Tag: Mysteries

Online Reading Challenge – Mid-Month Check In

- Ann Leave a comment

Hello Again!

How is your month of Edwardian reading going? Have you found something that has grabbed your interest? If you’re still looking, maybe a movie would be the ticket – there are some gorgeous films set during this time period. Here are a few to consider:

A Room With a View – From the famous production team of Merchant and Ivory, this gorgeous film of love and romance stars Helen Bonham-Carter and Daniel Day-Lewis and is set in the idyllic Italian countryside.

Howard’s End – Another beautiful Merchant and Ivory production, starring Emma Thompson and Anthony Hopkins, brings the rigid rules of Edwardian society into sharp focus.

Edwardian Farm – Find out how the other half lives when two archaeologists and a historian recreate farm life for a full year using practices from 1906 England. Fascinating!

The Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady – So beautiful! Filmed on location in England and Scotland, this drama follows artist Edith Holden through the changing seasons.

Murdoch Mysteries – Follow Detective William Murdoch as he solves murder mysteries in Edwardian Toronto using the latest scientific methods.

Parade’s End – From the end of the Edwardian era through World War I, this epic story of romance and betrayal stars Benedict Cumberbatch and Rebecca Hall.

Mary Poppins – For something much lighter and happier, you can’t go wrong with Mary Poppins. It’s magical and fun and surprisingly thoughtful. Don’t miss it.

Miss Potter – The charming story of Beatrix Potter’s efforts to publish her first books and gain some measure of independence as a single woman in Edwardian England. Lovely and heartbreaking. Starring Renee Zellweger and Ewan McGregor.

The Edgar® Award for Best Mystery Novel of 2014

- Katie Leave a comment

130_eapoeThe Edgar® Awards, or Edgars® are named for Edgar Alan Poe, the American author credited with the invention of the modern detective story. They are awarded in the spring of each year by the Mystery Writers of America to honor distinguished works in the genre. The Davenport Public Library is pleased to present the winner and nominees in the Best Novel category:

 WINNER

bn3mrmercedes

 

In Stephen King’s Mr. Mercedes, unhappily retired cop Bill Hodges is spurred to action when the perpetrator of a devastating crime in his depressed Midwestern city threatens to strike again on a larger scale. The previous year, a crazed driver had run a stolen Mercedes into a line of unemployed people waiting for a job fair, killing eight and wounding several. Hodges, in a race against time and with the help of some unusual local characters, will not let the devious Mercedes Killer escape again!

 

 NOMINEES

thisdarkroadThis Dark Road to Mercy by Wiley Cash follows Wade, an ex-minor league baseball player on the run with his two young daughters (taken from their foster home in Gastonia, NC). He is pursued simultaneously by a vengeful former criminal associate and ex-cop Brady Weller who uncovers more nefarious doings in Wade’s past.

 

wolf“HELP US,” a note attached to the collar of a dog found wandering in the woods sends Detective Inspector Jack Caffery back to work in Wolf, Mo Hayder’s fifth Somerset crime novel. Will Caffery find the family held hostage in their country home before it is too late? Will the mysterious Walking Man help him discover the truth about his missing brother?

 

finalsilenceIn Stuart Neville’s The Final Silence, Rea Carlisle enlists the help of former Belfast DI Jack Lennon in uncovering her uncle’s disturbing activities during the Troubles. Her efforts are blocked by her father, a successful politician determined to keep the family’s grisly secrets under wraps. Now the subject of a murder investigation himself, Lennon smells a conspiracy.

 

saintsofshadowDetective Inspector John Rebus returns to the Edinburgh police force in Saints of the Shadow Bible, Ian Rankin’s nineteenth series installment. Paired once again with internal affairs officer Malcolm Fox, Rebus links 30-year-old murder case with a current car accident investigation to reveal a complex web of public and private corruption.

 

coptownIn Karin Slaughter’s stand-alone crime novel, Cop Town, two women detectives from very different backgrounds team up to stop a serial shooter from terrorizing the police force in 1970s Atlanta.

 

Get Ready to Shake your Beaded Tassles!

- Ann Leave a comment

When I grow up I want to be a Lady Detective just like Miss Fisher—elegant, scrappy and clever (words that also describe my other favorite Lady Detective, Jessica Fletcher!) Phryne Fisher has been dancing around the book world for a while (see my review of the first in that series here: Phryne, Rhymes with Briney), but now we can actually see her shake her beaded tassels in a new gorgeously filmed television series by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, shown in the United States on PBS.

Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries begins just as Kerry Greenwood’s book series does, with the Honorable Phryne Fisher, played by the seductive Essie Davis, returning to 1920’s Melbourne after being away for a decade or so. While she was away in Europe, Miss Fisher had modeled nude for artists, partied with dancers, worked as WWI nurse, and suddenly came into a title and money. Now that she is returned, Phryne decides that her charm and intellect are perfectly suited to solving murder mysteries around her old hometown. She enlists the help of her gentle butler, her communist chauffeurs/handymen, and her new maid, Dot, who finds herself constantly struggling between good Catholic values and the not-quite-legal-or-virtuous things that Miss Fisher persuades her to do. And of course, the local Detective Inspector Jack Robinson does not find Phryne’s frequent interference in his work amusing (even if he does find her annoyingly companionable.) I loved every episode of Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries, but what most puts a sparkle in my eye is Phryne’s marvelous wardrobe! The silk kimonos! The slinky wide-legged pants! And the hats oh THE HATS!

Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries is so charming, fun and sexy while still addressing many historically controversial issues such as abortion, homosexuality, and terrorism—all while giving us a cracking good whodunit. I highly recommend this series to fans of Downton Abbey, Call the Midwife, and those who love history and mysteries 😉

Upcoming Books – June

- Ann Leave a comment

Here are some of the new releases from popular authors that are coming out in June. Reserve your favorites today!

ides of april

sweet salt airthe heistbad monkeytell meone heart to win

 

 

 

Lindsey Davis – The Ides of April

Barbara Delinsky – Sweet Salt Air

Loren Estleman – The Confessions of Al Capone

Janet Evanovich – The Heist

Carl Hiaasen – Bad Monkey

Lisa Jackson – Tell Me

Johanna Lindsey – One Heart to Win

classified

second honeymoonchoke pointtrains and loversisland girlsrevenge wears prada

 

 

 

Fern Michaels – Classified

James Patterson – Second Honeymoon

Ridley Pearson – Choke Point

Alexander McCall Smith – Trains and Lovers

Nancy Thayer – Island Girls

Andrew Vachss – Afterschock

Lauren Weisberger – Revenge Wears Prada

For more new titles, be sure to check out Upcoming Releases on the Davenport Public Library webpage!

Pillow Stalk by Diane Vallere

- Lynn Leave a comment

pillow stalkIf you’re a fan of Mad Men, you’ll appreciate this Mad for Mod series. The hero is Madison Night, an interior decorator, who models herself after Doris Day. One subplot revolves around a local  theatre that is gearing up for a Doris Day festival.

Pillow Stalk by Diane Vallere appeals to  those who may have an interest in mid-century design, a unique Dallas neighborhood (the M streets), and, to a lessor extent, an actual mystery.

Madison  and her circle of acquantances (swimming, decorating, and film) are well-drawn and their various interactions serve to flesh out the philosophy and aesthetic of fifties and sixties clothes and furniture. The appeal of the colors, textures, and fabrics of this era are made tangible and specific when she discovers a great bedroom set, pillows, crockery or formica table. Part of her business model is to dress the part – always outfitted in color-coordinated outfits and high heels.

A good companion would be The Thing About Jane Spring by Sharon Krum. The heroine of this novel adopts the clothing, attitude and lifestyle of Doris Day in order to improve her romantic prospects.

 

Upcoming Books – March

- Ann Leave a comment

Here are some of the new releases from popular authors that are coming out in March. Reserve your favorites today!

deadly virtuebreaking pointsweet tea revengesix yearsguardian

 

 

 

Jo Bannister – Deadly Virtues

C. J. Box – Breaking Point

Laura Childs – Sweet Tea Revenge

Harlan Coben – Six Years

Clive Cussler – The Striker

Beverly Lewis – The Guardian

accursedboyfriendicecutters daughterwhen jesus weptnight moves

 

 

 

Joyce Carol Oates – The Accursed

Thomas Perry – The Boyfriend

Tracie Peterson – The Icecutter’s Daughter

Bodie Thoene – When Jesus Wept

Randy Wayne White – Night Moves

For more new titles, be sure to check out Upcoming Releases on the Davenport Public Library webpage!

