What we're reading in May 2007
Ever wonder what the folks who work at a mystery bookstore like to read? Well, here's your answer. Each month we ask everyone here to pick a book, current or older, that they truly enjoyed and are enthusiastic about. Of course, if you visited the store, we'd tell you directly what we like but for those of you who can't come see us, this is the next best thing. Our special thanks to Judi for pulling this feature together and to all the staff who contributed their picks.
Presented here are the picks for this month, an archive of earlier months is available from the menu at the left.
What Margo is reading
We all love receiving cut flowers – but few of us know what steps that beautiful Casablanca lily went through in order to land in that vase on your kitchen table. Amy Stewart spent a year researching the flora culture industry – starting with how hybrids are developed and ending with how the flowers are actually transported to your local floral shop. She covers the history, the science and the business of the flora culture trade in a very readable, interesting manner. Some of what you will learn is amazing, some will be shocking to you. But I guarantee that you will have a new found appreciation for the $6.99 supermarket bouquet that you picked up on your way home from work, and expect to last 10 days.
What Judy is reading
Someone is killing children in Cambridge in 1171 and Henry II asks his friend, the King of Sicily to send someone to investigate - a Master in the Art of Death. The good people of Cambridge blame the handiest scapegoats, the towns' Jews. Henry is in for a surprise when a woman doctor, her Arab manservant and a Jewish investigator arrive. This book is a great historical read with wonderful characters from all walks of life.
What Mary Alice is reading
This classic work of masterful suspense by the "New York Times" bestselling author of She Loves Me Not is available once again, now at a special price. Get yours at Mystery Lovers Bookshop’s 12th Festival of Mystery on Monday May 7, 2007 and meet the author. Staub's newest thriller, Don't Scream, will be available in May at the Festival of Mystery, too.
What Judi is reading
It’s hard to believe that there are 18 wonderful historical Roman mysteries now available starring Marcus Didius Falco. When Falco and Helena return from Greece they find that Helena's brother Justinus's marital problems have exploded. Justinus's first love, Veleda, a prophetess from Germania, has been brought to Rome and put under house arrest pending a ritual sacrifice at her capturer's Triumph. Justinus is love-struck once more and his wife, the temperamental Claudia, is enraged. When Veleda escapes leaving behind a corpse, Justinus disappears as well and it is up to Falco and the Chief Spy Anacrites to try to find the missing couple all against the backdrop of the orgiastic Saturnalia holiday period when literally anything goes. See Lindsay Davis here at Mystery Lovers Sunday May 20th at 2 pm.
What Kathy O. is reading
Saylor keeps to the Roman period but forsakes mystery in this epic which follows the Potitii clan from the founding of Rome through five centuries of history. Every important moment of the city’s history: the Punic Wars, the era of Tiberius, Julius Caesar and the rest are included along with a wealth of social and cultural detail that are endlessly fascinating and barely contained in 700 pages. Lively characters, solid research and fast-paced writing add up to an entertaining and informative read.
What Richard is reading
A man discovers a body in a toyshop whereupon he's knocked cold. When he awakens, not only is there no body--the toyshop has become a grocery store. Thus begins one of my all time favorite classic mysteries, The Moving Toyshop by Edmund Crispin. Soon enough Oxford don Gervase Fen has entered the case which he proceeds to unravel in his uniquely humorous and clever style. Just a delight in this brand new edition that even features a nifty new cover.
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