Mysteries for the Summer Reader, 2015

That Stack Of Books with Nancy Pearl and Steve Scher - The House of Podcasts

For some readers, the love of mysteries started with Nancy Drew.

Here are some suggestions for mystery readers from Nancy Pearl and the folks around the table at the Bryant Corner Cafe.

Nancy Pearl says her enjoyment of mysteries is limited by some wince-worthy writing. But she avoids those writers.

The books Nancy recommended and some suggestions from the rest of us around the table at The Bryant Corner Café, 32nd and 65th in the Bryant neighborhood in Seattle.

We will be there next Tuesday, June 2nd at 3:15. Drop on by.

William McIlvanney, The Laidlaw Trilogy

McIlvanney was the founder of what’s now being called Scottish Noir, and inspired writers Denise Mina, Val McDermid, Ian Rankin

Israeli novelist Batya Gur and her Michael Ohayon series

Tana French, Dublin Murder Squad series

The authors of the sub genre, mediaeval mysteries (suggested by Judy)

Ellis Peters

Margaret Fraser

C.J. Sansome

Henning Mankell, Inspector Wallander series (suggested by Bill, though sometimes a little to gruesome for Nancy)

Sue Grafton, Kinsey Milhone (we are up to X in the alphabet.)

Faye Kellerman, (a few books featuring the Orthodox Jewish Rina Lazarus and police detective Peter Decker. These were a favorite of Nancy’s father.)

Peter Temple (we can’t leave a mystery discussion without Nancy touting the Australian writer and the book, “The Broken Shore.)

H. R. F Keating, Inspector Ghote series.

Rose liked S.J. Gazan, The Dinosaur Feather

Robin likes Alexander Mccall Smith, The No 1 Ladies Detective Agency. (Though Nancy finds them less mysteries than character driven stories. She isn’t sure they even belong in the mystery section and are an example of why she chaffs at putting books into different categories. )

Judy calls out Sherlock Holmes for re-reading. Nancy calls for Agatha Christie, even if, as she says, all the characters are just collections of ticks.

For good mysteries with Roman themes, Keith enjoys the Flavia Alba mysteries by Lindsey Davis

For good writing and good mysteries with contemporary themes, Nancy recommends Walter Mosley and his Easy Rawlins series.

Donna Leon’s Inspector Brunetti series and Andrea Camilleri’s Inspector Montalbano series are Steve’s favorites. Also, he suggests Pierre Magnan, “Death in the Truffle Woods.” Of course that takes us to Martin Walker’s Bruno, Chief of Police novels, also set in France.

We mentioned that Soho Press has a Soho Crime imprint of interesting translated foreign mysteries. Also, here is a page from Dartmouth College that list mysteries from other lands. Other than the U.S. that is.

What are your favorite mysteries by non-American writers? Share some titles with us, so we can read the mysteries folks across the world enjoy.