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| Sue Grafton Kinsey Milhone Series |
Nevada Barr Anna Pigeon Mysteries |
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| Kinsey is an introverted private detective stuck in the 1980's. If you wondered how they tracked people down and got shot at before the Internet, Sue Grafton's series is one to start on. | Anna is a park ranger that gets moved around, usually where there are dead bodies soon to be found. Besides suspense and murder in the national park system, Nevada Barr has a flair for bringing these parks to full and rich life. Makes you want to run out there and visit them. |
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| Diana
Mott Davidson Goldy Bear Mysteries |
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Goldy is an intrepid caterer living in Colorado who has a nack for stumbling across dead bodies. The series starts out with Goldy as a divorced mother of one, and moves rapidly into high steaks, I mean, high stakes death, mayhem and great recipes! A must read for light snack reading. When she meets and then marries a homicide detective, things really begin to heat up! |
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| J.A. Jance | |
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J.P. Beaumont Mysteries |
JoAnna Brady Mysteries |
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Beau is a crusty homicide cop who has seen too much of the Seattle dark side. His personal life can get mixed in with the business at hand, making him a mark for the killer or just a soft touch for a friend. Jance provides a nice feeling for the Pacific Northwest, including lots of authentic landmarks and famous establishments sprinkled throughout these fast paced who dunits. |
JoAnna is the widow of a deputy. After her husband is killed, she must pull herself together to prove that he was not a drug runner. These fast paced, Arizona based stories are well told, with a woman sheriff who is real and bad guys who are more than idiots, often with scary dark sides we wouldn't want to meet in a dark dessert setting. |
| Patricia D. Cornwell | ||
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| Dr. Kay Scarpetta Mysteries | Chief Judy Hammer | |
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Kay is a Doctor, Lawyer and Indian Chief as the Chief Medical examiner. This tough as nails ME faces some of the most psychotic killers in print. Besides a full background and lots of realistic details, Kay is someone that you can feel for. She is not perfect and has several unperfect friends we grow to love and worry about. Start with Postmortem and work your way through Forensics 101 and Aberrant Psych |
Judy is a new character that still needs to be fleshed out. The stories are well put together, but the venue, as Chief of Police, still leaves something to be desired. If you enjoy the Scarpetta Series then read some Hammer for a change, but not a change of pace. | |
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| Dick Francis | |
| Francis is my favorite mystery author. Placing most of his stories in and around the racing world where Francis had his first career as a jockey, the characters quickly become friends. The scenery is rich and detailed. You learn a lot about whatever subject is at hand, while wondering who the really bad guy is. Lots of little criminals sprinkled in with the master mind we are chasing through the story. The hardest part about the Francis novels is that he rarely repeats a character, although it sometimes does occur, as with Whip Hand (Sid Halley) and Bolt (Kit Fielding) | |
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