Clara Maynard's blog

The Lineup

Otto Penzler and his wife

Editor and bookshop owner Otto Penzler asked some of mystery’s well-known authors

Hardly Knew Her

laura lippmanI love reading Laura Lippman's books. Her popular Tess Monaghan series is great and her stand alone novels are intriguing. This book, Hardly Knew Her, is a collection of new short stories.  I found her short stories to be just as well written as her novels. The stories are set not just in her home city of Baltimore but also New Orleans, Dublin, and Washington DC.

Frozen Mummies?

mooseAlaskaWith our cold weather, it was time to read another mystery set in Alaska! So I picked up Shaman Pass. In this novel, Nathan Active is called to investigate the murder of an Eskimo leader, stabbed to death with an ivory harpoon. Turns out the harpoon was stolen along with an Eskimo mummy nicknamed “Uncle Frosty.” Nathan explores his people’s past to find clues leading to the murderer. Again, I enjoyed the setting, learning more about modern Eskimo culture, and seeing the hero become more comfortable with his heritage.

More Edgar Nominees!

Last week we looked at the 2010 Edgar Allan Poe Award nominees for Best Novel. The category of Best First Novel looks interesting also. When you get a chance check out one of these titles to see which book you think will win!
The Girl She Used to Be by David Cristofano

The Edgars

The Mystery Writers of America will be announcing the winners of the 2010 Edgar Allan Poe Awards on April 29. Awards are listed for several categories, but I’m always most interested in the best novel.

Syndicate content