The Portrait of Doreene Gray by Esri Allbritten

First Line: Outside the darkened windows of Doreene Gray's second floor bedroom, a squall buffeted the house and whistled across the gingerbread trimming.

After dealing with the Chihuahua of the Baskervilles, the next stop on the Tripping Magazine staff's itinerary is Port Townsend, Washington. Their low-budget travel magazine is geared for believers in the paranormal, and they've gotten word that Doreene Gray is about to put her famous portrait on the auction block. What's paranormal about a portrait? It seems that Doreene, who's in her fifties, doesn't look a day over twenty-five, while the portrait of her that was painted by her twin sister, Maureene, looks a bit... weathered. Shades of Oscar Wilde? That's exactly what the Tripping staff wants to find out.

After inveigling their way into the Victorian mansion, they manage to impress the difficult woman and her Brazilian toy boy enough for Doreene to ask them to look into the strange things that have been happening. What's up with the strange slips of paper appearing in the soup, and why is some guy spending a lot of time sitting in a white Impala outside the house? Is Doreene's past catching up with her?

Although the two books in this series are called Chihuahua mysteries, the little dogs aren't the investigators, and neither are they paranormal elements. (You have to admit that the book cover for Doreene Gray gives the impression that the dog is deceased when all that's really happened is that the little guy got into some trouble and is trying to look angelic.) The resident Chihuahua in this book is Gigi, whose human is Doreene Gray herself. Suki the Tripping photographer finds herself involved with Gigi throughout the course of the book.

I have to admit that as soon as I found out that the setting of the book was Port Townsend, Washington, I was sold. I love that old Victorian town, and Allbritten takes us through its streets and even out to Fort Worden and Point Wilson Lighthouse. With just enough allusions to Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray to keep me guessing, the plot was fast-paced and fun.

Speaking of fun, I love the staff of Tripping! Michael Abernathy (main writer), Angus MacGregor (editor and cofounder) and Suki Oota (photographer) have all the sarcasm, skill and subterfuge born of familiarity with each other's working styles, although Suki is still able to surprise the two men on a regular basis. Just listening to them banter back and forth is worth the price of admission.

If you're looking for something light and funny, pick up a Chihuahua mystery and let the staff of Tripping take you on a search for the paranormal. You may not find any otherworldly elements, but you're going to have a blast while you're looking!

The Portrait of Doreene Gray by Esri Allbritten

ISBN: 9780312569167

Minotaur Books  ©2012

Hardcover, 320 pages

Cozy, Humorous Mystery; #2 Chihuahua mystery

Rating: B+

Source: Prize from the Poisoned Pen Conference

As the Crow Flies by Craig Johnson

First Line: "I wanna know what Katrina Walks Nice did to get kicked out of a joint like this for sixty-one days."

In two weeks, Sheriff Walt Longmire's daughter will be married, and wedding planner Walt isn't doing so well in working through Cady's to do list. When her chosen wedding venue isn't available, Walt and his best friend, Henry Standing Bear, travel to Painted Warrior cliffs on the Cheyenne Reservation to see if it would be a suitable substitute. The last thing Walt needs is to see Audrey Plain Feather and her infant son plummet from the top of the cliff.

Audrey dies, but Walt's faithful four-legged companion, Dog, finds the infant Adrian and refuses to be parted from the tiny person even when they arrive at the hospital. Walt knows his daughter's wedding is his priority, and he's just about to hand off the investigation when he runs into the "nascent volcano" known as Tribal Police Chief Lolo Long. Lolo, a returned Iraqi war veteran, is pretty new to the job. She's fired all her officers, drives like A.J. Foyt, and has so much anger bottled up inside that Walt just can't walk away. He knows that, if she's willing to listen, he just has to take her under his wing... or she's not going to live very long. But how will Cady react to all this? Walt is stretched thin as he tries to be the father of the bride, a mentor to Lolo, and the one who brings the bad guys to justice.

Since his first book, The Cold Dish, in 2004, Craig Johnson has been one of what I call my "auto-buy authors". When I hear that he's got a new book coming out, I automatically buy it; I don't have to know what it's about. In eight books, he's never disappointed-- in fact, he just keeps getting better. This man knows how to write a blend of mystery, humor, action and character that's impossible to beat.

The mystery is a good one. Johnson includes an excellent piece of misdirection that threw me right off the trail. While Walt does his investigating, we also get the opportunity to meet several of the inhabitants of the Cheyenne Reservation.

For those of you who've missed Walt being at home with Henry Standing Bear and Dog, you're going to enjoy this book even more. If you're a fan of his undersheriff, Victoria Moretti, you might pout a bit. Vic is pretty much absent in this go-round, but there's a good reason for this. Tribal Police Chief Lolo Long is such an intense, strong female character that Johnson made a wise decision to let Lolo get her feet set before meeting Vic. And I certainly do hope that this isn't the last time we see Lolo. What a wonderful character! (Even though I did want to deck her the first time I was introduced.)

