The Minor Adjustment Beauty Salon

The latest novel in Alexander McCall-Smith's "No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency" series is another fun, entertaining entry in this popular series.  The novels are cozies set in Botswana, and the star of the series is Precious Ramotswe, owner and lead detective at the agency.  In this installment, Mma Makutsi has to be away from the office for a few weeks due to personal reasons, and Mma Ramotswe feels the loss as she tries to solve cases without the helpful advice of her associate detective.  Meanwhile, her husband, Mr. J. L. B. Matekoni, has his own hands full with his errant mechanic apprentices and his own desires to become a "modern husband" for Mma Ramotswe.  Mma Ramotswe's main cases are trying to find the person making threats against Mma Soletti and her Minor Adjustment Beauty Salon and discovering if the boy set to inherit his Uncle's farm is who he says he is.  One of the best parts of these books is the character development.  The books' characters are charming and the reader truly gets a taste of what it means to live, today, in Botswana.  These books are one of my favorite mystery series, because the country of Botswana figures as prominently as the mysteries explored.  The series needs to be read in order, so start out with the "No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency" if you want to begin the series.  Alexander McCall Smith is Professor Emeritus of Medical Law at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, who was born in Zimbabwe.  He has taught law at the University of Botswana and lives in Scotland.    

The Saturday Big Tent Wedding Party

Alexander McCall Smith is one of my favorite cozy authors! His writing is luxurious, and his details about Botswana make the reader feel as if he/she has stepped out of his/her world and into Africa from the moment you open the book. The Saturday Big Tent Wedding Party is the latest book in McCall Smith's No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series centered around Mma Ramotswe, Private Detective and her husband, the mechanic Mr. J. L. B. Matekoni. They live on Zebra Drive in Gabarone and they both love Botswana, appreciating the new changes as well as the old traditions. Mma Ramotswe is the owner of the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency and works alongside her Assistant Detective Mma Makutsi. This book is centered around the planning of Mma Makutsi's upcoming wedding to Phuti Radiphuti, the reappearance of Mma Ramotswe's tiny white van and a mystery involving the murder of several of Rra Moeti's cattle. Mma Ramotswe solves the case in her usual fashion, following the clues as well as her heart and the conclusion is satisfactory for all parties involved. This series of books makes me want to visit Botswana--Alexander McCall Smith is Professor Emeritus of Medical Law at the University of Edinburgh, was born in what is now known as Zimbabwe and taught law at the University of Botswana. He currently lives in Edinburgh, Scotland and makes several trips to Botswana each year. If you want to delve into this series, you'll have to start at the beginning with the first book in the series, the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency, because even though the mysteries do not build on each other, the life of each character is developed throughout each book.

Vincent Calvino Strikes Again

Christopher G. Moore has written another hard-boiled mystery laced with humor in his latest book, Paying Back Jack. Fans of Elmore Leonard will love reading this series, starring Private Detective Vincent Calvino, that are set in Bangkok. Moore does a great job of making the reader feel as if they are in Bangkok, following Vincent as he barrels through the city, searching for clues to solve his cases. The books are a real blend of "East-West encounters" and are a wonderful way to discover the culture of Thailand. Paying Back Jack is a pulse-pounding tale of human trafficking, mercenaries, international conspiracies and revenge--these events are made more real because they are set against the lovely and sordid streets of Bangkok, where anything can be purchased for the right price. Vincent Calvino is a disbarred American lawyer, who helps a retired General with a non-paying tenant and gains more trouble than he thought when his solution to the problem plays on a powerful Thailand superstition. Calvino develops some dangerous enemies and must get out of town to avoid them. Paying Back Jack is a fast-paced book that is sure to gain Moore some new fans.

Get Thrilled with Chelsea Cain

Chelsea Cain is one of the best thriller writers I have ever read. Her first novel, Heartsick, was so intense that it made me want to sleep with the lights on for a couple of days! Cain's novels feature Portland Detective Archie Sheridan and serial killer Gretchen Lowell. Heartsick details Gretchen's capture and torture of Archie, a bizarre sort of pyschological and emotional relationship that has become its own sort of twisted love affair for Archie. The second novel, Sweetheart, furthers Gretchen's story, and the newest novel, Evil at Heart continues to develop the saga of Gretchen Lowell's life as the "beauty killer." The unique aspect of these stories is that the interaction between Gretchen and Archie is a side story to the book's main action. These three books are the ultimate story of cat and mouse. If you like pulse-pounding action, a serial killer with a bizarre motivation and a detective unable to stop his fascination with a killer, try reading these books.

Solve a Mystery with Cape Weathers

I stumbled across the mysteries by author Tim Maleeny, because I really enjoyed the cover of his first book, Stealing the Dragon. The cover features the back of a woman covered by an intricate dragon tattoo. The art hooked me instantly! The author mixes wry humor and a serious plot in his third Cape Weathers mystery, Greasing the Pinata, which was published in 2008 (the second book in the series is 2007's Beating the Babushka). In this book, Jim Dobbins, a recently retired California state senator, and his drug-addict son, Danny, disappear in Mexico and Dobbins's estranged daughter hires San Francisco reporter-turned-private investigator Cape Weathers to find them. Weathers travels to Mexico only to learn that the mutilated bodies of both father and son have surfaced in a Puerto Vallarte golf course's alligator-infested pond. Aided by Sally Mei, his Triad-trained associate, Weathers pursues a case that reaches from a Mexican drug cartel to the San Francisco mob as well as the city's boardrooms. This series features an appealing hero, well-crafted villains, snappy dialogue and an energetic plot. The most fascinating part of these books is Cape Weathers association with the Triad through Sally Mei. Sally is deadly but charming, and the reader can't help but be drawn in to her life and how she sees the world.