Thursday, March 05, 2009

Deserves More Readers-- Kate Ellis' Mysteries


I love reading mysteries, and some of my favorite series are those that combine my love of whodunit with other interests. Kate Ellis is an author who's combined my love of mysteries with my love of history and archaeology in her series set on the southern coast of England. The series features Detective Sergeant Wesley Peterson, a happily transplanted London copper, his boss, the delightfully scruffy Detective Inspector Gerry Heffernan, and his friend, archaeologist Neil Watson.

While Peterson is busy solving crimes in the port town of Tradmouth, his friend Neil always seems to be digging up a centuries-old puzzle that somehow ties in with the present day case. Ellis skillfully weaves together both the old and the new into page-turning whole cloth, but that's not all that's good about this series. Her characters are ones that become a joy to follow. They're fully fleshed, flaws and all, and I have to admit wanting to shake some sense into Wesley's wife a time or two!

If you like mysteries with a strong thread of history and archaeology running through them, or if you've enjoyed the books written by Deborah Crombie or Martin Edwards, give Kate Ellis a try. She certainly deserves much more attention. The series currently contains thirteen books and begins with The Merchant's House, The Armada Boy, and An Unhallowed Grave. If you click on the graphic at the top of this post, you'll be taken to Kate Ellis' page on Fantastic Fiction where you'll learn more about the series.

To learn about other good books that deserve more attention, check out the entire list on Patti's weekly feature Friday's Forgotten Books on her blog, Pattinase.


7 comments:

  1. Oh, these look fabulous. I was an anthropology minor--a million years ago when fossils were still attached to the animals they came from.

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  2. Whodunnit + history + archaeology!
    I have just added Kate Ellis to my list - these books must be enjoyable!

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  3. I totally agree with you about Kate Ellis! Not as well known as she should be, and her most recent books are hard to find in the U.S.

    But, the stories are fascinating. I like the way the modern crime and the cold case are entwined.

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  4. Love mysteries, history, and archaeology! Will have to give Kate Ellis a try!

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  5. Seems like an author I would like to try definitely. I like mysteries and the historical element might seem like fun.
    BTW, I noticed you're reading 'King's Fool', I've read it too and I'm curious how you'll like it.

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  6. I thought to myself "gosh, that name seems familiar!" happily, Library Thing allowed me to find out that somewhere in my vast TBR pile is a copy of The Merchant's House before I bought it again.

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  7. Patti--you sound like me when I tell new employees that I've been around since before dirt!

    Dorte--I'm glad I've added an author to your wish list!

    Lesa--every time I list a Kate Ellis book on Paperback Swap, it's snatched up immediately, so I know a few people know about her. There should definitely be MORE!

    Jenclair--I'm glad I mentioned an author you'd like to try!

    Lilly--I'm about 100 pages in right now, and I'm really enjoying it.

    Caite--Whew! I'm glad you looked before getting a duplicate copy!

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