detective who obviously knows what he is talking about.

           

On hold right now:

            “In a Dark, Dark Wood” by Ruth Ware. This creepy novel places a group of women in the middle of the woods, in a glass house, celebrating an upcoming wedding. Of course, the party goes horribly wrong when someone is murdered. This psychological suspense novel is an excellent end of summer read.

Other mysterious things:

            Vu Tran’s “Dragonfish” features an Oakland police officer who is trying to find his missing ex-wife who disappeared from Las Vegas. Some of the other mystery  authors whose series has Oakland, California playing an important role includes: Janet Dawson’s Private Investigator Jeri Howard series which started with “Kindred Crimes” in 1990; Nichelle Tramble’s series starred Maceo Redfield a disillusioned baseball star and started with “The Dying Ground” in 2001; Marilyn Wallace’s Oakland homicide detectives Jay Goldstein and Carlos Cruz were featured in three novels starting with “A Case of Loyalties” from 1986; and don’t forget Lachlan Smith’s novels with Leo Maxwell which started with “Bear is Broken.”