More Mystery Recommendations

"A false friend and a shadow attend only when the sun shines." –American proverb

MORE MYSTERY RECOMMENDATIONS

Confirming my hunch that ece people enjoy a good mystery, many ExchangeEveryDay readers shared their favorites. Jerry Parr from Mississippi (I'll pass on the opportunity for sarcasm) even explained the phenomena:

"The reason we love mysteries is that we deal with them every day... how do our kids become so resilient? How do our paychecks manage to cover all the bills? How did our budget expand to last to the last quarter? Maybe we should forego columbus day for columbo day... gotta run... there's a toddler crying and I gotta find out whodunnit."

So here are some reader suggestions:

Edna Ranck, Washington, DC: "I had to spend my first New Year's Eve and Day in Washington by myself (sick husband in NJ and threatening weather). I bought loads of Chinese food and a book of 3 murder mysteries by Margaret Truman, all set in Washington, DC. She's written about 20 of them all called "Murder in the...." such as FBI, Kennedy Center, National Cathedral, Library of Congress, CIA, Foggy Bottom, etc. They're great reads and I recommend them. Another series is the Amanda Cross mysteries, actually written by Carolyn Heilbrun, professor emeritus at Columbia University. She kept the two jobs separate and secret until she received a letter to Amanda Cross awarding her a literary prize and with the information that they intended to invite Heilbrun to present the award." 

Melanie D'Souza, Winnipeg, Manitoba: "I am one of the many who escape with a good mystery! One of my favourite authors is Kathy Reichs, who writes about a forensic anthropologist based in North Carolina and Montreal. Books are called Death du Jour, Deja Dead, Deadly Decisions, and Fatal Voyage. For very funny mysterys, another favourite author of mine is Janet Evanovich, who wrote a series of books about a bounty hunter from New Jersey: One for the Money; Two for the Dough; Three to get Deadly; Four to Score; High Five; Hot Six; Seven Up. The eighth one is out, but I haven't read it yet. I highly recommend reading them in order."

Doug Baird, Massachusetts: "All of Tess Gerritson’s medical mysteries."  

Billie Warford, Montana: "Another book by Alesander McCall Smith (first in the series) is The Number One Ladies Detective Agency....A current favorite to check out is - An Instance of the Fingerpost by Iain Pears. Fascinating! Thanks for a different twist on things." 

Ellen Veselack: "Any of Sue Henry's mysteries are excellent. Murder on the Iditerod, Death Takes a Passage, Murder on the Yukon Quest, Beneath the Ashes and more. They take place in Alaska and her ability to give the reader the sense of actually being there is amazing. I've learned a tremendous amount about dog sledding, (one of the main characters is a musher) and the history of the settling of Alaska. Great "who done it" mysteries as well, real page turners!"

Miriam McCaleb, Tennessee: "WOW ... thought I was the only one! What a marvellous mystery that so many early childhood professionals are into mysteries! Lately, I've been really into books by M.C. Beaton, specifically the Agatha Raisin series. Lighthearted, goofy, charming. For more intense mystery, I can't go past Patricia Cornwall. LOVE HER, especially books starring Dr. Kay Scarpet." 

Beth Engelhardt, Ohio: "My favorite authors are Mary Higgins Clark and Diane Mott Davidson. I have read all of Mary Higgins Clark and thoroughly enjoy her style of writing. Diane Mott Davidson writes culinary mysteries and she includes recipes. The recipes are very good. I found a wonderful recipe, Chocolate Comfort Cookies in her book, The Grilling Season."

If you're up for mystery, how about adventure. Why not sign up for a chance for a trip for two to the World Forum in Acapulco? Go to www.ChildCareExchange.com to enter.