Reading right now:

            “Ghost in the Guacamole” by Sue Ann Jaffarian. Here’s a paranormal series with down-to-earth characters that you can’t help but love. This is the fifth book in the Ghost of Granny Apples series which continues the adventures of amateur sleuth and medium Emma Whitecastle and her great-great-great grandmother the ghost of a western pioneer woman who can quote movies and TV shows with the best of them. These books are clever and funny and include a lot of California color. I really enjoy the characters, the humor, and the plots of all of these books and the current book is no exception. If you want to lighten up your mystery reading experience, you can’t go wrong with this great series.

                   

On hold right now:

            “Shark Skin Suite” by Tim Dorsey. Another mystery author who started out as a reporter, Dorsey’s darkly comic Florida noirs may not be for everyone. If you like insane oddball characters combined with grisly murders, his series may just be for you. The Serge Storms series started in 1999 with “Florida Roadkill” and continues this month with the 18^th book in this unique series. Trying to explain these books may not be possible, but just knowing that Serge Storms is a person may give you an idea that when you start reading this series you may feel that you’ve fallen down the rabbit hole. Once down there you may not want to leave so if you haven’t found these books yet start at the beginning and watch your sanity.

Other Mysterious Things:

           

            Humor is a tough recommendation. Sometimes I think something is really funny, but a friend or relative may hate it. Despite this there have been some really fun mystery movies that I have loved and maybe you might love some of them as well. “Kiss Kiss Bang Bang” is a movie that I can watch over and over. I have also loved “Fletch” and all the Thin Man movies (start with “The Thin Man”), “The Last Boy Scout,” “The Trouble with Harry,”  “Arsenic and Old Lace,” and “The Truth About Charlie.” Many of Agatha Christie’s books have been made into movies, but some of the best are the ones where Margaret Rutherford played Miss Jane Marple (“Murder Ahoy,” “Murder Most Foul,” “Murder at the Gallop,” etc.). Rutherford is an hilarious Miss Marple. The six “Thin Man” movies and TV show were based on the book by Dashiell Hammett and no couple has ever been funnier than Nick and Nora Charles.

            Once you start listing them you might find that there are lots of mystery authors writing with a humorous twist. A few of these great authors include: Janet Evanovich, Claire Chilton, Victoria Laurie, Stephanie Bond, A.R. Winters, Shirley Damsgaard, Meg Cabot, Jennifer Crusie, Alice Loweecey, Susan Wittig Albert, Jill Churchill, Donna Andrews, Lawrence Block, Rhys Bowen, Dorothy Cannell, Harlan Coben, Mary Daheim, Kinky Friedman, Carolyn Hart, Joan Hess, and David Rosenfelt.

Great authors, funny books and funny movies! Try one.

Reading right now:

“Nantucket Five-spot” by Steven Axelrod. In this second book in the Henry Kennis mystery series, agents from Homeland Security come to town to try to stop the Boston Pops concert on Nantucket from being blown up by a terrorist. Henry Kennis is Nantucket’s new poetry-writing Chief of Police from California who finds himself faced with trying to save the concert in which the island’s summer economy is based on while dealing with his ex-love interest who now works for Homeland Security. Kennis unravels a bizarre conspiracy rooted in the complicated relationships of small town life. 

On hold right now:

           “Glow,” by Ned Beauman. This is the third novel by up-and-coming British author Beauman. This humorous thriller centers around the newest recreational drug called glow and its connections to missing Burmese people in London, and foxes behaving oddly. What more could you ask for? 

Other Mysterious Things:

            “Child 44” by Tom Rob Smith came out in 2008 and was the first in the Leo Demidov series and is soon to be a movie. Smith was nominated for the Anthony Award, the Man Booker Prize, and the Barry Award for “Child 44.”  Set in Russia and centering around MGB officer Leo Demidov, the novel tells the story of the killing of children in a regime where murder is not acknowledged.

LOOKING BACK:

DID YOU MISS ANY OF THESE BEST 

MYSTERIES & THRILLERS OF 2014?

