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

[Derfel Cadarn]

26 minutes ago, Jo498 said:

Do you mean a "real supernatural" element or only the suspicion like the Hound of the Baskervilles, the Sussex Vampire or some other Holmes stories?

(Fred Vargas does frequently have the suspicion of something supernatural (curse, werewolf, vampires, wild hunt...) but it is (almost?) always resolved naturalistically.)

Real. No vampires or anythibg like that; mostly demon-possession, ghosts etc. Evil book.

The detective is kind of aware albeit a bit in denial.

[Xray the Enforcer]

Thank you for the recommendations so far! I appreciate you all giving thought to this and bringing some nuance to the discussion. And yeah, I can handle some retrograde ideas or heteronormative gender roles. I am mostly looking to avoid books where, say, the gay person is invariably a manipulative child molester, or where the author lovingly pores over all the details of a sexual sadist serial killer. Way too many post-1970s books do this and it's boring AF.

@lady narcissa I'm screaming at those book titles. Incredible. I especially like the bird-cricket mashup at around book 8. If there was ever a series to be written directly to my interests, surely this is it. 

[Ormond]

4 hours ago, Xray the Enforcer said:

Thank you for the recommendations so far! I appreciate you all giving thought to this and bringing some nuance to the discussion. And yeah, I can handle some retrograde ideas or heteronormative gender roles. I am mostly looking to avoid books where, say, the gay person is invariably a manipulative child molester, or where the author lovingly pores over all the details of a sexual sadist serial killer. Way too many post-1970s books do this and it's boring AF.

@lady narcissa I'm screaming at those book titles. Incredible. I especially like the bird-cricket mashup at around book 8. If there was ever a series to be written directly to my interests, surely this is it. 

Well, the entire subgenre of "Cozy Mysteries" almost by definition avoids anything that "pours over details of a sexual sadist".  The Donna Andrews books Lady Narcissa linked to are certainly one of the many popular "cozy" series. Probably most of these series would not be as of high literary quality as Louise Penny but you could give many of them a try. And it is now almost a tradition for many of them to have the sort of funny punny titles as the Donna Andrews books have. So here is a link to the Cozy Mystery site, which has a list of scores of authors of "cozy" series and their books. (The site owner does list a few authors and series which are not "cozy" but will mention it when that happens):

https://cozy-mystery.com/

P.S. I have not read them myself, but some of the librarians at my university particularly recommend the Bakeshop Mystery series by Ellie Alexander, the League of Literary Ladies series by Kylie Logan, and the Agatha Raisin books by M. C. Beaton:

https://cozy-mystery.com/Ellie-Alexander.html

https://cozy-mystery.com/Kylie-Logan.html

https://cozy-mystery.com/M.-C.-Beaton.html

 

Edited September 17, 2020 by Ormond

[Xray the Enforcer]

Thank you for the recommendations @Ormond! I'll definitely check of these out. 

[dog-days]

I'm a bit late to the party, but I'll mention the Murray of Letho and Hippolyta Napier series by Lexie Conyngham. The first Murray of Letho book is uneven, but it gets into its stride in the second book. Both series are historical murder mysteries set in nineteenth century Scotland - the Murray series in Fife and Edinburgh, principally; the Napier series in Ballater, a spa-town in Aberdeenshire. Both series are I think quite hetero-normative, but I don't think they are in an aggressive/intolerant way. A couple of coded-gay characters appeared in the penultimate instalment of the Letho series, and both managed to survive. (Big achievement in books with a high body count).  The protagonists are thoughtful and kind, and tend not to be judgemental. The author is a history lecturer with an interest in period food, so both series are great if you enjoy detail of that kind. 

I loved Sansom's Shardlake novels, but wouldn't describe them as cosy. The last one in particular was (while not without hope) a tough, bleak read. It was great, of course, and after it I almost packed my bags and cycled to Norwich mid pandemic, still - the Shardlake novels don't really have the sense that deeply unpleasant things aren't going to happen to the recurring characters, and the atmosphere of oppressive political intrigue means there isn't such a safe sense of "home" which I'd associate with the cosy mystery genre. 

Edited September 17, 2020 by dog-days

[Zorral]

17 hours ago, Xray the Enforcer said:

I'm looking for anti-recommendations. I would like to avoid transphobic nonsense like the Galbraith books in particular, and would like to avoid books that demonize queer people in general. I would also like to avoid books that luridly focus on sexual assault and torture. 

 

You'd enjoy this series, one might think, considering your criteria -- I certainly have!

https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/authorpage/jason-goodwin.html

Have the new Ann Cleeves novel too!

[Hereward]

17 hours ago, Xray the Enforcer said:

Thank you for the recommendations @Ormond! I'll definitely check of these out. 

I assume you’ve read Ben Aaronovitch’s Peter Grant series. If not, why not?!

