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Who better to pick the best mystery books of the month than the people who run mystery bookstores? Each month, the 40-odd quirky stores that make up IMBA submit their favorite recent reads to a rotating editor who then trims the list to five. Most are recent publications but sometimes something we missed the first time around sneaks in. Every selection is a gem that otherwise might have been lost among the more than 100 mysteries published each month.  

ISSUE 6.4

Edited by 

Tom and Enid Schantz

Rue Morgue, Lyons, CO 

www.ruemorguepress.com

BAD THINGS HAPPEN by Harry Dolan (Putnam $26.95), recommended by Barbara Peters, The Poisoned Pen www.poisonedpen.com: Maybe I like this debut so well because Dolan studied writing with the late Frederick Busch. Dolan earned a master’s degree in philosophy from the UNC Chapel Hill and worked for several years as a freelance editor. Which is how come he writes so keenly of that university town Ann Arbor and of the literati who cluster around the mystery magazine Gray Streets. A loner who calls himself David Loogan throws a few stories over the transom. Publisher Tom Kristoll offers him a contract: as editor. Tom, himself a failed writer, has found a good niche as publisher. Loogan is soon seduced by Tom’s professor wife Laura, who alibis Loogan when Tom, some months later, is murdered at the office. Soon Loogan’s life imitates fiction as several of the magazine’s circle are murdered, and Detective Elizabeth Waishkey of the Ann Arbor PD wants to tag Loogan it. He sees nothing for it but to work the case, remembering the Gray Streets formula: Plans go wrong. Bad things happen. People die.

THE COLD LIGHT OF MOURNING by Elizabeth Duncan (St. Martin’s Press, $24.95). Recommended by Marian Misters, Sleuth of Baker Street www.sleuthofbakerstreet.com: Duncan is the first Canadian to win the Malice Domestic Best First Traditional Mystery Novel Competition. The book is set in a small town in North Wales and introduces manicurist Penny Brannigan. It seems that hairdressers and manicurists are the hub of village goings-on and gossip and Penny’s shop is no exception. After getting her nails done on her wedding morning, a local bride doesn’t show up for her wedding and it seems that Penny was the last person to see her. This is your classic British cozy, or should I say Welsh cozy, with all the trapping: the Lord of the Manor; eccentric locals; the vicar and his wife; and small town gossip. It’s got charm and it is a delight to read.

HOUSE SECRETS by Mike Lawson (Atlantic Monthly Press, $22.00) Recommended by Fran, Seattle Mystery Bookstore. www.seattlemystery.com: There’s one thing you can be certain of when you pick up the latest novel by Mike Lawson – you’re in for an excellent story. Joe DeMarco is asked by Speaker of the House Mahoney to look into the death of a reporter. Normally this wouldn’t be of any interest to much of anyone, but the dead reporter’s father is a friend of Mahoney’s, and Mahoney just wants DeMarco to turn over a few rocks, look into it, reassure Finley that his son’s death was really an accident. “There you go, DeMarco thought. That was his job description: rock flipper and bug crusher. Not very flattering but accurate enough.” 

But it’s not that simple, and there are more than mere creepy-crawlies hiding under the rocks DeMarco overturns, and soon not only is DeMarco in over his head, but Emma is being threatened, and it’s possible that even Mahoney is in jeopardy. 

The joy of Lawson’s writing is how very well drawn his characters are, how tight and well-woven his plots are, and how easy and fluid his writing is. In my opinion, Mike Lawson is truly one of the gifted authors of our time, and if you haven’t had the pleasure of reading his Joe DeMarco series, now is a good time to start. Each book stands on its own, which is a testament to the skill of his writing, but as a whole, this is one of the best thriller series out there, bar none.

DEATH AND THE LIT CHICK by G.M. Malliet (Midnight Ink, $14.95) Recommended by Tom & Enid Schantz, The Rue Morgue www.ruemorguepress.com: In the second outing for her stalwart police detective, Chief Inspector Arthur St. Just of Cambridge, the author treats us to an absolutely delicious skewering of the world of mystery publishing and its none too savory denizens. St. Just has been roped into speaking at Dead on Arrival, a prestigious conference for crime writers and aficionados being held in Edinburgh. He and the other panelists are being put up at nearby Dalmorton Castle, where the glamorous and arrogant Kimberlee Kalder, dubbed the queen of chick lit after the runaway success of her debut mystery, is eventually found dead at the bottom of the castle’s bottle dungeon. 

Anybody who has ever been to a mystery conference will appreciate the author’s sly digs at self-absorbed authors who take themselves far too seriously and the agents, publishers, and publicists whose careers depend on them. The author paints the petty rivalries and jealousies of her subjects and the latest trends in mystery publishing with a very broad brush, and she excels at throwaway lines (“Prologues are so last year,” “Why do serial killers always think in italics?”) that hit their targets dead on. About the only admirable characters in the book are the bemused St. Just, whom we learn is a widower, and the serenely beautiful crime writer Portia De’Ath, with whom he is instantly and hopelessly smitten. 

Malliet’s first book, Death of a Cozy Writer, recently won an Agatha award for best first mystery of the year; this sequel is even wittier and more skillfully constructed.

SHANGHAIED, by Eric Stone (Bleak House, $24.95, hardcover; ), recommended by Louise, I Love A Mystery, Mission, Kansas, www.iloveamystery.com: A group of Tibetan monks seeks the aid of the corporate investigation firm in Hong Kong for which Ray Sharp works. The monks have heard troubling rumors about the Shanghai bank that manages the lamasery’s portfolio of investments. When one of the monks disappears, he is assumed by all to be overly enamored with Hong Kong’s red-light district. Ray finds cause for alarm, however, as he learns that the bank rumors may be grounded in fact and that the missing monk was the group’s bookkeeper. The investigation takes Ray and his diminutive colleague and pal, Wen Lei Yue , to the seedy area of Hong Kong. They then proceed to Shanghai, where they encounter some very scary characters, including a sociopathic U.S. army veteran and his twin kung-fu bodyguards, Floss and Betty. 

Shanghaied is a fast-paced thriller, peopled with lively characters. Though forced to deal with some real heavies, Ray Sharp is an unlikely hero. He narrates his tale with self-deprecating wit, and, when unable to avoid a fight, is likely to end up on the receiving end of the beating. Best friend Wen Lei Yue is the dynamic other half of the duo. She’s a feisty little thing, and her Chinese-Mexican heritage gives her the ability to be profane in multiple languages, much to Ray’s oft-expressed dismay. Indeed, the dialogue between these two snaps, crackles and pops.

Previous years' recommendations recently released in paperback:

MISSING by Karin Alvtegen (Felony & Mayhem) 

TRIGGER CITY by Sean Chercover (Harper)

WIT’S END by Karen Joy Fowler (Plume) 

HELL HOLE by Chris Grabenstein (St. Martin's Minotaur)

STALKING SUSAN by Julie Kramer (Anchor Books)

SILENT IN THE SANCTUARY by Deanna Raybourn (Mira)

FRIEND OF THE DEVIL by Peter Robinson (Harper)

AT THE CITY'S EDGE by Marcus Sakey (St. Martin's Minotaur)

LAST RITUALS by Yrsa Sigurdardottir (Harpercollins)

CHILD 44, by Tom Rob Smith (Grand Central)

THE DAWN PATROL by Don Winslow (Vintage Crime/ Black Lizard)

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