Reading right now:

            “The Skeleton Road” by Val McDermid. “I had always wanted to write, ever since I realized that real people actually produced all those books in the library. But everyone told me that it was impossible to make a living from writing, that I needed to have a proper job. I knew I wasn’t the sort of person who would be suited to a proper, nine to five job with a neat hierarchical career structure, so I became a journalist,” says Val McDermid on her website. Scottish mystery writer, McDermid has had tremendous success since she started writing mystery novels in the 1980s. While she writes several series, her latest is a stand-alone which starts with the discovery of a skeleton found in an apparently inaccessible Gothic pinnacle on a derelict school which is about to be torn down. Cold-case detective Karen Pirie is called in to trace who the skeleton once was which leads to decades old secrets being revealed.

On hold right now:

            “Perfect Sins” by Jo Bannister. Bannister and McDermid have much in common—both from the UK, both former journalists, and both have contributed many books to the mystery genre. “Perfect Sins” introduces a new series starring former government agent Gabriel Ash and police constable Hazel Best. While Best is dragged into a cold case, Ash finds new clues to help him discover if his family (who were taken by pirates) are still alive.

Other Mysterious Things:

“Cold in July” by Joe R. Lansdale. “Cold in July” was a stand-alone novel that came out in 1989 and was made into a movie in 2014. Newly out on DVD, this movie is worth a viewing. It’s gritty and sad with a twisting plot that will keep you involved. After Richard Dane kills an intruder in his home, he is told that the man was wanted felon, Freddy Russell. Dane has trouble moving on with his life which is compounded when the father (Ben Russell) of the man he killed starts threatening him. Eventually Dane discovers that the man he killed was not Freddy Russell which brings Dane and Ben Russell together in an attempt to find out what really happened to Freddy Russell and who Dane actually killed. Ben and Dane become involved with a private detective who leads them into trouble with federal agents and the mafia. The cast is amazing and includes Michael C. Hall, Sam Shepard, and Don Johnson. 

Reading right now:

           

“The Escape” by David Baldacci. This is the third title in Baldacci’s John Puller series. Puller is a Military CID investigator who upon returning from Florida learns that his brother has escaped from prison. Puller finds himself on the wrong side of the law trying to find his brother and help him stay alive. Baldacci was a lawyer who lives in Virginia and writes amazing books. My favorite series is still the Camel Club. His books are exciting reads that you just want to take the day off and finish, but then you are so sad that they are done.

On hold right now:

            “Flesh and Blood” by Patricia Cornwell. This is her 22^nd book in the Kay Scarpetta series and, hopefully, a good one. I haven’t always been happy with Cornwell’s books which often get bogged down in family and personal issues that have grown tiresome over the years. Her latest finds her attempting to track down a serial sniper.

Other Mysterious Things:

New author Elisabeth de Mariaffi brings out her debut novel in January, 2015 which is called “The Devil You Know.” The book centers around rookie crime reporter Evie Jones who is haunted by the unsolved murder of her best friend. It’s a case that she can’t leave alone and one that she follows into territory that may get her killed.

            Known for his work on the TV series Monk and also for the books featuring Monk, Hy Conrad debuts a new series in January, 2015, called Amy’s Travel Mystery series. The first book in the series is called “Toured to Death” and features Amy and her Mother, who are travel agents with a nose for murder.

            In January, 2015, non-fiction writer Thom Hartmann’s new fiction series will start off with “Death in the Pines.” This first book in the Oakley Tyler series finds ex-PI Tyler running away to a cabin in the Vermont woods to retire in peace. Unfortunately, Jeremiah Smith finds him and asks him to save his newspaper reporter grandson who is under attack by a group of unknown men. After Smith is killed in a hit-and-run car accident, Tyler takes on the case which finds him in the middle of the genetic engineering controversy.

While Grant Jerkins’ 2015 novel “A Very Simple Crime” is slated to become a movie, his next novel is coming out in January, 2015. “Done in One” is a stand-alone novel about SWAT sniper Jake Denton and the difficult job he does.

