11 mysteries
Recently I borrowed a mystery or two from the library... read them, returned them, borrowed more, borrowed more, borrowed more -- and I suspect that at this rate I'll accidentally read 50 mysteries by the end of the month, let alone the year. I grew up on Cam Jansen and Encyclopedia Brown, glutted myself with Sherlock Holmes and have long been infatuated with Andrew Greeley's Blackie Ryan novels. (Although I wouldn't necessarily recommend them now -- they're just so problematic in terms of race and gender). That said, the first 11 mysteries I read this go-round...
1. Con Ed by Matthew Klein. Quirky, twisty Big Con story about reformed confidence man Kip Largo who gets sucked back into the game. [Amazon]. This was lots of fun; I liked the protagonist, the voice was solid, the plotting was twisty and compelling. It put me in the mood for reading more stories about cons and heists. A bit more gratuitous violence than I really enjoy, but mostly I was sold.
2. Inadmissible Evidence by Philip Friedman. Hard-boiled legal drama. Joe Estrada, the protagonist, is a DA assigned to retry a murder case against Roberto Morales. [Amazon]. I haven't read much legal fiction but was excited to give it a try. This was fairly lengthy but an excellent read, compelling and intricate. The thrills come from the investigation and digging deeper into the complex history of the defendant, the victim, and their acquaintances. There was a romantic subplot that was meh and a racial identity subplot that didn't ring true for me, but I found the surface characterization -- character's voices and actions and accomplishments -- quite good. Again, put me in the mood to read more of the same.
3. Diplomatic Immunity by Grant Sutherland. Theoretically, international diplomacy thriller. I was hoping for something West Wing-esque. There's a murder in the United Nations headquarters in NYC; Legal Deputy Sam Windrush is put in charge of the investigation and must sort out complex personal and international motivations. [Amazon]. The mystery itself was well-plotted, and the motivations of all the villains made sense. They came across as complex characters. The nonvillains, on the other hand, were... all basically jerks, and I came away from the novel shaking my head in disgust at the general idiocy of 90% of the characters. A+ for the mystery, C- for the characterization.
4. Absolute Certainty by Rose Conners. Legal drama set on Cape Cod. Martha Nickerson is a DA; she ends up investigating a series of possibly-linked murders and questioning the nature of the criminal justice system as she does. [Amazon]. Um. It was a fast read, but that's about all I can say for it. More maudlin and homespun than I care for, not enough hardcore legalese, and while the solution to the crime worked, the resolution of the book really didn't work for me. I'm not excited to read more by this author.
5. Final Jeopardy by Linda Fairstein. Another NYC legal thriller. Alexandra Cooper is an assistant DA on the sex crimes beat (the author plays a similar role in real life, as I understand it). When an actress is murdered in her Cape Cod summer home, Alex deals with the personal fall-out and assists with the investigation while working her regular sex crimes job. [Amazon]. I loved this a lot. The plotting worked, the characterization was excellent, and her sidekick, Homicide Cop Mike (I'm starting to think cops named Mike are a thing. There's one in Diplomatic Immunity too, and Blackie Ryan has an ex-cop sidekick named Mike), is awesome awesome. The details about Alex's job weren't overdone; it never felt like Fairstin was lecturing or that it was too-too autobiographical. I have the next three books in the series in my pile.
6. The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith. Mma Precious Ramotswe uses her inheritance from her father to become the first female PI in Botswana. In this volume, we learn her backstory and follow her as she investigates a set of domestic crimes and one quite serious kidnapping/witchcraft case. [Amazon]. Oh.my.god. So good. Very popular with good reason -- the writing was so warm and delicious, the characters and their voices so well-realized... it's so cozy and domestic and wonderful. Mma Ramotswe is amazingly amazing and I just want to crawl inside this universe and luxuriate in it. I did find parts of this book a trifle slow -- I didn't care as much for Ramotswe's father's history or for all the backstory -- but still. Wonderful. So much so that I went out and read:
7. Tears of the Giraffe by Alexander McCall Smith, second book in the series. In which Mma Ramotswe's fiance finds himself the guardian of two children, and Mma Ramotswe investigates a decade-old mystery of an American boy gone missing in Botswana. [Amazon]. I think I found this even more delicious than the first book, because there was less backstory and more daily life. And the children -- especially the girl -- are so wonderful I want to *squish* them and love them and gah. The next four books in the series are sitting in my pile, and meanwhile, I set out looking for more cozies, because you can't get cozier than this.