As the Crow Flies has everything long-time fans of Craig Johnson's writing have come to expect: an interesting storyline with plenty of action that moves swiftly and surely, laugh-out-loud humor in all the right places, down-home wisdom, a cast of characters that are as beloved as our own family and friends, and a scene or two that can bring tears to your eyes.

Haven't read a Walt Longmire book before? Never fear, this one stands alone quite well, but be warned-- after you finish As the Crow Flies, don't be surprised if you find yourself tracking down all the rest of the books in this series. They're that good.

As the Crow Flies by Craig Johnson

ISBN: 9780670023516

Viking  ©2012

Hardcover, 320 pages

Genre: Police Procedural (and so much more), #8 Sheriff Walt Longmire mystery

Rating: A+

Source: Net Galley

Thursday Next, First Among Sequels by Jasper Fforde

Title: Thursday Next, First Among Sequels
Author: Jasper Fforde
ISBN: 9780670038718
Publisher: Viking, 2007
Hardcover, 384 pages
Genre: Humorous Mystery, #5 Thursday Next mystery
Rating: B+
Source: Purchased from The Mystery Guild

First Line: The dangerously high level of the stupidity surplus was once again the lead story in The Owl that morning.

I stumbled across the first book in this series on a table at a local Barnes & Noble. The only reason why I bought The Eyre Affair was that I am a Jane Eyre fan-- and the plot sounded like fun. Little did I know what I was getting myself into! There is a reason why the books in this series are consistently nominated for (or winners of) the Dilys Award-- they are so filled with word play, social commentary, satire, and literary allusions that they are just plain fun to sell. I know that I've waved more than my fair share of copies of The Eyre Affair in the faces of people who asked me what I thought they should read.

In Thursday Next, First Among Sequels, it's been fourteen years since the action in Something Rotten. Thursday and her husband have several children, including a very cranky sixteen-year-old named Friday. Thursday puts on her uniform and shows up for work at Carpet World in Swindon every day. But things are not quite as they seem. (If you've read Fforde, you know that last sentence is a given.)

Sherlock Holmes dies at Rheinback Falls, and the series comes to a screeching halt. Miss Marple dies in a car accident, and she's stuck her nose into her last investigation. When strange things begin to happen to Thursday's fictional self, she knows what's going on: there's a serial killer loose in the Bookworld. To top it all off, Goliath Corporation -- which has been strangely silent the past few years-- wants to deregulate book travel. It's time for the real Thursday to stand up, to stop making illegal cheese buys, and to save the Bookworld once again!

When I began reading these books, I was afraid that half the puns, other word play, and references to things British were zooming over my head at the speed of light. Now that I'm a bit older, I've mellowed. Yes, I may very well be missing some bits, but I don't care-- I love all the bits that I do understand.

These books always have an interesting storyline-- like the one in which the serial killer resides-- but there is so much more going on. Reading Fforde's take on modern society (such as the stupidity surplus) is so true that it's funny, and I laugh even though I have a good idea that I shouldn't. If you tire of social commentary, puns, satire, the twists and turns of the plot... and you just want a good laugh, reading the scene of Thursday's illegal cheese buy is out-and-out hilarious. Fforde's world is even facing declining book sales just like our world.

For those of you who have hesitated to read these books because you believe you're just not well-informed about classics like Jane Eyre or Pride and Prejudice, I urge you to reconsider. There's been a book or two that's been included in the series that I'm not well-acquainted with, but it really didn't make a difference. More than anything else, reading these books is all about FUN. That's "fun" in capitals-- something that we all could use a good strong dose of.

Learn More from Amazon.
Learn More from The Book Depository.
Learn More from an Indie Bookseller.

Holmes On the Range by Steve Hockensmith

Title: Holmes On the Range
Author: Steve Hockensmith
ISBN: 9780312358044
Publisher: Minotaur Books, 2007
Paperback, 304 pages
Genre: Humorous Mysteries, Historical Mysteries, #1 Holmes On the Range mystery
Rating: A
Source: Paperback Swap

First Line: There are two things you can't escape out here in the West: dust and death.

When brothers Old Red (Gustav) and Big Red (Otto) Amlingmeyer sign on as ranch hands at a spread known for being secretive, the only things they're expecting are lots of hard work, plenty of bad pay, and a bit of free time to enjoy reading their favorite stories about Sherlock Holmes. When a couple of men turn up dead, Old Red sees it as the perfect opportunity to employ his "deductifyin'" skills, and he sets out to solve the case.  Although he doesn't like the looks of it one little bit, Big Red is along for the ride.

