Mystery Writers As and Bs

So, here it goes... some of my favorite authors and series of mysteries.

1. Jussi Adler-Olsen
After the worldwide success of Steig Larsson's Millennium trilogy (The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, etc.), nordic noir became a thing and many more books from Norway, Denmark, and Sweden were translated into English. That's a good thing for us. Adler-Olsen's Department Q series is thrilling and funny. Carl Morck, our protagonist, has been pushed into the cold case unit because like so many other detectives, he doesn't always follow the rules. There are only three books in the series so far; definitely start with the first: The Keeper of Lost Causes. (Denmark)

2. Benjamin Black
I read Christine Falls by Black (the pen name of John Banville, who's known for his literary fiction, among other works), but I didn't really love it and I'm afraid his books are not currently on my must-read list. (Ireland)

3. Alan Bradley
Bradley's Flavia de Luce mysteries are only police procedurals if you believe someday teenager Flavia will become a detective. She's more than likely to become a chemist, though. For her, chemistry doesn't produce better living, it solves crimes. Yeah, she's a CSI detective before her time. These lovely, funny, poignant books take place in post-World War II England. You won't read them for the mysteries, per se, but to get to know Flavia, her family, and her village. Start with The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, the first, and hope that the fifth book comes out soon because the fourth left us with a huge cliffhanger. (England)

4. Ken Bruen
Another author I'm not really keeping up with, but someday I will. I did like his first novel in the Jack Taylor series, The Guards, very much, and I might have read The Killing of the Tinkers, but I don't remember. (Ireland)

More to come in the days and weeks ahead (I have a big list).

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