While You Wait for The Cuckoo's Calling

JK Rowling's latest book The Cuckoo's Calling, a detective novel written under the pen name Robert Galbraith, has flown off the shelves and hit the bestsellers lists. It received favorable reviews before the author's true identity was leaked. But now that we know who the real author is, it's in great demand. So here's some advice from our own Tracy G:

...if you are eagerly awaiting a hot item, consider asking us for suggestions to pass the time with. You may stumble across an undiscovered gem while waiting for your hold to come in.

So while The Cuckoo's Calling is still a wish away, why not sample another mystery featuring a flawed but gifted detective. Here are just a few:

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  Case Histories
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  The Little Sister
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  Tonight I Said Goodbye
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  The Invisible Ones
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  Dead Souls
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  Hardcase

Murder at the Hospital OR Unconventional Sleuths

This holiday season, someone on my gift list will receive the latest Lenny Moss mystery, even though he doesn't read many mysteries. Am I one of those annoying gift givers who buys the recipient not what he wants but what I like? I hope not, although I'll cop to buying the occasional book for my niece when she wasn't a big reader. (Reading is too important and fun to miss out on. And I always got her something else, too!)

So why am I purchasing No Place to Be Sick, by Timothy Sheard, for a family member who only occasionally reads mysteries?  Why did I give this family member, who is interested in all things union and labor history and who will henceforth be referred to as Union Man, his first Lenny Moss mystery a few holidays back, which he loved and requested more of?

The answer lies in the story's hero and subject matter. The hero & crime solver, Lenny Moss, is a custodian, and, of greater interest to Union Man, a union representative. So the books, like every good mystery, aren't just about who killed whom. They weave labor issues, such as harassment of workers, into the stories. For example, in the first book, This Won't Hurt a Bit, a laundry worker at a large university hospital is accused of murdering a doctor. Lenny and his co-workers at the hospital, however, believe the man is innocent, and together they undertake their own investigation into the murder.

The heroes of mysteries these days are no longer just private eyes and police detectives. They are janitors and cleaning women, reporters, herbalists, teachers, librarians and more. Whatever your interests, you can likely find a mystery set in your milieu, and there are even books to help you find your mystery match, such as Make Mine a Mystery: A Readers' Guide to Mystery and Detective Fiction. The book, which you can view at the Readers' Services desk on the third floor, contains a subject index that goes from Aborigine-Australia to Zoo. Some subjects included are:

Aquariums
HMOs (for those who have ever been frustrated with an HMO)
Organs
Parrots
Shipboard (for those who can't afford to take a cruise)
Railroads (love this one!)
Theater (for those who have ever wanted to kill a director or theater diva)

Another helpful book is What Mystery Do I Read Next, which includes both time period and  major character indexes (activist, aged person, animal trainer, etc). Want personalized suggestions? Ask the helpful staff at the 3rd floor Readers' Services desk.

What's your favorite mystery or series featuring an amateur or unconventional sleuth? Do you have a favorite setting or locale? Do books make good gifts?

"What do we count?"

I recently finished A Rule Against Murder by Louise Penny, the fourth book in a wonderful mystery series featuring the wise and steadfast Chief Inspector Armand Gamache. This is a whodunit, revolving around murder, money and hidden motives, so I'll stop now to issue a SPOILER ALERT. Just a bit of a spoiler, though. I won't reveal who did, but rather who didn't do it.

Beyond the beautiful writing and well-crafted plot, what strikes a chord in me is a minor sub-plot that I believe is central to the book's spirit and also to my thoughts this season.

In this thread in the story, each morning and evening during his lakeside holiday, an old man makes his way down to the dock. "I come here to do my sums. It's a natural place for it." This character, Bert Finney, is a retired accountant, described as very old, and very ugly, with little to do in life except cater to his fabulously wealthy, and exceedingly unpleasant wife. Everyone around him, including his four embittered stepchildren, believe he spends his time counting money -- perhaps the money he'll inherit from his wife when she dies. But once the police tape is rolled up and the murderer unmasked, Finney explains his "sums" to a curious Inspector Gamache: "I count my blessings."