Upcoming Books – February

- Ann Leave a comment

Here are some of the new releases from popular authors that are coming out in January. Reserve your favorites today!

hit me

power tripred velvet cupcake murdertouch and godeadly stakesLawrence Block – Hit Me

Jackie Collins – The Power Trip

Joanne Fluke – Red Velvet Cupcake Murder

Lisa Gardner – Touch & Go

J.A. Jance – Deadly Stakes

guilt

alex cross runstorytellercalculated in deathbad blood

 

 

 

Jonathan Kellerman – Guilt: an Alex Delaware Novel

James Patterson – Alex Cross, Run

Jodi Picoult – The Storyteller

J.D. Robb – Calculated in Death

Dana Stabenow – Bad Blood

For more new titles, be sure to check out Upcoming Releases on the Davenport Public Library webpage!

Upcoming Books – October

- Ann Leave a comment

Here are some of the new releases from popular authors that are coming out in October. Reserve your favorites today!

 

 

 

Jennifer Chiaverini – The Giving Quilt

Patricia Cornwell – Bone Bed

Nelson DeMille – The Panther

Louise Erdrich – The Round House

Richard Paul Evans – A Winter Dream

W. Michael Gear – People of the Black Sun

John Grisham – The Racketeer

Carolyn Hart – What the Cat Saw

Mark Helprin – In Sunlight and in Shadow

 

 

 

Susan Isaacs – The Goldberg Variations

Iris Johansen – Sleep No More

Karen Kingsbury – The Bridge

Debbie Macomber – Angels at the Table

James Patterson – NYPD Red

John Sandford – Mad River

Alexander McCall Smith – The Uncommon Appeal of Clouds

Danielle Steel – The Sins of the Mother

Tom Wolfe – Back to Blood

For more new titles, be sure to check out Upcoming Releases on the Davenport Public Library webpage!

 

Camilla Lackberg – A Swedish Mystery

- Ann Leave a comment

Camilla was 29 when she published her first novel, The Ice Princess, in 2003. Three years later, her prize-winning books were topping the Swedish bestseller lists. She based her books in her own hometown of Fjallacka Sweden. The Main characters are Patrik and Erica. Patrik is a policeman and Erica is a writer. Her books are a wonderful blend of suspense, mystery and romance. She has become the top selling writer in Sweden. She has written 7 books in her mystery series, but only 2 have been published in the U.S.

Ice Princesss ( 2009) After she returns to her hometown to learn that her friend, Alex, was found in an ice-cold bath with her wrists slashed, biographer Erica Falck researches her friend’s past in hopes of writing a book and joins forces with Detective Patrik Hedstrom, who has his own suspicions about the case.

Preacher (2011) The discovery of two murder victims who were killed twenty years earlier is complicated by the body of a third, recent victim at the same location, a case that compels detective Patrik Hedstrom to investigate a feuding clan of misfits, religious fanatics, and criminals.

Best Books, Part 2

- Ann Leave a comment

More best books from our Blogging Librarians! Michelle and Lexie kind of cheated since they each picked two titles; however, they’re both so good at picking books we don’t mind a bit.

Michelle starts with a mystery. “Louise Penny’s quirky, yet endearing characters make A Trick of the Light one of my favorite mysteries of the year. Penny’s clever writing style combined with her main character, the legendary Inspector Armand Gamache, make for a superb mystery book (and the latest release in the series)”. Read more in her blog post from earlier this year.

A fiction book is Michelle’s second pick. “Katie Lee’s debut work of fiction, Groundswell was a favorite beach read in 2011. Groundswell follows a main character who becomes caught up in the glitz and glamour of stardom only then to discover what is important in life after a traumatic event”. Michelle’s blog post about this book is here.

Lexie says go big or go home with George R. R. Martin’s series A Song of Ice and Fire. “An epic fantasy series set in a land where seasons can last for decades. The series is filled with political intrigue, plenty of shocking plot twists, romance, and engaging characters who don’t fit into a traditional mold of good or evil. This complex world that Martin created has become an absolute obsession for me; the fifth book was just released in July and I’m already eagerly anticipating the next installment”. Read more from Lexie about it in her earlier blog post.

Her second pick is Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro. “31-year-old “carer” Kathy looks back on her youth, which was spent in an isolated English boarding school with her two best friends and plenty of secrets. This book is haunting and incredibly thought-provoking. I couldn’t put it down once I started, and I couldn’t stop thinking about it once I finished”. Lexie blogged about it here.