The summer is hot and sticky and we are all ready to dip our toes in the pool or pour ice water over our heads.  I have been spending some time thinking about what  I have read this year and came up with a short list of good Mysteries that have a bit of humor, a touch of attitude or some plot line that just grabs the imagination and hold on until the last page.

You can begin with Betty Webb’s THE KOALA OF DEATH.  When one of the zoo keepers dies Theodora Bentley takes over the job of bringing interesting zoo animals to the local TV station where she explains their habits on the air.  Murder does follow Teddy around and soon she is hip deep in an investigation.  The scenes at the TV station are hilarious.  The plot is great.

K. J. Larsen’s LIAR, LIAR is a laugh out loud romp in Chicago which introduces the Pants on Fire Detective Agency owned and operated by Cat De Luca, a young woman with attitude and a large family made up of many Chicago cops and interfering Moms.  Then there is the gorgeous man Cat is following around trying to prove he is a cheating husband.  Yes, Cat’s husband cheated on her and now she is out to corral all unfaithful men.

Socialite Pauline Cook returns to Chicago in WELL READ AND DEAD by Catherine O’Connell.  Pauline’s best friend is missing without a trace.  Add to this Pauline’s apartment is undoing renovation.  And she is broke having lost most of her money in the latest financial crash.

The investigating team of Scotland Yard’s Jack Gibbons and his wealthy friend Phillip Bethancourt are at it again in THE SPIDER ON THE STAIRS by Cassandra Chan.  Set in Yorkshire during the Christmas Holiday season Phillip meets one of his old girlfriends while having serious issues with his current one.  This is a fun read.

DANSE MACABRE by Gerald Elias is the second book featuring Daniel Jacobus.  Here he tries to prove a man on death row and facing eminent execution is innocent. These books are as much about music and playing the violin as they are about solving a murder mystery.  The first title in the series is DEVIL’S TRILL.

Donna Leon bring up an ugly subject in WILLFUL BEHAVIOR when she deals with anti-Semitic behavior in Italy.  Her protagonist Guido Brunetti has his hands full with this case.

If you want to stay up all night reading because you are too afraid to go to sleep after reading BLOODSUCKERS: The Vampire Archives Vol. I edited by Otto Penzler, try DRACULA IN LOVE a recounting of the relationship of the Count and Mina Murray by Karen Essex.

Happy reading everyone.

As I was browsing the new Mysteries I noticed that there were a number of books that I believe are real grabbers.  You begin reading and you can not put them down.  On top of that they are the kind of book that shows you something that you might not know or introduces you to something that you did not know exists.  So give these a try and I hope you like them.

DEVIL’S TRILL by Gerald Elias is a book about music.  Daniel Jacobus is a curmudgeon, blind and a violin teacher.  He does not suffer fools easily and has opinions on many things.  A Piccolino Stradivarius that was played in a concert at Carnegie Hall goes missing and the prime suspect is Jacobus.  Elias has a way of describing music and the act of playing the violin that will keep you fascinated.  The mystery is well plotted.

David Hewson’s CITY OF FEAR involves Detective Nic Costa and his team in a convoluted case of an act of terrorism and kidnapping in Rome.  The police become obsessed in their investigation as all evidence points to a defunct terrorist group known as the Blue Demon.  I do not know why Hewson is not as acclaimed as I think he should be.  He knows Rome and Italian politics and the culture surrounding both.

BLOOD HINA, the newest Mas Arai novel, by Naomi Hirahara gives readers a good look at Japanese-American culture in Southern California.  Hirahara continues to show readers the effects of the interment camps during World War II but manages to add to our knowledge of the Japanese culture.  Here she uses the disappearance of an ancient Japanese doll owned by a woman about to be married.  The disappearance acts as a catylist  that causes a great disruption in the lives of some of Mas Arai’s oldest friends.  Don’t miss this one.

Poisoned Pen Press is systematically publishing Peter May’s titles in his much acclaimed Chinese series featuring Detective Li Yan and his now fiancee American pathologist Margaret Campbell.  In THE RUNNER  a Chinese swimmer commits suicide and a weightlifter dies while in the company of his mistress.  The Chinese are embarrassed and their hopes for many Gold Metals at the Beijing Olympics are slowly crumbling.  May is the only author who has been accepted by the Chinese police and the Chinese Mystery writers as someone who understands their culture.  He has been hosted by the Beijing police and shown how they proceed in an investigation.  His books are full of tidbits about Chinese culture that most of us know little about.

