Best Mysteries of 2011 - Part 2 AND Sister by Rosamund Lupton

                      

         

I've got 5 more titles to complete the best mystery list and an endorsement for a title I am listening to in my car.

6) British author S. J. Bolton has written, 'Now You See Me', a comtemporary gothic about a female police officer who is taunted by a serial murderer who is intent on copying Jack the Ripper. It is fast paced and suspenseful with graphic historical details.

7) Colin Cotterill, who has written a series featuring a Laotian coroner, has begun a new series featuring a young, female journalist. 'Killed at the Whim of a Hat' takes place in southern Thailand. It is slow starting but picks up speed with humor. Jimm Juree, the journalist, and her family will have you looking for more.

8)Craig Johnson has added another title to the Walt Longmire series, 'Hell is Empty'. Walt is chasing an escaped killer through snow covered mountains in Wyoming. Johnson adds allusions to Dantes' Inferno and Indian mysticism to a hard driving, suspenseful plot. This seventh in the series could be his best.

9)G.M. Malliet, of CID St. Just fame (i.e. Death of a Cozy Writer), is starting a new series with 'Wicked Autumn'. This series is featuring an ex-M15 agent who has become a small village vicar. How is that for a change of pace? While Max Tudor is looking for peace, what he finds is murder. Malliet uses her sense of humor, good pacing and interesting characters to make this a good cozy read.

10) Craig Morton's first novel, 'Stealing Mona Lisa', is a fictionalized account of the actual 1911 theft of the famous painting. The story is intricately plotted and the historical details accurate. A fun read for history buffs.

 

I spend quite a bit of time in my car. The radio gets old after a while, particularly when I go on trips. I have always turned to books on cd when I am getting ready to spend more than an hour driving. Over the holiday, I took a trip to Florida and New Orleans. While driving, I started to listen to Sister by Rosamund Lupton. I don't know how I missed it when it first came out this summer. Lupton writes this novel in the form of a letter from an older sister to her dead younger sibling. She explains all her thoughts and reactions to finding out Tess, the younger, was missing and then found with her wrists slashed. While the police and the rest of the family believe this a suicide. Bea, the letter writer, is sure it was murder. Very suspenseful, very well written, an enjoyable experience. I highly recommend it if you missed it.