Reading right now:

            “Die I Will Not” by Suzanne Rizzolo. English teacher Rizzolo writes a Regency London historical mystery series. This is the third in her series which started with “The Rose in the Wheel” and “Blood for Blood.” Her books center around lawyer Edward Buckler and Bow Street Runner John Chase. Rizzolo’s books have been called likeable, vivid, and intelligent. She brings Regency London to life with characters that you want to continue to get to know.

On hold right now:

            “A Fine Summer Day” by Charles Todd. This 17^th novel in the Ian Rutledge series comes out in January, 2015. Amazingly, Charles Todd is a pen name used by a Mother and son team writing together to achieve an amazing body of work which includes two separate series and some stand-alone novels. Inspector Ian Rutledge deals with major crimes in a post-World War I world while struggling to cope with his personal demons from the war. Todd’s second series stars Bess Crawford, a World War I nurse who solves mysteries. Two new books in the Crawford series came out in 2014, “An Unwilling Accomplice” and “The Maharani’s Pearls.” In August, 2015, they are planning on bringing out only their second stand-alone novel called “A Pattern of Lies.” This body of work is for those who like literate, historical mysteries.

Other Mysterious Things:

            “Tinseltown: Murder, Morphine, and Madness at the Dawn of Hollywood” by William J. Mann. This true crime book reads like a mystery novel and is a great choice if you are a mystery reader who might like something different. It is about Hollywood actor and director, William Desmond Taylor’s murder in 1922 which remained unsolved until William Mann decided to solve his murder and write this fascinating book. The rights to the book have already been sold for TV.

            The winner of the Nero Award will be announced December 6, 2014. The Nero Awards are presented by The Wolfe Pack which is a society founded in 1978 to celebrate Rex Stout’s Nero Wolfe series. This year’s finalists include “Ask Not” by Max Allan Collins, “Three Can Keep a Secret” by Archer Mayor, “Murder as a Fine Art” by David Morrell, “A Study in Revenge” by Kieran Shields, and “A Question of Honor,” by Charles Todd.

Reading right now:

            “The Burning Room” by Michael Connelly. This is the 19^th Harry Bosch novel and they have all been fantastic. I love Harry Bosch and moving Bosch to LADP’s Open-Unsolved Unit with new partner rookie Detective Lucia Soto has given the series new life. This time Bosch catches an unusual cold case in which the victim dies after being shot nine years earlier. There’s no evidence, but there’s plenty of political complications. It’s hard to believe that anyone who loves mysteries hasn’t picked up the Bosch series, but if you haven’t yet read these run to the library and start at the beginning.

On hold right now:

            “Blue Labyrinth” by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child. Special Agent Pendergast is back in this 14^th book in the series. After one of Pendergast’s enemies ends up dead on his doorstep with a piece of turquoise in the deceased stomach, Pendergast chases the killer on a journey into his family’s past. This is an unusual and complicated mystery series which went a little off track for a while, but is now back on track with the regular characters back in great form trying to help Pendergast solve a complicated mystery filled with action and suspense.

Other Mysterious Things:

Let’s talk about Mary Higgins Clark! With her forthcoming book, “The Cinderella Murder,” she has been writing mystery and suspense novels since her first big hit in 1975 called “Where Are the Children?” Two of her books were made into films (“A Stranger is Watching” and “Where Are the Children?”) and other books were made into films for television. Clark is a survivor. She was raised by a single Mother because of the death of her Father when she was eleven. Her marriage ended early when her husband died of a heart attack in 1964. She was left to raise five children on her own (although she did remarry later). Writing saved her and through the years she has won many awards including the Grand Prix de Literature Policiere in France and she was chosen by the Mystery Writers of America as Grand Master of the 2000 Edgar Awards. As well as her stand-alone novels, Clark writes a series with her daughter Carol Higgins Clark. “The Cinderella Murder” was written with Alafair Burke (daughter of James Lee Burke). This is the first of a new series which centers on a television program featuring cold cases. The first cold case that the reality drama “Under Suspicion” covered was a huge success and the show helped solve the case. In picking the second episode, TV producer Laurie Moran decides the murder of UCLA student Susan Dempsey would be the perfect choice, but unexpected developments quickly arise.