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Sunday, November 27, 2011

Thanksgiving Recovery

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I had a great day with family for a delicious dinner and then woke up early for a day of shopping on Black Friday.

Do you plan on taking advantage of any Cyber Monday sales? Any booklovers on your shopping list or looking for something new for yourself? Here are a few great series that would make great gifts for the readers on your list or a nice way to treat yourself.

*  Sue Grafton - Kinsey Malone series -Kinsey is an intelligent, independent PI in California. This is my all-time favorite mystery series, and I have been reading the series for years. If you haven't read any of the books in this excellent, well-written series, start at the beginning and work your way through the alphabet. My favorite is "C is for Corpse", but the lastest installment V is for Vengeance on my own Christmas list.

* If you are already a fan of Grafton and looking for something similar, you may want to try Sara Paretsky's VI Washawski series, Marcia Muller's Sharon McCone series, or Linda Barnes's Carlotta Carlyle series.

* If you prefer books featuring amateur sleuths, then here are few series you may enjoy:  M.C. Beaton's Agatha Raisin novels (although she does go into the PI business in the later installments), but the style is far from "hard-boiled". Former London PR expert Agatha moves to an English village and infuriates many of the local residents, but has a knack for solving murders. Mary Daheim's Alpine Series featuring Emma Lord series also has a main character that has left the big city for life in a small town. Emma has taken over a small newspaper in the small town of Alpine, Washington and gets personally involved investigating murders she's writing about. Emma's latest adventure, The Alpine Winter, comes out this month.       

* My favorite British mysteries include any of Agatha Christie's Miss Marple or Hercule Poirot books, but also Colin Dexter's Inspector Morse, Emily Brightwell's Mrs. Jeffries Victorian mysteries, and  Deborah Crombie's Duncan Kincaid and Gemma James series. (Duncan and Gemma are Scotland Yard partners as well as life partners).

* Alexander McCall Smith has several series, but my favorite is the #1 Ladies Detective Agency Series featuring Botswana's Precious Ramotswe and her assistant Grace Makutsi. These aren't traditional mysteries, but are wonderful stories featuring a wise detective. Any of the books in this series would make a wonderful gift for any reader on your list.

Happy Shopping and Happy Reading!

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