Prime Suspect

Richard Jury (Sleuth)

  

Martha Grimes 22nd Richard Jury Mystery THE BLACK CAT hit bookstores today. Like all previous Richard Jury Mysteries, THE BLACK CAT is the name of an actual pub in the UK.

In THE BLACK CAT, Detective Superintendent Jury of Scotland Yard intrudes on the turf of the Thames Valley police to investigate the death of an escort at the Black Cat pub. Along for the ride is Jury's aristocratic friend Melrose Plant and a menagerie of talking cats and dogs that have overpopulated Martha's books lately.

I have enjoyed this series from the beginning. But lately I've been less than thrilled with the novels. They are beginning to feel like they are trapped in an earlier time before modern forensic science and when amateur/civilian friends would help Scotland Yard solve a case. To borrow a British phrase, the books are becoming rather twee.

 

Richard Jury Mysteries

1. The Man with a Load of Mischief (1981)
2. The Old Fox Deceiv'd (1982)
3. The Anodyne Necklace (1983)
4. The Dirty Duck (1984)
5. The Jerusalem Inn (1984)
6. Help the Poor Struggler (1985)
7. Deer Leap (1985)
8. I am the Only Running Footman (1986)
9. The Five Bells and Bladebone (1987)
10. The Old Silent (1989)
11. The Old Contemptibles (1991)
12. The Horse You Came In On (1993)
13. Rainbow's End (1995)
14. The Case Has Altered (1997)
15. The Stargazey (1998)
16. The Lamorna Wink (1999)
17. The Blue Last (2001)
18. The Grave Maurice (2002)
19. The Winds of Change (2004)
20. The Old Wine Shades (2006)
21. Dust (2007)
22. The Black Cat (2010)

Publishers:

• Little, Brown, Boston. (1981-1991)
• Alfred A. Knopf, New York. (1993-1997)
• Viking Penguin, New York. (1998-Present)

Adelia Aguilar (Sleuth)

  

Ariana Franklin is the pen name of British author Diana Norman (pictured above). After writing a bunch of historical fiction and non-fiction, Diana turned to historical mysteries. This is when Ariana Franklin and her sleuth Adelia Aguilar were born.

Adelia Aguilar is a female pathologist living during the reign of Henry II of England. After four children are murdered in the medieval college town of Cambridge and with a religious war about to erupt between the Catholics and the Jews over the children's deaths, Henry begs his cousin, the King of Sicily, to send the best "master of the art of death" to solve the murders.

The Sicilian King sends Adelia. Since she's a woman who could easily be declared a witch in superstitious England, she is forced to act as an assistant to her true assistant and protector, Mansur, a Marsh Arab. Along the way, Adelia picks up a few travelers including Gyltha, an eel seller, and her urchin grandson, Ulf. Also, Adelia meets Sir Rowley Picot who charms Adelia and becomes very important to her. But you will have to read about it in the first book of the series Mistress of the Art of Deathto learn more about Adelia and all the interesting characters she meets in Medieval England.

The second book, The Serpent's Tale, finds Adelia trying to clear Eleanor of Aquitaine of the murder of her husband's (King Henry II) mistress, Rosamund Clifford. But instead of welcoming Adelia's help to clear her name, Eleanor promptly imprisons Adelia and her entourage in a nunnery!

After successfully resolving the murder in the second book, Adelia returns in Grave Goods. She is sent to Glastonbury after a fire has destroyed the beautiful Abbey and uncovered a pair of human skeletons. Could the skeletons possibly be King Arthur and Guinevere? Adelia must find out the truth before a Welsh rebellion threatens to topple King Henry II from the English throne.

The latest book in the series, A Murderous Procession, is released on April 1, 2010 in the US. King Henry II sends his daughter Joanna to Palermo to marry William II of Sicily. He needs someone he trusts to protect his daughter and to see her safely on her journey. Adelia is chosen for this onerous task and she doesn't like it one bit.

Ariana's books are fascinating. The historical details are interesting and at times astonishing. Ariana's grasp of the period allows us to explore the time period without feeling like we are reading a boring history text. The medical capabilities of the time are minutely explored. Ariana restricts herself to the medical knowledge that was available at the time. This helps keep the story rooted in it's time and keeps it from leaping into a fantasy world of CSI: Medieval England. Women were indeed educated as physicians in Sicily which at the time possessed the greatest medical training college in the Western World.

For readers who enjoy Ellis Peter's Brother Cadfael mysteries, Ariana Franklin's Adelia Aguilar novels are sure to delight.

To learn more about Adelia Aguilar and her creator, visit Ariana Franklin's Website.

  

Adelia Aguilar Novels

1. Mistress of the Art of Death (2007)
2. The Serpent's Tale (2008) aka The Death Maze
3. Grave Goods (2009) aka Relics of the Dead
4. A Murderous Procession (2010)

Publishers:

• Putnam, New York.

Sebastian St. Cyr (Sleuth)

 

C.S. Harris (aka Candice Proctor and C.S. Graham) writes a fun Regency era mystery with the dashing and mysterious Sebastian St. Cyr, Viscount Devlin.

