Weekly Reading Round-Up
Do you ever find you go through reading cycles? This week has been heavy on the mystery novels for me:
— Bad Girl, Michele Jaffe.
I love Michele’s Renaissance-set historical romances, but this book, a contemporary crime thriller, is my absolute favorite. I’ve read it at least five times, and it never gets old for me, even though I very clearly know by now who dunnit.
— Behold, Here’s Poison, Georgette Heyer.
We all know that Georgette Heyer was the mother of the modern Regency romance genre, but did you know that she also wrote Golden Age whodunnits? Just like the Regencies, they have her classic wit and zany side characters.
— The Laughter of Dead Kings, Elizabeth Peters.
Elizabeth Peters is, hands down, my favorite mystery novelist. I’d been waiting a very long time for this last novel in my favorite series by my favorite author. For those who haven’t read the Vicky Bliss novels before, start with Borrower of the Night and work your way up. My absolute favorite is still The Night Train to Memphis. Ah, Schmidt.
— The Count, Helena Dela.
A mystery/romance with a supernatural twist and a very Elizabeth Peters-esque feel to the prose. Another old favorite of mine.
— The Dubious Miss Dalrymple, Kasey Michaels.
Following the mystery/Regency theme, this is a light, Regency-set romance with a bit of a mystery to it. For those new to Kasey Michaels, I’d recommend her Maggie series (modern mysteries with a Regency twist) or her wickedly funny Regency, The Butler Did It.
What have you been reading this week?
I adore the Vicky Bliss novels. I’ve read my copy of Night Train to Memphis so many times the book is starting to fall apart. 🙂
My absolute favorite mystery writer is Donna Leon. Her detective series stars Commissario Guido Brunetti. A very perceptive detective and warmhearted family man who lives in Venice, Itlay. We get a wonderful picture of life in Venice along with a great mystery. Her 19th book in this series comes out this winter. You’ll fall in love with Commissario Brunetti..
I just finished Soulless by Gail Carriger, all lot of fun Victorian Vampire high-jinks ensue.
I love historical mysteries! Especially if they are cozy. If you’d like to step away from the Regency-era and bounce into the Victorian Era, Robin Paige’s Victorian mysteries are well crafted and riddled with real-life historical figures. Not to mention American woman plopped right into Britain’s upper class. Wish I had those books on my Kindle now that I think about it!
I just finished a great hard sci-fi series called “A Time’s Odyssey” by Arthur C. Clarke and Steven Baxter. Really makes you think about the history of mankind on a cosmic scale. It’s also quite fun to stretch the brain cells out the other direction.
I’ve also been reading Soulless by Gail Carriger. I’ve really been enjoying it, especially the parasol, her use of it reminds me of Amelia Peabody, from another series by Elizabeth Peters.
I am a recent fan of Dorothy L Sayers… love the banter between the strong female characters and their male foils! Also love Tasha Alxeander’s “And Only to Deceive.” But my all-time fav mystery author is Laurie R King… her feminist protaganist puts even Sherlock Holmes in his place 🙂
I’ve just finished Her Fearful Symmetry, by Audrey Niffenegger. It’s not a mystery per se, but it is a ghost story. I literally could not put it down once I started the third part and stayed up until 1 AM finishing it.
I just finished the last (sob!) in the Maggie Kelly series. I know it’s futile, but I still hope for one more. And one more after that and yet another….Maggie is a delightful mass of human strengths and flaws and to see a Regency Hero through the eyes of a modern woman who is driven crazy by his, shall we say, self-confidence? is too funny. (I’ll never read Heyer with the same eyes again.)
I’ve never read The Butler Did It and will pick it up asap. It sounds like a riot!