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A Letter to Mary | by Laurie R. King
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A great story for Holmes fans with Mary Russell providing a softening influence for Sherlock. Well-drawn characters and an intricate plot which is not presented in the typical Conan Doyle stilted style.
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| Mrs. Malory: Death of a Dean
| by Hazel Holt
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A typical British cozy with a cup-of-tea-all-round main character. Rich supporting characters, well-drawn locales, and a clever plot with a twist to intrigue the would-be mystery solver.
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| The Thin Woman
| by Dorothy Cannell
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A British cozy filled with eccentric characters, humor and a surprise at the end. Following a reunion at a deteriorating family estate, the owner dies, leaving a heavy-set woman and her acting "fiancee" in charge, providing they meet certain unique demands.
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| The Circus Master's Mission
| by Joel Brinkley
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In this political thriller an unsuspecting State Department officer is promoted to head a committee overlooking the Nicaraguan Contras. Devious officials who have their own hidden agenda manipulate him with disastrous results.
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| Precipice
| by Tom Savage
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A young woman agrees to be secretary/companion to a wealthy socialite and her adolescent daughter at their luxurious home in the Virgin Islands. However, it is soon clear that she is not who she appears to be, and it is only after many twists in the plot that we learn the real story. Very suspenseful!
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| Fate of A Stranger
| by Anne Perry
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First in a series which features William Monk, a London police detective who has lost his memory, and Hester Laterly, a Crimean War nurse. They search for a former soldier who is an extortionist. 1850-1860s, London upper classes.
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| Blood Test
| by Jonathan Kellerman
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Second in a psychological series. Dr. Alexander Delaware and Milo Sturgis, a gay L.A. cop, join forces to find a kidnapped cancer patient and the murderer of his parents.
When the Bough Breaks is the first in this series. Graphic sex, violence and rough language.
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| One Coffee With
| by Margaret Maron
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Sigrid Harald, a N.Y. police lieutenant investigates the murder of a professor in the Art Department of Vanderlyn College. Contemporary setting...university politics. Not recommended...Her Deborah Knott series (Southern lawyer) is much better.
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| Chiefs
| by Stuart Woods
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Excellent story of deep-seated crime and corruption over a 40 year period in rural Georgia. Characters are believable and the story is hard to put down.
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| Plum Island
| by Nelson DeMille
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The character of John Corey was wonderful---I enjoyed the was he slipped into his "hard-boiled" manner of speech. The plot had lots of twists and turns with a red herring or two. Believable characters.
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| Nasty Breaks
| by Charlotte and Aaron Elkins
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Even if you do not know a lot about golf, this murder mystery in a remote resort is intriguing and fun. Sudden treasure plays a part as well as an accidental death during a drive. Interesting characters and the lead (Lee Ofsted) is witty and clever. Along with her friend Peg, they sort through a seemingly impossible tangle of clues and suspicions. Great book!
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| Case of the Hook-Billed Kites
| by J.S. Bortwick
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Set in South Texas, a rugged and fairly exotic locale, this is a murder mystery with plenty of odd characters, local color and a heroine of the intelligent, feisty, independent mold, who will not allow herself to be bowled over by an absolutely perfect, available man. Light, moderately absorbing, not particularly fast-moving.
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| Jane and the Unpleasantness of Scargrove Manor
| by Stephanie Barron
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Since Jane Austen is the heroine and detective in this new series, you really need an affection for and some familiarity with her novels and the period in history known as the Regency in England. This strikes a very accurate period note, with helpful historical details thrown in. As expected, Jane is a witty, intelligent and a courageous character, like her typical heroine. Sedate...
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| The Mrs. Pollifax Series
| by Dorothy Gillman
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These American style cozies are similar to the Murder, She Wrote television series. Mrs. Pollifax is Jessica Fletcher reincarnated, as interested in her geraniums and garden club in New England as she is in her job as part-time CIA agent. Fun, predictable and cozy.
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| The Thief of Time
| by Tony Hillerman
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I was struck by Hillerman's sense of place in this book. He makes me want to visit the Four Corner States and learn more about the Anasazi Indians. His plot line kept me guessing---not nearly as predictable as some.
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| Deep End
| by Geoffrey Norman
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Set in the steamy Florida Panhandle, along the Gulf coast. Morgan Hunt is an ex-con turned part-time PI who helps to unravel the mysterious disappearance of a scuba-diving friend. Brave, hunky, sensitive and honest, Hunt also dabbles in the futures market and attends to a sultry love interest. Hard-boiled character with lots of heart.
