Reading right now:

            “Pardon the Ravens” by Alan Hruska. While handling a huge fraud case that could make his reputation, Alec Brno falls for the estranged wife of the mob boss who is behind the fraud. Hruska writes and directs films (and plays) and has written three novels (one science fiction and two legal thrillers). “Pardon the Ravens” sounds a little heavy on the love affair, but will hopefully be an interesting addition to the legal thriller genre.

On hold right now:

            “Lethal Beauty” by Lis W. Wiehl. This is the third in the series with Seattle prosecuting attorney Mia Quinn as the main character. After a young Chinese prostitute is stabbed to death by her client, Quinn is determined to get justice for her despite jury tampering, threats to her family from the Chinese crime cabal, and the victim’s mother trying to take justice into her own hands.     

Other Mysterious Things:

If you like legal thrillers, there are several others coming out early this year:

“Fox is Framed” by Lachlan Smith. This is the third in a series featuring San Francisco attorney Leo Maxwell. Leo and his brother always thought their Father murdered their Mother. After being convicted and jailed, it looks like Leo’s Father may be innocent so when new evidence is uncovered he is granted another trial. Getting to the truth isn’t so easy as more bodies pile up and the testimony is shocking.

“Losing Faith” by Adam Mitzner. Being compared to John Grisham and Scott Turow, Mitzner’s new stand-alone novel centers around attorney Aaron Littmann being blackmailed into representing a Russian businessman arrested on terrorism charges. As the story evolves, Littmann is accused of murder and finds himself in the position of possibly losing not only his wife and family, but his life.

“The Missing Piece” by Kevin Egan. Another standalone legal thriller presents New York Judge Oliver Johnstone who is presiding over a case which centers on the ownership of a $70 million treasure. On the first day of the trial, two gunmen break into the courtroom and steal part of the treasure and kill a court officer. Three years later, Judge Linda Conover inherits the case and once more finds danger and intrigue surround the treasure which makes finding the missing part of the treasure a desperate race to bring justice. Egan’s first book “Midnight” was a terrific legal thriller so if you haven’t read it, you may want to start with his first novel.

Legal thriller writer Martin Clark’s latest “The Jezebel Remedy” comes out in June and is much anticipated. James Grippando’s 12^th book in his series with defense attorney Jack Swyteck also comes out in June (called “Crash Landing”). Allison Leona’s “A Good Killing” comes out in May and features prosecutor Anna Curtis heading home to defend her sister against a murder charge. Attica Locke’s “Pleasantville” arrives in April and brings back attorney Jay Porter from “Black Water Rising.” Peter Murphy’s amazing and unusual series takes place in England’s high courts in the 1960s. The third book “And is There Honey Still for Tea?” comes out in April. 

Reading right now:

            “The Book of Fires” by Paul Doherty. Doherty does medieval mysteries right. This is the fourteenth book in the Sorrowful Mysteries of Brother Athelstan series. The series name alone is fantastic and the books are even better. Coroner Sir John Craston and monk Brother Athelstan are the investigators in this series set in the 1300s.

On hold right now:

            “Lamentation” by C. J. Sansom. This is the sixth book in the Shardlake series which takes place in 1546. Lawyer Matthew Shardlake gets pulled into the desperate plight of the current Queen (Catherine Parr) who wrote a confessional book (Lamentation of a Sinner) which has now disappeared. The information in the book could well bring down the Queen and her sympathizers.

Other Mysterious Things:

            I never think of myself as an historical mystery fan, but when I look back and think about the mystery series that I have enjoyed and the authors that I look forward to reading, I realize that I am a fan. The Cadfael series by Ellis Peters is one of my favorite medieval mystery series and I still enjoy watching the TV series over and over again. I watch carefully for the next Anne Perry novel (“The Angel Court Affair” March, 2015), Tessa Harris (“Shadow of the Raven” Apri, 2015), and C. S. Harris (“Who Buries the Dead” March, 2015) which are some of my favorites. This month there are several historical mysteries to look forward to so watch for them and give one a try. You never know, you might find that you too can be turned into an historical mystery fan (if you aren’t already). Just a few appearing soon are: Laurie R. King’s next Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes series set in 1925 is coming out this month (“Dreaming Spies”). S. D. Sykes’ “Plague Land” is said to be a brilliantly thrilling debut set in medieval Kent. Book eleven in the Medieval Mystery series by Priscilla Royal appears this month (“Satan’s Lullaby”) which is set in 1278. Cora Harrison releases the 12^th book in the Burren mystery series set in the sixteenth century in Ireland (“Condemned to Death”). Hope you enjoy one or perhaps all of them!

Reading right now:

            “Pall in the Family,” by Dawn Eastman. First in the Family Fortune mystery series, this is a relatively new series which I recently discovered. I just finished it and really enjoyed everything about the first book and am now looking forward to the second which came out last year and the third which will appear in April, 2015. Ex-cop, Clyde Fortune returns to her hometown of Crystal Haven, Michigan to heal. Psychic ability runs in her family, but Clyde has not embraced her own talent. When a local psychic is killed, Clyde gets involved in every way. Being an ex-cop gives Clyde skills to help investigate murder, but the humor and affecting characters keeps the reader engaged. Clyde’s family is eccentric fun with everyone having some type of psychic ability. Each character is engaging and makes you want to find out what happens to each of them.

