Some of us here at the Bitchery love a good mystery. Elyse especially. Historical mysteries. Creepy mysteries. You name it. Put one under a propped up box and just wait. Elyse will show up.
If you caught our most recent batch of Lightning Reviews, Elyse gave The Oxford Inheritance a B+. If it seems up your alley, we have not one, but two copies to giveaway. Just in case you’d prefer to go into the book blindly, I will warn that it does contain some dark and possible triggering elements.
To enter, just comment below with some of your favorite mysteries or thrillers. We’re always looking for more book recommendations! The giveaway will end and the thread will close Friday, March 4, 2016 at noon, EST, so be sure to comment before then!
Standard disclaimers apply. We are not being compensated for this giveaway. Void where prohibited. Open to US/Canadian residents where permitted by applicable law. Must be over 18 and prepared to solve any case with your trusty magnifying glass and notebook. Watch out for any meddling kids that are looking to steal your thunder!
Winner update:
Congrats to Camille and Melissandre!
I love the Tana French police murder squad mysteries set in Dublin. Her first book was Into the Woods. These books read like psychological thrillers and are a longer read. French uses a style of unfolding details that keep you engrossed throughout. I would classify these as literary mysteries.
I like Deanna Raybourne’s Lady Julia Grey mysteries, and I really like Madeleine Robins’ Sarah Tolerance books. The latter are very good and, I think, sort of overlooked. She’s a great character in a sort of “alternate” Regency England, where “fallen” women of repute have very little choice as to their future. She decides to become a private detective. I just can’t praise them enough. If you like Regency novels, they’re just absolutely awesome. 🙂
I have much love for Dana Stabenow’s Kate Shugak series (Book 1 is A Cold Day for Murder and can be had freely on a number of platforms http://stabenow.com/novels/kate-shugak/a-cold-day-for-murder/).
I love the Merrily Watkins mysteries by Phil Rickman. Not romances, though there are romantic elements. They are amazing!
I’m most fond of mysteries like The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield or Susanna Kearsley’s immensely enjoyable romantic mysteries. But I’m trying to branch out and read more typical mysteries like Patricia Cornwell (who I’m liking so far).
I’ve enjoyed some of the Tony Hillerman mysteries set on Navajo tribal lands.
When I was maybe 7, and wandering outside the children’s section of the library, my older brother informed me that grown-ups picked books based on the author, not the title. I looked around and saw hundred of books by Agatha Christie, which seemed promising – if they were any good it would keep me well occupied. They were and they did.
I’m all about the detective subgenre. Love the Galbraith’s Cormoran Strike, Parker’s Spenser, and Hammett’s Nick and Nora.
Mysteries/thrillers are among my favorites and I have a lot of recs. One of my top five books for 2015 was Lisa Scottoline’s “Corrupted,” which is part of a long-standing series about the folks in a female-owned/staffed law office in Philadelphia. I highly recommend William Kent Krueger’s “Ordinary Grace” and M.O. Walsh’s “My Sunshine Away.” If you are looking for laugh-out-loud humor and irreverence in your mysteries, try the Spellman Files series by Lisa Lutz.
I also recommend anything from these mystery/thriller authors who are on my must-read list: Alafair Burke, Lee Child, Harlan Coben, Michael Connelly, Robert Crais, Linda Fairstein, Lisa Gardner, Tami Hoag, Karin Slaughter and Chevy Stevens.
Thanks for the post and giveaway.
I’m really fond of older mysteries, or at least old fashioned ones. I love Dashiel Hammet, and Dorothy L. Sayers. I’m currently really enjoying Carole Nelson Douglas’ Irene Adler Series, and Jacqueline Winspear’s Maisie Dobbs books. I also really loved the Femmes Fatales imprint from several years back that re-printed a lot of pulp novels written by women, like “Bunny Lake is Missing” (by Evelyn Piper), “The G-String Murders” (by Gypsy Rose Lee), and books by Dorothy B. Hughes and Vera Caspary.
I love Agatha Christie’s Poirot and Miss Marple, and also enjoy cozies with a sense of humor like Rita Mae Brown’s series.
The series I’m going through currently are the Julia Spencer-Fleming mysteries (which I heard about on this site, I believe!), the Comoran Strike novels, the Ausma Zehanat Khan books (set in Canada with a diverse cast), and the Longmire books by Craig Johnson, which I liked a whole lot more than I expected to.
For standalones, I really liked Smaller and Smaller Circles, which is the first Filipino crime novel, written in the mid-90s but recently published by SOHO in the US. It features two priests as the protagonists!
I love Donna Tartt’s The Secret History. So good.
What fun!
I’ve enjoyed Ashley Gardner’s Captain Lacey Regency Mysteries. The first book, The Hanover Square Affair, is available free to Kindle readers at http://www.amazon.com/Hanover-Square-Captain-Regency-Mysteries-ebook/dp/B004O4C1AK/ref=la_B001ITTPPS_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1456714530&sr=1-1&refinements=p_82%3AB001ITTPPS
I also like Madeleine Urban and Abigail Roux Cut and Run series as well as J.D. Robb’s …in Death series.
Unfortunately, I’m not au courant on the newer mysteries, although I’d love to read the Cormoran Strike series by Robert Galbraith, aka J.K. Rowling. However, I do have my favorites that I turn to time and time again: the Amelia Peabody series by Elizabeth Peters, the Julian Kestrel mysteries by Kate Ross (who died after writing only four books in the series, which makes me wonder how far and where the character could’ve gone had Ross lived longer), Anne Perry’s Charlotte and Thomas Pitt mysteries and William Monk series, along with J.D. Robb’s “In Death…” series and the Eve Duncan books by Iris Johansen, with my guilty pleasure the Bishop/Special Crimes Unit series of books by Kay Hooper.