8. Three Bags Full: A Sheep Detective Story by Leonie Swann. (Translated from German by Anthea Bell). When their shepherd is murdered, a flock of sheep set out to find his killer and avenge his death. [Amazon]. It's a detective story. With sheep. SHEEP. The sheep are brilliant, the characterization of the sheep is brilliant, the philosophy and psychology and worldview of the sheep is brilliant, the mystery is nice but THE SHEEP. The sheep are excellent. It's cute, of course, but never descends into twee-ness or takes itself too seriously. There are a few moments where it veers off into the absurd, but all in all, SHEEP. DETECTIVE SHEEP.
9. The Thirteen Problems by Agatha Christie. Thirteen short stories featuring Christie's village spinster detective, Miss Jane Marple, besting assembled company at little puzzles involving (mostly) murders. Miss Marple's detection strategy involves comparing the facts of presented cases to her knowledge of human nature acquired through village life and gossip. [Amazon]. So I was in the mood for cozy mysteries, and just about every female detective I encountered was compared to the illustrious Miss Marple, so I felt I had to meet her for myself. These short stories are chronologically first and provide a neat introduction to Miss Marple and the Christie. Some of the stories' twists relied on puns or specialized knowledge that completely went over my head, but all of them were charming, and you don't get much cozier than a bunch of villagefolk sitting around on Tuesday nights drinking tea and talking mystery. This was an easy read, and I was intrigued enough to seek out more Marple/Christine books.
10. The Murder at the Vicarage by Agatha Christie. The first Miss Marple novel, this mystery concerns the murder of a crotchety old man almost universally despised. Miss Marple can, off the top of her head, think of seven people who would benefit directly from his death. The book is narrated by the vicar, who becomes a bit of an amateur detective himself. [Amazon]. The mystery itself feels fairly typical -- enjoyable, full of twists and red herrings and hidden scandals and all sorts of deliciousness, but nothing to write home about -- what I enjoyed most about this was the details of parish life, the vicar going about his vicarly duties, his relationship with his curate, and his much-younger wife Griselda and the twists and turns in their relationship. I quite like Christie's first-person narration style; I think some of her best characterization happens this way.
11. The Body in the Library by Agatha Christie. The second Miss Marple novel, with some characters recurring from The Thirteen Problems. The body of a young dancer is discovered in the library of the perfectly respectable Bantry household. Local police and Miss Marple are both called in to investigate. [Amazon]. This was told in the third person, and much of the detecting action took place away from Miss Marple's home village of St. Mary Meade, and I found the book as a whole not quite as enjoyable as the previous one. Still good enough, though, to keep me hooked on the series -- I'm almost done with the next book as we speak.
1. Con Ed by Matthew Klein. Quirky, twisty Big Con story about reformed confidence man Kip Largo who gets sucked back into the game. [Amazon]. This was lots of fun; I liked the protagonist, the voice was solid, the plotting was twisty and compelling. It put me in the mood for reading more stories about cons and heists. A bit more gratuitous violence than I really enjoy, but mostly I was sold.
2. Inadmissible Evidence by Philip Friedman. Hard-boiled legal drama. Joe Estrada, the protagonist, is a DA assigned to retry a murder case against Roberto Morales. [Amazon]. I haven't read much legal fiction but was excited to give it a try. This was fairly lengthy but an excellent read, compelling and intricate. The thrills come from the investigation and digging deeper into the complex history of the defendant, the victim, and their acquaintances. There was a romantic subplot that was meh and a racial identity subplot that didn't ring true for me, but I found the surface characterization -- character's voices and actions and accomplishments -- quite good. Again, put me in the mood to read more of the same.
3. Diplomatic Immunity by Grant Sutherland. Theoretically, international diplomacy thriller. I was hoping for something West Wing-esque. There's a murder in the United Nations headquarters in NYC; Legal Deputy Sam Windrush is put in charge of the investigation and must sort out complex personal and international motivations. [Amazon]. The mystery itself was well-plotted, and the motivations of all the villains made sense. They came across as complex characters. The nonvillains, on the other hand, were... all basically jerks, and I came away from the novel shaking my head in disgust at the general idiocy of 90% of the characters. A+ for the mystery, C- for the characterization.
4. Absolute Certainty by Rose Conners. Legal drama set on Cape Cod. Martha Nickerson is a DA; she ends up investigating a series of possibly-linked murders and questioning the nature of the criminal justice system as she does. [Amazon]. Um. It was a fast read, but that's about all I can say for it. More maudlin and homespun than I care for, not enough hardcore legalese, and while the solution to the crime worked, the resolution of the book really didn't work for me. I'm not excited to read more by this author.
