New Mystery Series - Part 2

In my last BLog entry, I began posting new series that I'm interested in starting. Before I get into the second part, I mentioned in my last entry that over the past few years I've made it one of my Goodreads' challenges to try to start 20 - 25 of the new series I have on my book shelf. So far this year, I've completed 18 books so far. The way I tried to do it was to start with authors whose last name starts with the letter 'A', then try to jump five authors on my list and just keep going. In June, I broke with that program a bit and just picked a mixture. So far this year, these are the new mystery series / authors I've read.

a. Isaac Asimov - Banquets of the Black Widowers (The Black Widowers #4 / 3 stars)
b. Simon Brett - Mrs. Pargeter's Package (Mrs. Pargeter #3 / 3 stars)
c. Raymond Chandler - The Big Sleep (Philip Marlowe #1 / 5 stars)
d. Colin Cotterill - Killed at the Whim of a Hat (Jimm Juree #1 / 4 stars)
e. Philippe Georget - Autumn, All the Cats Return (Inspector Sebag #2 / 3.5 stars)
f. Leighton Gage - Blood of the Wicked (Inspector Silva #1 / 4 stars)
g. Tessa Harris - The Anatomist's Apprentice (Dr. Silkstone #1 / 3 stars)
h. Loren D. Estleman - Kill Zone (Peter Macklin #1 / 4 stars)
i. Liz Evans - Who Killed Marilyn Monroe? (Grace Smith #1 / 4.5 stars)
j. John Harvey - Flesh and Blood (Frank Elder #1 / 5 stars)
k. Kay Hooper - Haven (Bishop #13 / 3 stars)
l. Janice Law - Under Orion (Anna Peters #3 / Currently Reading)

Now let's get back to my list of new authors / series.

1. Kerry Greenwood (Australia). I've been enjoying Kerry Greenwood's Phryne Fisher historical mysteries very much. Jo and I discovered the TV series on our Knowledge Network a few years back and it was so enjoyable. When I found out about the books, I tried the first three and they were just as good. I've since discovered that she has another series featuring Corinna Chapman. There are three books in this series and I've found the 2nd so far. The synopsis is below.

"No one has less interest in mysteries than Corinna Chapman, who has bread to bake, but they seem to be arising spontaneously in the vicinity of her bakery, Earthly Delights. Between the mouthwatering distractions of loaves and muffins, of Jason her apprentice and Horatio the cat, she's keeping an eye on the door as she waits for the exciting Daniel, her recently acquired lover, to walk back into her life.

After a week of no communication Daniel finally returns, bruised and battered from a run-in with a so-called messiah. But disturbing things are also happening close to home. Juliette Lefebvre, the owner of Heavenly Pleasures and maker of the most gorgeous chocolates in town, is distraught. Someone is spiking her very expensive chocolates. Is it an elaborate and horrible joke, or is it a warning that worse may yet happen?"

2. Mette Ivie Harrison (US). Harrison is an American writer and has written 3 books in her Mormon - themed mystery series featuring Linda Wallheim. I've got the first book in the series.

"Linda Wallheim is a devout Mormon, the mother of five boys and the wife of a bishop. But Linda is increasingly troubled by her church’s structure and secrecy, especially as a disturbing situation takes shape in her ward. One cold winter night, a young wife and mother named Carrie Helm disappears, leaving behind everything she owns. Carrie’s husband, Jared, claims his wife has always been unstable and that she has abandoned the family, but Linda doesn’t trust him. As Linda snoops in the Helm family’s circumstances, she becomes convinced that Jared has murdered his wife and painted himself as a wronged husband.

Linda’s husband asks her not to get involved in the unfolding family saga. But Linda has become obsessed with Carrie’s fate, and with the well-being of her vulnerable young daughter. She cannot let the matter rest until she finds out the truth. Is she wrong to go against her husband, the bishop, when her inner convictions are so strong?"

3. Georgette Heyer (UK). Heyer lived from 1902 - 1974 and wrote both historical romances and detective novels. She has two series that feature Detectives, Hannasyde (4 books) and Hemingway (4 books). I've read one of her standalone mysteries and enjoyed. I'm looking forward to trying these ones. I'll provide the synopses for the 2nd Hannasyde book and the 3rd Hemingway.

a. Behold, Here's Poison (1936).

"When Gregory Matthews, patriarch of the Poplars is found dead one morning, imperious Aunt Harriet blames it on the roast duck he ate for supper. After all, she had warned him about his blood pressure. But a post-mortem determines that the cause of death is much more sinister. Murder. By poison.

