June MysteryKIT: An Author New to You

For MysteryKIT in the month of June, we will be exploring authors new to us. That's it, read a book by an author you haven't read before. Think of it as your opportunity to dive into your book bullet list. Or, if you need a suggestion, try Agatha Christie, Dorothy Sayers, or Josephine Tey.

When the wiki's working again, I'll post a link.

Most of the mysteries on my treebook and virtual shelves are the next installments in series I'm reading but I do have some new authors.

Possibilities are:
City of Vengeance by D. V. Bishop
Celebrated Cases of Judge Dee by Robert Van Gulik
Errant Justice by R. H. Bishop

I just recently discovered the British Library Crime Classics and almost all of the books are by authors that are new-to-me. I have a few that I picked up at a local used book store that I'm going to try and hit for this prompt:

• Verdict of Twelve (by Raymond Postgate)
• The Spoilt Kill (Hedley Nicholson #1; by Mary Kelly)
• Murder in Picadilly (Chief Inspector Wake #1; by Charles Kingston)

My sister keeps telling me to read this one but we'll see. It's popular but my sister & I have such widely different tastes, I'm putting it on my "Maybe List":
• The Thursday Murder Club (The Thursday Murder Club #1; by Richard Osman)

Oddly, I have these two in my lists; but I cannot find them anywhere in my stacks or a record of my having purchased them-- so definitely long shots:
• Still Life with Murder (Nell Sweeney Mystery Series #1; by P. B. Ryan)
• Lady Helena Investigates (The Scott-De Quincy Mysteries #1; by Jane Steen)

ETA: Ah! The last two titles are buried in my Nook! The Nell Sweeney book is set in post-Civil War Boston, Massachusetts (USA) and the Scott-DeQuincy novel is another historical fiction set in 1881 Sussex. I admit I'm a little baffled as to how they made it into my stacks as I don't recall either being a recommendation or being in my wheelhouse; but there they are!

I plan to finally get around to reading the first volume in Louise Penny's Inspector Gamache series.

Oh wow, there are endless possibilities for this!

I have already planned to read A June of Ordinary Murders by Conor Brady for CalendarCAT, and it fits here as well.

I took a BB from Judy a while ago for Talking to the Dead by Harry Bingham which will work for this and also the AlphaKit.

ETA: Actually, more than a little while ago (2017 - yikes).

>6 dudes22: I have Talking to the Dead on my virtual bookshelf as well. I thought it was there because I'd read other books by the author, but apparently not.

>3 Tanya-dogearedcopy: I am going the same way - one of the British Library Crime Classics on Kindle Unlimited. So many to choose from!

I have Snow Angels by James Thompson in mind for June's MysteryKit.

>6 dudes22: I am sure you will love Talking to the Dead. :)

I've managed to collect a few Ed McBain novels and I've yet to read anything from him. I'm picking The Gutter and the Grave. Sounds intense.

I'm sure I'll have plenty for this on my tbr, though there are probably also lots that are continuing series (or not), but by authors I've already read. Positive I have enough options that I will still have options from authors I've not yet read.

COMPLETED Errant Justice by R. H. Bishop

I had never read anything by John Creasey, despite his having written something like 500 mysteries. Now I've read Gideon's Week by J. J. Marric (a pseudonym).

That Night in the Library / Eva Jurczyk
3.5 stars

Seven people, mostly university students including some who work in the library/archives, sneak into the basement of said library on their last night before graduation (those working there will no longer be except for one). Davey has a ritual planned and invited the others to come. In fact, they are locked in the basement for the night; they cannot get out. And when the lights go out, one of them dies. The others try to figure out who did it, while keeping themselves safe.

I like the idea of the story, and I am a librarian, so I liked the library and archives references. But none of the characters were likable, in my opinion. Maybe it’s because they all (except one) took acid at the beginning of the night (part of the ritual) that made them not likable. The POV shifted between a few different characters and I do think that worked well for the reader to see different sides of what was happening. But I did get some of the characters (who were “related” in some way) continually mixed up – there was a dating couple, one was a professor; there was a childhood friend; and a fourth person in that mix somewhere, but I kept getting mixed up as to who was who in that group of four. Overall, though, I’m rating it “good”.

Starting The Nancys by R. W. R. McDonald

I bought Das Geheimnis von Salem in the museum shop of the monastery four years ago, and I don't think the author has written any mysteries before this. But the case doesn't matter anyway here, the important thing is explaining how the monastery worked in the late Middle Ages. And she does this well enough, so if the sequels lie around the bookshops when we take our next vacation on the shore of Lake Constance, I will happily pick them up.

I read Abide with Me: A Sister Agatha and Father Selwyn Mystery by Jane Willan.

COMPLETED The Nancys by R. W. R. McDonald - a new author but not one I will be continuing with.

I read Death of My Aunt by C. H. B. Kitchin, an author new to me. Looking forward to reading more by him.

The Finders / Jeffrey B. Burton
3.5 stars

When a dog is left behind and almost dies at a crime scene, dog-trainer Mason adopts her and names her Elvira, or Vira for short. The type of training Mason does is for cadaver dogs – to find human remains. Vira is exceptional at this, and is able to pick out the perpetrator from quite a ways away, so is recruited to help with a current case.

I listened to the audio and was hopeful this one would really hold my attention. It did… until we heard from the killer, “Everyman” he called himself. I am rarely interested in the killer’s POV in any book, and it’s just way too easy for me to lose where I am in an audio book, so put the two together... It flipped back and forth too often and without warning, unfortunately. I loved the dogs, though… not just Vira, but Sue (a male dog… “A Boy Named Sue” – Mason liked to name his dogs after songs), as well (and there were a few other dogs, too). I’m rating it “good” and do plan to continue the series.

I read Still Life by Louise Penny.