In our household, Christmas gift-giving means
books. We all have different tastes, but all love to get multiple books that play to a theme.
When the theme is mystery, nothing is better than giving the first books in a new series or a gift that ties in with a series the recipient already knows and loves.
Here are my picks for some great mystery gift-giving this year. Sorry for the length!
Main character: Arkady Renko is an ageless Moscow cop who has survived the collapse of the Soviet Union and the rise of a Mafia-riddled Russia. The series is dense and absorbing, with rich descriptions of Moscow, the
Russian character, and decrepit Lada cars.
The buzz: You’ll get a fascinating lesson into contemporary Russian history, as seen through Arkady’s experiences and punctuated by major true events. The series first introduces the entrenched and paranoid Communist leadership and rheumatic yet still ruthless veterans of the battle of Stalingrad, then takes us inside the
collapse of the USSR and ensuing drama on both sides of the Iron Curtain. A survivor of these historic changes, Arkady finally gives us a street view of the new Russia, where American dollars and mafia thugs rule the day.
Recommended favorite: The second book, POLAR STAR, is a tour de force--all the action takes place on a rust bucket of a Soviet fishing vessel--but
WOLVES EAT DOGS, set in the aftermath of the Chernobyl disaster, is hauntingly memorable.
Books in order:
Gorky Park
Polar Star
Red Square
Havana Bay
Wolves Eat Dogs
Stalin's Ghost
Three Stations
Tatiana
Main character: Isabel Dalhousie is a serious contemplator of life as befits the editor of a philosophical journal who lives in her hometown of Edinburgh, Scotland. Isabel’s weakness is her temperamental housekeeper, Grace, and much younger lover (then husband) Jamie.
The buzz: McCall
Smith is better known for his No.1 Ladies Detective Agency series but his ruminations on love, obligation, desire and the rest of this complex thing we call life, are beautifully on display in the Dalhousie series. Yes, you’ll learn about Scottish painters—Isabel is a collector—but what you’ll take away from each book in this series is a joyful contemplation and thought-provoking notions that few of us really take the time to consider these days.
Recommended favorite: The first two in the series, before Isabel’s relationship with Jamie gets off the ground, are a slow start but the rest are exquisite gems.
Books in order:
The Sunday
Philosophy Club
Friends, Lovers, Chocolate
The Right Attitude to Rain
The Careful Use of Compliments
The Comfort of Saturdays
The Lost Art of Gratitude
The Charming Quirks of Others
The Forgotten Affairs of Youth
The Uncommon Appeal of Clouds
The Novel Habits of Happiness
Main character: French-trained Dr. Siri fought with the Communists to seize power in his native Laos, opposing both colonial France and the Americans who spilled over from the war in Vietnam. Now that the Communists are in power, Siri thinks he can retire. Instead he’s been directed to be the country’s national—and
only—coroner.
The buzz: The series is a back door into the Vietnam War, as well as the troubled history of Vietnam’s neighbor Laos. Yet, the series is almost light hearted. Siri is a realist and uses humor to cope with the Communists’ fumbling attempts to run the country and resulting shortages, blackouts, and political nonsense. It helps that he carries within him the
spirit of a 1000-year-old shaman. Thanks to the shaman, you’ll get a secondary—but no less fascinating--lesson in the folklore and customs of the region.
Recommended favorite: Hard to name one, as they are all written with the same wry and irrepressible humor, insight into the disaster that became the Laotian government, and local culture that informs many of the
mystery elements.
Books in order:
The Coroner's Lunch
Thirty-Three Teeth
Disco For the Departed
Anarchy and Old Dogs
Curse of the Pogo Stick
The Merry Misogynist
Love Songs from a Shallow Grave
Slash and Burn
The Woman Who Wouldn't Die
Six and a Half Deadly Sins
I Shot the Buddha
Main character: Emilia Cruz is the first and only female detective on the Acapulco police force, taking on both Mexico’s drug war and culture of machismo. She hasn’t cracked yet under the pressure of male colleagues trying to oust her from the detective squadroom, the ever-present threat of cartel violence, and the offerings of dirty cops. After all, what’s a little cash between friends? Her biggest weakness is a certain
gringo hotel manager.
The buzz: The series takes us inside Mexico’s ongoing drug war, where money buys both loyalty and violence. Contemporary Mexico is a dangerous place and Acapulco, with its tourist money and access to the sea, is on a major drug transit route into the US. As a result, as cartels fight for supremacy, the region leads in terms of homicides and
violent crime. Many crimes against women go underreported in Mexico, moreover, and this is a continuing subplot. Emilia’s run-ins with corruption and efforts to track missing women give us a real feeling for what it is like to try and be an honest cop in Mexico. Even more insightful, Emilia shows us what it’s like to contend with the lives that are left when the shooting is over and the bodies are counted.
Recommended favorite: CLIFF DIVER is the first full-length novel in the series and sets up Emilia’s position as not only the only female in the squadroom, but as a relatively inexperienced detective who is forced by the union to head the investigation into the murder of a dirty cop—her own lieutenant.
Books in
order:
Cliff Diver
Hat Dance
Diablo Nights
King Peso
Main character: Monk is a London private investigator in 1850’s London with amnesia from a blow to the head
in a carriage accident. In his quest to find out who he is, he will link up with Hester, a nurse recently returned from the front lines of the Crimean War, and Oliver Rathbone, a famed barrister.
The buzz: The series will immerse you in London 30 years before Jack the Ripper: seedy tenements and extreme poverty juxtaposed against unfathomable wealth and the opulent
lifestyle of English peers. You’ll hear the slap of the Thames River against moored boats, the shouts of boys selling papers, and the clop of horses pulling the tram. See the flicker of gas lights, mist swirling off the water, and the men whose minds and bodies have been broken by battle. Hester’s character drives the narrative into British history, the Crimean War, and the development of modern medical techniques.
Recommended favorite: THE FACE OF A STRANGER, the first novel in the series, sets up Monk’s personal crisis and establishes a high bar in terms of storytelling and quality. It would be hard to read the series out of order as many of the storylines build on the preceding book.
Books in order:
The Face of a Stranger
A Dangerous Mourning
Defend and Betray
A Sudden, Fearful Death
The Sins of the Wolf
Cain His Brother
Weighed in the Balance
The Silent Cry
A Breach of Promise
The Twisted Root
Slaves of Obsession
A Funeral in Blue
Death of a Stranger
The Shifting Tide
Dark Assassin
Execution Dock
Acceptable Loss
A Sunless Sea
Blind Justice
Blood On The Water
Corridors Of The Night
Fans of Donna Leon’s Commissario Guido Brunetti novels know that Italian food has pride of place in the mystery series set in Venice. Now Donna Leon’s best friend and favorite cook has compiled a cookbook to showcase the food from the books. The cookbook is organized around traditional Italian courses and features over 90 recipes as well as Brunetti mystery excerpts and original essays by Leon. Even if you haven’t read
the series, the recipes will make you a fan!
Published in 2005, this book of photography explores the hidden places of Edinburgh, Scotland, that serve as the setting for the world-famous John Rebus mystery series. There is a strong element of autobiography in the book as well, as Rankin explains the influences behind the series.
This book of photography documents the wild and remote Hebrides islands off the west coast of Scotland where many of May’s mysteries are set, including the Lewis Trilogy (The Blackhouse, The Lewis Man, The Chessmen). The photographs are simply gorgeous and the layout of the book is unique in that the right side contains excerpts and autobiographical narrative by May. The book is smaller than the usual coffee table sized book of photographs, which adds to the mystique captured in the
images. 