On hold right now:

            “In the Woods” by Merry Jones. This is the fifth book in the Harper Jennings series. I have really enjoyed this series and have high hopes for “In the Woods.” Harper is an Iraqi War vet with PTSD. Over the five books, she has gotten help trying to control her PTSD, has had a baby, had her husband injured in a home repair accident, and has gotten involved in murder and mayhem. In this latest book, her husband has recovered, the baby is now a toddler, and it’s time to get away from it all as a couple and enjoy the great outdoors. Unfortunately, their camping trip in the woods is full of dead bodies, militia, a marauding Bog Man, and a hysterical wife who has lost her husband.

Other mysterious things:

            The Edgar Allan Poe Award nominees were recently announced and winners will be presented with awards on April 29, 2015.

Best Novel Nominees are:

 This Dark Road to Mercy by Wiley Cash

Wolf by Mo Hayder

Mr. Mercedes by Stephen King

The Final Silence by Stuart Neville

Saints of the Shadow Bible by Ian Rankin

Cop Town by Karin Slaughter

Best First Novel by an American Author:

Dry Bones in the Valley by Tom Bouman

Invisible City by Julia Dahl

The Life We Bury by Allen Eskens

Bad Country by C.B. McKenzie

Shovel Ready by Adam Sternbergh

Murder at the Brightwell by Ashley Weaver

TV Episode/Teleplay:

"The Empty Hearse" – Sherlock, Teleplay by Mark Gatiss
"Unfinished Business" – Blue Bloods, Teleplay by Siobhan Byrne O'Connor
"Episode 1" – Happy Valley, Teleplay by Sally Wainwright
 "Dream Baby Dream" – The Killing, Teleplay by Sean Whitesell

"Episode 6" – The Game, Teleplay by Toby Whithouse 

Reading right now:

            “Once Upon a Grind” by Cleo Coyle. The husband and wife team who write this series do a wonderful job writing what is a great cozy series full of coffee and murder. The first book in the series introduced Clare Cosi who left a bad marriage and decided to go back to work managing the historic Village Blend coffeehouse in New York’s Greenwich Village. Her first morning back, she finds her assistant manager injured and the police declare it an accident, but Clare doesn’t buy it. Now in the 14^th book, Clare sends her coffee truck to the Central Park Fairy Tale Week festival only to find a young model’s body in one of the park’s wooded areas. The police dismiss the death as a drug overdose, but Clare thinks it’s a murder. 

On hold right now:

            “Die Again” by Tess Gerritsen. In this 11^th Rizzoli and Isles mystery, they are called out to solve the case of a dead big game hunter who is found dead in his apartment. His is the most recent murder where the victims are found hanging upside down like a leopard’s kill. Tracking down the killer takes Rizzoli all the way to Botswana and a deadly camping safari. “Rizzoli & Isles” is also a really good mystery TV series. If you haven’t watched it, catch the opening of the new season this month on TNT. 

Other Mysterious Things:

            Here are a few mysteries that I’m looking forward to reading in February:

Reading right now:

            “Brownies and Broomsticks” by Bailey Cates. I just found this series called the Magical Bakery Mystery series which started with “Brownies and Broomsticks” (2012). After Katie Lightfoot moves from Ohio to Savannah to open a bakery with her Aunt and Uncle, she finds out that she comes from a long line of witches. As she struggles to recover from a bad breakup, open a new business, and adjust to her heritage, she must also help solve the murder of a powerful local resident who threatened to destroy their new bakery. Katie’s uncle was seen arguing with the dead women just before her death and is the number one suspect. I am really enjoying this start to this new series and am looking forward to catching up with the other three books that are available and in July the fifth book comes out called “Magic and Macaroons.” Cates also writes the Home Crafting Mystery series under the name Cricket McRae.

                   

On hold right now:

            “Winter at the Door” by Sarah Graves. Known for her Home Repair is Homicide series, Graves opens a new series with Boston homicide cop Lizzie Snow starting a new job in a small town in Maine. Her new job takes off quickly when the deaths of several of the city’s retired cops begins to look like murder. Lizzie finds that the small town has a dark side which the townspeople don’t want to talk about. Lizzie also has a dark side which involves her sister’s murder and the hope that the town holds to secret to her missing niece’s location. The book is being compared to Linda Castillo and Lisa Gardner’s books which makes it sound like a winner.

Other Mysterious Things:

           

            Covering up and keeping secrets is a common theme in mystery novels and that theme continues in Jack Fredrickson’s “Silence the Dead.” Fredrickson is known for his Dek Ekstrom mystery series, but this new novel is based on a real life murder case. When an 1948 unsolved murder victim was exhumed, someone else’s head was found in the casket. Reading about this event in the newspaper caught Fredrickson’s attention and resulted in “Silence the Dead.”

Other new books available in January:

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.