If you read a lot of crime fiction, you know that there are some prime directives. One of them has to do with the disposition of the corpse. This book is so good that I forgot all about that basic rule.

Author Hockensmith has come completely out of left field and scored a home run with this tale of two brothers in the Old West. Old Red was the oldest brother who worked hard to keep food on the table for his mother and younger siblings. As a younger brother, Big Red stayed home and had schooling. He knows how to read and write-- something his older brother never had the chance to learn. The stories of Sherlock Holmes fires the imagination of Old Red, and he believes that this is something he can do even if he doesn't have an education. If he can observe and deduce, he can be every bit as brilliant as the grand detective. Big Red has a rather jaundiced view of the whole thing:

"Damn it, Brother," I said. "You're a cowboy, not a detective."


Old Red didn't answer with words. He just turned and showed me that little wisp of a grin he slips under his mustache when he thinks he's being clever.


Oh? his smile said. A feller can't be both?

I thoroughly enjoyed this tale. Hockensmith has a unique voice and vision, and I can't wait to read the further deductifyin' adventures of Old Red and Big Red.

Buy from Amazon.

Buy from The Book Depository.

Buy from an Indie Bookseller.

Curse of the Pogo Stick by Colin Cotterill

Title: Curse of the Pogo Stick
Author: Colin Cotterill
ISBN: 9781569474853
Publisher: Soho Crime, 2008
Hardcover, 256 pages
Genre: Historical Mystery, #5 Dr. Siri Paiboun mystery
Rating: B-
Source: Purchased at The Poisoned Pen.

First Line: As there were no longer any records, the Hmong could not even tell when they actually misplaced their history.

Dr. Siri and his boss have traveled to the north in Laos to attend a Communist Party meeting. Dr. Siri would rather undergo a series of root canals without anesthesia.

Back in Vientiane, a booby-trapped corpse intended for the 73-year-old coroner has been delivered to the morgue. Only Nurse Dtui's quick thinking saves everyone in the morgue from being blown to bits.

On their way back from the meeting, Dr. Siri is kidnapped by seven female Hmong villagers so that he can exorcise a demon from the headman's daughter. While Judge Haeng gives jungle survival a try, Dr. Siri has to arrive at the solution to the curse of the pogo stick.

I think this may be the first Dr. Siri mystery that I haven't rated an A-- and I'm feeling extremely disloyal. The wit and the humor are still here in abundance, but having Dr. Siri separated from his friends and co-workers for almost the entire book just doesn't work. Especially when a dinner has to be held at the end for readers to discover what was going on with the booby-trapped corpse and other incidents that occurred in Vientiane. One of the greatest strengths of this series is the interplay between all the characters. Without that the book feels out of kilter.

All series have a book that's not quite as strong as the rest, and in all honesty, if this had been the first Dr. Siri mystery I'd read, I would've loved it and rated it higher. It is still a wonderful read (I learned quite a bit about the Hmong culture), and I urge everyone to give this series a try. Cotterill has written a marvelous series that's one of my all-time favorites. 

Buy from Amazon.

Buy from The Book Depository.

Buy from an Indie Bookseller.

Sizzling Sixteen by Janet Evanovich

Title: Sizzling Sixteen
Author: Janet Evanovich
ISBN: 9780312383305
Publisher: St. Martin's Press, 2010
Hardcover, 320 pages
Genre: Humorous Mysteries, #16 Stephanie Plum mystery
Rating: D-
Source: Paperback Swap

First Line: My Uncle Pip died and left me his lucky bottle.

In this sixteenth chapter of inept bounty hunter Stephanie Plum's life, her low-life relative and boss, Vinnie,  has run up a huge gambling debt. He's being held for ransom, and it has Stephanie, Lula and office manager, Connie, racing to find him so the business-- and their jobs-- will be safe.

I recently read and reviewed the fifteenth book in this series, and I stated that I'd finally hit the wall. I'd already received this one from another Paperback Swap member, so I read Sizzling Sixteen fast to get it back in the system and on its way to someone else.

I have only one word for this book: T-I-R-E-D. All the plot elements and character quirks have been recycled so many times that I don't think I even cracked a smile the entire time I was reading. I wasn't the only one feeling tired; the book-- if a book can have feelings-- felt tired, too. This crew needs to be put to bed.

I don't know how many more books will be in this series, but I won't be reading them. If the movie that's being talked about is actually filmed, I'll see it as a matter of curiosity, but no more books for me.

If you have yet to read any of the Stephanie Plum mysteries, by all means read the first seven. You'll be in for a treat. Past book seven, and you're on your own.

Buy from Amazon.

Buy from The Book Depository.

Buy from an Indie Bookseller.

