Louise Penny and the Armand Gamache series.

       I am a reader of what one might say compulsion. It's frankly exciting and at the same time frustrating. When I find an author who totally entrances me I tend to jump right in and read every single one of their novels back to back. Great for me in the beginning but the time comes when I have read every book they have written and then await impatiently their next novel. I can read a series in a month or less and obviously authors do not write that quickly, nor should they. As I wrote in a previous blog, Louise Penny and her series of mysteries set mostly in Three  Pines, Canada  with the erudite and sartorial Armand Gamache as the main protagonist have become my newest addiction. I honestly can not get enough of these books. They are so well written as to almost be unbelievable. So many authors today punch out best sellers that are neither well researched nor well written. Louise Penny, in her writing, has resisted the tendency to pen tales based solely on the idea of making money and cashing in on a literary trend. Her novels are so intricate with their poetry, knowledge of the art world, Canadian history and character development that each one when finished just makes the reader want to jump into the next book. This is a rare ability. Only a few modern authors accomplish this, a few being Dana Stabenow, Nevada Barr, James Lee Burke and Laura Lippman. There is nothing better than discovering a new author and I would urge everyone who appreciates a well written mystery with engaging characters to immediately buy Louise Penny's books.

Louise Penny and the Armand Gamache series.

  I have been working on this review for several weeks. I cannot seem to get it right,perhaps because I have been sick with pneumonia or perhaps because I have been so impressed with the authors writing and plots that I am speechless.                                                                                      
  I have been reading mysteries since I was a small child; Missing Melinda, being my first real foray into the genre and in the ensuing years I have read thousands and thousands of mystery novels. I have read the good, the bad, the horrendous and the books that fall somewhere in between. This, in short means I most usually know "whodunit" long before the final pages. It makes for a very boring and "I knew it" finale.                                                                                                          
 Louise Penny has finally given the reader a finely crafted mystery with entrancing characters and a plethora of red herrings. It actually took me quite a long time to figure out "whodunit" and though I had guessed correctly before the final chapter it actually did not matter. Her interweaving of various disparate plot lines and her spot on knowledge of art and artists makes every page a gem of excellent writing and in-depth research.
  Her protagonist is sympathetic, believable and slightly flawed (but in a good way) and the characters that inhabit Three Pines are ones you want to know.                                                                            
  I resisted reading Ms. Penny's novels because of the twee covers and the not very well written synopses of her books. I am so glad I overcame my reservations. I  think her writing will one day be afforded the same respect as Dame Agatha Christie. High praise indeed. And earned.

There are writers and there are authors and sometimes Great Story tellers

     Most often we read for entertainment, an escape from our lives, other times we read for enlightenment, wisdom and to add to our knowledge of this vast universe we consider ours. Sometimes we are gifted with all of these things by the efforts of one writer. Those are the books that transcend all genres, that transport the reader to a most singular place, the place in which we dwell long after the last page is read and the book set on the shelf.
    James Lee Burke is probably the most gifted writer alive today. J. Franzen and co. may receive the accolades by the Mainstream Press and the "Oh so Arty" literary pundits and their magazines but in all honesty none of the "Enfant terribles" of the literary world today can hold a candle to J.L. Burke. Mr. Burke may be an older man, a man looking at the end of his journey, rather than taking those first steps, but his prose, his poetry and his way with words are always fresh, new and at the same time as old as the greatest of the Greek and Roman poets.
     I am now reading FEAST DAY OF FOOLS, a Hackberry Holland tale as opposed to a Dave Robicheaux and Clete Purcel novel. It really makes no difference; one falls into the writing and the ambience and becomes immersed in a world so deftly wrought that everything else fades as a chimera and once again the reader is so totally enrapt in the novel that absolutely nothing else is of import.

