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Mysteries: Cosy, Cats, Capers, Historical, Medical, Procedural and everything in between


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6 hours ago, Zorral said:

There are many web sites dedicated to crime and mystery novels that are organized by subcategories -- historical mysteries and crimes and series.

There are stand alone sites too, devoted only to historical mysteries like this one:

https://crimereads.com/10-historical-mysteries-that-balance-story-with-history/

Which might be easier to browse than to wait for people to recommend what he's already read.

Oddly enough, Zorral, the thought that there might be websites out there for recommendations has struck me. I may even have used some of them.

But over the years I've picked up a lot of great tips for TV series and books on this board. That's why I'm asking here. Not at some other site full of total strangers.

Sorry if I sound snarky. I feel snarky. I have an obliviously condescending boss at work who I just have to endure, and can't cope with the same behaviour here as well. 

Edited by dog-days
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9 minutes ago, dog-days said:

Oddly enough, Zorral, the thought that there might be websites out there for recommendations has struck me. I may even have used some of them.

But over the years I've picked up a lot of great tips for TV series and books on this board. That's why I'm asking here. Not at some other site full of total strangers.

Sorry if I sound snarky. I feel snarky. I have an obliviously condescending boss at work who I just have to endure, and can't cope with the same behaviour here as well. 

I feel like Zorral was just trying to be helpful. I found a couple of new authors from that list myself.

S.G Maclean is one historical mystery/thriller author I enjoy who doesn't seem as well known. I've been reading her series beginning with The Seeker, which is set during the rule of Oliver Cromwell. The protagonist works for Cromwell's spymaster and is involved in murder investigations, as well as foiling royalist spies.

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1 minute ago, Wall Flower said:

I feel like Zorral was just trying to be helpful. I found a couple of new authors from that list myself.

S.G Maclean is one historical mystery/thriller author I enjoy who doesn't seem as well known. I've been reading her series beginning with The Seeker, which is set during the rule of Oliver Cromwell. The protagonist works for Cromwell's spymaster and is involved in murder investigations, as well as foiling royalist spies.

Then Zorral needs to think through the implications of what he posts. Of maybe he can just tell me that the sky is blue and pat me on the head next time.

 Thanks, Wall Flower. That's a great recommendation. I haven't seen anything by her in the house, and it sounds just like the kind of thing my Dad would go for. He loves Civil War era stuff. 

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On 5/12/2020 at 6:01 PM, dog-days said:

He's especially fond of historical crime. 

My favourite series - Boris Akunin’s Fandorin books, starting with Winter Queen, Russia 1870s to 1920.

Abir Mukherjee’s A Rising Man and sequels, British Raj India between the wars.

His Bloody Project, Graeme Macrae Burnet, Scottish crofting community around 1860s.

SJ Parris’ Giordano Bruno books, Heresy etc, medieval Europe.

Interpretation of Murder, Jen Rubenfeld, Sigmund Freud solves murders. Similarly Frank Tallis Death in Vienna series.

J Robert Janes Beekeeper etc, detectives in Nazi occupied France. 
edit - actually Beekeeper isn’t the first book, my mistake. First one’s called Mayhem.

I could go on. :mellow::P

Edited by john
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41 minutes ago, john said:

My favourite series - Boris Akunin’s Fandorin books, starting with Winter Queen, Russia 1870s to 1920.

Abir Mukherjee’s A Rising Man and sequels, British Raj India between the wars.

His Bloody Project, Graeme Macrae Burnet, Scottish crofting community around 1860s.

SJ Parris’ Giordano Bruno books, Heresy etc, medieval Europe.

Interpretation of Murder, Jen Rubenfeld, Sigmund Freud solves murders. Similarly Frank Tallis Death in Vienna series.

J Robert Janes Beekeeper etc, detectives in Nazi occupied France.

I could go on. :mellow::P

Wow, that's great! He definitely hasn't read Akunin, Mukherjee, Rubenfeld/Tallis or Janes. This should keep him happily occupied! 

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11 hours ago, dog-days said:

I feel snarky.