NigelMcCrery has created an intriguing character in the guise of Detective Chief Inspector Lapslie who has a rare neurological condition that crosses his senses.  He and his sergeant Emma Bradbury are investigating the brutal murder of a high profile reporter and then a second man is killed when a bomb explodes in a train station.  This is his most difficult case.

Frederick Ramsay leaves the United States and goes to Africa for his eighth novel.  A large international company that specializes in energy, mining and real estate development is looking to invest in Botswana.  There is a male lion who has been expelled from his pride because he is too old and sick.  And then there is one of the most interesting characters in recent fiction.  a woman whose son is no doing well and whose boss is always trying to find ways to get rid of her.  If you like Alexander McCall Smith you might like this book.  The African culture is well defined.  Try it.

Stephen Booth lives with his wife in Nottinghamshire, England.

Blind to the Bones (Ben Cooper Series #4)

Author: Booth, Stephen
Format: Hardcover
Type: Novel
Page Count: 424pp.
Pub. Date: October 2003
Publisher: Scribner
Website: Stephen Booth Official Website

Something sinister is happening on the desolate moors of England’s Peak District. The villagers of Withens are dying. Nineteen-year-old Emma Renshaw disappeared two years ago. Her body has never been found, and her parents still cling to the hope that she may be alive.

Now, Neil Granger, one of Emma’s former housemates, has been killed in a particularly grotesque way. What was Neil doing out on the moor by the deserted, rat-filled railway tunnel where his bludgeoned remains were discovered? Is there a link between Neil’s death and Emma’s disappearance? Why didn’t Neil offer Emma a ride to the station on the day she vanished? Or did he? Had he been hiding the truth? And what is the significance of Emma’s bloodied cellular phone?

While Detective Sergeant Diane Fry focuses on Emma’s possible murder — now a cold case — her colleague Ben Cooper takes a temporary assignment to probe rural crime. His first task is to investigate a series of burglaries in and around Withens. Thieves have hit nearly every house that has valuables, and even the church has been plundered. Only one family seems to be exempt from the break-ins: the Oxleys. Descended from the workmen who built the tunnels that run two hundred feet below the village, they stick to their own like the sheep on the hillsides, passing on secret knowledge through the generations.

Into the tempest that is Withens come Cooper and Fry, two people who share an emotion-filled professional and personal history, and who must again deal with each other as their separate cases gradually converge. But winning the trust of the locals and establishing a link between the deaths is not their only challenge. What other secrets does the village hold? And even if Cooper and Fry can find the answers, can the guilty ever be brought to justice?

Acknowledged to be one of the most gifted of the new generation of crime writers, Stephen Booth gives us a richly nuanced, brilliantly evoked novel sure to win him many new accolades

You can order this and other novels by Stephen Booth through the Heights Library web catalog (click on the book covers) or order by phone by calling the Cleveland Heights-University Heights Public Library.

It is 90 degrees today and all I can think of Iced Tea and  reading a good book under the trees in my back yard.  It seems that the Mystery Fiction coming out this year is exceptionally fine and many challenge the reader in interesting ways.  If you are the kind of person who tries to get to the solution before the detective, you will like what is coming out this summer.

Kenneth Cameron’s THE BOHEMIAN GIRL sets American author Denton on the trail of a killer who has several hidden agendas.  The ending is particularly interesting and the fact that the story takes place in Edwardian England kicks it up a notch for me.

CHILDREN IN THE MORNING, Anne Emery’s new book set in Halifax finds Monty and his friend Father Burke looking for the murderer of a prominent lawyer’s wife.  Emery never writes a simple mystery.  She thorws layers of misdirection and complex plot lines in the path of the unsuspecting reader.  Sometimes sad, sometimes humorous, she never fails to please.  The Catholic Church, child abuse, the plight of children caught up in disfunctional family situations, and a charming little girl named Normi keep me reading Emery’s books.

