Let's Talk Books: Detective Fiction

by Beth

Detective Fiction has been around for centuries. From Edgar Allan Poe, Arthur Conan Doyle, and Agatha Christie to Robert Galbraith, Tana French, or Sue Grafton Detective Fiction is a subset of the Mystery Genre. Usually more than a simple 'whodunit" with clues to follow and a crime to solve, Detective Fiction can be hardboiled or amateur, humorous or supernatural and anywhere in between.

Thanks to everyone who took part in last week's Let's Talk Books: Detective Fiction discussion. If you missed it, not a problem! Here's the list of the books we talked about.

To find the upcoming Let's Talk Books events check out https://www.icpl.org/events/ages/adults

Four to score

Janet Evanovich

MYSTERY Evanovich, Janet
Mystery

Nabbing Maxine Nowicki, thief and extortionist, would be the answer to Stephanie’s prayers and monetary woes. The only trouble is that Maxine is no where to be found, and her friends have been mysteriously turning up dead. To make matters worse, Stephanie’s arch nemesis since grade school is also looking for Nowicki, hoping to cash in first. Stephanie’s mentor and tormentor, Ranger, needs her. Vice cop Joe Morelli has invited her to move in… temporarily. And Stephanie’s Grandma Mazur, sidekick, Lula, and a six-foot-tall transvestite rock musician want to take Stephanie to Atlantic City. One thing is for certain, no good can come from any of it.

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Book #4 in the Stephanie Plum series. As of November 2020 there are 27 books in this long running series.
- Beth

IQ

Joe Ide

FICTION Ide Joe
Fiction

"A resident of one of LA's toughest neighborhoods uses his blistering intellect to solve the crimes the LAPD ignores. East Long Beach. The LAPD is barely keeping up with the neighborhood's high crime rate. Murders go unsolved, lost children unrecovered. But someone from the neighborhood has taken it upon himself to help solve the cases the police can't or won't touch. They call him IQ. He's a loner and a high school dropout, his unassuming nature disguising a relentless determination and a fierce intelligence. He charges his clients whatever they can afford, which might be a set of tires or a homemade casserole. To get by, he's forced to take on clients that can pay. This time, it's a rap mogul whose life is in danger. As Isaiah investigates, he encounters a vengeful ex-wife, a crew of notorious cutthroats, a monstrous attack dog, and a hit man who even other hit men say is a lunatic. The deeper Isaiah digs, the more far reaching and dangerous the case becomes"--

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Book #1 in the IQ series. As of Feb. 2021 there are 5 books in this series.
- Beth

The cat who talked to ghosts

Lilian Jackson Braun

MYSTERY Braun Lilian
Mystery

Jim Qwilleran and his cats Koko and Yum Yum try to solve a haunting mystery in a historic farmhouse in this New York Times bestseller in the Cat Who series. When Mrs. Cobb heard unearthly noises in the antique-filled farmhouse, she called Jim Qwilleran for help. But he was too late. It looked as if his kindly ex-housekeeper had been frightened to death—but by whom? Or what? Now Qwilleran’s moved into the historic farmhouse with his two cat companions—and Koko the Siamese is spooked. Is it a figment of feline imagination—or the clue to a murder in Moose County? And does Qwilleran have a ghost of a chance of solving this haunting mystery?

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Book #10 in the Cat Who... series by Lillian Jackson Braun. There are 29 titles in this series.
- Beth

Three doors to death

Rex Stout

MYSTERY Stout, Rex
Mystery

Three cases bring perplexing challenges to Nero Wolfe, as a man unsuccessfully attempts suicide just before he is killed, a murder victim's family hides the identity of the killer, and a horticulturist discovers his girlfriend's body.

