Read it or Weep

One more genre down -and a whole bunch still to come! The last genre conquered? Mystery! We decided to read mystery books to celebrate Bouchercon (The World Mystery Convention) along with our attendees Ann, Carol, and Evelyn. It sure sounds like they had a good time, don’t you think? And when we got together to talk about what books we’d read, we were able to pull just a few more stories out of the ladies! That made our mystery genre discussion a win, win! We read a genre most of us already really enjoy and we also scored more inside scoop on those mysterious mystery writers! Talking about books and about what we’ve read or getting to gossip about books and reading, that’s one of my favorite parts of this job! It would be wrong to gossip on the blog though. So if you want to hear what I heard, you’ll have to come in and see me! Maybe you’ll want to pick up one of the books we discussed while you’re here?

Janet: The Treasure of the Golden Cheetah is the fifth book in the “Jade del Cameron Mystery Series” by Suzanne Arruda. An entire movie crew from America comes to Africa in 1920 to shoot a new film. Jade joins safari leader, Harry Hascombe. Her main job is to look after the four women for the duration of the filming. Accompanied by her cheetah, Biscuit, Jade has her hands full. The film’s financial backer is murdered the night before the safari begins. However, the group decides to carry on. En route to the hills of Kilimanjaro the travelers are beset by a practical joker, a curse and another murder. The chaos is sorted out by none other than Jade but not before many trials and tribulations.

Carol: China Trade is the first book in the Lydia Chin/Bill Smith series by S. J. Rozan. Readers meet twenty-something Lydia Chin, a Chinese American private investigator living in Chinatown, New York City with her mother. In this installment Lydia’s been asked by the local China Pride museum to recover some stolen valuable porcelain and calls her sometimes partner, Bill Smith to help. Together, their search for the porcelain takes them into the art world and unfortunately also puts them in direct contact with two local gangs, one of which extracts violent punishment on Lydia for questioning its members. The twists and turns in this quickly read, fast-paced mystery leads to an unexpected discovery and gives readers a hint at Lydia’s past. Lydia’s first person narrative is absorbing. She is smart and small, but tough. On the other hand, Bill Smith is a white, tall and big ex-military man who is probably 10 years Lydia’s senior. Despite all of that, the two are close and there is an obvious romantic attraction between them that readers will want to see play out. As for the setting, Chinatown comes to life through Rozan’s words as she draws the reader into Lydia’s world with the sounds and sights of New York city. I’ve already started on Concourse (book 2 in the series) which offers readers a more in depth look at the character of Bill Smith—since it is written from his point of view. A series that alternates narrators? How unusual and very cool. I ‘m already hooked!

Ann: The Poet by Michael Connelly is Connelly’s 5th novel, and was the first stand-alone, after he had written 4 Harry Bosch series mysteries. Jack McEvoy is a newspaper reporter for the Rocky Mountain News, and his beat is the murder beat. Then his twin brother Sean, a cop, dies, and it’s ruled a suicide. Jack can’t accept the ruling of suicide and decides to investigate on his own, and to write a story about Sean’s death. What he finds is chilling- that Sean was murdered, and his murder may be tied to others in different parts of the country. Wonderful mystery, powerful writing, complex characters.

Emma: Plum Pudding Murder by Joanne Fluke is an enjoyable Christmas cozy with a little mystery, a little romance, a mischievous cat, and pages of delicious recipes. Hannah Svenson’s store, The Cookie Jar, is supplying cookies for the Crazy Elf Christmas Tree Lot and gift shop. Stopping by to pick up a check, Hannah and boyfriend Norman find the owner, shady Larry Jaeger, shot dead. Hannah becomes mixed-up in the investigation almost becoming a second victim.

Julie: Sharp Shooter is the first in a series by Nadia Gordon featuring Sunny McCoskey, a restaurant owner and chef enjoying her Napa Valley lifestyle until it is threatened by sharpshooters. Both by insects called sharpshooters that threaten the entire winery business and a murderer with a rifle that police think is one of her good friends. Sunny is likeable, the writing is good, and the descriptions of wine, food, and wine country culture are enjoyable.

Megan: The Uninvited by Tim Wynne-Jones. An isolated and long-empty cabin in Canada is the perfect retreat for Mimi Shapiro. After a disastrous affair with a professor at NYU, she needs time to relax and work on her screenplay in solitude. Instead, she finds the cabin occupied by a young musician named Jay. Jay immediately accuses Mimi of being the intruder who has been leaving disturbing “gifts” at the cottage. As the stalking escalates and the list of suspects grows, Jay and Mimi discover some shocking secrets that involve them both.

Rosemary: Duty to the Dead by Charles Todd is the start of a new series by this mother/son writing team. Bess Crawford is serving England as a nurse during the Great War. As she tends to a dying soldier, he asks her to take a message to his family. When Bess delivers the message, the Grahams refuse to acknowledge that there is any significance to their son’s words.  Bess feels duty bound to the deceased young man and won’t take no for an answer. She begins to probe into the family’s history only to discover a hidden and devastating betrayal. Duty to the Dead is the literary equivalent of a breath of fresh air. Readers will be fascinated by this brooding and evocative mystery.

Evelyn: The Bellini Card by Jason Goodwin is the third historical mystery to feature Yashim the eunuch as an investigator. This time Investigator Yashim enlists the help of his friend Stanislaw Palewski, the Polish Ambassador to Istanbul, and sends him to Venice to locate a rare Bellini painting of Mehmet the Conqueror by posing as a rich American. These mysteries are intellectual and complexly plotted, with a definite “Holmesian” feeling about them.

And I read: A Christmas Promise by Anne Perry. In the slums of London young Minnie Maud is searching for her Uncle Alf’s donkey, Charlie. Charlie disappeared after Alf was murdered on his ragman’s route and Minnie is desperate to find the lost, lonely donkey. Gracie doesn’t think it’s safe for Minnie to search alone and after she realizes Alf’s killer is also looking for something lost, Gracie is sure they’re in danger now too. What was so important that a kind old man was murdered? Can the girls find Charlie before anyone else is hurt?

Next up? It’s time to celebrate the Holiday Season! I’ve added a genre category to our list and cleverly named it: Holiday Books… ta-dah! Stunning bit of cleverness, no? Get ready to enjoy some happy, sappy, seasonal stories!