Bernard Knight’s WHERE DEATH DELIGHTS introduces a doctor who begins a forensic practice with a scientist friend in the 1950’s.  It illustrates how people had to deal with crime scenes and bodies without modern technology.  Worth a look because Knight did just what his character is doing.  Insider information is always a treat.

Stefanie Pintoff won the Edgar in April, 2010, for her first novel, IN THE SHADOW OF GOTHAM.  This year her new book A CURTAIN FALLS gives the reader an insight into the fledgling Broadway as women are murdered in theaters in 1906.  The policeman calls in Alistair Sinclair, an alienist who would have fit nicely in Caleb Carr’s first novel.

For those of you who like British Police Procedurals there a number that you might like:

Oldham, Nick.   SEIZURE

Curzon, Clare.   DEVIL IN THE DETAIL

Spencer, Sally.    THE RING OF DEAT

Turnbull, Peter.    DELIVER US FROM EVIL

Smith, Frank.      A KILLING RESURRECTED

If you have not tried Frederick Ramsay you might want to read THE EYE OF THE VIRGIN.  Sheriff Ike Schwartz finds himself dealing with a corpse left in an ER and while investigating a burglary finds something strange on a painting that he recognizes only because he once worked for a government organization in Langley, VA.

Another author that is writing really good books with little fanfare is Cora Harrison.  In her EYE OF THE LAW Mara the Brehon of the Burren in 16th Century Ireland must solve several murders before the birth of her child.  Quick thinking, intelligent women abound in this one.

Victoria Thompson always gives the reader some piece of history in her novels.  In the new book, MURDER ON LEXINGTON AVENUE, she tells us about the dilemma of teaching deaf people sign language versus lip reading.  She also throws into the mix a devious plot that will surprise most readers.  Great beach reading.

For those who like something a bit different please try Amy Myers TOM WASP AND THE NEWGATE KNOCKER.  Tom is a chimney sweep and he and his helper solve crimes.  Being a member of the working class in Victorian England makes Tom almost invisible to the rich.  He neatly solves a problem for his sister while looking for a murderer.

In case you like Zoe Sharp, Busted Flush Press is bringing out the first Charlie Fox title, KILLER INSTINCT.  Charlie is kind of a biker chick from a high brow British family who ends up knowing more about working security in all it hard boiled glory  than she probably ever thought possible.  I like books where women become a dangerous force.

One of my main passions has always been Ancient Egypt and Nick Drake hits all the right notes in his second book about Rahotep, an ancient Egyptian police detective who is asked to find the person who wants to destroy Tutankhamun and his wife.  This book is entitles TUTANKHAMUN: THE BOOK OF SHADOWS.  The first book dealt with Nefertiti and her disappearance.

I hope that you find something to interest you in this list.  Lots of good reading and a challenge or two for you.

I love Mystery novels set in different times.  I like them even more when they are cutting edge different.  Here is a list of a few books that you might like if you agree that the Mystery novel is more that someone in a modern setting looking for a criminal.  Okay, I know that I live on books like that but there are times that I want an edgy book with a twist.  See if you like these.

Alexander, Karl

JACLYN THE RIPPER

Jack the Ripper is on the loose in LA and eager to begin killing.

Brom

THE CHILD THIEF

A retelling of a children’s classic.  Nick is saved from being murdered by Peter who tells of a different place to live where fairies and monsters exist.

Kadrey, Richard

SANDMAN SLIM

James Stark, a hitman, has spent seven years in Hell and now must save the world.

Mieville, China

THE CITY AND THE CITY

Murder in Beszel is investigated by Inspector Tyador Borlu of the Extreme Crime Squad

Rubens, Michael

THE SHERIFF OF YRNAMEER

Cole, a smuggler and bounty hunter gets into trouble in this absurd, laugh out loud crime novel

Saintcrow, Lilith

STEELFLOWER

Follow the adventures of Kaia Steelflower, thief and assassin

Zahn, Timothy

THE DOMINO PATTERN

Frank Compton investigates murders involving an interstellar transportation system

A couple weeks ago I posted a list of Fiction books that had knitting as a central theme.  Today I am sharing a number of books that are about knitting as a craft that can be read from cover to cover and enjoyed for their treatment of one of my favorite past times.  It all started when a customer asked me to find a few good books for her to read.  As I was asking her what she likes in the way of fiction she asked me what I read.  I mentioned Mysteries, Fantasy, Thrillers and then said that I read Knitting books.  She said, “I do as well.”   That got me thinking that there may be a number of us who read knitting books much as you would read any Non-Fiction title.  This list takes in the titles that treat knitting as a way of life, a spiritual path, a thing that we do to create something.  And yes, I have read them.  I only noticed that I had this habit when I finished Pam Allen’s KNITTING FOR DUMMIES and said “what a great read!”  Here is the list:

Allen, Pam.  KNITTING FOR DUMMIES, 2nd ed., Wiley, 2008.