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Book #16 in the Nero Wolfe series by Rex Stout. Stout wrote 33 novels and 39 short stories about Nero Wolfe.
- Beth

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

Arthur Conan Doyle

MYSTERY Doyle, Arthur Conan
Mystery

A scandal in Bohemia -- The red-headed league -- A case of identity -- The Boscombe Valley mystery -- The five orange pips -- The man with the twisted lip -- The adventure of the blue carbuncle-- The adventure of the speckled band -- The adventure of the engineer's thumb -- The adventure of the noble bachelor -- The adventure of the beryl coronet -- The adventure of the copper beeches

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Sir Arthur Conan Doyle wrote 62 stories about Sherlock Holmes. 58 were short stories and 4 were novels.
- Beth

A murder is announced

Agatha Christie

MYSTERY Christie, Agatha
Mystery

"A Murder is Announced" is a staple of crime fiction and is often considered the best of all the Miss Marple novels. The villagers of Chipping Cleghorn, including Jane Marple who is staying nearby, are agog with curiosity over an advertisement in the local gazette which reads: ‘A murder is announced and will take place on Friday October 29th, at Little Paddocks at 6.30 p.m.’ Is this a childish practical joke? Or a hoax intended to scare poor Letitia Blacklock? Unable to resist the mysterious invitation, a crowd begins to gather at Little Paddocks at the appointed time when, without warning, the lights go out…

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The 50th book by Agatha Christie, A Murder is Announced is the 4th book in the Miss Marple book series. Miss Marple is featured in 12 novels, and 20 short stories by Agatha Christie
- Beth

The Thursday murder club

Richard Osman

MYSTERY Osman Richard
Mystery

"In a peaceful retirement village, four unlikely friends meet weekly in the Jigsaw Room to discuss unsolved crimes; together they call themselves The Thursday Murder Club. There's Red Ron, the infamous former socialist firebrand, still causing trouble; gentle Joyce, widowed, pining for another resident, but surely not as innocent as she seems; Ibrahim, a former therapist who undersands the darker side of human nature; and Elizabeth? Well, no one is quite sure who she really is, but she's definitely not a woman to underestimate. When a local developer is found dead, the Thursday Murder Club suddenly find themselves in the middle of their first live case. The friends might be septuagenarians, but they are cleverer than most. Can our unorthodox but brilliant gang catch the killer before its too late?

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The first book in the new Thursday Murder Club series by Richard Osman.
- Beth

Magpie murders

Anthony Horowitz

MYSTERY Horowitz Anthony
Mystery

Susan Ryeland is the editor of the mystery author Alan Conway, who is known for his well-received series of novels centering upon the detective Atticus Pünd and for being very difficult to work with. Fans are eagerly awaiting Conway's latest novel, rumored to be the last in the series, but when Susan reads through the manuscript she discovers that it is unfinished. When she travels to Conway's home to retrieve the final chapters, she discovers that he is dead. In order to discover the whereabouts of the final chapters Susan begins an investigation of her own and finds that the novel may have been based on true events, causing someone to murder Conway.

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There is a book within a book in this first book in the Susan Ryeland series.
- Beth

Case Histories

Kate Atkinson

FICTION Atkinson, Kate
Fiction

The first book in Kate Atkinson's Jackson Brodie Mysteries series, finds private investigator Jackson Brodie following three seemingly unconnected family mysteries in Cambridge. Case one: A little girl goes missing in the night. Case two: A beautiful young office worker falls victim to a maniac's apparently random attack. Case three: A new mother finds herself trapped in a hell of her own making - with a very needy baby and a very demanding husband - until a fit of rage creates a grisly, bloody escape. Thirty years after the first incident, as private investigator Jackson Brodie begins investigating all three cases, startling connections and discoveries emerge . .

