AGATHA RAISIN AND THE VICIOUS VET by M.C. Beaton

FIC/MYS

BEATON, M.

This book is a delightful English "cozy," i.e. a mystery set in a quaint village. Agatha Raisin is not exactly the Miss Marple type, however. She has retired from her public relations company in London and settled down to the deceptively peaceful idyll of the Cotswolds.

She might be retired, but Agatha wouldn't be averse to a little romance and excitement. When a handsome new vet arrives in town, Agatha-true to her charmingly self-centered, vaguely dishonest self will try anything to get her claws into him. Whoops! He winds up dead!

THE BODY IN THE VESTIBULE, by Katherine Hall Page

FIC/MYS/PBK

PAGE

Charming American "cozy" mystery featuring Faith Fairchild, former Manhattan caterer, now a New England minister's wife.

This entry in the series finds the Fairchilds in Lyon, France for a month while Tom does research for his doctorate.

Great French atmosphere, and, of course, great food.

THE ICE HOUSE by Minette Walters

MYS/PBK

WALTERS

British author Walters' first novel is considered a modern classic. A decomposing body is found in an outdoor ice house on the grounds of Streech Grange. Is this Phoebe's husband who disappeared years ago? Many surprises and twists in this original plot.

A MORBID TASTE FOR BONES

FIC/MYS

PETERS, E.

Though Brother Cadfael is skeptical of Prior Robert's motives in fetching Saint Winifred's bones from her grave in Wales to the abbey, it is a good thing Cadfael accompanies the delegation sent accomplish the task. Brother Cadfael is needed to interpret between the Welsh villagers and the English monks. He must also find the murderer of the villager leading the opposition to moving Winifred. Cadfael solves the murder, assists in pairing off two sets of lovers, and keeps Winifred in Wales without disappointing his own abbey.

Readers with an interest in medieval history or in mysteries, or who just enjoy a good story with many humorous touches, should try this first of Brother Cadfael's adventures.

BITTER MEDICINE by Sara Paretsky

PBK/MYS

Paretsky, S.

A riveting Chicago-based whodunit which starts out with private detective V.I. Warshawski taking Consuelo, sixteen years old and pregnant, to a Schaumburg hospital for delivery of her premature baby. Neither mother nor baby live out the night. The next day the doctor who treated her is found brutally murdered, and Vic (short of Victoria) is hip-deep in a highly personal investigation. What she uncovers is an explosive nightmare of conspiracy and greed in which human life takes a back seat to the bottom line.

HARM DONE by Ruth Rendell

FIC/MYS

RENDELL, R.

Domestic violence is the theme of this Inspector Wexford mystery which finds Wexford's daughter Sylvia volunteering on a help-line at the Hide, a refuge for abused women. Rendell's in-depth characterizations illuminate this serious social problem as Wexford investigates three kidnappings, one murder, and a recently paroled pedophile.

CLOUDS WITHOUT RAIN: AN AMISH MYSTER by P.L. Gaus

FIC/MYS
GAUS
Professor Michael Branden is working undercover to investigate buggy robberies in the Amish community. He is in Amish dress and driving a buggy when he encounters a deadly accident between a police car, a tractor-trailer, and a buggy. An investigation reveals that this was not necessarily just an "accident."

Two of Professor Branden's friends are deeply affected by the incident, so he helps them unravel the mystery of what really happened. During their inquiry the Amish lifestyle is depicted in detail. The plot thickens as community members differ over a proposed land development scheme. Will these Amish abide by tradition, or embrace a more modern point of view?

A well-told engrossing story.

CONCOURSE by S.J. Rozan

FIC/MYS
ROZAN, S. J.
When a protege of his old mentor Bobby Moran is murdered while working as a security guard at a nursing home in the Bronx, PI Bill Smith investigates by going undercover, also as a security guard. Bill first calls in Lydia Chin to research what appear to be questionable business arrangements. When another guard is beaten to death and a doctor blown away, it becomes clear that more than one illegal operation is based at the nursing home.

DANGEROUS TO KNOW by Margaret Yorke

FIC/MYS

YORKE

Now that her daughters have grown, Hermione Brown is slowly beginning to excape from husband Walter's abusive hold over her life. Walter, however, is becoming increasingly "dangerous to know."

Something of a departure from Yorke's usual mysteries, this novel still retains the suspense and sharp characterizations her fans have come to expect.

CHINA TRADE by S. J. Rozan

PBK/MYS

ROZAN

Young New York PI Lydia Chin is hired by the China Pride Museum to find their stolen porcelains, despite the wishes of her brother Tim..Lydia's unladylike job is a source of embarrassment to her family. Tim has no idea that Lydia will be interviewing the heads of two rival Chinese gangs, and he thinks her failure to solve the case will mean a loss of face for him. The reader will enjoy not only Lydia's neat solution, but also her guts in pursuing it. Most will also find glimpses of Chinese culture fascinating. Romantic tension between Lydia and her fellow PI Bill Smith adds a little extra sizzle to the story, the first in a very good series.

SHAPE SHIFTER by Tony Hillerman

FIC/MYS

HILLERMAN

Lt. Joe Leaphorn has recently retired from the Navajo Tribal police. He receives a copy of an article about an old and priceless Navajo rug from the 1860's, when the Navajo people started their long walk home. Eventually the "woven sorrow rug" was purchased and displayed at a trading post. When that building burned down, the rug was supposedly lost as well. The insurance company paid the owner.

Now Joe's friend Mel Bork, who is investigating the owner of a supposed copy, has gone missing only to be found dead a few days later. An atmospheric and suspenseful read.