Cornell, Kari, Ed., KNITTING YARNS AND SPINNING TALES: A Knitter’s Stash of Wit and Wisdom, Voyageur, 2005.

Gardiner, Kay & Ann Shayne.  MASON-DIXON KNITTING: The Curious Knitters’ Guide Stories, Patterns, Advice, Opinions, Questions, answers, Jokes, and Pictures. Potter Craft, 2006.

Gardiner, Kay & Ann Shayne. MASON-DIXON KNITTING OUTSIDE THE LINES: Patterns, Stories, True confessions, Tricky Bits, Whole New Worlds and Familiar Ones, Potter Craft, 2008.

Lydon, Susan Gordon.  THE KNITTING SUTRA: Craft as a Spiritual Practice, Harper SanFrancisco, 1997.

Murphy, Bernadette.  ZEN AND THE ART OF KNITTING: Exploring the Links Between Knitting, Spirituality, and Creativity, Adams, 2002.

Myers, Lisa R., THE JOY OF KNITTING: Texture, Color, Design, and the Global Knitting Circle, Running Press, 2001.

Nargi, Lela. KNITTING LESSONS: Tales from the Knitting Path, Tarcher/Putnam, 2003.

Nargi, Lela, Ed., KNITTING THROUGH IT: Inspiring Stories for Times of Trouble, Voyageur, 2008.

Pearl-McPhee, Stephanie. AT KNIT’S END: Meditations for Women Who Knit Too Much, Storey, 2005.

Pearl-McPhee, Stephanie. CASTS OFF: A Yarn Harlot’s Guide to the Land of Knitting, Storey, 2007.

Pearl-McPhee, Stephanie. KNITTING RULES: The Yarn Harlot Bag of Knitting Tricks: the Yarn Harlot Unravels the Mysteries of Swatching, Stashing, Ribbing and rolling to Free Your Inner Knitter, Storey, 2006.

Pearl-McPhee, Stephanie.  YARN HARLOT: The Secret Life of a Knitter, Andrews-McMeel, 2005.

Roghaar, Linda and Molly Wolf, Eds., KNITLIT: Sweaters and their Stories…and Other Writing About Knitiing.  Three Rivers, 2002.

Roghaar, Linda and Molly Wolf, Eds., KNIT LIT (TOO): Stories From Sheep to Shawl…and More Writing About Knitting, Three Rivers, 2004.

Rutt, Richard. A HISTORY OF HAND KNITTING. Interweave Press, 2003 (US edition)

Skolnik, Linda.  THE KNITTING WAY: A Guide to Spiritual Self-Discovery. SkyLight Paths, 2005.

Thomas, Nancy J. and Ilana Robinowitz. A PASSION FOR KNITTING: Step-by Step Illustrated Techniques, Easy Contemporary Patterns and Essential Resources for Becoming a Part of the World of Knitting, Fireside, 2002.

Zimmermann, Elizabeth. KNITTER’S ALMANAC, Scribner, 1094.

Zimmermann, Elizabeth. KNITTING AROUND OR KNITTING WITHOUT A LICENSE,  Schoolhouse, 2001 ed.

Zimmermann, Elizabeth.  KNITTING WITHOUT TEARS: Basic Techniques and Easy-to-follow Directions for Garments to fit All Sizes, Scribner, 1971.

Zimmermann, Elizabeth. THE OPINIONATED KNITTER, Schoolhouse, 2005.

I hope that you enjoy these books as much as I did.

As if there are not enough adult books to read there is a plethora of books written for Young Adults that can be enjoyed by Adult readers.  Since I love Fantasy and have never met a vampire novel that I have not enjoyed I decided to put together a list of YA titles that you might like.  I have the Twilight books on the list just in case there are some readers who have been in a cryogenic state for the last three or four years.  I am sure that I have missed a number of series or authors.  Hope there is something here that is new to you and that you find a number of books that delight you.  Happy reading.