THE HUNGER GAMES by Suzanne Collins

      Let me start by saying this is NOT a book review. This is more of a commentary on an uber-popular series and the fact that I just don't get it.
      After reading two of the finest books recently published; ONCE UPON A RIVER by Bonnie Jo Campbell and STATE OF WONDER by Ann Patchett I aimed to take a break from losing myself so completely in a book that I could barely breathe after finishing it/them so I decided to tackle this series that has taken the book world by storm. Maybe I am  merely a woman of "un certain age" or perhaps I am just too damn picky, I don't know. I do know that a book of only 250 plus pages should have been finished by now. I just don't have the wherewithal to be excited about this novel. I get it, I get the premise and the authors attempt to make a commentary about modern society; Reality TV shows, the great sucking maw that is professional sports and our fascination with watching people  implode publicly and with great fanfare. Yet as I am attempting to read this book the one thing that keeps running through my mind is ANIMAL FARM by George Orwell. I keep comparing this book to that seminal novel and in finding similarities and correlations I am continuously left feeling that this book is covering old ground and not introducing anything new or relevant.
      I am going to guess that this series is so popular today only because ANIMAL FARM may feel dated to younger readers. However, when in sixty years they compile a list of classics I am going to guess THE HUNGER GAMES and it's sequels will not make the cut.

daphnesbooks: ONCE UPON A RIVER by Bonnie Jo Campbell

daphnesbooks: ONCE UPON A RIVER by Bonnie Jo Campbell: ONCE UPON A RIVER is probably the best book I have read recently. To put this in perspective I can often read ten books a week. Yes, a...

ONCE UPON A RIVER by Bonnie Jo Campbell

      ONCE UPON A RIVER is probably the best book I have read recently. To put this in perspective I can often read ten books a week. Yes, a week. So there you have it.
      ONCE UPON A RIVER is a perfectly and poetically rendered tale of 15 year old Margo Crane and her life on the the Stark River in Michigan.
      Margo Crane, a flawed and courageous young girl takes to the river after a series of horrible and violent events unfold around her. Lost and alone she finds comfort and salvation in taking her Grandpa's teak rowboat far away from the life she knows. With her rifle and her wits and her beauty she embarks on a journey that transforms her in so many ways.
     Many readers might find her unlikable in the beginning, as did I, but with continued reading one begins to understand and empathize with her and develop a relationship with Margo that far outstrips any preconceived notions of her
 character. I believe this is  at the heart of what Ms. Campbell is getting to; we don't really know someone until we can understand their life and their decisions and that we should never judge nor condemn anyone until we know their complete story.
        Lyrically, this book sings with every bird that flies overhead, every frog and muskrat and turtle that lives on the river banks. Every fish. every raccoon and every deer are given their voice in this book. Even the puffball mushroom and the fiddlehead ferns are given their due.
        I am not what you would call a "nature girl"; I don't hunt, I don't wander the woods and I only fly fish as an art (to catch and release) and I have never once
 shot a deer. I have never wanted to become that girl, it's not in my DNA. However ONCE UPON A RIVER  made me wish I was more in touch with the natural world, that I could in fact move through rivers and forests and fields and that I could live truly and honestly off the land.
      ONCE UPON A RIVER takes the  reader on an incredible journey; one that it is heartbreakingly brutal  and at the same time, gloriously wonderful and beautiful. Just like a river.

STATE OF WONDER by Ann Patchett

   Transportation. Noun. The act of conveying or the process of being conveyed.
    STATE OF WONDER involves the absolute transportation of the reader. This book is a good book, it might even be considered a "Great book" by critics and readers alike. It, however, is not an easy book. Ann Patchett  writes so lyrically and expressively that one truly enters the fecundity of the Amazon jungle. You totally experience every drop of sweat, every malarial mosquito and every vine that wraps itself around your body. It is not easy in that while it is hard to put down one needs a respite from the emotion and the twisted plot that twines around you like the anaconda. Honestly, perhaps this novel is too well written. I had to read it in segments, it was so evocative that I needed a break in order to return to reality. While reading this book I was totally transported; I breathed the moist and humid air of Brazil, felt as though, I too, was taking a boat into the jungle and that I was part and parcel of the Lakashi tribe.
   This is definitely not a book for those who wish merely to be entertained in a sort of light and temporary divergence from ones normal life. STATE OF WONDER is truly a wonder in it's depth, it's absolute ability to transport the reader to a wholly different existence and mindset.
    I would give this novel  a very high rating yet I give it with a disclaimer and warning. Do not attempt to read this book unless you are totally willing to fall into a very different world. There's no going back.