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Book #1 in British PI Jackson Brodie series of books.
- Beth

The survivors

Jane (Jane Elizabeth) Harper

MYSTERY Harper Jane
Mystery

"Coming home dredges up deeply buried secrets in The Survivors, a thrilling mystery by New York Times bestselling author Jane Harper. Kieran Elliott's life changed forever on the day a reckless mistake led to devastating consequences. The guilt that still haunts him resurfaces during a visit with his young family to the small coastal community he once called home. Kieran's parents are struggling in a town where fortunes are forged by the sea. Between them all is his absent brother, Finn. When a body is discovered on the beach, long-held secrets threaten to emerge. A sunken wreck, a missing girl, and questions that have never washed away..."--

Double fudge brownie murder

Joanne Fluke

MYSTERY Fluke Joanne
Mystery

Life in Lake Eden, Minnesota, is usually pleasantly uneventful. Lately, though, it seems everyone has more than their fair share of drama to manage. With so much on her plate, Hannah Swensen can barely find the time to think about her bakery - let alone the town's most recent murder... Hannah is nervous about the upcoming trial for her involvement in a tragic accident. She's eager to clear her name once and for all, but her troubles only double when she finds the judge bludgeoned to death with his own gavel. Now Hannah is the number-one suspect. As she sets out in search of the culprit she discovers that the judge made more than a few enemies during his career. With time running out, Hannah will have to whip up her most clever recipe yet to find a killer more elusive than the perfect brownie...

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Book #18 in the Hannah Swensen series. As of of 2021 there are 27 books in this series.
- Beth

The killings at Kingfisher Hill

Sophie Hannah

MYSTERY Hannah Sophie
Mystery

"Hercule Poirot is traveling by luxury passenger coach from London to the exclusive Kingfisher Hill estate. Richard Devonport has summoned the renowned detective to prove that his fiancée, Helen, is innocent of the murder of his brother, Frank. Poirot will have only days to investigate before Helen is hanged, but there is one strange condition attached: he must conceal his true reason for being there from the rest of the Devonport family. The coach is forced to stop when a distressed woman demands to get off, insisting that if she stays in her seat, she will be murdered. Although the rest of the journey passes without anyone being harmed, Poirot's curiosity is aroused, and his fears are later confirmed when a body is discovered with a macabre note attached... Could this new murder and the peculiar incident on the coach be clues to solving the mystery of who killed Frank Devonport? And if Helen is innocent, can Poirot find the true culprit in time to save her from the gallows?"--

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Book #4 in the new Hercule Poirot books by Sophie Hanna. The Agatha Christie estate commissioned crime writer Sophie Hannah to write a new Poirot novel in 2014, and this is now the 4th book in the new series.
- Beth

The Black Echo

Michael Connelly

MYSTERY Connelly, Michael
Mystery

The Black Echo—Michael Connelly's first novel—introduces readers to his most well-known character, Hieronymus "Harry" Bosch! This mystery kicks off with a body found in a drainpipe at Mulholland Dam. Detective Harry Bosch is called to the scene and is shocked to discover that the victim is someone he served with in Vietnam. Bosch faces an agonizing choice: solve the case and get justice for his brother-in-arms or track the killer and exact revenge.

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There are currently 22 books in the Hieronymus Bosch series. Book #23 "The Dark Hours" is due to be released in November 2021.
- Beth

In the woods

Tana French

MYSTERY French, Tana
Mystery

As dusk approaches a small Dublin suburb in the summer of 1984, mothers begin to call their children home. But on this warm evening, three children do not return from the dark and silent woods. When the police arrive, they find only one of the children. He is gripping a tree trunk in terror, wearing blood-filled sneakers and unable to recall a single detail of the previous hours. Twenty years later, the found boy, Rob Ryan, is a detective on the Dublin Murder Squad and keeps his past a secret. But when a 12-year-old girl is found murdered in the same woods, he and Detective Cassie Maddox (his partner and closest friend) find themselves investigating a case chillingly similar to the previous unsolved mystery. Now, with only snippets of long-buried memories to guide him, Ryan has the chance to uncover both the mystery of the case before him and that of his own shadowy past.

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First book in the Dublin Murder Squad series - there are currently 6 books in this series.
- Beth