In the category of so bad they’re brilliant, I  suggest Steve Burrows’ birding detective series, in which, surprisingly, a birding detective based in Norfolk encounters a series of crimes that are either ornithological in motive or can only be solved by someone with deep ornithological knowledge.

Alternatively, there’s Damian Boyd’s Nick Dixon series, featuring a man with a dog and an entirely fish and chips based diet in lieu of a personality. It features impeccable wild guesswork by our hero and the world’s best canal boat police chase through a series of locks. 

Alternatively, you could read the excellent Mark Douglas-Home Sea Detective series, though you could skip the first one as, while it has none of the unpleasant elements you mention, it does centre on people trafficking, and can be understandably grim, in an empathetic way. They are largely self-contained though, so skipping the first would be no problem.

Edited September 18, 2020 by Hereward

[Jo498]

If one is disturbed by gore, violence and connections between sexual nonconformity and crime, I'd rather warn against Ahronovitch's Peter Grant. There is probably much worse but I found some things sufficiently repulsive (The 3 or 4 books I've read were also flawed in several other ways).

Edited September 18, 2020 by Jo498

[Xray the Enforcer]

2 hours ago, Hereward said:

I assume you’ve read Ben Aaronovitch’s Peter Grant series. If not, why not?!

In the category of so bad they’re brilliant, I  suggest Steve Burrows’ birding detective series, in which, surprisingly, a birding detective based in Norfolk encounters a series of crimes that are either ornithological in motive or can only be solved by someone with deep ornithological knowledge.

Alternatively, there’s Damian Boyd’s Nick Dixon series, featuring a man with a dog and an entirely fish and chips based diet in lieu of a personality. It features impeccable wild guesswork by our hero and the world’s best canal boat police chase through a series of locks. 

Alternatively, you could read the excellent Mark Douglas-Home Sea Detective series, though you could skip the first one as, while it has none of the unpleasant elements you mention, it does centre on people trafficking, and can be understandably grim, in an empathetic way. They are largely self-contained though, so skipping the first would be no problem.

Oooh those Burrows' books look to be right up my alley, although I swear it's going to drive me mad to not know enough about Eurocommie birds to be able to solve the crimes by myself. All of these look great -- thank you!

@Jo498 Thank you for the flag. As it turns out, I've actually read the Rivers of London series (well, up through book 7 I think) and I'd say that some of the issues in the book are right on the edge for me. Like, Peter is a dolt with every kind of sheltered-and-stupid cisgender dude flaw on the planet. Which means I don't actually like the protagonist all that much. But I dig a lot of the other characters and the worldbuilding.

As for gore, I should probably be more clear: Some gore is OK. But I don't want to read elaborate reconstructions -- or first-person POV experiences -- of graphic rapes and murders. Like, there was this one book and I can't remember the name of it or the author, but the whole thing was full of sadistic serial killer POV shit, and it spent pages describing in minute detail all of the horrors of each rape/murder and it put me off the entire genre for 20 years. Legit, I have refused to read almost any modern mystery or crime novels because I do not want to read that stuff. 

ETA: I realize that most of the really awful stuff happens more in crime thrillers rather than crime/mystery, but there's sufficient overlap in the audiences that I just want to make clear what my deal-killers are in the general space.  

Edited September 18, 2020 by Xray the Enforcer

[Hereward]

39 minutes ago, Xray the Enforcer said:

@Jo498As for gore, I should probably be more clear: Some gore is OK. But I don't want to read elaborate reconstructions -- or first-person POV experiences -- of graphic rapes and murders. Like, there was this one book and I can't remember the name of it or the author, but the whole thing was full of sadistic serial killer POV shit, and it spent pages describing in minute detail all of the horrors of each rape/murder and it put me off the entire genre for 20 years. Legit, I have refused to read almost any modern mystery or crime novels because I do not want to read that stuff. 

[Hereward]

I’m with you on this. I don’t do the sadistic and gory stuff. I get enough of that at home.

For that reason I avoid Val McDermid’s Wire in the Blood series. But the Karen Pirie and Kate Brannigan series should be more to your liking. 

[Zorral]

On 9/18/2020 at 6:47 AM, Hereward said:

I’m with you on this. I don’t do the sadistic and gory stuff. I get enough of that at home.

For that reason I avoid Val McDermid’s Wire in the Blood series. But the Karen Pirie and Kate Brannigan series should be more to your liking. 

That's why I've read none of her books.

About 1/3 of the way through Cleeves's The Darkest Evening.  I have so much admiration and respect for her skill at setting up, so rapidly, but not slapdash, not hurried, the victim, the suspects, the location, the characters and the story.  Real artistry.

 

[HoodedCrow]

Thanks for the question, because I’m taking notes! Liked P.D. James and Elizabeth George, but they aren’t terribly cozy. Anne Perry’s are edible but have stuff in them. The main characters are “home”. For some reason, Minette Walters scared me a lot, so, not those. 

