Jeanne's Favorite Series: Hillerman, Christie, Peters, and so many more!

 I’m trying to restrain myself, but it isn’t easy.  I love books in series, and there are so many I want to share! I’m trying to mix old favorites with new discoveries because an old book is still new to someone who’s never read it.

 

Midnight Riot by Ben Aaronovich (Rivers of London):  I’m working my way slowly through this series just because I don’t want for it to end.  Peter Grant is a young police officer in London when he is recruited by Thomas Nightingale, England’s last government-sanctioned wizard.  Peter is the narrator, and he has a breezy, off the cuff style I enjoy. There’s fantasy, magic, folklore, a bit of romance, and wonderful information about London. 

 

The Blessing Way by Tony Hillerman (Leaphorn/Chee): When Tony Hillerman first tried to sell this book, he was told he should “take out all that Native American stuff.”  He didn’t, and I am so glad. Not only did I learn about Navajo culture from someone who obviously respects them, but the descriptions of the country are so vivid I almost felt I was there.  The mysteries are good, too.  The series is being continued by Tony’s daughter, Anne Hillerman.

 

Death Pays the Rose Rent by Valerie Malmont (Tori Miracle): I kept hearing about Valerie Malmont on Dorothy-L, a mystery listserv, as a series people missed most. I picked up one and thought it was cute, but it wasn’t until the second that I really got into it. Tori is a New Yorker with some cash flow problems who ends up in Lickin Creek, Pennsylvania because a friend has invited her to visit.  There’s a certain amount of culture clash, some humor, romance, cats, and a love of the The Wizard of Oz.

 

A Morbid Taste for Bones by Ellis Peters (Brother Cadfael): This mystery series is set in 12^th century England in a Benedictine monastery.  Brother Cadfael is a former soldier who returned from the Crusades and took up the cowl.  He’s an herbalist who takes an interest in solving mysterious deaths. Peters (actually Edith Pargeter) books are well researched, absorbing, and filled with memorable characters.

 

Curiosity Thrilled the Cat by Sofie Kelly (Magical Cats Mysteries): This is a fun, light-hearted series about a librarian with two cats, both of whom exhibit some supernatural abilities.  The plots are well done, the cats are adorable, and there’s a good bit of snappy dialog.  Mostly I love it for the strong relationships between characters, especially the female bonding.  There’s usually a romance or two as a bonus.

 

Murder at the Vicarage by Agatha Christie (Miss Marple): Although she is probably better known for her Hercule Poirot mysteries, I always liked Miss Marple better.  The seemingly harmless little spinster who never misses anything and whose understanding of human nature can’t be surpassed is near and dear to my heart. I also love Christie’s fair play mysteries, in which she gives all the clues so that astute readers may figure out the solution. Alas, I was never that clever. 

 

Whose Body? by Dorothy L. Sayers (Lord Peter Wimsey): Lord Peter starts out as rather a dilettante detective, taking on cases that interest or amuse him. Aided by his marvelous valet, Bunter, Lord Peter disguises his keen intelligence behind a façade of upper crust ignorance.  As the series progresses, the character deepens; we learn about his traumatic experiences in the First World War and he falls in love with a woman accused of murder. Sayers was a friend of C.S. Lewis and several of the Inklings.

 

Fer-de-Lance by Rex Stout (Nero Wolfe): Stout blended the American hard-boiled detective with the cerebral British one.  Archie Goodwin is a wise-cracking man of action who does the legwork for his boss, Nero Wolfe. Wolfe prefers to stay in his New York brownstone, tending his orchids, reading, and eating gourmet meals prepared by his chef.  When his bank account dips, he can be prodded into solving mysteries, relying on the information Archie gathers.

 

Finlay Donovan is Killing It by Elle Cosimano (Finlay Donovan): I picked the first one up on a whim and found myself laughing so much I nearly fell off the treadmill.  I figured the second one wouldn’t be as good but surprise!—it was.  Finlay is a struggling romance writer with two small children, bills to pay, a jerk of an ex-husband, and a few problems with anger management that got her a restraining order and banned from Panera. She has a housekeeper/babysitter who keeps things on more or less an even keel.  Even though on one level I know some plot elements aren’t really plausible, I don’t care.  I want in on the wild ride that is Finlay’s life.

 

Caught Dead Handed by Carol J. Perry (Witch City Mysteries): Another fun series, this one set in Salem, Massachusetts. Young widow Lee Barrett returns to her hometown of Salem where she grew up under the watchful eye of her librarian aunt, Ibby.  Lee hopes to get a job as a reporter for the local TV station, but as it turns out they don’t have any openings—well, not until the woman who makes psychic predictions on the late night movie program is found dead.  Lee inherits not only her job but her cat, and discovers she has the gift (or curse) of scrying, of seeing visions in reflective objects. I really liked learning the behind the scenes of a TV station, the history of Salem, and I adore the cat, O’Ryan aka Orion who may be more than just an ordinary cat.

 

There are so many other series I love! Louise Penny’s Three Pines, Christopher Fowler’s Peculiar Crimes Unit, Elly Griffiths’s Ruth Galloway, several different Sherlock Holmes spin-offs such as the ones by Bonnie MacBird, Alexander McCall Smith’s No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency, Erle Stanley Gardner’s Perry Mason, and on and on.