While You Are Waiting

Who doesn't like to laugh? Anyone out there? Those who do like to laugh, are probably already on the list for Janet Evanovich's Notorious Nineteen which comes out on November 20. If you are on the list and while you are waiting, you might want to try one of these humorous mysteries. OK - I admit it. I like a little humor in my mysteries. Two of the authors I am going to recommend are among my favorites.

Lisa Lutz writes a series on the Spellman family. The Spellmans are Albert and Olivia (the parents), David (the perfect older brother), Isabel (the rebellious middle child) and Rae (the youngest brat). All but David run a PI firm in San Francisco. Well, I love San Francisco but in addition, this series has me rolling on the floor laughing. I have heard the author speak and she is just as funny in person - irreverent, inappropriate and hysterical. The books in order are: The Spellman Files; Curse of the Spellmans; Revenge of the Spellmans; The Spellman's Strike Again; and finally or most recently (I hope not finally) Trail of the Spellmans.

Next comes Harley Jane Kozak's series about Wollie Shelley, a greeting card designers, who stumbles over a dead body and develops a talent for murder investigations. The titles include: Dating Dead Men; Dating is Murder; Dating Ex;  and most recently A Date You Can't Refuse.  Kirkus Reviews called her “funny, brave, smart, and altogether the fetchingest crime heroine since the early Stephanie Plum,”  Give Wollie a try.

Gemma Halliday has a series about Maddie Springer, a shoe designer turned amateur sleuth. The titles in order are: Spying in High Heels; Killer in High Heels; Undercover in High Heels; Alibi in High Heels; Mayhem in High Heels; and the most recent Fearless in High Heels. There are just as many quirky characters and she even has a trigger happy cohort like Lulu.

OK - this one might be a farther reach but this series by Spencer Quinn is just as funny. Instead of a woman protagonist though, it has a dog. Quinn pens the Bernie and Chet mystery series. I love this series. Much of it is told from the point of view of the dog and his voice is so very dog like that once again, I am laughing out loud in waiting rooms (people look at you strangely when you do that). Bernie runs a private detective agency out of his home and his partner is Chet, a police dog who had an unfortunate incident with a cat during his final test. The titles are Dog On It; Thereby Hangs a Tail; To Fetch a Thief; The Dog Who Knew Too Much; and just out A Fistful of Collars.  Kirkus Reviews says that Bernie and Chet are "the coolest human/pooch duo this side of Wallace and Gromit” and it has been praised by Stephen King as "a canine Sam Spade full of joie de vivre," If you want a laugh and even if dog mysteries are not your thing, give this a try.

Enjoy one or two of these while you wait.