My favorite genre after fantasy is mystery. Nothing like a good murder to make me feel better about my life. I have several mystery authors that I pre-order because even if those mysteries aren’t excellent, they are still thoroughly enjoyable.

Police

Strange Shores (2010/2012) Arnaldur Indridason translated by Victoria Cribb (9/10) – Inspector Erlendur book 9

This is not a super-recent book, but it’s a series I loved and that I don’t think got enough attention.

The Inspector Erlendur series set in Iceland; the main character is depressive and brooding, but very good at his job, which makes up for his moodiness. Erlendur suffered a terrible trauma in his childhood and that single event is a theme running through the entire series–and also why he is so tenacious on the job.

If you are looking for a good mystery series I highly recommend checking Erlendur out. Stranger Shores is the final book in this series, so do NOT start here. Go get Jar City and work your way forward.

Earthly Remains  (2017) Donna Leon (8/10) – Brunetti book 26

I love this series.

This is not a book for those unfamiliar with Brunetti, but if you’ve even read a couple of stories you should love it. The corruption in Venice and Italy are a theme of these books as much as the food and mysteries. For the most part, Brunetti accepts this corruption as the way things are done, but in this book it finally gets to him and makes him wonder why he bothers.

It’s an excellent addition to the series, but like the Erlendur series, I recommend starting at Death at La Fenice, the first book in the series.

Historical

Where the Dead Lie (2017) C.S. Harris (8/10) – Sebastian St Cyr book 12

This book is a bit darker than the previous books in this series. Sebastian and his wife, Hero, discover more about the abuse of children in London in the early 1800s than anyone would ever want to know.

This remains an excellent series and I recommend reading the whole thing, starting at What Angels Fear and going forward.

A Curious Beginning (2015) Deanna Raybourn (8/10) – Veronica Speedwell

I’ve read other Deanna Raybourn mysteries and found them ok, but I got bored and stop reading at some point, so I waited for the first book in this series to go on sale before I bought it.

I very much liked the first book–the adventures of a young woman alone in the world, embarking on adventures that may well have to do with her mysterious past.

I didn’t like the second book quite as well, but it was good.

The Books of 2017