CONQUISTADORA by Esmeralda Santiago

   I really, really, really wanted to love this book. It just sounded so damn interesting and received so many great reviews. (Note to self: never take a review at face value when it is written in the same magazine that gives rave reviews to Snooki, Tara Reid, Tori Spelling et al and their "memoirs".)          
   The premise and idea of this novel is so intriguing; a wonderful history of Puerto Rico and its inhabitants, from the natives to the conquerers and to their subsequent offspring. It had all the qualities and machinations to make an outstanding work of historical fiction.  The characters and the rich sensory images of Puerto Rico and San Juan could have been woven to create a masterpiece. Sadly it did not.
   I know it has been likened to GWTW but it nowhere near came close to drawing me into the narrative. Most of the main characters had few empathetic traits and the characters that were worthy of the readers sympathy were glossed over and their stories incomplete.
   I am not saying that this is a bad book nor a poorly written one, it is not. But I do want to place a huge CAVEAT EMPTOR  upon it. If you are looking for a truly excellent work of Latin American fiction read WAITING FOR SNOW IN HAVANA. If you want to be mildly entertained and are not too picky about character development and originality of plot then you would enjoy this book.

THE KILLING SONG by P.J. Parrish

    I am going to make this review fairly short and sweet. Suffice it to say that after the first several paragraphs I will never ever look at a cellist the same. The opening paragraphs are so evocative and creepy that  the reader, in this case moi, is totally unable to put the book down.
   The Killing Song is what they call in the business a "Stand Alone" which has become quite popular with mystery novelists as of late. There are authors that can write "stand alone's" and those that cannot. The team of two very talented sisters that comprise the nom de plume of P.J. Parrish most definitely can and did pen a very exciting novel. As a huge fan of their main protagonist, Louis Kinkaid, the African-American P.I. living in Florida after a stint as a police officer in Michigan, I was somewhat hesitant to read this book. I mean, you get to know an author/s and develop an empathy and relationship with their central characters and then they send their readers a curve ball and write a "stand alone". This book was definitely a "home run" using the vernacular of baseball once again. I read this book in one sitting; staying up late into the night to finish it. While there are  few missteps in character development and what I thought was an unnecessary desire to imbue a monster with a sense of pathos (my only complaint) the story moves along with a deftness, a soupcon of the Gothic tradition , i.e. Wilke Collins and Daphne DuMaurier, and absolutely riveting descriptions of a Paris most people never will encounter. As one who has spent time in Paris, and it's never enough time, this made me wish so very much I could just hop on a plane and return to the Most Beautiful City in the World.
     If you are a reader who appreciates well-researched books with a sense of place and an unerring ear for detail along with a crackerjack plot this book needs to be on your list of "Must Reads".

Rules of Civility by Amor Towles

      Suffice it to say I read this book in twenty-four hours. I honestly felt like I had fallen down the proverbial Rabbit Hole and ended up back in Prep School. Granted the novel takes place in the 1930's in Manhattan, but the characters were interchangeable with those with whom I grew up. Delightful, frightening and oh so observant of the "Social Class", Mr. Towles hits the wicket with extreme ease. Part F.S. Fitzgerald, part Edith Wharton, Amor Towles rolicks the reader into the High Society that was New York  after the Crash. Characters are oh-so flawed, oh-so perfect and oh-so relevant in today's culture of "reality shows", economic uncertainty and the attitudes of those "Titans of Industry "and "Hedge Fund Wizards"  towards rest of us who cannot afford eight hundred dollar Christian Louboutins  and Hermes Birkin bags. I went to school with these people, I saw their insouciance to the world around them, unless of course it was a black tie benefit to attend. There, the men in their tuxes with inherited cufflinks and shirt studs and the women in their understated diamonds and pearls wearing perfectly fitted gowns with a mere hint of decollete  could drink wine, eat canapes and pretend that the money they were raising for some far-flung charity was more than what the  actual event with it's heavy linens, top shelf liquor and imported floral centerpieces cost. This is the world that Amor Towles creates in his fascinating and spot on depiction of Society in the 30's. His gift for understanding and dissecting this higher stratosphere is akin to the late great Domminic Dunne who wrote searing but ultimately entertaining stories of the upper class in the later part of the twentieth century; their foibles, downfalls and highlights. Although Rules of Civility is relatively short in terms of a novel it is packed full of wonderful prose, great characterizations and a spot on dissection of Society. In short, read this book.

