Reader's Advisory: It's a mystery

Some mysteries I've enjoyed recently

Hi Stackers!

I’m trying to add photos to my posts, even if they don’t thematically match, though I’ll try to find a match (even if it’s a stretch, like this week).

I’ve got a weird sense of humor, so here is a picture of a mystery stain on my driveway - it’s not oil, it’s not blood, but what is it? (Answer at the end of this post).

I’ve been reading a lot of mysteries recently, in part because I visited my parents for Christmas and my mom and I decided to start up our long-dormant mother-daughter mystery bookclub. We used to both read Jonathan Kellerman mysteries when I was a teenager. We’d buy one copy and I’d read them first (I read faster as a teenager), then passed them to my mom. She reads faster than me these days, as she’s retired.

We re-inaugurated our mother-daughter mystery book club over Christmas by both reading Mother-Daughter Murder Night by Nina Simon. There are two mother-daughter relationships in this book, as it’s a story about a grandmother, mother and teen daughter working together to solve a couple of murders. My mom and I both loved how each of the Rubicon women are depicted, as well as their different relationships with each other. It’s also incredibly atmospheric, set on the California coast. I particularly enjoyed Jack’s (the granddaughter) relationship with Elkhorn Slough, the protected body of water where she gives tours and discovers the first body.

Even though I’ve talked recently about how “over” faeries and vampires I am, I have been enjoying this sweet mystery series called The Vampire Knitting Club by Nancy Warren. Witches, vampires, a black cat familiar and a cozy knitting shop in Cornwall - what’s not to like? I’m only on book #2 (plus the prequel), so there’s still time for faeries to show up. I discovered this one on Hoopla - the prequel book was a bonus borrow (a free check out), which they do periodically.

Death at King’s Chapel (#6) and Death on Tremont Row (#5) by Lee Strauss - I’ve been captured by the world of Lee Strauss. It started with this series - Higgins & Hawke. I accidentally read/listened to #5 and #6 out of order because they were temporarily not available through my library apps (though I promise I read books 1-4 beforehand and in order). The Higgins & Hawke books are set in the early 1930s, between the wars and during Prohibition. (Haley) Higgins and (Samantha/Sam) Hawke are two single women working and making their own livings as a forensic pathologist and a journalist (a “lady doctor” and a “lady journalist”). They help each other solve crimes, get ahead at work and become friends. These books are light, but interesting because of the historical details, the murders and investigations, as well as the growing friendship between the two women.

Between September (when I read Higgins & Hawke #4), I started reading/listening to the Ginger Gold series by Lee Strauss, which is 20+ books strong and starts out in the 20s with Ginger Gold and her friend Haley Higgins who’s traveling to England to go to medical school. I’ve read/listened to the first 5 books in Ginger Gold series so far and they’re just as fun and interesting. I’d recommend starting with the first series, Ginger Gold, since book #5 of Higgins & Hawke spoils some of what happens in the Ginger Gold series, as Ginger goes back to visit Boston and helps Haley and Sam solve a crime there.

(There’s also the Rosa Reed mysteries, which are a spinoff of the Ginger Gold series and set in the 1950s, but I haven’t read those yet).

All of these books by Lee Strauss are quick reads and harken back to the Agatha Christie and Sherlock Holmes mysteries.

Speaking of Sherlock Holmes, I’ve been reading the Enola Holmes series by Nancy Springer, which focuses on the younger sister of the famous detective. I recently read/listened to book 5 in this series, The Case of the Cryptic Crinoline. Also like the Agatha Christie and Sherlock Holmes mysteries, these are very short. They’re often discreet cases, but linked by the detective, so there’s an overarching plot in the series. Enola is a teenager in this series (at least so far) and these books are YA, but she’s just a smart as her lauded brother and lives primarily as an adult through clever disguise.

There’s something very satisfying about a series of quick mysteries following the same detective and if you like them as much as I do, I’d recommend all of these ongoing series that I’ve been reading.

In December, I read all three books (so far) in the Miss Merrill and Aunt Violet mysteries, starting with Murder in the Bookshop. I listened to the audiobook versions narrated by Oona Beeson (via Hoopla) and really enjoyed them in that format, but if you like e-books, Bookshop now sells those and the first book is 3.99 in that format. Book #4 is due out in March.

Two of my Christmas-themed books (The Twelve Days of Murder and The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year) are also mysteries, both set during house parties where the suspects are all confined and trapped together, which is also a fun mystery trope.

[The mystery stain is coffee. That was a very sad moment for me.]