REGIONAL MYSTERIES

This list of regional mysteries is not comprehensive, but it does have variety! The titles chosen give intimate portraits of fascinating people and richly detailed descriptions of intriguing places, all wrapped up in a well-written mystery.  The feeling that the reader is actually at the site of the story always adds to the adventure. A strong sense of place is almost like one of the characters. Here are a few selected places for visit.

Barr, Nevada
Endangered Species
Putnam’s Sons, 1997.
Cumberland Island National Seashore off the coast of Georgia is the evocative setting for this the fifth mystery featuring park ranger Anna Pigeon. Barr’s descriptive writing brings the island’s ecology to life-palmetto trees, ocean grasses, high heat and humidity, alligators and endangered loggerhead turtles. When a drug interdiction plane crashes on the island due to sabotage, and the pilot and passenger are killed Anna sets to investigate her colleagues and the island’s close-knit community.

Burke, James Lee
In the Electric Mist With Confederate Dead
Hyperion, 1993.
When Dave Robichaux arrests Elrod T. Sykes for driving while intoxicated, he is offered information about an old murder in exchange for leniency in the DWI offense. Sykes, who is appearing in a film being made in the New Iberia, Lousiana area, keeps referring to the Confederate officers he has seen in the area at night. Dave’s own encounter with a Confederate cavalry officer leads to truths that are as appropriate now as they were in the 1860’s South. FBI agent Rosie Gomes joins with Robichaux in the solving of the serial rape-murders of young prostitutes in the area in this complex novel. Burke is excellent at conveying mood and sense of place.

Collins, Max Allan
The Million-Dollar Wound
St. Martin’s, 1986.
Combat veteran P.I. Nate Heller arrives in wartime Chicago and collides with a homefront every bit as violent as the jungle he left behind. The murder of a high-priced call girl ignites the final violent days of mobster Frank Nitti’s reign Heller also probes the tinsel underworld of Hollywood where he encounters columnist Westbrook Pegler, actor Robert Montgomery, fan dancer Sally Rand, and G-man Eliot Ness. Almost every chapter begins with a photo or scene relating to the chapter. The reader really is in 1940’s Chicago.

Dibdin, Michael
Ratking
Bantam Books, 1989.
It’s a mixed blessing for police commissioner Aurelio Zen when he is called away from his desk job exile in Rome to investigate the kidnapping of industrialist Ruggiero Miletti. In a society corrupted by blackmail, coercion, and intertwining interests, Zen must tread carefully to bring the truth to light. A tightly-plotted literary thriller.

Gur, Batya
Murder on a Kibbutz: A Communal Case
Harper Perennial, 1996.
Third mystery featuring Jerusalem investigator Michael Ohayon by Israeli professor Batya Gur. The lifestyle of the kibbutz, the, most successful experiment in socialist living in the modern world, is vividly rendered through the eyes of an outsider. Aaron Meroz, Member of the Knesset, has come a long way from the frightened child taken in by the kibbutzim after his mother abandoned him. Now his secret lover Osnat is found poisoned, and the eyes of the commune all turn on Aaron. Old hurts, jealousies, and conflict over technology and money suggest several candidates for Osnat’s murder. Ohayon must discover the murderer while attempting to keep events quiet, and puts himself and his staff a risk in doing so. A thoughtful mystery that concentrates on human relationships.

Leon, Donna
Death at La Fenice
Harper Collins, 1992.
During the intermission of La Traviata at the Teatro La Fenice in Venice, world-renowned conductor, Helmut Wellanuer is found dead surrounded by the unmistakable odor of bitter almonds. Commissario Guido Brunetti is charged with finding the culprit " Immediately" by his superiors and an outraged press. His suspects include a young widow, the soprano with a secret and clues trailing back to World War 11. As he traverses the canals and foggy streets of Venice, the reader will meet an irresistible sleuth and a memorable setting. Followed by: Death in a Strange Country, Dressed for Death, Death and Judgment.

McClendon, Lise
The Bluejay Shaman
Walker & Co., 1994.
Art gallery owner Alix Thorssen is on call as an expert for the FBI and other law-enforcement agencies. She leads a fairly uncomplicated life until her brother-in-law, Professor Wade Fraser, is arrested for murder on the Salish reservation in Montana. Fraser was known as having little patience with people who exploited the Native Americans. What’s more, he was also heard arguing with Siloh Merkin, the woman found dead. As Alix begins looking into the events surrounding the death of Siloh, she uncovers more than she bargained for, including a legendary artifact that just may be worth killing for. Rich in color and detail, the novel brings the landscape and character of Montana to life while introducing a tough yet sensitive female hero with a sense of humor. The treatment of the religion and customs of the Western Montana Native is reminiscent of Tony Hillerman.

