Monday, August 24, 2009

Mystery Books

Thought I would mention more about authors I enjoy... in no particular order:

1. Diane Mott Davidson. I was introduced to her writing through the book Simple Abundance back in the early 2000's. Her latest book was published this year and I have requested it from my local public library. Her popularity is clear from the fact that I am the 80th person in the request line. Her novels star Goldy Schulz, a caterer in Colorado married to a handsome cop named Tom Schulz. Lot of drama, cooking and mystery is always mixed in with the pleasures of being wed to her good looking Cop.

2. Katherine Hall Page. Her mysteries also involve catering; Faith Fairchild is the cater and her company is called Have Faith. Faith is a New Yorker living in a small New England town in Massachusetts. I have enjoyed revisiting New England through her books. I recently re-read The Body in the Basement which is set in Maine and is very evocative in its portrayal of summer island life.

Both Diane and Katherine went to prestigious Ivy League schools and have the ability to capture the local locale of the character's home.

3. PD James. I recently wrote a review of her latest book. James is a life long peer in the House of Lords and has many awards and distinctions. Her books are literate, have excellent characterization, deal with the deviance and divergences in English life that lead to misery and murder. Her knowledge of literature, the Anglican church and love of London are very apparent. Her writing, however, is not for the faint of heart.

In the interest of brevity, I will save other mystery authors I read for another post.

What authors do you enjoy? Do you read mysteries? What genres appeal to you?

10 comments:

RW said...

I quite enjoyed Ruth Rendell when I was pregnant with my children. She also writes under the name Barbara Vine. That is when I started reading mysteries again - I also like Ian Rankin.

Kassianni said...

nice list!
I don't have too many authors I read regularly.
maybe alexander mcall smith (ladies detective agency mysteries).
otherwise I'm pretty freewheeling with what I read.

elizabeth said...

I have read some Ruth Rendell... I do not know if I knew that she wrote as B. Vine as well... I do not know if I have read I Rankin though; will look him up.

A M Smith is fun! I have read a few of these...

thanks so much RW and V for your comments. I really appreciate them.

Elizabeth @ The Garden Window said...

I've only read PD James from your list. She is a very thoughtful writer.

I've read most Agatha Christie books, though I prefer Miss Marple to Poirot..

I enjoy the Sherlock Holmes stories, but my all-time favourite dective author is Ellis Peters.

I read both her medieval stories starring Brother Cadfael and her contemporary books' (well, 60s - 70s !!) hero, Inspector George Felse.

elizabeth said...

Elizabeth - thanks for your comments; since you are in the UK, it is not as suprising that you have not read the first two authors, as they are American and perhaps not as known worldwide (?).

I love Ellis Peters as well - the George Felse books are very enjoyable, as are the Brother C. books...

yes, Miss Marple is really enjoyable - I also like Tommy and Tuppence by Christie; I have read all of Christie's books (I think) other than her romances.

DebD said...

I love mystery series... keep them coming! I've also enjoyed Cadfael, James, Christie, and McCall Smith. In addition: Peter Wimsey series by Sayers, the Campion series by Allingham, and the Sir. John Fielding series by Alexander.

elizabeth said...

thanks Deb! I will try to do another post or so on this. Good to know that people want to read these posts!

I did not konw about Bruce Alexander's books - I will have to look for these!

Sarah in Indiana said...

Hello, I'm also an Orthodox librarian. I read a pretty wide range of things; lately I've been reading a lot of non-fiction.

As far as mysteries, like DebD, I also like the Lord Peter Wimsey novels. I also like the Amelia Peabody mysteries by Elizabeth Peters.

elizabeth said...

Hi Sarah!

I left a comment on your blog, but wanted to say hi here as well.

thanks so much for your comment!

I also love the Sayers novels! They are so great! I have also read the E. Peters novels, some years back. I enjoyed them!

Meadowlark Days said...

I've been enjoying 44 Scotland Street and the No 1 Ladies Detective Agency this year by A.M.Smith.