The Usual Suspects Mystery Reading Group will be discussing Ngaio Marsh’s Tied up in Tinsel at our December get-together on the 16th at 2 p.m. In honor of our current theme, "The Grand Dames of Mystery," we will be serving an English tea, and in honor of the holiday season we will have a book swap. Please join us. New members are always welcome. Phone 291-4821 for a copy of the book. Call 291-4836 for more information on The Usual Suspects.
If you are looking for a good seasonal read try one of our many Christmas mysteries. It appears that every major series author has managed to come up with some manner of foul play under the mistletoe and some very clever titles too, including A Holly Jolly Murder, Slay Ride and Wreck the Halls.
This year I found a mystery called Chanukah Guilt by Ilene Schneider. Good to see the December mayhem being spread around a bit!
If you are looking for the perfect gift for your favorite mystery lover or aspiring mystery writer you might want to consider one the following:
Mystery Lover’s Puzzle Book: Crosswords with Clues from Your Favorite Mystery Series. Crossword puzzles based on popular mystery series along with a general synopsis and check-list of titles for each series featured. (Bellwether Books, 2007 9780970426530 $10.95)
Mystery Muses: 100 Classics That Inspire Today’s Mystery Writers, edited by Jim Huang & Austin Lugar. Essays by 100 published writers about the mysteries that matter to them. (Crum Creek Press, 2006 9780962580499 $15.00)
Don't Murder Your Mystery: 24 Fiction-Writing Techniques to Save Your Manuscript from Turning up D.O.A., by Chris Roerden. This year’s Agatha Award winner for Nonfiction focuses on what it takes to write mysteries that will survive both an agent's and a publisher's screening process. (Bella Rosa Books, 2006 9781933523132 $17.95)