The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency

The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith.  235 pages.

This is the first novel in the series, and centers around Precious Ramotswe, who has opened the first detective agency in the town of Gaborone.  Whether it's tracking down a husband, uncovering a con man, or finding a missing boy, Precious is up for the task.

I went into this with an assumption that it would be a mystery, focusing more on one particular case.  Instead, it is a series of things that Precious solves, as she figures out how to be a detective.  Relying mostly on her intuition and smarts, she alternates between coming off as very naive one moment, to very wise the next moment.   While I liked her, and I enjoyed the book, I'm not sure if I'll pursue more in the series.  So, an entertaining read, but not enough of a mystery for my mystery taste.

The link in the title takes you to everything in the Library's catalog.   This series of books was made into a series on HBO, which the Library has on DVD.

Too Many Cooks

Too Many Cooks by Rex Stout, 179 pages

Another book I read to go along with my research on culinary mysteries, this is the first Rex Stout I've ever read. I know many consider him to be one of the best mystery writers to have picked up a pen. This is chosen by some to be the first true culinary mystery.
Nero and his "Watson", Archie, are in West Virginia(?!) for a gathering of some of the best chefs in the world, who will be cooking but will also be exposed to some of the best cuisine America has to offer. Nero will lecture them about America's contributions to fine cuisine. Of course, a chef gets murdered during the activities and Nero is called upon to discover the murderer, much to his reluctance. He just wants to eat and drink.
I found it interesting that the story was told from Archie's perspective, and his descriptions of Nero present him as quite an odd character.
The best line in the book is from Nero, sleep-deprived and hungry,
when he asks Archie, "Do you realize that that fool is going to let that fool make a fool of him again?", referring to one of the chefs getting involved with his adulterous ex-wife again.

            

Dark Jenny

Dark Jenny by Alex Bledsoe  348 pages

Eddie LaCrosse recounts a past case he had when a coffin is delivered to the pub he in which keeps his office in the dead of winter.  A tale based upon Arthurian legend, Eddie tells of how he had been active on a case for a client in Grand Braun when he finds himself embroiled in a poisoning and must clear Queen Jenny's name on behalf the King Marcus Drake. 

By putting his own spin on the tale of the death of Arthur, Bledsoe is able to keep the reader engaged to the end of the book and its fun to see characters renamed and re imagined.  This whole series is light and quick to read but highly enjoyable with its mix of fantasy and hard-boiled detective fiction.

Wake of the Bloody Angel

Wake of the Bloody Angel by Alex Bledsoe 350 p

Eddie LaCrosse is back and investigating what happened to his landlady's old flame, turned pirate twenty years ago.  No trail is too cold to follow though and with the aid of an ex-pirate captain, Eddie is soon sailing the high seas in search of the long-lost lover and his treasure.

Another entry in the series,  this one doesn't fail to satisfy with its mix of fantasy and mystery.  The plot is well thought out and the novel maintains a good pace to the end.  Because Bledsoe isn't trying to be historically accurate, he can use modern language and humor.

Murder in E Minor

Murder in E minor by Robert Goldsborough  196 pages

Nero Wolfe and his sidekick Archie Goodwin were created by mystery writer Rex Stout, who wrote 47 titles in the series about this overweight, genius private investigator.  When Stout died in 1975, readers thought that might be the end of the series but author Robert Goldsborough came through with another 7 titles, this is the first of that series or number 48. 

After number 47, Nero Wolfe was seemingly in retirement, despite the protests of Archie.  But he is drawn into a new mystery when the niece of one of Wolfe's old acquaintances seeks help for her uncle who has been receiving threats to remove him from the position of director of the New York Symphony.   Shortly thereafter, the director is murdered and it is up to Archie and Wolfe to uncover the true culprit.

Goldsborough keeps in tradition with Stout's original creation and fans won't be disappointed.  When we spend so much time following the new books, sometimes it is fun to go back and read an older series.  It may be enough to make you read the first Nero Wolfe book!

The House of Silk

The House of Silk by Anthony Horowitz, 294 pages

I was highly intrigued by this book because (according to the inside cover jacket) this is the first novel authorized by the Arthur Conan Doyle Estate since it began over 125 years ago. Since I am basically a lifelong Sherlock Holmes fan, I knew I had to give this book a shot.

Within the first five chapters, I was convinced that I was going to hate it. To me, the character of Sherlock Holmes was extremely developed at this point in the book, whereas Doyle took basically the entire canon to reveal various quirks to the character's personality. I also didn't feel like the Sherlockian deductions were close to the solidity that Doyle had established. I knew I had to finish the book for the sake of being a Holmes fan, but I was prepared to experience a disappointment.

Much to my chagrin, the novel grew on me. The deductions still felt a bit shaky, and the Sherlock Holmes character was completely developed by the end of this 290 page novel, but the book had its own unique qualities that ultimately turned me from a skeptic to a lukewarm fan. The author also was able to take seemingly endless story lines and tie them all into one neat little knot by the end.

I will highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to get to know Doyle's Sherlock Holmes without reading the entire canon. I can see why the Arthur Conan Doyle Estate authorized this novel: it clearly adheres to the essence that is Sherlock Holmes and his time period. Reader be warned, however: there is some adult content.

Red Handed: The Fine Art of Strange Crimes

Red Handed: The Fine Art of Strange Crimes by Matt Kindt, 264 pages

Kindt is an award-winning artist and author, and this graphic novel ode to hard-boiled detective stories shows us why. Detective Gould is the best crime solver the city of Red Wheelbarrow has ever seen; no murder goes unsolved when he's on the case. But in Red Handed, Gould is dealing with a series of seemingly unrelated (and very odd) crimes masterminded by a mysterious someone whose ultimate goal is unfathomable.

This almost seems like an update of Sherlock Holmes, complete with a mysterious Moriarty (though with a different name); Kindt even compares Gould to Holmes in a newspaper clipping portion of the book. However, the Moriarty in Red Handed comes across as the smarter of the two, and more ink is devoted to his/her criminal strategies than to Gould's investigations. I enjoyed Kindt's artwork, which include several sections of panels that have an unfinished feel to them (pencil lines, fewer colors), as well as some spreads that are entirely talk bubbles. The latter of these are particularly great, as they frame the philosophical debate between Gould and his Moriarty.

This was a good one. I'll definitely be picking up some more of Kindt's work. (And yay for local authors! Kindt lives in Webster Groves!)