McCrumb, Sharyn
The Rosewood Casket
Dutton, 1996.
As Randall Stargill lies dying on the family’s farm in Appalachia, his four sons come home to pay their respects and, after his death, to carry out his last wish: to build, together, a casket from the rosewood he had stored in the attic. However, it is not only the rosewood that has been hidden away. Secrets from Randall’s life as well as those of his sons come to light in this moving and elegantly- written mystery, part of McCrumbs "Ballad" series, a mystical evocation of time and place.

McQuillan, Karin
Deadly Safari
St. Martin’s Press, 1990.
Jazz Jasper’s fledging safari company is in jeopardy after the apparent heart attack of an obnoxious client, followed by the murder of Jazz’s good friend Lynn, who commissioned the trip. Jazz investigates when Kenyan Inspector Omondi is told to drop the case. Set against the expansive savanna of Kenya, with numerous details of African wildlife and safari life, Jazz comes to terms with her personal and professional lives while uncovering a murderer.

Roberts, Gillian
The Mummers’ Curse
Ballantine, 1996.
Challenged to disprove the adage that "those who can, do; those who can’t teach," Amanda Pepper determines to "commit journalism". Her research into the famous Philadelphia Mummers’ Parade becomes very pertinent when, in the middle of the parade, one of the reveling clowns falls dead of a gunshot. When the prime suspect, a fellow Philly Prep teacher, names her as her as his alibi, Amanda must investigate. With immense humor, Amanda explores the Mummers, Philadephia’s "neighborhoods," family honor, and of course, whodunit.

Rosenberg, Robert
House of Guilt
Scribner, 1996.
Retired from the Jerusalem Police Firce, Avram Cohen is asked by the minister of police to look for Simon Levi-Tsur, the psychologically disturbed heir to the House of Levi-Tsur, an international Jewish banking house. Cohen soon finds himself going from Tel Aviv’s decadent nightlife to the extremist religious Jewish settlements on the West Bank. When Simon’s body is found in the Judean desert, his murder is attributed to Arab terrorists. Cohen finds that the circumstances surrounding the boy’s death are suspicious and don’t add up to a terrorist murder. As he delves into Simon’s last days, Cohen finds that Simon was looking into an old robbery of ancient Israeli antiquities. Cohen uncovers extremist plots, old robberies, and a shocking crime with international implications.

Scottoline, Lisa
Legal Tender
Harper Collins, 1996.
Philadelphia law-firm Rosato & Biscardi has suffered a tragic loss. Biscardi is found dead at his desk, and Rosato is the chief suspect. Unconventional lawyer Benedetta: Bennie Rosato is on the run from the police, who don’t like her much anyway, since her specialty is police misconduct and excessive force cases, and she usually wins. Scottoline has written several mysteries all set in Philadelphia, all with a different female lawyer protagonist. All are well written, fast paced, and feature the City of Brotherly Love as a "main character".

Skinner, Robert
Skin Deep, Blood Red
Kensington Books, 1997.
Displaying mastery for vivid imagery and incredible detail, Robert Skinner leads us back to the jazz-filled, money-hungry, corrupt life in the Quarter of 1936 New Orleans. A Creole nightclub owner passing as a white man, Wesley Farrell is blackmailed by mob boss Emile Ganns into finding out who killed the corrupt cop who allowed Ganns to operate. While dodging bullets (in some intense shoot-um –up scenes) and closing in on the killer, a haunting secret is revealed.

Smith, Julie
New Orleans Mourning
St. Martin’s Press, 1990.
Masked balls, parades, jazz bands…its Mardi Gras in New Orleans. Amidst this colorful setting, policewoman Skip Langdon tracks the killer of Chauncey St. Amant, murdered while riding in the parade. Growing up with New Orleans elite, Skip knows the suspects-Marcelle the pampered daughter, Bitty the pill popping wife, Henry the neglected son, and Tolliver the doting family friend. The investigation introduces her to Steve Steinman who shares her adventures, her spirit and her heart. The first of a continuing series, this book oozes with the atmosphere of the Old South.

Stabenow, Dana
A Cold Day for Murder
Berkley, 1992.
Edgar Award Winner
Kate Shugak lives in an isolated cabin in the middle of an Alaskan National Park. She has moved here to return to her roots and to escape her experience with the Anchorage District Attorney’s office. But she can’t leave behind her talent for detection---nor trouble. She investigates the disappearance of a National Park Ranger and the investigator who comes to look for him. Kate receives help from her friend Bobby, a wheelchair bound Vietnam veteran and from sometime lover Jack Morgan from the D A’s office. As Kate delves into the disappearance she realizes the two men were murdered and that the murderer may be someone very close to her. Stabenow’s books paint a vivid picture of the Alaskan wilderness and the subsistence living conditions of the Native Americans who inhabit it.

This page is designed and maintained by the Rolling Meadows Library
Please direct questions and comments to: 
Mary Constance Back, ARRT Homepage Coordinator
mary.back@rmlib.org

This page was last updated on 03/19/2007.