May booklist

Read more than I expected to, mostly because I was on a three-legged plane trip early in the month. I also read quite a bit over the holiday weekend. The month was pretty stressful, with the job interview and finishing the final draft of my book after I got back from the trip to LOEX and to visit my parents. Summer is finally beginning, maybe.

Lee Harris, Murder in Greenwich Village, A
Latest in the Jane Bauer/cold case series, enjoyable

Maggie Sefton, Needled to Death, A-
#2 Kelly Flynn, set in a thinly disguised Ft Collins Colorado, has a knitting shop theme. This time Kelly solves the murder of a local weaver.

Clare Curzon, Body of a Woman, A
Mike Yeadings and the team solve a tricky murder case. Yeadings had met the victim once and becomes a bit obsessed with the case.

Barbara Cleverly, The Last Kashmiri Rose, A
First in the Joe Sandilands series, set in India, 1922, very enjoyable.

Clare Curzon, A Meeting of Minds, A
Another Yeadings, with a murder case where all the suspects are part of the family.

Mary Higgins Clark, Two Little Girls in Blue, B-
Not her best.

Carolyn Hart, Dead Days of Summer, A-
Recent Death on Demand entry. Max is framed for murder.

John Lescroart, The Oath, A
Getting back into this series. Dismas Hardy takes a case that pulls him into medical fraud. Well done.

Barbara Cleverly, Ragtime in Simla, A
#2 Joe Sandilands, also enjoyable, with Joe being pulled into a case just when he thinks he's heading back to London.

David Handler, Sweet Golden Parachute, A-
Latest Berger/Mitry, I like this series a lot.

Sarah Stewart Taylor, Judgment of the Grave, A
Funerary art expert Sweeney St. George returns, becoming embroiled in a present day murder and a Revolutionary War era mystery. Excellent.

David Rosenfelt, Dead Center, A-
Recent one in the Andy Carpenter series. Some LOL moments, while Andy is drawn to Wisconsin to work on a case Laurie is connected to.

J A Konrath, Whiskey Sour, A-
First Jacqueline "Jack" Daniels. Chicago police detective Daniels is tracking down a creepy serial killer. I had to skim over some of those short chapters from the killer's point of view, but I liked Jack a lot.

Barbara Cleverly, The Damascened Blade, A-
#3 Sandilands. Poor Joe just can't get out of India. He is asked to accompany a young American on a trip and gets involved in solving another murder.

Sandra Scoppetone, This Dame for Hire, A-
First in the Faye Quick WWII series. Faye takes over the agency when her boss goes away to war. The slang and dialogue drove me nuts at first, but the story was good, so I just kept with it. Will look for more in this series.

T Jefferson Parker, The Fallen, A-
Newer one from him, about a homicide detective who was left with synesthesia after being thrown out of a building. He can see colors when people speak, so he knows when people are lying, anxious, happy, etc.. Kind of a weird aspect, but it doesn't get in the way of a solid crime story, with Robbie solving the murder of a fellow investigator.