M. T. Anderson

The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing: Traitor to the Nation: Volume One, The Pox Party

Volume Two, The Kingdom of the Waves

Cleve Barker, the Abarat Series

Book I, Abarat

Book II, Days of Magic, Nights of War

P J Cast: The House of Night series

Marked

Betrayed

Chosen

Untamed

Hunted

Tempted

Burned

Cinda Williams Chima: Seven Realms Series

Book 1, The Demon King

Book 2, The Exiled Queen

Cassandra Clare: The Mortal Instruments Series

City of Bones

City of Ashes

City of Glass

Suzanne Collins

The Hunger Games

Underland Chronicles  Series:

Book 1 Gregor the Overlander

Book 2: Gregor and the Prophecy of Bane

Book 3: Gregor and the Curse of the Warmbloods

Book 4: Gregor and the Marks of Secret

Book 5: Gregor and the Code of Claw

Jeanne DuPrau

The City of Ember

The People of Sparks

The Prophet of Yonwoood

The Diamond of Darkhold

Anthony Horowitz: the Gatekeepers Series

Book 1: Raven’s Gate

Book 2: Evil Star

Book 3: Nightrise

Book 4: Necropolis

Erin Hunter (Note: I see so many adults reading this series that I added it to the list.  If you have not read any of the Warrior books, you might want to start with the original series listed first.)

Warriors:

Book 1: Into the Wild

Book 2: Fire and Ice

Book 3: Forest of Secrets

Book 4: Rising Storm

Book 5: A Dangerous Path

Book 6: The Darkest Hour

The New Prophecy Series:

Book 1: Midnight

Book 2: Moonrise

Book 3: Dawn

Book 4: Starlight

Book 5: Twilight

Book 6: Sunset

Power of Three Series:

Book 1: The Sight

Book 2: Dark River

Book 3: Outcast

Book 4: Eclipse

Book 5: Long Shadows

Book 6: Sunrise

Super Editions:

Warriors: Firestar’s Quest

Warriors: Bluestar’s Prophecy

Robert Liparulo: Dreamhouse of Kings Series:

House of Dark Shadows

Watcher in the Woods

Gatekeepers

Timescape

Whirlwind

Frenzy

Lois Lowry: The Giver Series:

The Giver

Gathering Blue

Messenger

Stephenie Meyer: The Twilight Series:

Twilight

New Moon

Eclipse

Breaking Dawn

The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner: An Eclipse Novella

Garth Nix: Old Kingdom Series:

Sabriel

Lirael: The Daughter of the Clayr

Abhorsen

Across the Wall

The Creature in the Case ( has a short story featuring the Abhorsen)

Christopher Paolini

Eragon

Eldest

Brisingr

Philip Pullman: the Dark Materials Series:

The Golden Compass

The Subtle Knife

The Amber Sypglass

Prequel: Once Upon a Time in the North

Ruby in the Smoke

Rich Riordan: Percy Jackson and the Olympians Series

The Lightning Thief

The Sea of Monsters

The Titan’s Curse

The Battle of the Labyrinth

The Last Olympian

Angie Sage: the Septimus Heap Series:

Book 1: Magyk

Book 2: Flyte

Book 3: Physik

Book 4: Queste

Book 5: Syren

Jonathan Stroud: The Bartimaeus Trilogy:

The Amulet of Samarkand

The Golem’s Eye

Ptolemy’s Gate

Years ago I bought and read a book by Jacques Barzun and Wendell Hertig Taylor.  It was a compilation of books they had read and recommended to each other over a number of years.  A CATALOGUE OF CRIME, first out in 1971, became for me an excursion into the murky world of book collecting because my local library did not have the books the authors had read.  I used the Cleveland Public Library’s Literature Department for the titles that they had in their collection but spent many hours searching for the ones that I could not find.

I went to book sales, I haunted an enormous used bookstore called Kay’s in downtown Cleveland.  I crawled over boxes of used books, sat under tables going through more boxes looking for a title, stood shoulder to shoulder with people who were looking at pornography while I went through the Mystery paperbacks.  I contacted used book dealers in other cities and called used bookstores in New York.  That was then.  It is even more impossible to find the books that the two scholars read today  even with the revision of their book in 1989 with a host of new titles added.