Rounding the Mark by Andrea Camilleri

Title: Rounding the Mark
Author: Andrea Camilleri
Translator: Stephen Sartarelli
ISBN: 9780143037484
Publisher: Penguin, 2006
Paperback, 272 pages
Genre: Police Procedural, Humorous Mysteries, #7 Inspector Salvo Montalbano mystery
Rating: A
Source: Paperback Swap

First Line: Stinking, treacherous night.

Salvo Montalbano is going through a rough patch at work. He wants to quit, even though he loves his job. One night he can't sleep and since he lives right on the beach, he goes for a swim. Unfortunately he bumps into a dead body while he's out there and has to haul it back to shore. In his quest for the cause of death, Montalbano realizes that this death coincides with the hit-and-run death of a young boy who may have been victimized by human traffickers. When Montalbano realizes that he may have inadvertently helped the boy's abusers, he is sickened and even more determined to get to the bottom of this mystery.

This (and the entire series) is far from a run-of-the-mill police procedural. There aren't many authors like Camilleri who can turn a creepy scene like finding a badly decomposed body at sea into a scene that can make a reader laugh out loud. (I refuse to tell you how. That should be part of your fun.)

The ingredients that make this series so special are Camilleri's gallows humor and his cast of characters-- Montalbano's "soldiers". They are a wonderful bunch of very different personalities, and even though they may drive each other to distraction on a regular basis, I don't think they'd want to work with anyone else-- especially when they have a boss who allows them to tell him when he's being the southbound end of a northbound horse.

The characterizations are brilliant; there is such a sense of Sicily as you read; the humor is often laugh-out-loud funny; and there are the unexpected jewels. Rounding the Mark had one of those gems: the grouchy Montalbano being genuinely heartbroken at being an unknowing accomplice in that young boy's death can bring a tear to the eye.

In roughly 250 pages, Camilleri can deliver a masterful piece of work that many other authors would take 400 pages to accomplish. Each book is a gem, and I intend to savor every single one.

For any of you who may be hesitant to read a translated book, don't be. Sartarelli has won awards for his translations, and those awards are deserved. He manages to imply dialects in a way that isn't confusing, and for anyone who needs a little extra information, the back of each book contains a few pages of notes that deal with any historical references, language, food, and previous books in the series.

If at all possible, this is one mystery series that you should sample. If I had four thumbs, they'd all be pointing at the sky. (I'm sure Camilleri would have something pithy to say about that....)

Buy from Amazon.

Buy from The Book Depository.

Buy from an Indie Bookseller.

Finger Lickin' Fifteen by Janet Evanovich

Title: Finger Lickin' Fifteen
Author: Janet Evanovich
ISBN: 9780312383299
Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks, 2010
Mass Market Paperback, 352 pages
Genre: Humorous Mystery, #15 Stephanie Plum mystery
Rating: D+
Source: Purchased at Barnes & Noble.

First Line: When I was a kid, I was afraid of spiders and vegetables.

Lula witnesses the beheading of a popular TV chef and finds that she's being followed by two of the most inept hitmen in the business. She and Grandma Masur then get the bright idea to enter the barbecue sauce contest that the dead chef was in town to promote. On the Stephanie front, she's behind in rounding up her skips, she and Morelli are on the outs, and she's moonlighting for Ranger trying to solve a series of break-ins at properties under the protection of Rangeman Security.

I think I've finally hit the wall. I thought this series was brilliant through the first six or seven books, but since then it's been limping along like a woman with a pebble in one of her stilettos. Evanovich's recycling has truly angered me for the first time. It would be heaven to read a Stephanie Plum mystery and not have her blow up a car, have her apartment set on fire, have her get something icky in her hair, or need help with all her skips. If I worked with this woman, either I'd be gone... or she would be. Everyone should be a sort of Peter Pan in some of their outlook on life, but not to the extent that they never learn, they never grow, they never change.

The only part of this book that was relatively humorous for me was Lula and Grandma Masur trying to make barbecue sauce. That plot line did have its moments, but for the most part, Finger Lickin' Fifteen is just Evanovich going to the barn to milk the cash cow again. If she'd only put that milking stool by the bull, perhaps we'd be treated to something new, fresh and truly hilarious.

Buy from Amazon.

Buy from The Book Depository.

Buy from an Indie Bookseller. 

Forgotten Books: Kathleen Taylor's Tory Bauer Mysteries

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:

1. Sex and Salmonella (1996)
2. The Hotel South Dakota (1997)
3. Funeral Food (1993)
4. Mourning Shift (1998)
5. Cold Front (2000)
6. Foreign Body (2001)

If you're in the mood for a cozy mystery series that's heavy on characterization, setting and humor, you can't go wrong with Kathleen Taylor's Tory Bauer. The books may be a bit more difficult to track down, but they are well worth the effort. It's been five years since I've read these books, yet the characters and Delphi, South Dakota, are still with me. (I've also not been able to hear Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass without a twinkle in my eye and a big smile on my face!)

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!