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Recommendations from past Reading Clubs:

Stephanie Barron, Jane and His Lordship’s Legacy.
Her mysteries both amuse and amaze me. She catches the flavor, writing style and essence of Jane Austen’s own writing.

M.C. Beaton, Agatha Raisin and the Potted Gardener.
The villain of this mystery finds a clever and innovative way to murder his victim.

Lawrence Block, Burglar on the Prowl.
Delightfully intelligent but whimsical series by an otherwise very serious writer of crime fiction. It’s a combination of light reading and skilled writing.

Rhys Bowen, In Like Flynn.
Mystery that takes place in the early 1900s with a female investigator, spiritualists, a kidnapping, politics and poisonings. Keeps you guessing.

James Lee Burke, In the Moon of Red Ponies.
I like all his books but hate for them to be over. His use of and sense of the written word makes every book special. His characters come to life and his plots are so interesting.

Alexander Campion, The Grave Gourmet.
A fascinating foray into the world of Parisian restaurants. 

Patricia Cornwell, Port Mortuary.
A scary look at the possibilities of nanotechnology and robotic warfare, as Dr. Kay Scarpetta is confronted with a case that could ruin her personal and professional life.

Philip Craig, Vineyard Chill.
The last in the Martha’s Vineyard mystery series is a well-written, suspenseful story with a delightful hero and a wonderful sense of place.

Robert Crais, The Forgotten Man.
He writes haunting stories. Elvis Cole and Joe Pike are great partners.

Barbara D’Amato, Hard Road.
A fun mystery set in Grant Park at a Frank Baum “Oz” festival.  Mystery, murder, chases, romance – fluffy and fun.

Diane Mott Davidson, Chopping Spree.
Davidson combines my two favorite pastimes: reading a mystery and finding new recipes!

Colin Dexter, Last Bus to Woodstock.
Mysteries abound, but a writer who is this literate is not so easy to find.

David Dickinson, Lord Powerscourt series.
His writing is superb: dialogue beautifully done, humor splendid. And Lord Powerscourt’s delicate, ladylike wife, with her never-ending family, braves many unladylike matters to help him.

Carola Dunn, Fall of a Philanderer.
Of all female detectives in contemporary fiction, Daisy Fletcher is one of the most amusing and appealing. Her seemingly innocent  detecting is always infallible.

Janet Evanovich, Finger Lickin’ Fifteen.
A hilarious romp through blue collar, multicultural Trenton in which several cars explode and Stephanie Plum’s apartment is firebombed – again.

Monica Ferris, Framed in Lace. Paperback Mystery
Betsy Devonshire, amateur sleuth, needle artist and shop owner, invites the reader to match wits with her. Needlework enthusiasts and Jessica Fletcher fans will love this series.

Margaret Frazer, The Reeve’s Tale.
Set in 1400s England, this mystery contains interesting details about the political and social organization of land owned by the Church and by feudal lords. A well-researched historical mystery.

Ashley Gardner, A Regimental Murder. Paperback Mystery
Captain Lacey is a tortured hero who must unmask a killer in Regency England. I liked how the author unfolded the mystery in the historical period and made it believable.

Brad Geagley, Year of the Hyenas.
A well-constructed, suspenseful, interesting book with a wonderful sense of place—in this case ancient Thebes. The story is both intriguing and fascinating. I really liked the hero, a man who told the truth.

Dorothy Gilman, A Palm for Mrs Pollifax.
An oldie-but-goodie about the redoubtable Mrs. P., the CIA’s most unlikely agent, this time undercover at a Swiss clinic on the trail of stolen plutonium.

C.L. Grace, Feast of Poisons.
Katherine Swinbrooke is an intriguing heroine and sleuth. The book has a good medieval flavor and sense of time and place. A finely crafted plot with lots of suspense.

Batya Gur, Bethlehem Road Mystery.
An excellent mystery but also a good view of the various parts of Israeli society.

Parnell Hall, You Have the Right to Remain Puzzled.
If you love mysteries and crossword puzzles, this book is for you.  The book even contains puzzles relevant to the clues.

Lyn Hamilton, The Chinese Alchemist.
I loved the wonderful descriptions of China, antiques, and the characters. 

Carolyn Hart, Dead Man’s Island.
Henrie O. is a journalist, detective, widow.  Outspoken, shrewd, cunning, Henrie this time is cajoled into traveling to a remote sea island to help a former lover. Murder, murder, murder.

