Reader's Advisory
This is a large part of why I became a librarian...to be around books. Actually, I'm an archivist, but that's another story...maybe I'll tell it on another page. Here's a list of books I've recently read and highly recommend:
Sins of the Wolf by Anne Perry. This is just the latest book I've read in Anne Perry's William Monk detective series. Monk is the amnesiac detective; in the first book, he's a police detective recovering from a carriage accident who struggles not only to solve a mystery, but to discover who he is. As the series goes on, he uncovers pieces of his past; frequently, they show a picture of a man he's ashamed to know - arrogant, brutal to his inferiors, sarcastic, but highly intelligent with a passion for justice. If you haven't read any of Perry's Victorian period mysteries, you're missing a treat.
The House on Astor Lane or any other of Victoria Thompson's historical mysteries set in turn-of-the-century New York. Her unlikely detective is a society woman turned midwife and her Irish cop friend. Look for class-clashing romance here, too!
Travels With Charley in Search of America and On The Road by John Steinbeck and Jack Kerouac, respectively. Oldies, but goodies - whether you're in search of America or your soul, these are good mileposts.
Harry Potter series That these clever and entertaining stories about the adventures of kid wizard Harry Potter and his friends are best-sellers restores my faith in humanity!
The House on Bloodhound Lane by Virginia Lanier - Jo Beth Siddon is one spunky Georgia peach, and if she doesn't always catch her man, her bloodhounds do.
Gift From the Sea and North To The Orient by Anne Morrow Lindbergh - A truely Wise Woman, Anne Lindbergh is one of my all-time favorite writers. John thinks she's too wordy at times, and he may be right, but I'm won over by the lyricism of her prose.
The Griffin and Sabine Triology by Nick Bantock - For romantics everywhere, the demon lover myth/fantasy reworked.
The Sculptress (or any of the books) by Minette Walters - Britain's new Queen of Mystery is a master of the psychological detective story. Unusual among current popular mystery writers (Dick Francis being the most notable exception), she doesn't have a series detective, but a new hero/heroine with each book. You've got to be good to get a publisher to go for that these days!