J.K. Rowling

     I am re-reading the entire Harry Potter series. Yes, I read them all when they were first published and yes my child grew up with Harry, Ron and Hermione. As most of us are aware, J.K. Rowling  has garnered oodles of awards, money beyond belief and recognition from Her Royal Highness, Queen Elizabeth  . The movie adaptations of her novels have blown away all expectations for opening weekend profits in Hollywood. Harry Potter, his friends, enemies and the stories they inhabit have become an International phenomena. That being said I am surprised that so many people  have not read the books. They haven't read them because they "don't have kids", "saw the movie"...etc.etc..... I  think this lack is a travesty; excellent writing is excellent writing regardless of whether the story line is aimed at children, teens or adults. I read so many books; some I forget immediately upon finishing, others stay with me  and then there are the few that I want to read again and again. The great and grand Harry Potter oeuvre is one that should be read over and over and everyone, whether they have children or not, should own the complete series. This is literature that should be an integral part of every bibliophiles library and that begs to be read every year.

COUNTY LINE by Bill Cameron

So here's the deal. I am an addicted NOOK owner. Yeah, I know for many bibliophiles this is like admitting you break spines and dog ear books. I get it. It's a brand new frontier for those of us who have spent thousands of dollars collecting books, making bookshelves out of books, filling rooms floor to ceiling with books until they take over our entire home. I have lived my entire life with books in every room so the transition to a NOOK was not done without a bit of trepidation. Now I am a NOOK BOOK nut. I get such a kick out of adding to my library with a mere click or two of a button or whathaveyou. Anyway, back to the book COUNTY LINE.
       Normally I do not read "Noir" but it was my free friday NOOK book selection and as a reader with a limited budget I downloaded it to give it a whirl. (After all, if I didn't like it, it was free right?) Who among us can pass up a free book? Not me.
       The first few chapters I was thinking I was so not going to like this book; there was no back story so I could not sympathize with the protagonist and I didn't "get" him or the plot. It was as though I had been dropped into the third or second book of a series without any understanding of the characters and their histories. But I persevered. Man, am I glad I did. Into the second third of the book I was hooked;couldn't put it down. When I finished the book I knew I would be adding this author to my list of those to follow. I will definitely read more of Bill Cameron's books and maybe I'll even find out why Skin Kadash is called "Skin" and how he came to be so battered, bruised and tortured.

LONG GONE by Alafair Burke

        Well, I finished LONG GONE today. So the dog didn't get walked and I actually used a crock pot to make meals, a first for me. As I had written in a previous post about this novel I was only a few pages in and already loving it. Ms. Burke did not fail to impress; the book continued without a misstep in a tightly plotted tale of suspense. Some authors start out with a bang and draw you in only to leave you feeling letdown in the middle or the end. Alafair Burke kept her writing flowing and there were no valleys of what I call lazy writing. The characters continued to evolve and develop nicely with no cookie cutter characterizations or stock players. As the novel progressed the various plotlines and stories began to tie up together to create tension and cohesiveness. Ms. Burke did not tie all the threads into a nice little bow but rather an amazing Gordian knot that was truly a feat of literary acumen. I, who reads so, so many mysteries and can usually figure out whodunit long before the denouement was still chasing red herrings until the end. That is a sure sign the author has written an excellent book. This is Alafair Burke's most well crafted novel to date and I am looking forward to many more by this very talented author.

