Classic Mystery Series: John Dunning & The Bookman

Today we're starting a new series on mystery and thriller classics, called Mystery Playground Classic. These are books, book series and TV shows that we love so much that we've read or watched again and again. To become a Mystery Playground Classic requires a high bar. Two or more of the gang in the Mystery Playground blog team has to love, love, love it. We'll be featuring these the last Wednesday of every month, and today we start with John Dunning and the Cliff Janeway novels. But Amy & I call them the Bookman books and Cliff Janeway is The Bookman, so we'll go with that...

Do you know those books that stick with you for years? The cover is torn and taped together but you refuse to give it up and recommend it often? For me the John Dunning series with homicide detective Cliff Janeway fits the description. I can’t remember how I originally came across the series but I just recently found the series in a box and immediately lent them to a friend who was looking for a good mystery. The first book, Booked to Die, is set in Denver.  The series features Detective Janeway, a collector of rare and first editions, who occasionally has questionable detecting methods.  The book kicks off when Janeway is assigned to investigate a murder of a book scout, but his anger gets the best of him and his police career is cut short.

To keep himself busy and pay the rent, Janeway opens a small rare bookshop.  He continues to investigate the original murder, but as new much sought after volumes start to appear, so do the dead bodies. The book contains surprise after surprise and will keep you enthralled to the last page. For book lovers, the fact that the mystery revolves around books is a bonus.  

John Dunning writes with first-hand experience from his experience in the used and rare book trade as well as years as a Denver Post police reporter in the 1970s. This is only the first in a five book series so you are guaranteed to be entertained for some time to come.  

The full series includes:

1) Booked To Die, 1992

2) The Bookman’s Wake, 1995

3) The Bookman’s Promise, 2004

4) Sign of the Book, 2005

5) The Bookwoman’s Last Fling, 2006

Look for our Next Mystery Playground Classic on Feb 24, where we'll delve into the wonderful world of the TV show, JAG.

Santa Rosa Mystery Book Club & Tana French

Today's guest post is from Amy Ball as she reports on this month's selection from the Santa Rosa Mystery Book Club - The Likeness by Tana French. 


What if you saw your twin, and you didn't have a twin? And what if your first glance was at her dead body? And what if you could take over her life - would you do it?

This is the opening of THE LIKENESS by Tana French. And after an opening like that who wouldn't be hooked?

THE LIKENESS was the November book club selection for the Santa Rosa Mystery Book Club and it was an absolute hit.

Set outside Dublin, Domestic Violence Police Detective Connie is called to the scene of a murder only to find herself starting at her twin.
　　

Connie's police history is long and complex, including time in undercover, murder and now on the domestic violence squad. Summoned to the scene by her former undercover boss and her current boyfriend, she is offered the chance to go undercover as the dead victim, Lexie Madison, which incidentally was her undercover persona.


While she doesn't actually jump at the chance, she is intrigued. Lexie, a Ph. D student at Trinity College, lived with four other Trinity students in the large old mansion, in the small village of Glenskehy. As Connie integrates into Lexie's life she comes to love her "new" family, almost losing track of her goal of finding Lexie's killer.


I had not read books by Tana French before this. She slowly pulled me in until I had to know what happened next. At times I could almost feel myself in the living room with Connie as she grew to new her roommates as Lexie. Tana skillfully entrenched Connie into her new identity and I found myself empathizing with her as she struggled to get to the truth. It was a fun book to read and unlike anything I had read before. I will definitely read more books by Tana French. 

Book Recommendations: Three Fabulous UK Authors

Today's guest post is from Amy Ball, an avid mystery reader in Sonoma County, California.

I’m a relatively recent transplant to Sonoma County and after settling in, realized I missed going to my old book club every month.  They always provided great conversation and friendships, and opened my eyes to new authors I loved. I knew I had to find another book club.

It was easy to find one and my local bookstore, Copperfields also known as the “Sonoma County” bookstore.  They have three locations, host a wide range of book clubs and regularly host author events at their stores.  It was on their book club page that I found the Mystery Book Club of Santa Rosa.  

As I had hoped, this book club as help me discover many great writers. Here are three of them who live in the United Kingdom that I recommend. Two came from my wonderful book club, but the first came from my wonderful husband.

1) RAVEN BLACK, by Ann Cleeves – This book was given to me by my husband as a birthday gift.  It was the first book I read by Ann Cleeves, and I was addicted by the end of the first chapter.  The book takes place on the Shetland Islands, and while I have never been there I was felt like I knew the island and residents well by the time I finished. Ann provides a great sense of place in her writing, which really helps you connect with the story. The book opens with a suspicious character, a flock of ravens and a murdered teenage girl.  A new resident Fran Hunter discovers the body, and detective Jimmy Perez tasked with solving the crime.  This is the first of four books that feature these two characters, and I thoroughly enjoyed all of them. 

2) THE COMPLAINTS, by Ian Rankin -- This was a book club gem.  Set in Edinburgh Scotland, The Complaints Department is the group of cops that that investigates other cops, so as you can imagine they aren’t the “cool kids”. Malcolm Fox heads the department and while very likable  is not without his own problems.  He struggles with drinking, has a troubled sister he wants to help and a father who lives in an assisted living home.  When he is given a new case to solve, you see his brilliance and feel his pain in an engaging and intriguing read.  This is the first in a series and while I’ve only read the first two, I can’t wait to read them all. 

3) RIVER OF DARKNESS, by Rennie Airth -- RIVER OF DARKNESS is set in a small town in post WWI Britain. The story opens with the brutal murder of a family, seemingly a robbery gone wrong. Scotland Yard sends the damaged Inspector John Madden to investigate. He survived the war, but lost his family, and still struggles with his battlefield experiences. I do like troubled protagonists. Together with local psychiatrist Dr. Helen Blackwell, they work to explain the murder’s behavior and capture the killer before he can strike again. 

I hope you enjoy these books as much as I did. If you have any recommendations for me, I’d love to hear about them in the comments below.