I have been toying with the idea of constructing a list of old Mysteries that are great reading even after a long time.  The huddle to get over is that most of them will be difficult to find.  They are no longer in libraries and they can not be easily found at book sales.  We no longer have Kay’s Books in Cleveland as it was bought out by Powell’s from Portland, Oregon, when the owners retired.  Of course it may be possible to find a copy on the Web.

The good news is that books are sometimes reissued.  Publishers see that there is a market for older titles and give readers a welcome present in reissuing  an older book  so that we can savor the writing of another era.  Raymond Chandler, Rex Stout and J. D. Carr are three authors that usually see the light of day in a new issue.  Recently I was selecting books for the Cleveland Heights-University Heights Public Library when I came across a reissue of Anna Katherine Green’s THE LEAVENWORTH CASE.  It originally was published in 1878 and is one of the first American additions to the Mystery Novel.  Green was one of the first writers to develop a series detective and her Ebenezer Gryce of the New York Metropolitan Police is a strange individual who is unattractive in several ways but is an interesting character nonetheless.   You may find the book a bit dated but it is a part of the history of our favorite genre.

Green is also known for her firsts in the development of the Mystery.  As well as, being one of the first to develop a series detective, she created the first nosy amateur detective in Amelia Butterworth.  She gave us the first girl detective in Violet Strange.   Almost no one remembers her today except those of us who hunted for her books in dark rooms in basements of old used bookstores.

Another author who is currently being reissued is Georgette Heyer who is a recognized pillar of the Classic Golden Age of Mysteries.  She is in the company of Agatha Christie, Ngaio Marsh, Margery Allingham, Dorothy Sayers, et. al.  Much better known for her Regency novels, her Mysteries are classic in their approach to how the story is told, how it evolves, how the characters are developed and how the denouement takes place.  If you like a good British Mystery with lots of red herrings and good reader misdirection, then try Heyer.

A BLUNT INSTRUMENT

BEHOLD, HER’S POISON

DEATH IN THE STOCKS

DETECTION UNLIMITED

DUPLICATE DEATH

ENVIOUS CASCA

FOOTSTEPS IN THE DARK

NO WING OF BLAME

PENHALLOW

THE UNFINISHED CLUE

THEY FOUND HIM DEAD

WHY SHOOT A BUTLER?

Another series that is currently being reissued is the Martin Beck books by Maj Sjowall and Per Wahloo.  They are police procedurals set in Sweden featuring a noir detective and his team who solve murders.  The authors purposefully took on society and laid bare what they believed to be the problems therein.  Dark and often thought provoking these books are flying off the shelves of the libraries here.  Even though they were published in the Sixties and Seventies of the last century they are readable today.

ROSEANNA

THE MAN WHO WENT UP IN SMOKE

THE LAUGHING POLICEMAN

THE FIRE ENGINE THAT DISAPPEARED

MURDER AT THE SAVOY

THE ABOMINABLE MAN

THE LOCKED ROOM

COP KILLER

THE TERRORISTS

I gave these titles to you in a previous entry on the Scandinavian Mystery Writers but it is worth it to list them again.  A few of Sjowall and Wahloo’s output  are books that I reread when I want something absorbing and challenging.

I hope you find something good to read and if you ever see a copy of A CATALOGUE OF CRIME grab it.  I read it cover to cover and it changed my way of looking at Mystery Fiction and literature.  It was the impetus for my beginning a Reader’s Advisory team here at the library and it gave me years of outstanding reading.

Knitting is one of the great joys of my life.  Seeing two sticks and a ball of yarn become a scarf make a scarf or a hat or an afghan is like watching something magical.  You know what I mean.  There is nothing on the needles, then stitches are cast on and then the knitting begins.  Row after row the work grows until completed.  And voila a completed project.

There is much more to knitting than just making something.  A knitter sees amazement in the eyes of a non-knitter.  they hear praise and thanks when a project is finished and given as a gift.  The camaraderie of a knitting circle is priceless.  Friends meeting, talking about their work and sharing their knitting expertise is wonderful.  Helping someone solve a problem with a knitting pattern or the learning of a new stitch is another source of joy.  Sharing patterns that turn out great is another good thing.

