Cotton Malone has retired from the U.S. Justice Department to run his dream bookstore. But his knowledge and background put him in a unique position for callback on assignments. Steve Berry uses historical events to build his stories. The best part? At the end of each novel he explains which parts are fact and which are fiction. As is often the case, the truth sometimes seems stranger than fiction!
Set in England just prior to World War I, our protagonist works as a housemaid on a large estate. She slips into the vast library at night to further her education. Her astute employers realize her potential and sponsor her education at Cambridge. When World War I starts she becomes a nurse on the front lines. Afterwards, with the assistance of a mentor to help her deal with war trauma, she decides to open her own detective agency to learn more about what makes people tick. She uses psychology and the understanding of her own wartime trauma to inform her investigations and help her clients.
Set in Savannah, GA, the protagonist Harper McClain is a journalist who witnesses a crime scene that reminds her of the murder of her mother, a traumatic event from her childhood. As a child she discovered her mother’s lifeless body in the house after school. McClain is convinced that the same murderer is still on the loose. The police don’t share her opinion. She sets out to try to solve the crime herself. This, the first in the series, establishes the framework for future books set in this historic city.
Set in Botswana, this first-in-the-series introduces readers to Mme Ramotswe, a new detective who has learned her craft from a manual she has read from cover to cover. Though her agency is off to a slow start she does begin to have customers, many of whom are skeptical of the new agency. Her views on life, along with her love for her country, elucidate her cases and enlightens the reader.
Set in England, P.D. James' Inspector Dalgliesh of Scotland Yard is called in to solve a classic locked-door mystery. Reminiscent of Agatha Christie, the Inspector Dalgliesh mysteries are solid whodunits for connoisseurs of the genre.
Fans of Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series will enjoy this clever debut featuring Izzy Spellman, an irrepressible 28-year-old sleuth who works for her parents' San Francisco PI firm. Members of the dysfunctional and relentlessly nosy Spellman clan include Izzy's 14-year-old sister, Rae, who engages in recreational surveillance (a fancy term for tailing people just for kicks), and her uncle Ray, a cancer survivor and recovering health-food addict who regularly disappears on liquor-drenched "Lost Weekends." Scenes showcasing the relationships among the various Spellmans are often laugh-out-loud funny.
Lola Nichols
Information Specialist
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