IN THE BLEAK MIDWINTER by Julia Spencer-Fleming

FIC/MYS

Spencer-Fleming

Clare Fergusson, former army helicopter pilot, is the first Episcopal woman priest in small-town Miller's Kill, N.Y. Clare is having enough trouble with the cold weather and her conservative parishioners when she finds a baby abandoned in the church. This event brings police chief Russ Van Alstyne, a religious skeptic, to her door. Opposites are forced together when the baby's mother is found murdered. Since the policeman is married, both suppress the growing attraction between them. As this is the first in a series, their relationship is sure to be explored further.

NOT IN THE FLESH by Ruth Rendell

FIC/MYS

RENDELL
The discovery of skeletal remains by a truffle hunting dog draws Inspector Wexford into a difficult missing person investigation. When his assistant Mike Burden discovers another body in the basement of the deserted cottage on the property they must find the link between the two cases. A subplot involving genital mutilation among the immigrant Somali population of Kingsmarkham keeps this long-running series current.

L.A. REQUIEM by Robert Crais

FIC/MYS

CRAIS

The police think it premature to look for Frank Garcia's missing daughter so Frank ask Joe Pike, an ex-cop and old boyfriend of Teresa's, to find her. Joe and his fellow P.I., Elvis Cole, soon fear Frank's concerns are warranted. Their fears are realized when a couple of joggers find Teresa's body. It's clear to Elvis and Joe that the police are closing in on the wrong suspect. When that suspect is eliminated beyond doubt, the police again fix on the wrong man. This time, though, it's Joe.

This dark mystery ;is for readers who like their heroes bigger than life and who can tolerate considerable violence.

ALMOST FRENCH by Sarah Turnbull

944.361

TUR

When Sarah Turnbull, a young Australian journalist on sabbatical in Europe, meets Frederic, a Frenchman (complete with ascot), little does she realize that she is about to embark on a lifelong love affair with him and his native city of Paris. Full of amusing anecdotes about her skirmishes with prickly Parisians, Turnbull sheds light on the French love of aesthetics and the countryside as well as their perplexing behavior at cocktail parties. By the time she and Frederic decide to marry, Turnbull has developed a real understanding of his country, so much so that she feels "almost French."

DAVE BARRY DOES JAPAN by Dave Barry

818.5402

BAR

After a short vacation in Japan funded by his publisher, Barry wrote this very entertaining report of his findings. His encounters and sometimes clashes with Japanese culture give the comic plenty of material. Barry sometimes criticizes and often praises his host country, but always evokes a laugh. One serious and touching passage describes his visit to Hiroshima, including the memorial.

THE RELUCTANT TUSCAN by Phil Doran, 2005

945.5

DOR

Phil Doran, a tv script writer living in California, gets a telephone call from his wife Nancy, who is working on a marble sculpture in Italy. She tells him she has bought a house in Tuscany and asks that he come to see it immediately. Nancy feels that Phil is burnt out and needs to make a serious life change. Upon arrival Phil discovers that the house is a hovel without running water or electricity. Thus begins Phil's journey through the forest of Italian red tape necessary to make their home habitable. Phil has no patience with how things are done and complains bitterly and often until the day Nancy and he are involved in a car accident. He realizes he almost lost his life and vows to change.

This highly amusing memoir is fun to read as it gives a wonderful view of the drama of Italian life, families and of course, the cuisine.

I'M A STRANGER HERE MYSELF by Bill Bryson

973.92

BRY

These brief chapters are a compilation of newspaper columns written by Bryson for a British audience during his first three years in the United States after a twenty-year absence. As always, Bryson is entertaining and funny. He also helps the reader see the United States through the eyes of someone to whom some of its ways are unfamiliar. The things we do and have that are wonderful, but that we take for granted, and those that are silly, but that we are so accustomed to that we no longer notice, stand out large and clear.

Bryson's work is enjoyable at any time, but these little snippets are especially nice for those odd minutes waiting in line or for a quick break from work.

THE HILLS IS LONELY by Lillian Beckwith

914.17

BEC

A former schoolteacher who went to live on Bruach, an island in the Hebrides, for a rest cure, wrote this entertaining yearn. She did not get much rest, but if laughter is indeed the best medicine, she must have been cured. Many of her more hilarious adventures and experiences resulted from the cultural and language differences between the people of Bruach and the English writer. Miss Beckwith's, or as she was called by Bruachites, Miss Peckwit's stories are often earthy, but seem likely to appeal to a broad audience.

A YEAR IN THE WORLD by Frances Mayes

910.4

May

Frances Mayes leaves her Tuscan home to travel.. Her journeys are primarily in the Mediterranean area and are as beautifully described as her home in Cortona has been in her previous bestselling books. She and her husband Ed like Portugal, Naples, Sicily, Capri, and the coast of Turkey. They are less enthusiastic about Fex, Morocco, where Ed succumbs to food poisoning. But even when adversity strikes, the journeys are fascinating.

THE SEX LIVES OF CANNIBALS: ADRIFT IN THE EQUATORIAL PACIFIC, by J. Maarten Troost

996.81

TRO

Troost debunks the myth of the South Sea island paradise in this hilarious account of the two years he and his wife spent on the Pacific atoll of Kiribati. Just as funny as Bill Bryson, Troost has found lots of material to work with on this Third World island ignored by the rest of the world. He and his wife survive years of eating only fish, no coffee, and music which is a constant replay of "La Macarena" to become truly fond of the Kiribati people by the time they leave to return to the United States.