For Janice - Books Part 13

It's snowing again today but I managed to get out to Big Foot Donuts before it started. Tried all of their January creations. Yummy! Now all of us are snuggled inside, cozy and toasty warm.

After taking a couple of days off from looking at my book shelves / books to post about other things, I'm back to the bookshelf in the family room. It's the bottom left today, L's to R's. There are only two rows of books this time as that shelf also has games and puzzles. 

L's to M's

1. L's to M's. The majority of the books in this grouping are mysteries. But there are a couple of others. Starting with a new author for me, Beth Lincoln, author of a young adult mystery, The Swifts. E.C.R. Lorac will be another new author for me. She writes the Robert MacDonald mystery series, amongst others. I have enjoyed a couple of Peter Lovesey's historical mysteries featuring Sgt Cribbs but Skeleton Hill is another series with Insp. Peter Diamond. Ross MacDonald was the husband of one of my favorite crime writers, Margaret Millar. He was known for his Lew Archer hard-boiled mystery series, which I have been enjoying very much. Blue City is one of his standalone mysteries. I was attracted to the titles of Susan Ella MacNeal's historical mystery series featuring Churchill's secretary. I've bought a couple of the books and hope to read the first this year. Many of Richard Matheson's horror stories have been turned into movies; I Am Legend, The Incredible Shrinking Man. I've enjoyed them very much. Hell House looks like a nice thriller. Jo bought me The Blackhouse by Peter May for Xmas a couple of years ago. I've bought a few others of his books since as well. This past year I read Robert McCammon's Boy's Life, an excellent novel. I'm looking forward to trying Gone South. I see the next few are a mite mixed up.. LOL. Val McDermid has written some excellent crime series; Tony Hill & Carol Jordan, Karen Pirie, etc, plus standalones. The three books are from various of her series. The Librarian Spy is a new author for me, just came out in 2022. And another new author that I saw in Books4Brains this past year, Helen MacDonald's Prophet. (I must behave a bit more with my visits to book stores in 2024. Does anyone else feel an obligation towards supporting all of your local book stores? What would we do without them?)

M's - R's

2. M's continued to R's. As I look through these books myself, I'm beginning to realize how many mysteries I've got and enjoy. Of course the first book is a fantasy, a new author J.M. McDermott. I've enjoyed the first two Sean Duffy mysteries set in northern Ireland very much. I've got a couple of others scattered around the house. 😃 D.A. Mishani sets his mysteries featuring police inspector Avraham Avraham in Israel but there has been a TV series set in New York (that Jo and I enjoyed very much) based on the books. Tare Moss's war widow mysteries are another new one for me. Stuart Neville's crime thrillers featuring Jack Lennon are also set in northern Ireland; another entertaining series. I received a collection of 2015 Pulitzer Prize winners from an auction a few years back and The Sympathizer was one of those books. A Forgery of Roses is another new author and is a gothic fantasy mystery. How's that for a mixture? I've enjoyed Dorothy Parker's poetry and sense of humor. This book is a collection of her Broadway reviews from 1918 - 1923. Sound interesting? I've read the first book in Caro Peacock's Liberty Lane historical mysteries. This is the 2nd book. I have yet to read Children of Chicago but the synopsis made it seem like an excellent thriller. Thomas Perry's Jane Whitefield thrillers, where she is someone who helps people in trouble disappear, has been most enjoyable. Preston & Child write horror stories. Mark Pryor's mysteries are set in Paris and feature the US embassy's head of security. The first book was entertaining. I've ben enjoying the Inspector Rebus books by Ian Rankin since Jo bought me the whole series back in 2007ish. Malcolm Fox is another character and he runs the Internal Affairs division in the same police station in Scotland. And finally there is Kathy Reichs, whose excellent forensic mysteries feature Temperance Brennan who works in both Montreal and North Carolina.

There you go. One more shelf to go tomorrow and then it's into the Den. Can't wait, eh?