M/BARR
Barr, NevadaEndangered Species1997, 306p.

Cumberland Island National Seashore, off the coast of Georgia, is the evocative setting for the fifth mystery featuring park ranger Anna Pigeon. Barr’s descriptive writing brings the island’s ecology to life—palmetto trees, ocean grasses, high heat and humidity, alligators, and endangered loggerhead turtles. When a drug interdiction plane crashes on the island due to sabotage, and the pilot and passenger are killed, Anna sets out to investigate her colleagues and the island’s close-knit community.

M/BURKE
Burke, James LeeIn the Electric Mist with Confederate Dead1993, 344p.

When Dave Robichaux arrests Elrod T. Sykes for driving while intoxicated, he is offered information about an old murder in exchange for leniency in the DWI offense. Sykes, who is appearing in a film being made in the New Iberia, Louisiana area, keeps referring to the Confederate officers he has seen in the area at night. Dave’s own encounter with a Confederate cavalry officer leads to the truths that are as appropriate now as they were in the 1860’s South. FBI agent Rosie Gomes joins with Robichaux in solving the serial rape-murders of young prostitutes in the area in this complex novel. Burke is excellent at conveying mood and sense of place.

M/COLLINS
Collins, Max AllanThe Million-Dollar Wound1986, 335p.

Combat veteran P.I. Nate Heller arrives in wartime Chicago and collides with a homefront every bit as violent as the jungle he left behind. The murder of a high-priced call girl ignites the final violent days of mobster Frank Nitti’s reign. Heller also probes the tinsel underworld of Hollywood where he encounters columnist Westbrook Pegler, actor Robert Montgomery, fan dancer Sally Rand, and G-man Eliot Ness. Almost every chapter begins with a photo or scene relating to the chapter. The reader really is in 1940’s Chicago.

M/DIBDIN
Dibdin, MichaelRatking1989, 266p.

It’s a mixed blessing for police commissioner Aurelio Zen when he is called away from his desk job exile in Rome to investigate the kidnapping of industrialist Ruggiero Miletti. In a society corrupted by blackmail, coercion, and intertwining interests, Zen must tread carefully to bring the truth to light. A tightly plotted literary thriller.

M/GUR
Gur, BatyaMurder on a Kibbutz: A Communal Case1994, 350p.

Third mystery featuring Jerusalem investigator Michael Ohayon by Israeli professor Batya Gur. The lifestyle of the kibbutz, the most successful experiment in socialist living in the modern world, is vividly rendered through the eyes of an outsider. Aaron Meroz, Member of the Knesset, has come a long way from the frightened child taken in by the kibbutzim after his mother abandoned him. Now his secret lover Osnat is found poisoned, and the eyes of the commune all turn to Aaron. Old hurts, jealousies, and conflict over technology and money suggest several candidates for Osnat’s murder. Ohayon must discover the murderer while attempting to keep events quiet, and puts himself and his staff at risk in doing so. A thoughtful mystery that concentrates on human relationships.

M/LEON
Leon, DonnaDeath at La Fenice1992, 263p.

During the intermission of La Traviata at the Teatro La Fenice in Venice, world-renowned conductor Helmut Wellauer is found dead, surrounded by the unmistakable odor of bitter almonds. Commissario Guido Brunetti is charged with finding the culprit “immediately” by his superiors and an outraged press. His suspects include a young widow and a soprano with a secret, with clues trailing back to World War II. As he traverses the canals and foggy streets of Venice, the reader will meet an irresistible sleuth and a memorable setting. Followed by: Death in a Strange Country, Dressed for Death, Death and Judgment.

M/McCLENDON
McClendon, LiseThe Bluejay Shaman1994, 235p.

Art gallery owner Alix Thorssen is on call as an expert for the FBI and other law enforcement agencies. She leads a fairly uncomplicated life until her brother-in-law, Professor Wade Fraser, is arrested for murder on the Salish reservation in Montana. Fraser was known as having little patience with people who exploited the Native Americans. What’s more, he was also heard arguing with Shiloh Merkin, the woman found dead. As Alix begins looking into the events surrounding the death of Shiloh, she uncovers more than she bargained for, including a legendary artifact that just may be worth killing for. Rich in color and detail, the novel brings the landscape and character of Montana to life while introducing a tough, yet sensitive, female hero with a sense of humor. The treatment of the religion and customs of the Western Montana Native Americans is reminiscent of Tony Hillerman.

M/McCRUMB
McCrumb, SharynThe Rosewood Casket1996, 305p.