My favorite genre of mystery is historicals. This series is one of my favorites. Harris combines all the historical highlights of Regency England with the darker and raunchier aspects that make the era so fascinating. Harris, also, has a firm grasp on the intricacies of creating a mystery puzzle. The clues are well-hidden and each one is essential to undercovering the evildoer in an exciting and revealing climax.

The series starts off with What Angels Fear and it finds our sleuth, Devlin, accused of raping and murdering an "actress" who is also the mistress to the cream of the Ton. Devlin is forced to go on the lam to prove his innocence and find a murderer. Each book in the series also reveals parts of Devlin's backstory. And when the "Big Secret" is revealed, it is a doozy.

Harris also writes a Thriller series with Steven Harris, her husband, as C.S. Graham. Under her real name (Candice Proctor) she has written 7 Historical Romances. And if that isn't enough, she has a couple nonfiction titles under her belt.

More about C.S. Harris and Devlin at her website.

Sebastian St. Cyr Mysteries

1. What Angels Fear (2005)
2. When Gods Die (2006)
3. Why Mermaids Sing (2007)
4. Where Serpents Sleep (2008)
5. What Remains of Heaven (2009)

Publishers:

• Penguin Group, New York.

Flavia de Luce (Sleuth)

 

Alan Bradley's second Flavia de Luce Mystery, The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag, comes out today. If you missed the first mystery, The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, I strongly suggest getting yourself a copy.

Flavia lives in a sleepy English village called Bishop's Lacey. In the summer of 1950, she solves her first mystery about the murdered man outside her window. She uses her incredibly dangerous chemistry laboratory to do some nifty CSI-like forensic tests as well as develops poisons on the off-chance she wants to kill one of her annoying sisters. 

In the second mystery, Flavia has to uncover a murderer who did the dastardly deed during a performance of Jack and the Beanstalk in the village church. I look forward to reading it.

The series and the sleuth bring back a fond memory of the original Nancy Drew mysteries with its setting in the recent past. The writing is free of the incessant irony and cynicism in modern kid/teen mysteries which is a pleasant escape, in my view.

     

Flavia de Luce Mysteries

1. The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie: A Flavia de Luce Mystery (2009)
2. The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag: A Flavia de Luce Mystery (2010)

Publishers:

• Delacorte Press, Random House, New York.

Bowen, Rhys (Author)

 

Rhys Bowen is the nom de plume Janet Quin-Harkin uses when writing her mystery series. Her most current mystery, The Last Illusion, was just published this month. It is the 9th novel in the Molly Murphy Mysteries.

The multiple award winning author writes three mystery series: 

The Molly Murphy Mysteries feature an independent, forthright Irish immigrant in turn of the century (20th) New York. She starts her own detective agency, a bold move for a woman at that time. She soon finds herself trying to navigate her way through every level of New York society in search of murderers and other villains. Each novel focuses on on familiar themes of the era: the plight of immigrants, horrible sweatshops, fraudulent spiritualists, and woman's suffrage, to name a few. Molly has an on-again, off-again relationship with a high society police detective named Daniel Sullivan that adds a touch of romance to the mysteries.

1. Murphy's Law (2001)
2. Death of Riley (2002)
3. For the Love of Mike (2003)
4. In Like Flynn (2005)
5. Oh Danny Boy (2006)
6. In Dublin's Fair City (2007)
7. Tell Me Pretty Maiden (2008)
8. In a Gilded Cage (2009)
9. The Last Illusion (2010)

The Constable Evans Mysteries take place in modern day Wales. The village of Llanfair is as picturesque as a village one could hope for in mysteries. Filled with oddballs, family feuds lasting generations, jealousies approaching the boiling point, a kind-hearted constable, Evan Evans, to solve the mysteries and a pretty school teacher, Bronwen Price, to steal Evan's heart. The mysteries are short and funny while at the same time deal with modern societal problems like drug abuse and arranged marriages. After writing 10 books in this series, it is currently in hiatus according to Rhys's website.

1. Evans Above (1997)
2. Evan Help Us (1998)
3. Evanly Choirs (1999)
4. Evan & Elle (2000)
5. Evan Can Wait (2001)
6. Evans to Betsy (2002)
7. Evan Only Knows (2003)
8. Evan's Gate (2004)
9. Evan Blessed (2005)
10. Evanly Bodies (2006)

The Royal Spyness Mysteries is Rhys's newest series. It features Lady Victoria Georgiana Charlotte Eugenie Rannoch, a distant cousin to King George V of England. The year is 1932 and Lady Georgie (as she's known to friends and family) finds herself in London, penniless and without servants! But she is no shrinking violet. Lady Georgie comes up with a crazy plan to make money: Clean and prepare London townhomes for the aristocracy when then come to town for the Season. Her escapades are quickly discovered by Her Majesty Queen Mary (of Teck) who asks Lady Georgie to use her proximity to these aristocrats to solve some minor mysteries and squash any scandal. The mysteries poke fun at the mystery conventions while adding derring-do and romance to mix.

1. Her Royal Spyness Solves Her First Case (2007)
2. A Royal Pain (2008)
3. Royal Flush (2009)

You can read more about Rhys Bowen and her series at www.rhysbowen.com .

Publishers:

• Minotaur Books, Macmillan, New York.
• Berkley, Penguin Group, New York.