"No Mystery Why These Books are Good Reads"

Who can resist a good mystery? I know I can’t. (The visit on September 10th with author, Alex Kava certainly renewed my interest.) While perusing the shelves at Columbus Public Library, I came upon quite a few new mystery titles that I wish to share:

In my estimation, short stories really do make the best mysteries. From the introduction to the book “Murder in the Rough: Original Tales of Bad Shots, Terrible Lies, and other Deadly Handicaps from Today’s Great Writers”, the editor, Otto Penzler makes a very good case for that very premise. “It seems that an astonishing number of people who earn their living by putting words on paper in an appealing way have tried their hands at putting a little white ball into a cup cut into a very large and very green lawn. They also like the notion of writing about it and the violence it can engender.

“There is a long and distinguished history of golf in mystery fiction, with such giants of the genre as Agatha Christie, James Ellroy, Ian Fleming, Michael Innes, and Rex Stout having produced classic works in which golf figures prominently. You will encounter in these pages some fascinating motives for murder and any number of memorable characters created by champions of today’s mystery writing world.”

In Lawrence Block’s “Welcome to the Real World,” something metal, cold, and definitely not a club saves a bad day on the links …a sly adulterer dangerously fakes a love for the game in “The Man Who Couldn’t Play Golf” by Simon Brett …a pioneering player makes the wrong kind of history in H.R.F. Keating’s “Miss Unwin Plays by the Rules”… Ian Rankin shows how one game’s outcome secretly determines a young couple’s fate in “Graduation Day” …and in “Lucy Had a List,” John Sandford introduces a female pro with a daring approach to an unwelcome obstacle.

Other beautiful literary strokes come from Ken Bruen, Christopher Coake, Stephen Collins, Tom Franklin, Jonathan Gash, Steve Hamilton, Laura Lippman, Bradford Morrow, William Tapply, and john Westermann. Get ready to discover stories too bold and shocking to be whispered on the course or in the clubhouse.
Columbus Public Library owns several more of Otto Penzler’s original books of short stories. “Murder Is My Racquet: Fourteen Original Tales of Love, Death, and Tennis by Today’s Great Writers”. Tennis may seem to be a genteel sport, steeped in white clothes, lemonade, and polite applause. But the deceptively well-mannered lawn game can be a secret hotbed of all manner of criminality.

Lawrence Block’s “Terrible Tommy Terhune” spotlights a temperamental champ who’s the master of the serve but can’t quite manage his rage …in “Six Love” by James W. Hall, the father of a court prodigy goes to homicidal lengths to erase a very personal shame …Mike Lupica’s “The Rematch” combines the game’s reigning bad boy, a hated umpire, and a highly unsportsmanlike abduction …a surprising source tries to force a superstar to throw the big match in “Close Shave” by Ridley Pearson… and Lisa Scottoline’s “Love Match” keeps score on a tennis lesson between two cops that leads to the discovery of a chilling crime.

These thrilling volleys and other ace stories by kinky Friedman, John Harvey, Stephen Hunter, Judith Kelman, David Morrell and Peter Lovesey display the unbeatable masters of the literary drop shot at the very top of their game.

And the most recent addition: “Murder at the Foul Line: Original Tales of Hoop Dreams and Deaths from Today’s Great Writers.” The notion of mixing basketball and crime seems totally predictable---a natural combination, like ham and eggs, Laurel and Hardy, yin and yang. It would be difficult to think that a group of fiction writers, people who make up stories, could find a way to write about crime and criminals in a way that surpasses the real-life adventures we can all read about in the tabloids, but the assembled team of top-notch writers has done just that. This Dream Team of outstanding authors has put together a game plan that will keep you at the edge of your seat right up to the last second.

If you have never tried mysteries, these titles might just be the perfect solution. Short, sweet and to the point! Short stories grab you right away and they DON’T LET GO.

Columbus Public Library Discussion Group will NOT be meeting in September. The October 27th and December 7th meetings will remain just as they are scheduled. The selection for October is “The Secret Life of Bees” by Sue Monk Kidd. Combining November and December, the CPL Book Group will be discussing “In the Land of Second Chances” by George Shaffner.

Darrel Draper will be at the Columbus Public Library in the Art Gallery at 7:00 pm on Thursday, September 28th. Mr. Draper will portray “George Drouillard---Hunter, Interpreter, and Indian Sign-Talker for Lewis & Clark.” This George Drouillard reenactment has received standing ovations from coast to coast. Join us September 28th at 7:00 pm and experience this amazing performer for yourself!