Nine Mysteries You Should Read for the Pun of It

One of the fun parts of my job as a librarian here at Carnegie-Stout is selecting the new mystery books, which means I get to sit in the workroom and giggle at all of the terrible puns. If you don't read many mysteries, you might not be familiar with the cozy mystery sub-genre. Cozy mysteries tend to be lighter in tone and less violent (though there will still be murders to solve). The main character in a cozy mystery is usually an amateur sleuth who has a day job as a baker, a pet sitter, or a baker who specializes in dog treats, but spends their free time investigating crimes.

I've gathered together a list of some of our newer mystery novels with especially clever titles. Check one out for a fun read on a relaxing summer weekend!

Nine Mysteries You Should Read for the Pun of It:

And Then There Were Nuns by Kylie Logan

B&B owner Bea Cartwright has taken on the responsibility of taking meals to ten visiting nuns, but the peace of the retreat is shattered when one of the nuns is found at the water's edge--murdered. And when a second nun is killed, Bea and the other members of the League of Literary Ladies start to wonder about eerie parallels with the Agatha Christie mystery classic And Then There Were None. 

Breach of Crust by Ellery Adams

Socialite Beatrice Burbank hires Ella Mae to teach the tasty tricks of her trade to the members of the Camellia Club, but when Bea's body is found floating in Lake Havenwood Ella Mae must find the killer.

Fifty Shades of Greyhound by Sparkle Abbey

It was a killer party. Caro Lamont, Laguna Beach’s favorite pet therapist, is thrilled to support the elite fundraising gala for Greys Matter, a SoCal greyhound rescue group. The champagne and donations are flowing, and there are fifty gorgeous greyhounds in attendance. But before the evening ends a stranger in their midst is dead. 

For Cheddar or Worse by Avery Aames

Lara Berry, pretentious cheese whiz, pompous bestselling author, and pungent critic whose extra sharp tongue can crumble a reputation, has been murdered, and Charlotte Bessette is determined to clear her friend's name of the crime.

Foreign Éclairs by Julie Hyzy

White House executive chef Ollie Paras has served plenty of meals to foreign dignitaries from around the world. But someone is ready to serve her an ice-cold dish of revenge... 

Laying Down the Paw by Diane Kelly
When a raging tornado hits Forth Worth, Megan's squad car is flipped over-and her devoted police dog, Brigit, is not amused. But that's not all that's upside-down. The streets are littered with looters-and members of a violent street gang-and no local business is safe. It's time to get back on all fours and see that the job of protecting the public is done.

Silence of the Lamps by Karen Rose Smith

Business has never been better for home stager Caprice De Luca, until her main rival is found bludgeoned to death with one of his grandmother's antique Tiffany lamps. Now, Caprice must act fast to illuminate the truth before a cold-blooded killer puts her lights out next...

Tea with Jam and Dread by Tamar Myers
Deciding that the PennDutch Inn needs to go more upmarket, Magdalena Yoder is delighted to welcome the Earl and Countess Grimsley-Snodgrass and their family as honoured guests. But, as Magdalena is about to find out, the Grimsley-Snodgrasses are by no means the easiest of guests, and at the same time she has to contend with the discovery of a mummified corpse trapped in her elevator shaft.

Thread and Gone by Lea Wait
Angie investigates after a piece of embroidery the Mainely Needlepointers identified as possibly knitted by Mary, Queen of Scots, is stolen and the lawyer who was safeguarding the precious antique is murdered.

~Sarah, Adult Services

New Item Tuesday

via Instagram http://ift.tt/201VmhX

The Great Reading Challenge: Read a Classic!

"Read a classic novel" is one of the categories in C-SPL's Great Reading Challenge. I decided it was time to read Light in August by William Faulkner, which my son has been urging me to read. So I read it and I'm not sure I'll ever recover.  

Light in August may be the grimmest, darkest, most harrowing novel I have ever read. Written in 1932, it examines issues of race, gender, religion, and social class in the American South -- and not in any way that makes you want to re-locate. It's Southern Gothic on steroids. I'm not sure I can recommend it except to say that Faulkner is brilliant, he writes like some higher order of angel (a dark angel, that is), and if you like Cormac McCarthy, you may very well like Faulkner.

If you'd like to check off the Classic Novel box but don't want anything that makes you lose the will to live, here are a few more-upbeat suggestions:

Middlemarch, arguably the greatest novel in the English language,
is George Eliot's masterpiece. The novel examines the lives, struggles,
failures, and redemptions of a fascinating network of characters inhabiting the Midlands town of Middlemarch as the industrial age approaches. Its centerpiece is Dorothea Brooke, a beautiful and intelligent young woman seeking a life of significance at a tough time for women. (George Eliot, by the way, was a woman.) At 800-plus pages, this one is not for the faint of heart but it's worth every minute of the effort.

The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins, who was Charles Dicken's good friend, is often called the first detective novel in English. The Moonstone's crime is the theft of the Tippoo diamond after the fall of Seringapatam in India in 1799. The Indian element imbues this very British, very Victorian novel, told by way of letters, with an exotic and sinister atmosphere. There's a great cast of characters and as with all good Victorian reads, romance is definitely in the air (or will be once the villain is identified).

Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Bronte, is surely one of the world's most beloved novels. It's one of those classics nobody gripes about having to read. That's because it's got everything: a Gothic atmosphere, an evil orphanage, a clever, bright, unconventional heroine (she's neither gorgeous nor splendidly wealthy), a brooding lord of the manor, a romantic competitor who is lovely and rich, a catastrophic fire, something sinister and creepy in the attic, and more! The intelligent and witty dialogue between Jane, a mere governness, and Mr. Edward Rochester, master of Thornfield Hall, makes for some wonderfully gripping (and, dare I say, romantic?) reading.

~Ann, Adult Services