With summer just around the corner, we need beach reading. Since I was a child, beach reading has meant mysteries. When I was eight it was Nancy Drew and the Bobbsey Twins. Soon after I discovered Agatha Christie, Mary Renault and Mary Roberts Rhinehart. Then I dallied with Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett—who wouldn’t?—and even gave my heart ever-so-briefly to Mickey Spillane (although I think it was his “tomatoes” I truly loved).
As an adult, however, it’s been difficult for me to tear myself away from mysteries written by women. I have long worshiped at the altar of P.D. James and Ruth Rendell and am driven to search for the latest Sue Grafton or Laura Lippman. I have spent many an evening with the likes of Ellen Hart, Katherine Forrest, Val McDermid, Nicola Griffith and J.M. Redmann.
I love a good mystery. And if the rate at which LGBT presses are churning out mysteries is any indicator, many share my love of a good mystery. Fortunately for us aficionados of the wide range of mysteries—from cozy parlor to the darker, edgier thriller—a passel of good tales awaits.
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THE MIRROR AND THE MASK By Ellen Hart Minotaur Books ISBN: 9780312375270 Hardcover, $25.99, 320p Lambda Award Finalist [Read the review] |
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DEATH OF A DYING MAN By J.M. Redmann Bold Strokes Books ISBN: 9781602820753 Paperback, $16.95, 228 p. Lambda Award Winner [Read the review] |
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COMMAND OF SILENCE By Paulette Callen Spinster’s Ink ISBN: 9781602820753 Paperback, $14.95, 288 p. Lambda Award Finalist [Read the review] |
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MISSING LYNX By Kim Baldwin & Xenia Alexiou Bold Strokes Books ISBN: 9781602821378 Paperback, $16.95, 312 p. [Read the review] |
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OF COURSE IT’S MURDER By Kate Sweeney Intaglio ISBN: 9781935216117 Paperback, $16.95, 220 p. [Read the review] |
