of course more authors have occurred to me... we read a lot at our house and I have several favorites that I found by browsing bookstore and library shelves that are not as far as I can see, best sellers, but which did become a series...I love finding a new author as much as I love finding a book by an author I know that I haven't read yet. For instance, I discovered Elizabeth Peters while looking for new Ellis Peters books, and Stuart Kaminsky because the Martinsburg public library had a whole shelf of him.
I notice nobody, even those who are apparently mystery buffs, brought up Nero Wolfe. If you like mysteries or even just New York in the 40s, these are classic. If you are looking for light, M.C. Beaton may well be for you -- fairly frothy and formulaic but well written and amusing. One series involves a village policeman in the far north of Scotland and is the epitome of the village cosy. Agatha Raisin books are set in the Cotswalds and involve a fiftish retired marketing exec and her attempts to fit into village life. Except she keeps finding these damn bodies, and her neighbor is well, the love interest. Probably about as realistic as the Stephanie Plum series, but who cares? Realism is over-rated. So of course is characterization, but it's a lot of fun anyway. Speaking of fun, Stuart Kaminsky has a whole slew of books set in WW2 Los Angeles that are worth reading for the period detail alone but that are also pretty amusing. His private eye keeps being hired by people like Charlie Chaplin and other entertainment figures with a need for discretion, and people keep beating him up because he won't tell them who hired him. Or he gives in and does, and they beat him up for telling such a ridiculous story :) He also has several police procedurals set in Communist Moscow that I wouldn't decribe as fun exactly, but that are a good read and appear well-researched. A third series involves a Jewish policeman in Chicago, same thing, not meant to be amusing, a good read. Speaking of police procedurals, there is of course the master of the genre, Ed McBain. His novels are a fast read, mostly dialogue but with a minimum of depth, but well-plotted and well-paced. Set in an alternate New York, where only the names are different. J.A. Jance writes a series set in Tombstone Arizona and another set in Seattle. Intelligent and highly readable. Not my favorites because they purport to be realistic but aren't quite... Suuuure a bunch of ranchers are going to elect a young single mother with no experience as sheriff of a border town. Gimme a break. And all Seattle detectives live in penthouses and drive expensive cars. Still, these things are somewhat plausibly explained and the sense of place for both locations seems to be dead-on. A sense of place is also a good reason to look into Dana Stabenow's work, set in rural Alaska. (A Fine and Bitter Snow) I don't know Alaska well enough to be sure it's accurate (or at all actually), but there is a lot of loving detail and some complex and believable characters. Martha Grimes is worth a look, but becomes repetitive and a bit annoying if you read the Richard Jury series (Help the Poor Struggler, The Anodyne Necklace, etc) one right after the other. Set in England and written by an American, which probably explains a lot. But worth reading in small doses. While we are in England, let's mention P.D. James, who is certainly not light reading but is compelling, even haunting, and well worth the effort. A Certain Justice comes to mind. Finally, a serendipitous find -- an author by the name of Jeffries, first name might be Roderick. Mallorcan detective has mixed feelings about the gentrification brought with the influx of British residents, winds up having to interrupt his siesta and solve cases, usually involving British expatriots. I have no idea how faithful the portrait is but I am fascinated by these glimpses of a place I have no knowledge of. Can't think of a title offhand but there are several. While we're on fascinating, I'd like to repeat the recommendation for Ellis Peters' Cadfael series. You might expect something set in the 11th century to be tough going, but it isn't and the Welsh ex-Crusader-turned-herbalist-monk protagonist is complex and highly likeable. Some random finds from the remainder bin I happen to have in my bedtime collection right now -- these may be hard to find but are worth reading if you do -- Jessica Speart - Gator Aide. For those who have run out of Stephanie Plum. Failed actress turned game warden. Peter Tremayne - The Subtle Serpent. Sister Fidelma is an advocate of the Brehon law courts in southwestern Ireland, in the year 666. The protagonist is a bit humorless but the detail is bright and colorful. There's at least one more in this series that I don't have right here. Laurie R. King - A Letter of Mary. I like her Kate Martinelli series well enough, but this is a strangely compelling little tale - Sherlock Holmes has grown elderly and has married a young Hebrew scholar. The plot involves an ancient manuscript and is set in the 1920s. Terence Faherty - Deadstick and Live to Regret. These are in my keep-forever collection and I re-read them every so often. Set in New York, these are hard to explain nominal mysteries where the nature of God is sometimes part of the equation. John M. Ford - The Final Reflection. Not light reading, no. But a brilliant portrayal of the complexities of Klingon culture. Unless of course you deny the Reflective Game. On 8/9/05, Deanna Schneider <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > I need some new summer reading options. I've lately been on a Dick > Francis kick. And, I'm looking for other stuff that would constitute > an easy summer read. Just about any genre is fair game - as long as it > has decent characters and an interesting story. > > So, what are your suggestions? I tend to go on author binges - so I > guess I'm looking more for authors than particular books. But, I'll > take either. > > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| Find out how to get a fax number that sends and receives faxes using your current email address http://www.houseoffusion.com/banners/view.cfm?bannerid=64 Message: http://www.houseoffusion.com/lists.cfm/link=i:5:169229 Archives: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/threads.cfm/5 Subscription: http://www.houseoffusion.com/lists.cfm/link=s:5 Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/unsubscribe.cfm?user=11502.10531.5 Donations & Support: http://www.houseoffusion.com/tiny.cfm/54