LONG GONE by Alafair Burke

         As a very, very picky reader and as someone who reads many,many books and who tends to be a tad bit more critical in my reviews than most book reviewers I have something to say about this novel.
        I am on page 48 and honestly I cannot find one thing to complain about. This is probably a perfect book. Perfect in that the characters, diverse though they may be, and seemingly un-connected, make sense even before the Plot, capital letters, is revealed. Ms. Burke has managed to take several threads of a  story/mystery and weave them together seamlessly and pique one's interest without being obvious and or cliched in regards to the inevitable blending of story lines. Too many of today's authors attempt this; introducing  various characters and then tying them all together in an easy bow. I have a suspicion that Ms. Burke will not fall into the "easy, oh now I get it " category. As I mentioned I am only on page 48 of a 334 page novel and yet I can easily say this is most likely one of the best Suspense/mystery novels I have read in months.   Having said that I would like to point out that I usually read close to 35 books a month depending on the weather and the circumstances.
         LONG GONE is probably the best novel Alafair Burke has written to date. If she keeps putting out such excellent prose I think that the Burke dynasty will continue for many, many years.

A DISCOVERY OF WITCHES and the lassitude of lazy writing.

       As I mentioned in yesterday's blog posting I was  conflicted about this HUGELY popular book; the first in a trilogy. Ok, I get it already, Vampires are "sexy" and a hot commodity in the publishing world. Could we please, please get over it ??????? I fell asleep last night while reading this book. Not because I stayed up until all hours reading it but because it lost my attention and I found myself drifting off into my own imaginary world. This does not bode well for the next two installments in the trilogy. If Ms. Harkness does not return to the actual plotline soon and quit with the soft-porn/ vampire related sexually driven pages of treacle and cliches I shall so not be interested in reading her next two books. I feel like she's unsure whether to appeal to the teen-aged market (The Twilight Series) or if she wants to write a well-crafted book for adults. It's very confusing. I don't like what I consider lazy writing but to others who enjoy romance and sexual tension perhaps this is a book for them.

So I capitulated..........

  Disclaimer: This is not a book review. This is a "book in progress" update.
      Against my better judgment and my disdain for those writers who have jumped on the Vampire bandwagon (Stephanie Meyers you have a lot to answer for) I have started reading A DISCOVERY OF WITCHES by Deborah Harkness. No longer could I ignore the rave reviews this novel has received so I am now reading it and am about half way through. I don't know if this qualifies as "popular fiction" or romance; it is a mixture of both. So far I have enjoyed the historical elements of the book but midpoint I am seeing (to me) way too many cliches and too many pages spent on sexual tension, heavy breathing, ad nauseum. I will be curious to see if the book re-captures my attention as it did with the well researched historical parts earlier on. Personally I blame the TWILIGHT series for the dumbing down of popular literature over the past few years. Even Meg Talbot has jumped on the supernatural bandwagon. Baaaaaahh! If anyone really wants to read the best modern vampire tale (other than Bram Stoker's classic) one should read Anne Rice's INTERVIEW WITH A VAMPIRE. (Please, if you do read it erase that hideous movie with old whatshisname from your mind first.) The book far outweighs the movie and any other Vampire themed series that has come after it.

When life gets a little bit nuts.

    When life gets a tad crazy and stressful sometimes we turn inwards or escape into books that  while entertaining may not be of the highest literary calibre. While I do not dismiss these novels as being trivial or poorly written I will say that the several I have read over the past few months  tend to become muddled and mixed up in my mind. Entertainment, certainly, great and powerful literature, no. First off I will say that I finally read THE DRESS LODGER by Sheri Holman. I know it received outstanding reviews when first published but frankly, after the first 150 pages I was underwhelmed. The premise of the book is fascinating, the actual delivery, not so much. I cannot in good consciousness recommend this book to anyone, save those who wish to plod through the muck and miasma of a plague-filled history of England and her less than likable denizens.I also read two books by Sarah Addison Allen: THE PEACH KEEPER and GARDEN SPELLS. Honestly I cannot differentiate from either of them; they were that similar. I know I enjoyed them but trying to critique them separately is like trying to figure out which shoe goes on which foot when you're in pre-school. It is nigh on impossible. I also read THE FORGOTTEN GARDEN by Kate Morton. Her writing and her plot is very similar to one of S.A.A's books (don't remember which.....SIGH......) but I kind of remember it as being better written. Who knows. I am sure there are many many people who would absolutely love these books and their protagonists but when I read I prefer to encounter a plot, a storyline and characters that stay with me well after I have finished the book. The novels I have mentioned here all tend to fall into what I would call the  "Chinese food" category: tasty and delicious but after several hours one is hungry and has forgotten what one has eaten.

