Good Reads - Fiction

Mystery

New Mystery Authors

M/ANAYA
Anaya, Rudolfo A. - Zia Summer - 1995, 386p.
Albuquerque P.I. Sonny Baca makes his debut appearance in this elegantly poetic mystery which integrates gritty realism with mythic spirituality. His aunt asks him to investigate the gruesome murder of a favorite cousin, and Sonny is thrown into a case that combines ancient ritual sacrifice with protests of atomic weapons, reflecting the conflict in New Mexico between traditional culture and the push for new development.

M/BAKER
Baker, John F. - Poet in the Gutter - 1996, 238p.
Sam Turner, once a homeless alcoholic, attends a men's meeting in York, England and impulsively introduces himself as a private detective. Terry Deacon suspects his wife is having an affair and hires Sam to follow her. An easy way for Sam to make money, and no one the wiser that he is not really a detective, he accepts the case. But, then Terry is murdered and the simple adultery case turns into a twisted case of an international serial killer.

M/BARRON
Barron, Stephanie - Jane and the Unpleasantness at Scargrave Manor - 1996, 289p.
While Jane Austen is visiting her childhood friend Isobel Payne, new bride of the elderly Earl of Scargrave, his Lordship falls victim to a mysterious illness. The grieving widow soon finds herself at risk as questions are raised about her relationship with his handsome nephew and heir, and Jane agrees to investigate in an attempt to clear her good friend's name. This well-written and well-researched first installment in the "Jane Austen Mysteries" series will be a pleasant surprise for Austen fans and Regency readers alike. The author manages to capture the Austenesque style and authentic Regency tone while at the same time crafting a moderately fast-paced mystery.

M/DAMS
Dams, Jeanne M. - The Body in the Transept - 1995, 205p.
Dorothy Martin and husband Frank planned for years to retire to a small university town in England, even leasing a small cottage. Frank dies, and Dorothy decides to go on with their dream and makes the move. On her first Christmas in Shrewsbury, Dorothy is feeling very lonely and hopes that attending church will help—however, falling over Canon Billings' body after the service does little to improve her outlook on life. As an outsider and newcomer, Dorothy is free to snoop and view people with a fresh look. Much against the advice of her new friend Chief Constable Alan Nesbitt, Dorothy begins her own investigation of the murder. First book in a new series from Indiana author Dams.

M/EVANOVICH
Evanovich, Janet - One for the Money - 1994, 290p.
When Stephanie Plum loses her job as a lingerie buyer, she is forced to take a position with her cousin Vinnie, the bailbondsman, as a bounty hunter. Her first case is to bring in Joe Morelli, a cop who has jumped bail on a murder charge and is, coincidentally, the man to whom she lost her virginity in high school. A hilarious race ensues with Stephanie attempting to catch Joe, while he tries to prevent her from getting killed by the real murderer. Followed by Two For the Dough and Three to Get Deadly.

F/FAIRSTEIN
Fairstein, Linda - Likely to Die - 1997, 393p.
This, the mystery which follows new author Fairstein's Final Jeopardy, again features Manhattan's sex crimes prosecutor Alexandra Cooper. Alex, the police, and Alex's staff all work to find the killer of neurosurgeon Gemma Dogen who was found in her blood-soaked office at Mid-Manhattan Medical Center. Did the Doctor try to write the name of her killer before she died? Is the killer a former patient, a member of the hospital staff, or one of the homeless who lives in the tunnels beneath the hospital?

M/GLEITER
Gleiter, Jan - Lie Down with Dogs - 1996, 225p.
After running out of gas on a lonely Wisconsin back road, Robert Cooper encounters a small boy Luke, his caregiver Lisa, and the race for the solutions to the mysteries of Luke's Dad's disappearance, a burglary ring, and murder. Good plotting makes this an interesting, fast-moving novel. Winner of the Malice Domestic Award for best first traditional mystery.