I was hoping I hadn't come across as offensive as that wasn't the intention -- just the idea of moving things along -- but realize it could be taken that way -- I did try to phrase it so that wouldn't look to be intentional, but obs, failed.  I apologize.

It's always a surprise how few people do realize these things are available to anyone, not for specialized knowledge or viewing.  Best excuse for somebody asking me what could easily be found by the person first, was, "I don't want my cookies left on the web."

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On 5/12/2020 at 5:01 PM, dog-days said:

I have a feeling I'm going to be told off for putting this in the wrong thread - anyway...

My mum and I are going a bit mad trying to find stuff for my elderly housebound father to read. 

He likes crime. He's read all of: Lindsey Davies (Falco/Flavia Albia), Donna Leon (Brunetti), C. J. Sansom (Shardlake), Lexie Conyngham (Murray of Letho and Hippolyta), Susan Hill (Serailler), Andrew Taylor and many other authors that I've forgotten. He sits and reads all day. 

He's especially fond of historical crime. For some reason, he hates Agatha Christie. Could you help us out with recommendations for fairly recent (i.e. published post millennium) crime fiction? Ideally, for a crime fiction series. 

I'd recommend Louise Penny's Inspector Gamache series for any fan of crime fiction. Certainly checks  the same boxes as some of the above named authors e.g. Donna Leon's Brunetti books.

I'm currently reading the second in Colin Cotterill's Dr Siri Paiboun series which is extremely good fun. It's set in the 70s in Laos.

There's also Ellis Peters' Cadfael books. Historical mysteries set in 12th century England.

Andrea Camilleri's Inspector Montalbano books.

Elly Griffiths' Ruth Galloway books are contemporary mysteries set in Norfolk, England. She has another series set in 1950s Brighton. I've only read the first books in both but they are well worth checking out.

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9 hours ago, zapp said:

I'd recommend Louise Penny's Inspector Gamache series for any fan of crime fiction. Certainly checks  the same boxes as some of the above named authors e.g. Donna Leon's Brunetti books.

I'm currently reading the second in Colin Cotterill's Dr Siri Paiboun series which is extremely good fun. It's set in the 70s in Laos.

There's also Ellis Peters' Cadfael books. Historical mysteries set in 12th century England.

Andrea Camilleri's Inspector Montalbano books.

Elly Griffiths' Ruth Galloway books are contemporary mysteries set in Norfolk, England. She has another series set in 1950s Brighton. I've only read the first books in both but they are well worth checking out.

Gamache, Cotterill and Griffiths are all new to me. I think Gamache especially might appeal to my Dad, but at the rate he goes through books, I can try him with the others as well. 

I loved the Cadfael books when I was in my early/mid teens. My mother had a shelf full of them, so I just read my way through them. When I see Shrewsbury Abbey Church from the train, my heart still gives a little leap. 

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I'm 1-1/2 books into Donna Leon's Commissario Brunetti series and am so far enjoying it.  This is good because it seems just about every day amazon has at least one of the ebooks on sale for $1.99 so these will be easy to scoop up and binge.  I really like all the descriptions of Venice.  I find myself keeping a map at my side as I read so I can follow along as they move through the city.  I like the workings in of Italian politics and Brunett's family.  And the food and restaurants!

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The first few Brunetti's are o.k., I guess but I lost interest pretty soon because they seem all re-use similar tropes and topics. Certainly worth a try, though, as many people seem to love them.

For "historical", I still think Van Gulik's Judge Dee is supreme and highly recommended.

For a rather different, somewhat 1970s take (so "historical" in another sense, but not everybody's cup of tea) Van Wetering's: De Gier, Grijpstra and Commisaris Series.

 

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6 hours ago, Jo498 said:

The first few Brunetti's are o.k., I guess but I lost interest pretty soon because they seem all re-use similar tropes and topics. Certainly worth a try, though, as many people seem to love them

 

I read the the Brunetti books as they come out so I don't get glutted on them, as I imagine could happen if I tried to read the whole series at once. It's true that they tend to revolve around the same themes, though in fairness, these themes - the environment, pollution, political corruption - are huge ones that deserve exploration. And unfortunately these things will be with us for a very very long time. 

