A Little Night Reading

I endure alot of airport and flight time blanking out everything around me.  I've found a good mystery novel is the best antidote for screaming babies, cramped seating and the third showing the Shrek. Mystery series work best for me and I'm sharing a list of my favorites here (with appreciation to my brother-in-law, Skip Corsini, who takes an interest in what others read).  My picks:

Laura Joh Rowland…. The Ichiro Sano series. He is the Shogun's Most Honorable Investigator of Events, Situations, and People in 16th Century Tokyo. Really clever complex plots; lots of political intrigue and intriguing detail about Japanese society and culture.

Michael Connelly…. Everybody knows these. I love hard-boiled Detective Harry Bosch and have traced out, with the help of my friends the Zugsmiths, Harry’s important sites on my last trip to LA. The Bosch books are backed up by some related pieces with plots tied around people connected to Harry. About as cynical as it gets.

Randy Wayne Williams…. The Doc Ford series… marine biologist by day, CIA operative by night. If you like boats and the gulf side of Florida, these are fun.

Homer Hickam… author of October Sky, he’s got a nifty little set that takes place during WW2 off the Carolina coast… Josh Thurlow series. Like Williams, water and boats are a great mix.

John Burdett… Sonchai Jitpleecheep… Harry Bosch in Bangkok. Wonderful infusion of Buddhist thought applied to crime solving. Noir orientale. Not for the faint of heart.

Carl Hiassen… more Floridiana, but a terrific writer with a great light touch and delightful characters with off-center views of the world.

Steven Saylor… I wanted to know about ancient Rome and these have been a great introduction to what life must have really been like, including the bad guys. Who could resist Gordianus the Finder?

Bruce Alexander… the Blind Beak of Bow Street, Magistrate Sir John Fielding, is assisted by his ward, the orphaned Jeremy Potter, and the derrring Bow Street Runners in cleaning up murder and mayhem in 19th Century London. Alexander died a couple of years ago, but this wonderful series of 12 is a great read.

Stieg Larsson… all in the news. Detailed plots takes forever to unfold, but compelling reading. Mikael Blomkvist and Lisabeth Salander (the Thin man and Nora they’re not) make a great team. Who knew Stockholm was so kinky!

I.J. Parker… another medieval Japan series.

Sujata Massye… more Japan, but modern with a great protagonist, Rei Shimura, a Japanese-American antique dealer, solving murders in the Bay Area and Tokyo.

Lester Eldridge… not technically mysteries, but a readable set of maritime stories based on Civil War events. Rory Dunbrody, CSN and Tobias St. John, USN set against each other across the Atlantic.

I'm sure you know of other fascinating series, drop me a note duke@pnwconsult.com and pass on your favorites.