Holey moley that's a lot to digest. Thanks! On 8/12/05, Dana <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > 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. > > > > > >
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