1. Laurie R. King: "Mary Russell" series. King combines history and literature by creating a young female character who accompanies Sherlock Holmes on adventures. My favorite is "O Jerusalem", which takes place in Jerusalem in 1918. (Yes, Allenby is there.) The first book in the series is "The Beekeeper's Apprentice".
2. Lindsey Davis: "Marcus Didius Falco" series. As you might suspect by his name, Marcus is a Roman living at the time of the Emperors Vespasian and Titus. [Remember the Destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD? Yeah...THAT father/son team.] Davis really gives you a taste of 1st Century Rome and Falco is a fun character. "Silver Pigs" is probably my favorite.
3. Edward Marston: "The Domesday Book" series. This series takes place in Medieval Britain during the reign of William the Conqueror. The two main characters solve mysteries as they travel around Britain as royal judges during the compilation of the famous "Domesday Book". [I think I'm noticing a pattern here... there seems to be a lot of history mixed in with my mystery! ;)]
4. Susanna Kearsley: I think she has only four [The Shadowy Horses; Season of Storms; Named of the Dragon and Mariana]. Each is tied into an historical past event (here we go again...) that somehow impacts the present day. While I get the previous books from the library, I think I had to order the Kearsley books from Amazon.
5. A Toss Up - Dorothy Gilman: "Mrs. Polifax" series and Lilian Jackson Braun: "The Cat Who..." series. Mrs. Polifax is a hoot! She is a sweet, elderly woman who travels around the world secretly working for the CIA. Very funny. And I'm sure all of you have read at least ONE "Cat" book...you've just got to love Jim Qwilleran's two intuitive Siamese cats. I don't think all of the books are consistent in execution, so pay attention to Amazon ratings.
Classics: I should mention Agatha Christie, but I don't enjoy her as much as I used to [Her 2 best: "And Then There Were None" (a/k/a "Ten Little Indians") and "Murder on the Orient Express". Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes - "The Hound of the Baskerville". Josephine Tey - "The Daughter of Time". P.D. James. Elizabeth Peters (Amelia Peabody [Egypt] series). Any of those great English period authors who crop up on PBS's "Mystery". Btw, I've been watching a BBC series, "Campion", which takes place in 1930's Britain, starring Peter Davison [who played Tristan in "All Creatures Great & Small"& one of my favorite Doctors in the old "Doctor Who" series.] Nobody does period pieces like the BBC... all those great old houses, costumes and cars.
As you can see, I like more humor than darkness. A little bit of scary, but not too much. No graphic murders or language. And if they're good at historical research and character development...
3 comments:
You forget I used to be a Social Worker for the State...I know what mankind is capable of. I often think how difficult it must be for career Police officers and Social Workers who are continually exposed to the worst humanity has to offer.
Grisham would be considered a writer of suspense - so he's part of my category. We tend to listen to his books on tape when we are travelling. They require just the right amount of concentration for long trips. My only complaint would be they are ALL law-oriented. A little variation would be nice.
Congrats on enjoying TLOTR again. Ageless story beautifully told! [I'd put it in the SciFi/Fantasy list, though.]
The only Chesterton book I have read is "The Man Who Was Thursday" - great book! He is a 'literary writer' and I marked the book all up commenting on his great literary style. Most mystery writers are NOT what I would consider 'literary' ...they are more on the 'fun' side.
THis blog is like so totally boring. Didn't the author just go on a totally awesome vacation?
Booooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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