Reading right now:

            “Without Warning” by David Rosenfelt. I found that this book really grabbed my attention and I have quickly gotten over halfway through it. So far I would say that this is Rosenfelt’s best standalone novel. I I have enjoyed his others, but with reservations. I truly love his Andy Carpenter series (“Hounded” the 12^th book in the series comes out in July). At the start of this new novel, a hurricane collapses a dam above the small town of Wilton, Maine which unearths a time capsule. When the capsule is checked for water leaks, a set of predictions are found that are disturbingly violent and several of them have come true. It is up to Police Chief Jake Robbins to try to stop what is quickly becoming a killing spree.

On hold right now:

                

               “Field of Prey” by John Sandford. Once a Pulitzer prize-winning journalist, now an author of almost 40 books, John Sandford’s latest just came out. It is the 24^th Lucas Davenport novel and finds Davenport facing a serial killer that seems almost impossible to catch. I can’t wait to get my copy.

Other Mysterious Things:

               There is a glut of mystery authors already, but there seems to be no end to readers who desire new and ever more interesting mysteries. Mysteries have for years been the number one requested and checked out books in most libraries. I have talked before about trends in mysteries and mentioned Nordic mysteries and paranormal mysteries. John Sandford recently told the Huffington Post: “The novels have become more sophisticated and far more violent.” They have also become full of female heroes, exotic locals, animal crime solving partners, and mired in the past. Currently several publishers are planning on reprinting some famous old crime novels that they feel people would be interested in finding again including books by Georges Simenon, Margery Allingham, and Agatha Christie.

A good novel takes you away!

            In addition to Nordic authors, authors from all over the world including France and Germany are being translated into English and gaining an audience. “Singapore Noir” by Cheryl Lu-Lien Tan, Nele Neuhaus’ “Snow White Must Die,” Bernard Minier’s “Frozen Dead,” and Ursula Archer’s “Five,” are all getting a lot of attention on the international scene. French Archaeologist Fred Vargas has several books available in America. Claude Izner’s Victor Legris series started with “Murder On the Eiffel Tower.” Greek author Petros Markaris series stars Inspector Costas Haritos. German author Jakob Arjouni writes a series featuring Kemal Kayankaya a Private Investigator born in Turkey, raised in Germany. I should be mentioning several upcoming books by foreign authors in future posts and want to talk about Western Mysteries very soon. Something to look forward to!