M/HARRISON
Harrison, Jamie - Going Local - 1996, 323p.
Jules Clement, sheriff of Blue Deer, Montana, is just back on the job after recovering from a gunshot wound, when he and his deputy spot a tent floating in the town reservoir. When two human bodies (and one canine) are found inside, not drowned but run over several times, Jules resolves one more time to leave his job for any career that doesn't involve examining soggy corpses. As he begins to investigate the murders, he discovers shady land development deals, a British movie director and his lover (the dead man's ex-wife), and a long-legged blonde who wants a few, very private words with Jules.

M/LAWRENCE
Lawrence, Martha C. - Murder in Scorpio - 1995, 227p.
Parapsychologist Dr. Elizabeth Chase uses her understanding of the paranormal in her investigations. Escondido Police Department Sergeant Tom McGowen has some doubts about consulting Elizabeth on a case involving the death of his old high school friend. As her investigations cast an increasingly suspicious light on his friend's death, Tom quickly gains more than a little respect, and affection, for Elizabeth. The closer she gets to the truth, the less either Tom's protection or the intervention of the stars may be able to keep Elizabeth out of harm's way. In this delightful series debut, Martha Lawrence captures the sunny, offbeat appeal, as well as the danger, of Southern California, and introduces an original detective who promises to enchant readers for many cases to come.

M/LILLIEFORS
Lilliefors, Jim - Bananaville - 1996, 243p.
Burnt out, separated from his wife, veteran newspaperman Martin Grant moves from the Midwest to tropical, booming Bananaville, Florida. Here Grant finds, in the murder of the local City Councilman Rudolph Reed, what he has been looking for all of his life, the "BIG Story." Hard-edged and with the dark humor of the current crop of Florida-based authors. First in a series.

F/PARRISH
Parrish, Richard - Nothing But the Truth - 1995, 292p.
When Jewish gangster Meyer Lansky comes to the Tucson office of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Dish Rabb wonders what Lansky's doing in Tucson and why he would pick a struggling attorney for his lawyer. The Papago Indians find the bodies of two Chassidic Jews on their reservation and the two Italian gangsters. Rabb finds himself drawn into the mysterious turf war between Mafia dons while also trying to defend a Papago man accused of rape and murder. He doesn't realize how deeply he's become entangled in the mob's affairs until his teenage daughter Hanna is kidnapped, and Rabb has to race against time to discover the truth behind the murders if he is to save his daughter.

M/REICHS
Reichs, Kathy - Deja Dead - 1997, 411p.
A decayed woman's body is found. As forensic anthropologist Tempe Brennan examines the remains, she remembers a similar case a year earlier and suspects a serial killer. When the police discount her theory, Tempe starts investigating on her own. She searches the computer for mutilated bodies and discovers several cases, but the victims don't appear to have anything in common. Just as she begins to doubt her own instincts, the killer starts to stalk her, and things get ugly! As a middle-aged divorced mother, Tempe is an appealing character. The Montreal setting adds an extra sparkle with its exotic food, French language, and Canadian customs. First book in a proposed series.

M/REYNOLDS
Reynolds, Brad - The Story Knife: A Father Mark Townsend Mystery - 1996, 246p.
Father Mark Townsend helps the Seattle police solve the murder of a crooked lawyer, slain with a distinctive Eskimo knife. Townsend served in the Yup'ik Eskimo village of Soognyak where the knife comes from, and knows the Eskimo tribe that carved the intricate pictures on its ivory handle. The priest returns to the village and uncovers more than he bargained for—startling discoveries may make him the killer's next victim. Worth reading for the insights into modern Eskimo life and problems. First mystery in a new series.

M/RIPLEY
Ripley, Ann - Death of a Garden Pest - 1996, 241p.
While recovering from solving her last murder, housewife Louise Eldridge is asked to co-host an organic gardening television show, displacing one of the current hosts. When the woman is found dead, Louise, the chief suspect, must work to clear herself while keeping up the show's ratings. Interspersed with gardening lore, the book also includes ten informative essays on organic gardening.

Prepared by members of the Adult Reading Round Table, a group of librarians from various library systems in Illinois.