Plus I can't afford to get to Venice, probably never will, and even if I could, I'd just be adding to the city's problems with mass tourism, so it's nice once a year to check in with Brunetti and go have bruschetta in his local trattoria with a shot of grappa to wash it down. Maybe catch the vaporetto at San Marco. 

Edited by dog-days
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Though this wasn't her plan or even a glimmer in her imagination, Leon's Brunetti series traces the long slow fall of Italy, via Venice, due to the long fall of the entire country into the hands of the mafia and related groups of serious corruption.  This is particularly noticable in all the aspects of the environment particularly as climate crash and pollution -- and corruption -- affect all the aspects of the food and wine supply, which Our Family in Venice is particularly sensitive to.  One noticed this happening in Andrea Camillieri's Inspector Montalbano series set on Sicily as well -- when the author originally was keeping the mafia out, because he wanted to write about other aspects of Sicily.  But finally ... the corruption was just so great, and it was poisoning the food supply, which for Montalbano matters at least as much as it does to the Brunetti family.

It's been both disheartening and impressive to see these arcs playing out in real Italian time in these two series.

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Thanks for all the suggestions. It was pay day today :cheers: so I went ahead and ordered the first in various series - Ruth Galloway, the Seeker, Inspector Gamache, Sam Wyndham, Siri Paoboun. That should keep my dad occupied for a bit and give my mother a break from trying to find things for him to read. 

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I'll lay down odds that here is where Dona Leon's new Venetian, Comissario Brunetti novel goes. Or at least his wife and one of his kids do, as the entire family has been lamenting for many books the tourist-and-mafia domination of their city, their country and the world.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/03/world/europe/coronavirus-venice-tourists.html?

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Enjoying this 1830-1840's series by Jason Goodwin.  It helps that I've learned so much over the years about the Ottoman Empire, The Venetian Republic and the Byzantines.

Yashim the Ottoman Investigator novels:

The Janissary Tree (2006)
The Snake Stone (2007)
The Bellini Card (2008)
An Evil Eye (2011)
The Baklava Club (2014)

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  • 3 weeks later...

For those interested, there's a number of entries in the Inspector Montalbano series by Andrea Camilleri available for 99p on the Kindle UK store today. Unfortunately it doesn't include the first three titles in the series, although book 1 is currently £1.99 too. Probably more for those already invested in the series such as myself (although I had already picked up most of the titles in previous sales).

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I have probably suggested it before, but why not do it again?

The Given Day by Dennis Lehane.  This is a novel taking place in the early part of the 20th century and is in my opinion Lehane's best book.  I think anyone would enjoy it but the historical aspect of it really fits with this thread. 

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5 hours ago, Zorral said:

There is so much from France's long history embedded in these novels, as well as wine, food, scenery, dogs and horses, art -- I'm enjoying this series very much:

https://www.howtoread.me/bruno-chief-of-police-books-in-order/

 

I'd never heard of this series but it sounds really good. I may have to stop reading your posts on this thread though, while I still have space left on my bookshelves and kindle!

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I don't know the Bruno series (I think I have seen it positively mentioned before but admittedly as with of Donna Leon and Philip Kerr I am wary of Anglo/american authors using European regional atmospheres). But Frankophiles need of course Maigret (despite written by the Belgian Simenon), maybe Malet's Nestor Burma (hardboiled in the seedier parts of 1940s-50s Paris) and if you like overambitious weirdness and very quirky characters Fred Vargas. The latter (a woman) has two "series", the main one with Comissaire Adamsberg and an earlier one with three jobless young academics: The "three evangelists", three books only, there is an earlier independent of either but this apparently has not been translated into English (Ceux qui vont mourir te saluent, it takes place among French students in Rome). The latter are shorter and more accessible. The first few Adamsberg are also very good but most of them share a quasi-supernatural aspect (think of the Hound of the Baskervilles only more subtle, often connected to real French/local history and far more complicated) and some of them are really straining probability and plausibility to a huge extent. They can also get long and rambling. I stopped after the 4th or so but later continued and they are all worthwhile if one likes that kind of stuff.

Edited by Jo498
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