Arnaldur Indridason, Jar City.
An extraordinary mystery which takes place in Iceland. Murder is relatively rare in Reykjavik, and it is usually solved easily, but this time there are no easy answers.

P.D. James, Death of an Expert Witness.
A familiar British detective genre mystery. It holds your interest as you try to uncover “who did it.” It was written to entertain and does that very well.

Faye Kellerman, The Ritual Bath.
The first of Kellerman’s Decker and Lazarus series and one of the best. You fall in love with the characters and learn about Orthodox Jewish customs and traditions.

Laurie King, Locked Rooms.
Bringing Sherlock Holmes and Mary Russell to San Francisco and dropping them into an adventure involving Mary’s past is a brilliant move. Adding Dashiell Hammett to the mix not only thickens the plot but makes it more delightful.

Chris Knopf, The Last Refuge.
An intriguing story with a good plot, engaging characters, fine sense of place. Flashbacks in the life of the very likeable hero Sam are well done and integral to his character.

Donna Leon, A Noble Radiance.
Better than average police procedural and a delightful travelogue with a fascinating mystery. The characters were as much a part of the plot as the schema so the book became a layered treat.

Karen MacInerney, Berried to the Hilt.
The author describes the beauty of Maine scenery and the charm of coastal villages while the characters meet with danger while trying to solve a murder.

Ngaio Marsh, Death and the Dancing Footman.
There’s a reason her books are still read. They’re good. Keeps you entertained and interested. The scene is a weekend house party in England, 1940. Nothing is pulled out of the hat until the last pages. The clues are there, but who did it?

Alexander McCall Smith, In the Company of Cheerful Ladies.
A women’s detective agency shares an office with a  car repair shop in Botswana. Sounds intriguing, and it combines wit, wisdom, and warmth in a fascinating tale of life in Africa.

Iain Pears, Death and Restoration.
This Jonathan Argyll and Flavia mystery is a nice stroll through Rome, a review of the fall of Constantinople, and an education in the forging of icons. 

Cathy Pickens, Hush My Mouth.
A small town lawyer works on a missing persons case while being “haunted” by three young people trying to film ghosts and related phenomena. Southern charm and mountain folklore abound in this cozy mystery. 

Ruth Rendell, Murder Being Once Done.
The author toys with the reader in the interrupted sequence of the story and the possible murderer who keeps changing until the story is ended.

P.B. Ryan, Murder on Black Friday. Paperback Mystery
P.B. Ryan’s series features a Boston Irish nanny who solves local murders, crimes, etc., with her rakish upperclass gentleman friend who is the son of her employer. As opposites attract, they are a beguiling pair.

C.J. Sansom, Dissolution.
A spectacular historical mystery with real characters, beautifully crafted, a highly suspenseful plot, and moving throughout the mysterious, profoundly intelligent Dr. Shardlake.

Theresa Schwegel, Officer Down.
Fast-paced and exciting, keeps you guessing throughout the realistic tale of police work shown through the personal experiences of police officers.

Maggie Sefton, Dyer Consequences.
A fun mystery involving dyeing yarn, a dead body and acts of vandalism. The recipes and knitting patterns are extra pluses.

Edward Sklepowich, Farewell to the Flesh.
Venice during the season of Carnevale is the setting. A rather cerebral mystery featuring American expatriate biographer Urbino Macintyre as the amateur detective. The feeling of Venice was so well described that I almost felt as if I were there.

Olen Steinhauer, Bridge of Sighs & 36 Yalta Boulevard. 
I really enjoyed the dark and sometimes depressing Eastern European settings and characters.

Aimeé Thurlo, Blackening Song.
This mystery kicks off the Ella Clah series with style; rich in Navajo atmosphere with psychological and mystical complexities involving the murder of an FBI agent’s father.

Margaret Truman, Murder at the FBI.
An engrossing mystery which is well played. The characters are so well drawn and the plot is believable with much action and good balance. I enjoy women and men equally showing strength and intelligence.

Jacqueline Winspear, Pardonable Lies.
So much is beneath the surface of Maisie Dobbs. She excels as a P.I. Her life is sad but intriguing and always there is hope for happiness for this wonderfully independent young woman. The setting, period and characters are wonderfully crafted.