5. Final Jeopardy by Linda Fairstein. Another NYC legal thriller. Alexandra Cooper is an assistant DA on the sex crimes beat (the author plays a similar role in real life, as I understand it). When an actress is murdered in her Cape Cod summer home, Alex deals with the personal fall-out and assists with the investigation while working her regular sex crimes job. [Amazon]. I loved this a lot. The plotting worked, the characterization was excellent, and her sidekick, Homicide Cop Mike (I'm starting to think cops named Mike are a thing. There's one in Diplomatic Immunity too, and Blackie Ryan has an ex-cop sidekick named Mike), is awesome awesome. The details about Alex's job weren't overdone; it never felt like Fairstin was lecturing or that it was too-too autobiographical. I have the next three books in the series in my pile.
6. The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith. Mma Precious Ramotswe uses her inheritance from her father to become the first female PI in Botswana. In this volume, we learn her backstory and follow her as she investigates a set of domestic crimes and one quite serious kidnapping/witchcraft case. [Amazon]. Oh.my.god. So good. Very popular with good reason -- the writing was so warm and delicious, the characters and their voices so well-realized... it's so cozy and domestic and wonderful. Mma Ramotswe is amazingly amazing and I just want to crawl inside this universe and luxuriate in it. I did find parts of this book a trifle slow -- I didn't care as much for Ramotswe's father's history or for all the backstory -- but still. Wonderful. So much so that I went out and read:
7. Tears of the Giraffe by Alexander McCall Smith, second book in the series. In which Mma Ramotswe's fiance finds himself the guardian of two children, and Mma Ramotswe investigates a decade-old mystery of an American boy gone missing in Botswana. [Amazon]. I think I found this even more delicious than the first book, because there was less backstory and more daily life. And the children -- especially the girl -- are so wonderful I want to *squish* them and love them and gah. The next four books in the series are sitting in my pile, and meanwhile, I set out looking for more cozies, because you can't get cozier than this.
8. Three Bags Full: A Sheep Detective Story by Leonie Swann. (Translated from German by Anthea Bell). When their shepherd is murdered, a flock of sheep set out to find his killer and avenge his death. [Amazon]. It's a detective story. With sheep. SHEEP. The sheep are brilliant, the characterization of the sheep is brilliant, the philosophy and psychology and worldview of the sheep is brilliant, the mystery is nice but THE SHEEP. The sheep are excellent. It's cute, of course, but never descends into twee-ness or takes itself too seriously. There are a few moments where it veers off into the absurd, but all in all, SHEEP. DETECTIVE SHEEP.
9. The Thirteen Problems by Agatha Christie. Thirteen short stories featuring Christie's village spinster detective, Miss Jane Marple, besting assembled company at little puzzles involving (mostly) murders. Miss Marple's detection strategy involves comparing the facts of presented cases to her knowledge of human nature acquired through village life and gossip. [Amazon]. So I was in the mood for cozy mysteries, and just about every female detective I encountered was compared to the illustrious Miss Marple, so I felt I had to meet her for myself. These short stories are chronologically first and provide a neat introduction to Miss Marple and the Christie. Some of the stories' twists relied on puns or specialized knowledge that completely went over my head, but all of them were charming, and you don't get much cozier than a bunch of villagefolk sitting around on Tuesday nights drinking tea and talking mystery. This was an easy read, and I was intrigued enough to seek out more Marple/Christine books.
10. The Murder at the Vicarage by Agatha Christie. The first Miss Marple novel, this mystery concerns the murder of a crotchety old man almost universally despised. Miss Marple can, off the top of her head, think of seven people who would benefit directly from his death. The book is narrated by the vicar, who becomes a bit of an amateur detective himself. [Amazon]. The mystery itself feels fairly typical -- enjoyable, full of twists and red herrings and hidden scandals and all sorts of deliciousness, but nothing to write home about -- what I enjoyed most about this was the details of parish life, the vicar going about his vicarly duties, his relationship with his curate, and his much-younger wife Griselda and the twists and turns in their relationship. I quite like Christie's first-person narration style; I think some of her best characterization happens this way.
11. The Body in the Library by Agatha Christie. The second Miss Marple novel, with some characters recurring from The Thirteen Problems. The body of a young dancer is discovered in the library of the perfectly respectable Bantry household. Local police and Miss Marple are both called in to investigate. [Amazon]. This was told in the third person, and much of the detecting action took place away from Miss Marple's home village of St. Mary Meade, and I found the book as a whole not quite as enjoyable as the previous one. Still good enough, though, to keep me hooked on the series -- I'm almost done with the next book as we speak.