Oh, I love mysteries! And agree with a number of the posts above regarding the Kellermans, Dorothy Sayers, Agatha Christie and Elizabeth George. But here are a few more obscure ones that are really worth checking out:
Kate Atkinson: Case Histories (first in the Jackson Brodie series, all are good)
Louise Erdrich: The Round House (Much more than just a mystery–her work defies description–I consider her the best author I’ve come across in a decade)
Agatha Christie for me.
Twisted by Andrew E Kaufman is an awesome thriller, and two mystery series I simply adore are the Vera books by Ann Cleeves, and the Getting Old is Murder series by Rita Lakin. The Getting old series is laugh out loud fun. 🙂
Nancy Drew was always a fun read.
I love cozy mysteries by Jana DeLeon and Jane Cleland.
My two current favorite series are C.S. Harris’ Sebastian St. Cyr and the Charles Todd’s Inspector Ian Rutledge.
Of course, old favorites like Christie, Marsh, Grimes, Hillerman, Parker, Peters, Jill Churchill, Leslie Glass, Chris Grabenstein, Lois Greiman, Sharyn McCrumb’s Ballad novels,and Carol O’Connell are not to be left out..
I have three authors to recommend. Fans of cozies with a touch of humor should look into Dorothy Gilman, especially her Mrs. Pollifax books. Also check out Charlotte MacLeod/Alisa Craig. Fans of historical mysteries might try to find the Judge Dee mysteries by Robert H. Van Gulik. Besides being a career diplomat, he was fascinated with the Chinese. He translated a classic Chinese mystery about a historical magistrate and then proceeded to write a series of mysteries in the ancient Chinese style about the same Judge Dee.
MRS. POLLIFAX IS THE BEST. My absolute favorite. Also will second the Robert Crais and Robert B. Parker Spenser recs. I also really really like Kerry Greenwood’s Phryne Fisher and Carola Dunn’s Daisy Dalrymple as well as most cozies.
While we’re on the topic, does anyone have any recs for a good mystery blog similar to Smart Bitches? I’ve been on the hunt for a while but none of them are really fun like SMTB.
I love a good mystery, though I have fallen off the bandwagon lately. Some of my favorite authors are Elizabeth Peters, Sharyn McCrumb, and Joan Hess. Thanks for the great giveaway!
Not my go-to genre, but I still can’t turn down Michael Connelly or JK’s Cormoran Strike series.
My heart may always belong to Christie, but I also like…so many others. Charles Todd, Charles Finch, Rhys Bowen, and Victoria Thompson are favorites. Also, Carrie Bebris’ mysteries starring Pride and Prejudice’s Darcy and Elizabeth and a lot of fun.
Clare Fergusson/Russ Van Alstyne Mysteries by Julia Spencer-Fleming
So many favorites in this thread. I’ll only reiterate one rec: Madeleine Robins Sarah Tolerance series. Alt history set in the Regency without fantasy elements so common to this subgenre. And really well written.
Here are a few not previously mentioned:
Ruth Downie’s historical mysteries featuring Gaius Petraeus Ruso, doctor with the Roman Legion, set primarily in Roman Britain and featuring a romance arc through the series.
Christopher Fowler’s Bryant & May series featuring the Peculiar Crimes Unit, also alt history rooted in the 20th century. Bryant & May are a geriatric pair of partners in a series that blends serious reflections, dry humor, and a deft touch or woo-woo.
Imogen Robertson’s Westerman & Crowther series, also historical and featuring mature, complex characters and equally complex plots with a touch of the macabre.
(Hmmmm–I’m starting to sense a theme.)
Deborah Grabien’s JP Kincaid series–not historical!–featuring veteran rock guitarist Kincaid, who is not your pretty boy rock god. Besides coping with various health problems particularly multiple sclerosis, and a highly complicated personal history, Kincaid’s narration gives an amazingly gritty, detailed portrayal of the music business. Not everything in these books is HEA. HFN, or even moderately pleasant, but they are intense and fascinating.
Josephine Tey is a personal favorite. Her “Daughter of Time” is cleverly structured: a Scotland Yard DI is in the hospital and bored so decides to investigate the mystery of Richard III and the princes in the Tower. Two historical series I very much enjoy are the S. G. Maclean Alexander Seaton books (17th C Scotland) and the Imogen Robertson Westerman and Crowther ones (late 18th C England). Robertson very convincingly portrays a smart woman used to being on her own (her husband is a captain in the Navy) who chafes at society’s restrictions yet must navigate her life and resolve the mystery within her allowed role. OTOH, I’ve given up on Maisie Dobbs, which I used to love, as too depressing.
The In Death series by JD Robb
So happy to see the recs for Madeline Robins/Sarah Tolerance – absolutely love that series!
Reading thru the comments I found some new authors to try – thanks, everyone!
My contributions have pretty much been mentioned already (Jacqueline Winspear, Craig Johnson, Deborah Crombie, Ariana Franklin, Seanan McGuire and Tami Hoag), but I would also toss out Fiona Buckley. Ms. Buckley writes Elizabethan mysteries featuring Ursula Blanchard, a lady in waiting to Elizabeth. Fun little stories with whiffs of betrayal running thru.
I don’t have too much experience with mysteries and thrillers. I did read a few of Gillian Flyn’s books that I quite enjoyed, and also the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo trilogy. SO mainly just super hyped ones. but I’d love to read more in this genre.
Patricia Highsmith… She makes me so uncomfortable, in a good way 😉
I just reread Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None , which is one of my favorite mysteries. Also a fan of the Graveyard Queen series.