As Randall Stargill lies dying on the family’s farm in Appalachia, his four sons come home to pay their respects and, after his death, to carry out his last wish: to build, together, a casket from the rosewood he had stored in the attic. However, it is not only rosewood that has been hidden away. Secrets from Randall’s life, as well as those of his sons, come to light in this moving and elegantly-written mystery, part of McCrumb’s “Ballad” series, a mystical evocation of time and place.

M/McQUILLAN
McQuillan, KarinDeadly Safari1990, 293p.

Jazz Jasper’s fledging safari company is in jeopardy after the apparent heart attack of an obnoxious client, followed by the murder of Jazz’s good friend Lynn, who commissioned the trip. Jazz investigates when Kenyan Inspector Omondi is told to drop the case. Set against the expansive savanna of Kenya, with numerous details of African wildlife and safari life, Jazz comes to terms with her personal and professional lives while uncovering a murderer.

M/ROBERTS
Roberts, GillianThe Mummers’ Curse1996, 231p.

Challenged to disprove the adage that “those who can, do; those who can’t, teach,” Amanda Pepper determines to “commit journalism.” Her research into the famous Philadelphia Mummers’ Parade becomes very pertinent when, in the middle of the parade, one of the reveling clowns falls dead of a gunshot. When a prime suspect, a fellow Philly Prep teacher, names her as his alibi, Amanda must investigate. With immense humor, Amanda explores the Mummers, Philadelphia’s “neighborhoods,” family honor, and of course, whodunit.

M/ROSENBERG
Rosenberg, RobertHouse of Guilt1996, 288p.

Retired from the Jerusalem Police Force, Avram Cohen is asked by the minister of police to look for Simon Levi-Tsur, the psychologically disturbed heir to the House of Levi-Tsur, an international Jewish banking house. Cohen soon finds himself going from Tel Aviv’s decadent nightlife to the extremist religious Jewish settlements on the West Bank. When Simon’s body is found in the Judean desert, his murder is attributed to Arab terrorists. Cohen finds that the circumstances surrounding the boy’s death are suspicious and don’t add up to a terrorist murder. As he delves into Simon’s last days, Cohen finds that Simon was looking into an old robbery of ancient Israeli antiquities. Cohen uncovers extremist plots, old robberies, and a shocking crime with international implications.

F/SCOTTOLINE
Scottoline, LisaLegal Tender1996, 291p.

Philadelphia law firm Rosato & Biscardi has suffered a tragic loss. Biscardi is found dead at his desk, and Rosato is the chief suspect. Unconventional lawyer Benedetta “Bennie” Rosato is on the run from the police, who don’t like her much anyway, since her specialty is police misconduct and excessive force cases, and she usually wins. Scottoline has written several mysteries set in Philadelphia, all with a different female lawyer protagonist. All are well-written, fast-paced, and feature the City of Brotherly Love as a “main character.”

M/SKINNER
Skinner, RobertSkin Deep, Blood Red1997, 247p.

Displaying mastery for vivid imagery and incredible detail, Robert Skinner leads us back to the jazz-filled, money-hungry, corrupt life in the Quarter of 1936 New Orleans. A Creole nightclub owner passing as a white man, Wesley Farrell is blackmailed by mob boss Emile Ganns into finding out who killed the corrupt cop who allowed Ganns to operate. While dodging bullets (in some intense shoot-’em-up scenes) and closing in on the killer, a haunting secret is revealed.

M/SMITH
Smith, JulieNew Orleans Mourning1990, 376p.

Masked balls, parades, jazz bands...it’s Mardi Gras in New Orleans. Amidst this colorful setting, policewoman Skip Langdon tracks the killer of Chauncey St. Amant, murdered while riding in the parade. Growing up with the New Orleans elite, Skip knows the suspects—Marcelle the pampered daughter, Bitty the pill-popping wife, Henry the neglected son, and Tolliver the doting family friend. The investigation introduces her to Steve Steinman who shares her adventures, her spirit, and her heart. The first of a series, this book oozes with the atmosphere of the old South.

M/STABENOW
Stabenow, DanaA Cold Day for Murder1992, 199p.

Kate Shugak lives in an isolated cabin in the middle of an Alaskan National Park. She has moved here to return to her roots and to escape her experiences with the Anchorage District Attorney’s office. But she can’t leave behind her talent for detection—nor trouble. She investigates the disappearances of a National Park Ranger and the investigator who comes to look for him. Kate receives help from her friend Bobby, a wheelchair bound Vietnam veteran, and from sometime lover Jack Morgan from the DA’s office. As Kate delves into the disappearances, she realizes the two men were murdered and that the murderer may be someone very close to her. Stabenow’s books paint a vivid picture of the Alaskan wilderness and the subsistence living conditions of the Native Americans who inhabit it.

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