Writers have picked up on the popularity of this handcraft and have been writing fiction about it for a while.  Here is a list of books both Fiction and Mystery that you might like to read.  A few are heart wrenching and some are laugh out loud funny.  Hope you find something that you enjoy.  Please let me know if you do.

Fiction:

Bartlett, Anne

KNITTING

Betts, Heidi

TANGLED UP IN LOVE

Bretton, Barbara

LACED WITH MAGIC

CASTING SPELLS

Dickson, Nicole R.

CASTING OFF

Harding, Robyn

UNRAVELLED

Herron, Rachael

HOW TO KNIT A LOVE SONG: A Cypress Hollow Yarn

Hood, Ann

THE KNITTING CIRCLE

Jacobs, Kate

THE FRIDAY NIGHT KNITTING CLUB

KNIT TWO

KNIT THE SEASON

LeZebnik, Claire

KNITTING UNDER THE INFLUENCE

McNeil, Gil

DIVAS DON’T KNIT

NEEDLES AND PEARLS

THE BEACH STREET KNITTING SOCIETY AND YARN CLUB

Macomber, Debbie

THE SHOP ON BLOSSOM STREET

A GOOD YARN

BACK ON BLOSSOM STREET

TWENTY WISHES

SUMMER ON BLOSSOM STREET

Pattillo, Beth

THE SWEETGUM LADIES KNIT FOR LOVE

THE SWEETGUM KNIT LIT SOCIETY

Ridgway, Christie

UNRAVEL ME

Myateries:

Canadeo, Anne

KNIT, PURL, DIE

WHILE MY PRETTY ONE KNITS

Kruger, Mary

DIED IN THE WOOL

KNIT FAST, DIE YOUNG

Sefton, Maggie

KNIT ONE, KILL TWO

A KILLER STITCH

A DEADLY YARN

DYER CONSEQUENCES

FLEECE NAVIDAD

DROPPED DEAD STITCH

I have been reading a lot of Mystery Fiction set in various historical times and thought you all might be interested in some of the titles.  There is such a rich variety that there should be something for every reader.

Beaufort, Simon,  DEADLY INHERITANCE   Sir Geoffrey Mappestone investigates in 1102 in the Welsh Marshlands

Clare, Alys  MIST OVER THE WATER   Healer Lassair looks for who tried to kill her cousin in Norman England

Dean, Anna  BELLFIELD HALL  Miss Dido Kent investigates crime in Regency England

Dickinson, David    DEATH OF A WINE MERCHANT  Lord Francis Powerscourt investigates murder in late Victorian England

Doherty, P. C.   THE SPIES OF SOBECK  Amerotke, Chief Judge for Pharaoh Hatusu investiges

Eccles, Marjorie  LAST NOCTURNE  Chief Inspector Lamb looks for a killer in 1009 London

Franklin, Ariana  A MURDEROUS PROCESSION  Doctor Adelia Aguila investigates murder for Henry II

Hambly, Barbara  DEAD AND BURIED  Benjamin January investigates why the wrong body falls out of a casket in 1836 New Orleans

Hayes, Tony  THE DEVINE SACRIFICE  Malgwyn ap Cuneglas investigates crime for King Arthur

Hermans, Danielle  THE TULIP VIRUS  a muder in 1636 Holland is similar to a murder in 2007 England

Pintoff, Stephanie  A CURTAIN FALLS  Detective Simon Ziele looks for a serial killer on Broadway in the early 20th Century

Reed, Mary and Eric Mayer  EIGHT FOR ETERNITY  John, Lord Chamberlain to Emperor Justinian is commanded to find a murderer or else

Stanley, Kelli  CITY OF DRAGONS  Private Investigator Miranda Corbie wants justice for a murdered Japanese man in 1940 in San Francisco

Tallman, Shirley  SCANDAL ON RINCON HILL  Attorney Sarah Woolson defends a young man from China in 1881 San Francisco

Wishnia, Kenneth  THE FIFTH SERVANT  16yh Century Prague and Jewish persecution and a young Jewish man who must find a killer in three days or else

Hope you find something great to read.  I know that I love Historical novels.