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| Face Down in the Marrow-Bone Pie
| by Kathy Lynn Emerson
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Set in Elizabethan England and Europe. A strong female lead character who takes every advantage to get leverage in a man's world, Lady Susanna Appleton is smart and likable. In a secondary plot we follow her husband, who is an emissary/spy for Queen Elizabeth I on a delicate mission to France. The relationship between Susanna and her husband is interesting and unusual.
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| Dirge for a Doge
| by Elizabeth Eyre
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Gives an eyes-wide-open view of Renaissance Venice. Complex plotting and political intrigue add dimension to the murder mystery which calm, cool-headed Sigismondo is hired to solve. Fun characters abound in this book. Sigismondo's servant Benno and one-eared dog Biodello not only lighten the story, they steal your heart.
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| The Cat Who Sang for the Birds
| by Lillian Jackson Braun
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Qwill and his two cats, KoKo and YumYum are on the trail of yet another mystery in Moose Country, 400 miles north of everywhere. Fire had taken the life of the Widow Coggin, and Quill is determined to discover who might have been responsible for the blaze.
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| Cereal Murders
| by Diane Mott Davidson
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Goldy Bear, a caterer in Aspen Meadow, Colorado, had been hired to cater a dinner at the exclusive Elk Park Prep School. She stumbles upon the battered and snow covered body of Keith Andrews, the school valedictorian. Goldy is determined to discover who would want to kill Keith.
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| A Dying Light in Corduba
| by Lindsay Davis
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Falco, a Roman sleuth, becomes involved in a palace investigation that takes him and the lovely Helena, his very pregnant girl friend, to the Iberian Peninsula. They discover an ever growing scandal regarding the olive trade, a scattering of bodies along the trail and a very dangerous killer.
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| Angel's Gate
| by Gary Crew
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Contemporary mystery set in Australia. Lots of outback scenery...interesting look into the lives of a rural doctor and his family... A miner is murdered and the trial fails to convict the suspects. Several months later, the miner's feral daughter is captured and housed with the local doctor. The murderer is after the miner's daughter, suspecting that she witnessed the crime. Much suspense accompanies the mystery of who the actual murderer was and when he/she will strike again.
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| Touch Not the Cat
| by Mary Stewart
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Contemporary suspense set in rural England among the upper class. Lots of atmosphere...unexpected romance...class struggles...crime solved by an amateur. A member of the landed gentry dies after a car accident. He has left messages to a daughter, which are cryptic but contain a warning. She has inherited the ability to communicate with the dead, especially family members. Her search for her lover causes her to stumble upon knowledge of her father's murderer. She must reveal the truth before her own life is lost.
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| The Lucifer Contract
| by Maan Myers
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Manhattan of 1864, is the setting of a Confederate plot to burn this Yankee town. Runaway slaves, theatergoers, crippled veterans, even John Wilkes Booth appear in this tale of greed and political intrigue. Young newspaper man Pete Tonnemann must solve a series of murders in this fifth of a series which chronicle the lives of the fascinating, wonderful Tonnemann family of Old New York. A good series for early American mystery lovers.
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| The Beekeeper's Apprentice
| by Laurie R. King
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Young, intelligent Mary Russell meets an aging Sherlock Holmes in this tale of murder and mystery. Their friendship blossoms as they match wits in attempting to thwart a most clever and dangerous adversary. Set in early twentieth century England, this unique coming-of-age story reveals the life of a very interesting and appealing woman. (First in the series)
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| Thrones, Dominations
| by Jill Paton Walsh
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For Dorothy L. Sayre fans, this final book in the Lord Peter-Harriet Vane series is a must read. Jill Paton Walsh has created an intriguing murder mystery carefully constructed from Sayre's own notes. Sharp, intelligent dialogue, strong, complex characters and a great plot are all there. Some thought-provoking conversations also add a rich dimension to this tale.
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| Quaker Silence
| by Irene Allen
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Senior sleuth Elizabeth Elliott travels on a plane for the first time to visit her old college roommate in Seattle. Soon after their friendship is renewed, Reba Nichols is found murdered. She had been collecting data on the government's contamination of local lands and was threatening to publish her findings. A gentle Bostonian, Elizabeth is a stranger in this land but her conscience compels her to solve the shocking murder of her dear friend. A clever story with a twist. Not too fast paced.
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| Sudden Mischief
| by Robert Parker
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| In this new Spenser and Hawk series, Spenser's lady love has enlisted his aid to help her ex-husband, Brad Sterling a successful business man, accused of sexual harassment while running a fund raiser. Though Brad denies the charges, he soon disappears and a body is discovered. Fast paced, with lots of clever, sparkling dialogue, this latest of the Spenser series presents an engrossing story with some interesting digressions on justice, love and morality.
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This list was prepared by the St. Charles Public Library, May 1998.
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