Good News from North Haven

by Michael L. Lindvall
Crossroads/Carlisle, 2002

A pastor himself, Lindvall has put together eighteen stories about a Presbyterian pastor and his quirky congregation in "North Haven", Minnesota. Not quite as hilarious as Philip Gulley's Harmony series (about a Quaker pastor and his assemblage in Indiana), there are nevertheless some laugh-out-loud moments, along with nuggets of wisdom.

Out of Circulation (A Miss Zukas Mystery)

by Jo Dereske
Avon, 1997


This series starts with Miss Zukas and the Library Murders. As with all series books, it is advisable to read them chronologically.

A librarian by profession, I love to read fictional works with librarian protagonists. Sometimes I'm disappointed with the results, but Miss Zukas (Helma) is one of the happy exceptions - a hilarious send-up of the stereotype :)

In Out of Circulation, artist friend Ruth, persuades Helma to join her on a mountain hike to mark Ruth's upcoming 40th birthday. After doing her research and purchasing all the necessary equipment, Helma is prepared for any eventuality on the trail. Good thing - a dead body turns up on the first day. After the victim is removed from the scene, Helma and Ruth trek on to see if they can find and assist his missing partner. An unexpected snowstorm hits, they find a wounded and unconscious hiker, and take shelter in an emergency cabin. Four others share these close quarters. One of them is a murderer.

Kudos to author Jo Dereske for keeping me guessing right until the guilty party is revealed. A terrific read and a great addition to the series.

The Carrot Cake Murder: A Hannah Swensen Mystery

by Joanne Fluke

Kensington Books, 2008

Tenth in the series; includes recipes.

When Gus shows up just in time for a family reunion, after a 25 year absence from Lake Eden, his family is thrilled. They also have a lot of questions for him: why did he disappear in the middle of the night without telling anyone where he was going? Why did he stay out of contact? What has his life been like?

Gus appears to have a lot going for him - he flashes a lot of money around, treats everyone to an expensive brunch, tells them about the nightclub businesses he owns, and makes like he's a bigwig. But when he turns up dead on the second day of the reunion, it quickly becomes clear that not everything was what it seemed. There are several people who might have wanted him dead.

Hannah, our amateur sleuth and professional cookie baker, has her work cut out for her. Working with (and against) local cop and sometimes boyfriend, Mike, and with the able assistance of her family and other sometimes boyfriend, Norman, Hannah starts piecing things together. Can she protect her business partner's dad from being falsely accused? Will she catch the killer before he - or she - strikes again?

I knew "whodunit" early on, but it didn't spoil the read because I still needed to know all the threads that pulled it together. I recommend this series, but suggest you read them in order, starting with The Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder. The only book that really disappointed was The Sugar Cookie Murder, but you might want to read it for the romance angle...

The Shack

by William P. Young
Windblown Media, 2007

Forget Oprah's book choice, this is the book everyone's talking about and the "must read" of the year!

When tragedy strikes the Phillips family, its patriarch, Mack, is overwhelmed with feelings of grief and anger. Where is God when evil happens - why does He allow it, and can He really be trusted ? Three and a half years later, Mack is still wallowing in "The Great Sadness". Then he receives a mysterious note that compels him to return to the scene of the tragedy and to meet God face-to-face.

The story gives the reader much to think about, and presents God and the trinity in a fresh and accessible way. An endorsement from Eugene Peterson, author of The Message, states "This book has the potential to do for our generation what John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress did for his. It's that good!"

Buy your own copy of The Shack - I did. I guarantee you won't be disappointed!

Death of a Cad

by M.C. Beaton

St. Martin's Press, 1987

Second in the Hamish Macbeth series.

Priscilla Halburton-Smythe is engaged to be married to Henry Withering, a successful London playwright. Her delighted parents decide to throw a house party in his honour and are besieged with phone calls from people who want to be included. Thus, a motley assortment is gathered, including Captain Peter Bartlett, the "cad" of the book's title.

It comes as no surprise when Bartlett winds up dead, the result of an apparent hunting accident. Enter our hero, local bobby, Hamish Macbeth, who also happens to be more than half in love with Miss Halburton-Smythe herself. Hamish outwits his superiors when he discovers the killing was no accident, but murder.

Several suspects present themselves. Bartlett endeared himself to noone with his boorish ways and penchant for casual sex. Hamish must discern which of the house guests, or an outsider, brought about the Captain's untimely demise.

Beaton has created a very charming hero in Macbeth, and the reader cheers him on - both in his investigations and in his attempts to woo Priscilla, whose wealthy parents consider him beneath contempt.

Wonderfully written.

Less Than Frank

by Lynn Bulock

Steeple Hill, 2006

Second in the Gracie Lee mystery series, after Love the Sinner.

Frank is a crooked businessman and no-good husband. When he turns up dead from a single bullet wound to the head, it comes as no surprise to anyone who knows him. The only question is which of the several suspects was the trigger man.

Gracie Lee's son, Ben, was seen arguing with Frank the morning of the murder. Gracie Lee knows that her son would never kill anyone and needs to figure out who did it before the handsome and infuriating detective, Ray Fernandez, charges Ben with the crime.

While Bulock tends to ramble at times, she has created likable characters and a reasonable plot. Not the calibre of secular authors M.C. Beaton, Robin Hathaway, Jill Churchill, or Joanne Fluke, but enjoyable nonetheless. I will read the next book in the series while I continue to seek out the best mystery authors who write with a Christian slant.

The J. Alfred Prufrock Murders

by Corinne Holt Sawyer

Fawcett, 1989

This is the first in a series of mysteries set in Camden-sur-Mer, a retirement home in the tiny town of Camden, California. Our amateur detectives include four 70-something ladies, who live at the center - the formidable Angela Benbow, and her friends - Caledonia Wingate, Nan Church, and Stella Austin.

The book opens with a death. Sweetie Gilfillan, retired librarian and plain jane, who lived at the smallest cottage on site, was stabbed multiple times and fell down a staircase. She is found face down on the beach. Initially no one can figure out who would want to murder the innocuous victim - "poor Sweetie" - who always had her nose in a book. Angela and her friends decide to help the police in their investigation - partly because the murderer may be a threat to all of them, but mostly because it's an exciting adventure in their otherwise humdrum lives.

Then a second murder takes place. Paulette Piper, who's been married three times and may have been after a fourth husband, is found at the bottom of the center's back stairs, pushed to her death. What could connect the two victims, for surely their murders must be related?

There are plenty of suspects - Mr. Grogran, the angry drunk who lived next to Sweetie; Mr. Littlebrook, whom Paulette may have set her sights on as husband number four; Mr. Torgeson, director of the residence, who may have a secret to hide. Did one of them do it?

I enjoy pitting my wits against the sleuth (or in this case, sleuths) to determine the guilty party. Though in this story I was pretty sure who the culprit was before the close, there were enough red herrings to keep me wondering. And Sawyer kept me laughing without demeaning her protagonists, as Angela and her "partners in crime" got themselves into one humorous predicament after another along the way.

Recommended.