RECOMMENDED BY A FRIEND

 
I have a friend in England who like me is a big fan of the mystery/crime genre. We’re forever swapping recommendations and so far haven’t come up with any duds. As long as we steer away from anything that’s too violent, we’re fine.

I hadn’t been in Boston long when I got an email from her asking if I’d read Dennis Lehane’s Kenzie and Genarro books. “You’ll love them” she said. “They’re like V I Warshawski, but set in Boston, and there’s plenty of references to those sports teams you’re always banging on about.”

So who could resist that? I checked them out, and she was spot on. I love these books (even though Patrick Kenzie isn’t a hockey fan). Lehane wrote what appears to be the last one (but never say never) in 2010, and my friend and I were swapping sad emails as we buddy-read it with 3,800 miles between us.

The Kenzie-Gennaro novels

A Drink Before the War (1994)
Darkness, Take My Hand (1996)
Sacred (1997)
Gone, Baby, Gone (1998)
Prayers for Rain (1999)
Moonlight Mile (2010)

FAVOURITE DETECTIVE

Just one? Nuh-uh. I'm having three.

Contemporary

V I Warshawski of course.  Smart, sassy and always looking out for people. She can fight, she likes a drink, and she enjoys watching sport. My kinda gal.

Historical

Gotta be Matthew Shardlake for this one. If I was in trouble in Tudor England, then I'd want this kind and clever, hunchback lawyer representing me. But I would make sure Jack Barak was on hand just in case there was any fighting. 

Alternative Reality

Thursday Next obviously. Not only is she totally kick-ass, but she can also play a mean game of croquet, can jump into books at will, and she has a pet dodo.  What's not to like?

OLD FAVOURITE

Didnt really feel like posting anything yesterday. Too stunned by events in Paris to come up with anything coherent. 

But when I do feel scared or confused by things out of my control, I will always reach for a handful of well-thumbed old favourites. And seeing as the theme for this month's challenge is the mystery genre, then what better than Agatha Christie?

SENSATIONAL SERIES

This series set in Tudor times is just stunning. Meticulously researched and written so that readers really feels as if they are living in London during the reign of Henry VIII.

When the series opens, Matthew Shardlake is a hunchback lawyer working for Thomas Cromwell. He is sent to a remote monastery to investigate the murder of one of Cromwell's commissioners. Like all good mysteries, there are more murders, a good dose of corruption, and plenty of intrigue. 

These books are so good. As the series progresses we see more of the Tudor court and watch the six wives come and go. Shardlake is sometimes at the center of the court and sometimes on the periphery. He has an enemy in Richard Rich, and the fact that he once had Thomas Cromwell as a patron doesn't always help his cause. But luckily he has a powerful friend in Queen Katherine Parr.

Damn, these books are good. But as I'm a little bit in love with Matthew's sidekick Jack Barak, I really could do with the next book in the series. 

ON MY CHRISTMAS LIST

Crap! Forgot to post this yesterday. 

Anyway, I rarely put books on my Christmas list. I just go out and buy them because that's how I roll. 

But, if I did have a list, then this biography of Charlotte Bronte would be on there. (Although I've got a feeling the US edition isn't being published until next year to coincide with the centenary of Charlotte's birth.