
South Dakota resident Kathleen Taylor is a freelance knitwear designer who's written one of the funniest mystery series I've ever read, yet few people have heard of it. With the popularity of mystery writers such as Janet Evanovich, this just doesn't set well with me!
Taylor's main character, Tory Bauer, is a waitress in a small South Dakota town. She's overweight, divorced, and lives in a trailer with her femme fatale friend and co-worker, Del, and Del's young son, Presley. What sets this series apart is its razor sharp characterizations, its spot-on depiction of life in small town America, and the witty (and often hilarious) repartee. Taylor isn't afraid to have "real" characters. These people have faults. They don't always make the right decisions. As a result, I cared about them all the more.
The books in the series are:
- Sex and Salmonella (1996)
- The Hotel South Dakota (1997)
- Funeral Food (1993)
- Mourning Shift (1998)
- Cold Front (2000)
- Foreign Body (2001)
If you'd like to see more recommendations of books that deserve never to be forgotten, don't forget to check out Patti's weekly series on her blog, Pattinase!
This series sounds truly promising. I wish I could chose sex OR salmonella, though.
ReplyDeleteI JUST randomly picked up a copy of Funeral Food at HPB - now I'm excited for it!
ReplyDeleteDorte--you have to admit it's a catchy title, though! :)
ReplyDeleteElizabeth--WOW! How's that for serendipity?!? I hope you enjoy it!