Lee Harris

It's saying a lot for a librarian to say she's bought every mystery that an author wrote. I've bought every one that Lee Harris has written, in both her Christine Bennett series and her new Manhattan Mystery series. Although I love every one about Christine Bennett, the nun who left the convent, married, has a son, and solves old mysteries, the Manhattan Mysteries are even better. Murder in Hell's Kitchen was the first one, followed by Murder in Alphabet City.

Jane Bauer is a detective with the NYPD who has been assigned to a cold case squad. In the current mystery, a schizophrenic was found dead in his apartment eight years earlier. His wealthy sister never accepted that he starved himself to death, and she pulls strings to have the case reopened. As Bauer's small group of detectives investigate, they uncover a suicide that connects with their case, and they know there is more to be discovered.

Harris writes about interesting women who are more than stock characters. She tells a thoughtful story that involves the reader as it unwinds.

Writer's Almanac

I found a great new tool to use for Readers Advisory. It's National Public Radio's Writer's Almanac, which you can get by daily e-mail from www.writersalmanac.org. Looks like it it gives info about writers and their works, including birthdays.

Genreflecting

Genreflecting has a terrific web site at www.genreflecting.com in which experts in the Reader's Advisory field discuss books in the various genres, and new books in those areas. Looks like it might be really useful for Reader's Advisory services.

The Dresden Files

The Dresden Files are a series of six books (to date) by Jim Butcher, with a seventh due out in June 2005. They feature Harry Dresden, a wizard, in an alternate Chicago in which regular people live side-by-side by vampires and werewolves and other fantastic creatures, although most humans do not know they exist. The police force deal with unnatural crimes using a special task force. Dresden brings his own desire for law-and-order to his fight againt evil. This is a mystery/fantasy series for both types of readers. The series includes humor, such as the spirit character of Bob. Most of all, this is a riveting, exciting series in which good tries to conquer evil.