This is Finney's power as a red herring: it is so much easier for us to believe that a man in his unenviable position would be driven by greed, than to accept that he humbles himself in thanks daily. For his life, far from perfect, he is grateful.

Among my many blessings, I'm always grateful for a good read. I'm doubly pleased to find a bit of inspiration alongside the murder and mayhem of a good mystery. I recommend any of the Inspector Gamache series -- Louise Penny tells a fine tale. But this holiday, my pick is A Rule Against Murder.

"We're all blessed and we're all blighted, Chief Inspector," said Finney. "Every day each of us does our sums. The question is, what do we count?"

What blessing will you count?

It's All Scandinavian to Me

During the Viking Age, Scandinavians descended upon the known world with a fury and ingenuity that have echoed down through the ages. Now, at the beginning of the 21st century, they are at it again, though this time their influence and contributions are accepted a bit more voluntarily than they were a thousand years ago. I'm referring to the Scandinavian crime novels that are being translated into English at an increasing pace.

The foremost of these in the public eye, of course, is Stieg Larsson's Millennium trilogy: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played with Fire, and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest. Each of these novels are extremely popular and have holding lists, but, just like a good crime novel that has more to the story than first meets the eye, there are more Scandinavian mystery writers out there to be explored. Hopefully you can check these novels out while you are waiting for, after you read, or simply in lieu of, Stieg Larsson's books:

(Please note: the following, with the exception of the standalone Smilla's Sense of Snow, are all the first in a series of novels.)

Don't Look Back by Karin Fossum
Inspector Konrad Sejer and his assistant Jacob Skarre investigate the connection between the mysterious disappearance and reappearance of a little girl and the discovery of a murdered teen in a small town outside of Oslo. This moody police procedural focuses on the psychological impact of those affected by the crime.

Jar City by Arnaldur Indriðason
Reykjavík, Iceland, is an insular city with almost no violent crime, making a murder with no apparent motive tough to solve. Reykjavík police detective Inspector Erlendur Sveinsson follows a trail that leads to more murder, long-kept secrets, and a forensic lab that used to house research organs.

Faceless Killers by Henning Mankell
While investigating a double murder of an elderly couple, Policeman Kurt Wallander battles against xenophobia and his own personal turmoil in an effort to avoid touching off a powder-keg of racial violence. (Though this is technically the first of the series, a set of short stories, the Pyramid, depicts Wallander's life before this novel).

Smilla's Sense of Snow by Peter Høeg
A careful melding of literary fiction and a mystery thriller, Smilla's Sense of Snow is unsurprisingly about a half Danish, half Greenlandian woman named Smilla Jaspersen who is an expert in the various forms of ice: this is the only predictable aspect of this novel. Smilla becomes obsessed about finding the truth behind the death of a young friend of hers, leading her to a desolate ice-covered island of the coast of Greenland and to a secret that is much larger than she anticipated.

Traitor?

Perhaps the word traitor is too harsh. But when you have a favorite series, and that author branches out to start writing a new series (though still writing the original), do you feel betrayed?

It's no secret that I love Carola Dunn's mystery series staring Daisy Dalrymple. I wrote in my previous blog entry that it's my go to beach read. When I read that she was coming out with a new series I admit I was excited. I like her writing style and the description of the book was intriguing. The first title in the series is Manna From Hades. Publishers Weekly called it "this lively first in a new cozy series ... introduces Eleanor Trewynn, a plucky widow who runs a charity shop in the village of Port Mabyn." Much like Daisy tends to do, Eleanor soon stumbles upon a body. The review in Booklist said "Dunn has a knack for writing meatier-than-usual cozies with strong female characters, and she has another charming winner here."

Well that's great. But what about Daisy? According to Carola's website, she's still working on Daisy books. But frankly, Carola is not young. And I worry about a future where there will be no more Daisy books. I feel her time should be spent writing the series I most enjoy (I know-so selfish!). While I'm going to read this new book (gotta support your favorite author), I can't help wishing it was a new Dalrymple book.

How do you feel? Do you support your favorite author no matter what? Bitterly complain that as their number one fan they should aim to please you? Or are you indifferent?