Search results matching tags 'fiction' and 'mystery series'

Two Mysteries

Meditatinglibrarian@evpl — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 13:35:00 GMT

I recently read a couple of mystery novels, one a new title by an author, and in a series, that I've enjoyed for many years; the other a debut title starting a series by a new author. I enjoyed them both, and especially discovering a new author to follow.

The Ten-Mile Trials by Elizabeth Gunn is the eighth title in her Jake Hines mystery series. Jake Hines is a mixed-race dumpster baby grown up and now in law enforcement in fictional Rutherford, Minnesota. Rutherford is near Rochester, if not actually based on Rochester. In The Ten-Mile Trials Jake is coping with budget cuts, murder, theft, an Eastern European gang, drugs, and being dad to his 3-month-old son. The ten miles that is so challenging is the drive from the babysitter to home with a crying, hungry baby.

The Crossing Places by Elly Griffiths is set in the salt marshes of England's Norfolk coast. Ruth Galloway is a college professor and a forensic archaeologist who is fairly anti-social and likes living in her remote cottage on the edge of the salt marsh with her two cats. Then the local police inspector asks her to date some bones. Those turn out to be 2,000 years old, and Ruth also finds several Iron Age artifacts in the grave. Inspector Nelson tells her of a 10-year-old unsolved case of a young girl being kidnapped, and the letters someone has been sending him about that case ever since...and off we go. Ruth is a wonderfully crusty personality, the mystery and archaeology blend well together, and the Saltmarsh setting is very evocative.

Elementary, my dear Peabody ...

myzticrhythmz@evpl — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 20:37:00 GMT

There are some books you read to stay current and informed, and some that you read because you "should" or you "have to". Then there are the books you read simply for the pure enjoyment of reading them.

One of my favorite fun reads is the Amelia Peabody mystery series by Elizabeth Peters. This series features intrepid Egyptologist Amelia Peabody Emerson (aka "Peabody") and is set between 1884 and 1923, mostly in Egypt. Our heroine is a wry, progressive woman, madly in love with her husband Professor Radcliffe Emerson (aka "Emerson," or the "Father of Curses" to the native Egyptians), and ever-watchful of her precocious son Ramses. What makes this series so appealing is the interplay between characters, the witty dialogue, and the realistic way Peters paints turn-of-the-twentieth-century archaeology.

I have not read this series in order but have gone back to the beginning to pick up some of the first books. My most recent read was Lion in the Valley. This story has Peabody, Emerson, Ramses and their entourage excavating pyramids, accompanied by a companion for Ramses and a wayward young woman in Amelia's care. The latter come with their own troubles, and when you add a couple of kidnappings, a couple of murders, and the return of Amelia's arch-enemy, the "Master Criminal," the Emersons (and readers) are in for quite an adventure.

Kentucky Shakers

Meditatinglibrarian@evpl — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 13:14:00 GMT

The latest title in the China Bayles' mystery series, Wormwood, by Susan Wittig Albert is a gem. In addition to the China Bayles contemporary herbal mystery series, Albert writes an English historical mystery series with her husband under the name Robin Paige. And this latest China Bayles' title reminds me of those. The mystery China gets involves with is at a restored Kentucky Shaker village. Alternating chapters in the book go back in time to when that Shaker settlement was active, although nearing its end. Albert has created a fictional settlement, but much the background is from actual Shaker diaries. The book has the feel of solid historical fiction. And there is "local" interest here, too. A mother and son who join the Shaker settlement are from Evansville (and with the last name "Chandler").