[Xray the Enforcer]

On 9/18/2020 at 6:47 AM, Hereward said:

I’m with you on this. I don’t do the sadistic and gory stuff. I get enough of that at home.

 

[Wall Flower]

7 hours ago, Zorral said:

That's why I've read none of her books.

About 1/3 of the way through Cleeves's The Darkest Evening.  I have so much admiration and respect for her skill at setting up, so rapidly, but not slapdash, not hurried, the victim, the suspects, the location, the characters and the story.  Real artistry.

 

 Ann Cleeve's Vera series was my mother's favourite and I inherited some of her books when she passed away earlier this year. As I like mysteries myself, my new reading project is to read the books from the beginning. I'm sad that she didn't get to read the new one though.

Mum also liked the Karen Pirie series by Val McDermid, some of which I also inherited. If an old lady in her eighties could enjoy them, I assume they would be okay for X-Ray the Enforcer!

[Zorral]

Woo.  Already finished the Cleeves.  It was such a satisfying read.  Sigh of repletion.  I haven't read any book this quickly since, well a really long time.  It speeded everything that I had the physical book in hand.

 

 

[Xray the Enforcer]

Just here to report that I'm about 1/3 of the way through the first Amelia Peabody book and am enjoying it immensely. Thank you again, everyone, for the ideas and support. As the nights become longer and the weather starts turning, I am very grateful for the reading material distraction.

[lady narcissa]

Yeah I don't like gory or horror or pretty much anything with serial killers.  I know a lot of series mystery authors will at least do one serial killer mystery - especially if they are the sort to work their way through different mystery types.  In those instances I might read them.  But on a whole I stay away from them.

On 9/17/2020 at 10:57 AM, dog-days said:

I loved Sansom's Shardlake novels, but wouldn't describe them as cosy. The last one in particular was (while not without hope) a tough, bleak read. It was great, of course, and after it I almost packed my bags and cycled to Norwich mid pandemic, still - the Shardlake novels don't really have the sense that deeply unpleasant things aren't going to happen to the recurring characters, and the atmosphere of oppressive political intrigue means there isn't such a safe sense of "home" which I'd associate with the cosy mystery genre. 

I know I have talked in this thread about my love of the Shardlake books and I don't want to just repeat myself...but its been a few pages since I last said how much I love these so...I absolutely love these!  The last one was more than I ever wanted to know about Kett's Rebellion but I happily slogged through it.  And yeah they are by no means cosy especially since I am always stressed and worried for Shardlake (and yet highly annoyed at him) but they are "cosy" for me in that they involve some of my most favorite things and what could be more cosy than that?

1 hour ago, Xray the Enforcer said:

Just here to report that I'm about 1/3 of the way through the first Amelia Peabody book and am enjoying it immensely. Thank you again, everyone, for the ideas and support. As the nights become longer and the weather starts turning, I am very grateful for the reading material distraction.

Enjoy! I love the Amelia Peabody series.  I perhaps love Elizabeth Peters' Vicky Bliss series a tad more but you are in for an enjoyable journey with Amelia.  And there are a lot of books in the series so lots of enjoyable reading ahead.  Warning: They do make you want to jump on a plane and take a cruise down the Nile and explore all the fantastic sites she writes about.  And Peters does have a couple of books about a librarian that I also enjoyed including one that takes place at a romance novel convention which is highly relatable and enjoyable for anyone who has ever been to a book related convention as we have.

[Castellan]

I would like to recommend Lisa Sandlin's two books. (I am not sure if we are recommending to anyone in particular anymore!) That said, I seem to remember one of them does concern serial killing of boys, I remember because I just find that stuff so depressing. What I like is the set up - the first book is called The Do-Right - do-right being slang for prison, and the main character is Delpha Wade, released from prison in 1973 after 13 years for killing one of the men who raped her, and needing to find a job and place to live in the small town in Louisiana she came from. She gets a job with a man who is just setting up a PI practice and things take off from there. I can't remember details of the actual crime plots!

PS have reread - has quite a horror story tinge to it, not at all cosy.

I usually google "best crime novels of xxxx" for example early in the following year and see what reviewers are pushing. Some of their picks are just disappointing best sellers but I have found some good new series this way.

Edited September 23, 2020 by Castellan

[john]

Been reading the "IQ" books by Joe Ide, which the promotional materials describe as about a "street smart Sherlock Holmes." Not really true, it's about a smart guy and his partner who's a bit of a gangster sorting out street level problems in inner city LA. They mainly drive around getting into fights with people, its more like Batman than Sherlock Holmes. Lots of wacky, larger than life characters, high energy and wit, entertaining set pieces. At times it feels more like an adult Hardy Boys than a serious crime book. So cautiously recommended if you like that kind of thing.