Oh, dearest friends! I have been too long away from here, and had to pickup the website from Google. Shame on me! I was on a long translation and editing project, pro bono no less, though I kept reading, especially mysteries. So let me put in two cents about Louise Penny's Three Pines books. I have read all of hers. I think everyone fell in love with the first one, as I did, and then I wasn't too keen on the ones that followed, but I keep reading her. I didn't like the police politics (and worse), but I am really bothered by what Rosemary called "Mystic meanings." I have trouble remembering the book titles, but the one where Gamache goes North to visit the native tribes for enlightenment is full of that and so many obscure thoughts and hints that we are supposed to understand? But they are well written. I liked The Beautiful Mystery because it was really about an obsession and the one where Gamache is in Quebec City involving the search for Champlain and the relations between the French and the English speakers, though I've heard many people didn't like that one. And How the Light Gets In, all I can say is I'm glad the police secrets are over.
One author who I think is far superior to Louise Penny is Deborah Crombie. Her mysteries are set in England, mostly in London, the main characters being two police officers who don't go in for mystical philosophy, but are very compassionate human beings. It would be better to start at the beginning with her books because they have a growing family (through the years) and other characters who appear frequently. They do not go in for hints and obscure philosophical wanderings. They face real problems and conduct their life and their work accordingly.
And I have recently discovered a new author, Charles Todd, who writes with his mother but they use his name. They are co-authors who do not even live in the same state. They have a series that features an Inspector Rutledge, of Scotland Yard, in the period after the first World War, sometimes going back a bit for our enlightenment. They are extremely well written and there are many of these books. I think they are a delight to read.
Otherwise, I read Scandinavian mystery authors, but not all. I think Indridasson, from Iceland, is an excellent writer. So is Camilla Lackberg, Swedish. It is not light reading but it is very satisfying and generally deals with serious concerns. I will not read authors who seem to enjoy showing graphic violence, most of it gratuitous, and really piling it on.