Suspicion falls immediately amongst his bitter, quarrelsome family. Each has a motive; each, opportunity. It falls to Superintendent Hannasyde to sift through all the secrets and lies and discover just who killed Gregory Matthews, before the killer strikes again..."

b.  Duplicate Death (1951).

"Inspector Hemingway has his work cut out for him when a seemingly civilized game of Duplicate Bridge leads to a double murder. The crimes seem identical, but were they carried out by the same hand? Things become even more complicated when the fiancée of the inspector's young friend Timothy Kane becomes Hemingway's prime suspect. Kane is determined to prove the lady's innocence-but when he begins digging into her past, he finds it's more than a little bit shady..."

4. Greg Iles (USA). Iles is an American writer who wrote a series of mystery thrillers set in Natchez, Missouri featuring former prosecutor Penn Cage. I'll feature the first book, Natchez Burning (2014).

"Raised in Natchez, Mississippi, Penn Cage learned all he knows from his father, Tom Cage. But now the beloved family doctor has been accused of murdering the African-American nurse with whom he worked in the 1960s. Now Penn is determined to save his father no matter the cost.

The quest for answers sends Penn deep into a dark conspiracy involving the vicious Double Eagles, an offshoot of the KKK controlled by some of the state's most powerful men. With the aid of a local reporter and his fiancée, Penn uncovers a bloody trail stretching back forty years, and is forced to confront a wrenching dilemma: does a man of honor choose his father or justice?"

5. John Lawton (UK). Lawton is an English writer of historical / crime / espionage novels. I've purchased the first book in his DS Troy historical mystery series; Troy being a member of the 'murder' squad. The synopsis for the first book, Black Out is below.

"As the Luftwaffe makes its last, desperate assaults on the battered city in 1944, Londoners take to the underground shelters amidst the black out. Detective-Sergeant Troy starts with the clue of a neatly dismembered corpse leading him into a world of stateless refugees, military intelligence, and corruption all the way to the top of Allied High Command"

6. Peter Lovesey (UK). English writer Lovesey is author of various collections of historical and contemporary detective series. I've enjoyed the first book in his Sgt Cribb novels and I have the first book in his Peter Diamond mystery series on my book shelf.

"A woman's body has been found floating in a large reservoir just south of Bristol. In order to solve the mystery of the Lady in the Lake Detective Superintendent Peter Diamond must locate two missing letters attributed to Jane Austen and defy his superiors on the force to save a woman unjustly accused of murder."

7. Peter May (UK). May is a British mystery writer who has written a number os series and standalone novels. I'm interested in trying his Inspector Troy series, The Lewis Trilogy, and have the first book in the series, The Blackhouse.

"From acclaimed author and television dramatist Peter May comes the first book in the Lewis Trilogy--a riveting mystery series set on the Isle of Lewis in Scotland's Outer Hebrides, a formidable and forbidding world where tradition rules and people adhere to ancient ways of life. When a grisly murder occurs on the Isle of Lewis that has the hallmarks of a killing he's investigating on the mainland, Edinburgh detective and native islander Fin Macleod is dispatched to see if the two deaths are connected. His return after nearly two decades not only represents a police investigation, but a voyage into his own troubled past. As Fin reconnects with the places and people of his tortured childhood, he feels the island once again asserting its grip on his psyche. And every step forward in solving the murder takes him closer to a dangerous confrontation with the tragic events of the past that shaped--and nearly destroyed--Fin's life."

8. Chester Himes (US). Himes lived from 1909 - 1984 and amongst his works are the Harlem Detective series featuring Coffin Ed Johnson and Gravedigger Jones. I have the first book in that series, A Rage in Harlem (1957), on order.

"A Rage in Harlem is a ripping introduction to Coffin Ed Johnson and Grave Digger Jones, patrolling New York City’s roughest streets in Chester Himes’s groundbreaking Harlem Detectives series.

For love of fine, wily Imabelle, hapless Jackson surrenders his life savings to a con man who knows the secret of turning ten-dollar bills into hundreds—and then he steals from his boss, only to lose the stolen money at a craps table. Luckily for him, he can turn to his savvy twin brother, Goldy, who earns a living—disguised as a Sister of Mercy—by selling tickets to Heaven in Harlem.  With Goldy on his side, Jackson is ready for payback."

Well, folks, Sunday moves along and I'm off to get a few groceries and then dig out the ironing board to get some ironing done. Endeavour is on tonight as well. Looking forward to that. Enjoy what's left of your weekend and have a great week!