BONE HOUSE by Brian Freeman

  It took me longer than usual to read this book due to circumstances that left me with very little time to read. BONE HOUSE is a "Stand Alone" novel as they say in the business of publishing. Mr. Freeman's protagonist, Jonathan Stride, plays no part in this mystery. Unlike many novelists who write an occasional "Stand Alone" novel within their genre, there is no link or mention to his series or characters therein. I found this very admirable while somewhat sad as I kept hoping for at least a cameo role for his well-loved hero.

   BONE HOUSE is at times very well-written, other times,not so much. Occasionally I felt as if the author was "dialing in" the dialogue and descriptions and losing the thread of the plot. The characters are,for the most part, fleshed out to a good degree. While I generally enjoyed this book I was a bit frustrated that I had figured out  "whodonit" long before the book was finished. I would definitely recommend Brian Freeman's books. I would recommend BONE HOUSE despite it's lapses in constructing a more difficult plotline. I would guess the majority of people,who do not read and study plots as I am prone to do,would very much enjoy this book.

 It has been several weeks of mind-numbing and back breaking work as I am preparing to move in two weeks. Downsizing by 3,000 square feet so my review is probably not as detailed as it should be. I will,in my next review, be writing about a novel not in the traditional Mystery genre.

MIND SCRAMBLER by Chris Grabenstein

    This novel by the very talented Chris Grabenstein was somewhat disappointing. His previous mysteries featuring John Ceepak and Danny Boyle have taken place in Sea Haven, New Jersey while this one sent them out of their (and the author's ) comfort zone to Atlantic City. This book was a little less tongue-in-cheek and the plot line was entirely too dark for the characters I have come to know. I felt like the author could not decide from one chapter to the next whether he was trying to write in his usual vein or if he was trying to delve into a deeper,more complex and disturbing social issue. Frankly, it did not work. For me, it was patently obvious fairly early on who the the "bad guys", murderers, and criminals were. The red herrings,as they say in the mystery writing world, were anything but; the smoke and mirrors used by the characters were as see through as saran wrap. While I would highly recommend Mr. Grabenstein's books to everyone this one fell far short of the mark. It just did not captivate me and I had a difficult time finishing it. I am going to give this book a "MEH" rating. Read his other books, you will not be disappointed.

NIGHT ROAD by Kristin Hannah

I am veering from my usual mystery reviews to critique a novel by the very talented Kristin Hannah. This novel blew me away. I have read several of Ms. Hannah's books and have enjoyed them all as women's lit. I  liked her previous novels, recommended them to my daughter and her friends, and then sort of thought of them as a nice interlude to other books on my list. However, NIGHT ROAD goes way beyond that; it is remarkable in that I still think about this book days after I finished reading it. It sort of hangs about you, a spectre of a very well crafted novel with so very much to say. NIGHT ROAD delves into very modern issues, does not shy away from them, but does so without preaching which I found refreshing. Her characters are sympathetic  without being treacly. They too, at times, are exasperating, unlikable and extremely flawed. Her characters in this book are no "cookie cutter" one dimensional  protagonists or antagonists. This is what I find so compelling about this book. It does not rely on traditional Women's Lit (not to be confused with Chick Lit), development and sympathetic, tissue soaking to be the backbone of the story. This is not a Kristin Hannah for those who want only roses and perfume and sweet moments on a moonlit beach. I would highly recommend this to anyone who likes a well-written, dare I say it, Women's Novel, who also does not like the dumbing down and sappiness of so much of the genre.

