RE: Series mystery novels. I find it absolutely maddening to read series mysteries which rehash the same characters - if the books are well written in teh first place we should know everything we need to know about these characters. It seems that authors who use the same characters over and over again do backbends to make their characters SEEM fresh. And heaven forbid if you read a series novel out of sequence. You may jump the gun. I did that once with a book - read the second first which spoke of how the main character got her husband's millions - on the verge of divorce. Alas, I went to read the first and found it was about the scam.

Ah, well....

Sent by caroline mcvitty | 3:34 PM ET | 07-28-2008

I have enjoyed all of the modern weapons put into government/crime mystery novels, such as the FBI and LAPD in Michael Connelly's books. It becomes a game of outsmarting the machines man created to have justice and peace.

One thing I do NOT enjoy about series of novels is when the author tries to teach a moral lesson, or life lesson, in a mystery, of all places. I hate when I notice five books later that the author must have had an eye opening life experience, because there are "tender moments" thrown into the plot that didn't happen in the first four.

Sent by Tamsyn Garner | 3:39 PM ET | 07-28-2008

As owner of the San Francisco Mystery Bookstore I can tell you what my customers think make a good mystery.Mysteries that take you to another place where you can learn about the culture, the society and the people. Popular authors here include local author Cara Black whose atmospheric mysteries all take place in Paris and are not only wonderful reads but great tour guides to contemporary Paris. Andrea Camilleri, an Italian author who writes about Sicily, Hakan Nesser, a Swede writing police procedurals, as well as Helen Tursten, also Swedish. The late Magdalen Nabb whose Florentine series with Marshall Guarnaccia doesn't stay on the shelf and the recently deceased Jawillem van de Wetering whose great series set in Amsterdam has been a popular staple in our store for years.
Diane Kudisch
San Francisco Mystery Bookstore
4175 24th Street
San Francisco, Ca tel 282-7444
www.sfmysterybooks.com
The Oldest Mystery Bookstore in the US
est 1974

Sent by Diane Kudisch | 7:11 PM ET | 07-28-2008