New Author Discovered Recently.

I am always excited when I discover an author previously unknown to me,especially if they have a series. It gives me the wonderful opportunity of meeting new characters and with every subsequent novel watch them evolve into full-fleshed  beings. Recently I discovered, via the Stillwater Public Library, Chris Grabenstein and his wonderful mysteries. Mr. Grabenstein's novels take place on the very picturesque and quirky Jersey Shore. (Absolutely no relation to the inane TV show of the same name.) The stories take place on or around the boardwalk and the titles are named after rides; TILT A WHIRL, ROLLING THUNDER, MAD MOUSE, etc.etc.. The two main protagonists, John Ceepak and Danny Boyle , are likable and endearing. There is a hint of Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin  in their character personalities. I also found a little bit of Bertie Wooster in Danny's personality. Danny Boyle acts as the narrator and foil to the somewhat tightly wound John Ceepak, a veteran of the Afghanistan and Iraq wars. The plots are very well thought out and tightly woven, something many mysteries do not have in today's over saturation of the genre. Mr. Grabenstein's mystery novels would appeal to those who like a tightly crafted plot, a generous dose of humor and characters one wants to get to know better. I so enjoyed these books, I ended up reading all of them within a 10 day time span. They are that good and that addicting. I would highly recommend this author and his series to anyone who likes a good yarn and well-developed characters. Start with TILT A WHIRL as it is first in the series.

Mystery Authors and their series.

As a great reader of mysteries from an early age I have come across in my reading many,many authors of the Genre. Some are great, some are good and some should just be forgotten. I have several favorite authors and I am going to hopefully encourage my readers to check out a few of them. I have three particular authors whose books I re-read every year as a sort of comfort,return to old friends and a winter tradition. I am not a huge fan of "Cozy's" so these writers would also interest readers of the male persuasion. The three best,dare I say great authors alive today who write mysteries are Dana Stabenow, Nevada Barr and James Lee Burke.  All three have strong protagonists with great back stories and the characters are so "fleshed out" and dimensional that they come alive and spring forth as the snakes did from Medusa's head. Each author also thoroughly knows the place and the history in which their character resides it's as if one were standing in the midst of the story. Descriptions are so very lyrical, detailed and evocative  that the reader (me) falls right into the book/s and does not come up for air until the last page is read.  Thankfully all three of the aforementioned authors are still alive which ensures that they will continue writing for the foreseeable future.  If you are a fan of a tightly written mystery with great characters,location,depth in writing and a well thought out plot these three writers should be at the top of your list.

THOUGH NOT DEAD by Dana Stabenow

Critiquing a book that one has read on an E-Reader, in my case a NOOK, is a very different animal than writing a review on a hardback or paperback. Let me be clear, I love my NOOK but have yet to figure out how to "bookmark", "notate" or generally return to pages in which I wish to point out a discrepancy or favorite passage. THOUGH NOT DEAD by Dana Stabenow once again reeled me into the history of Alaska and the lives of Ms. Stabenow's most beloved and irascible characters. Her attention to detail and obvious love for Alaska is patently obvious  in her latest Kate Shugak mystery. However, I found this novel a bit disjointed at times and I felt that there were too many loose ends that did not get tied together at the end of the book. Make no mistake, Dana Stabenow is one of the best mystery writers today. Perhaps it was because I found several errors,(she needs a new editor or fact-checker or what have you...) that I was not so overjoyed with this book. Now I read this book in a day and a half, and it was for the most part engrossing but I would not recommend this book unless one reads the series or part of it before tackling this one. As Native Alaskans heritage is convoluted and intertwined so too is this latest book with Ms. Stabenow's previous novels. One needs a certain family history in order to connect all the branches of the various connections that form the basis for this novel. Even I who have read all of her books, and re-read them every winter as a tradition going back about five years, had difficulty with the familial bloodlines in this book. In conclusion, anything Ms. Stabenow pens about Kate Shugak, Mutt, Jim Chopin and "The Aunties" is definitely worth reading. I just would not start with this one.