Top Ten Tuesday: Favorite Authors that I have read at least 10 books by

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl.

This week's Top Ten Tuesday topic is a Freebie, and we can come up with our own topic. I am actually returning to an earlier topic, Authors I've Read the Most Books By. My version will be my Top Ten Authors that I have read at least 10 books by. Keep in mind that I only have records for the last 19 years. But that works fine because these are my current top ten authors, and tastes change over time.

And here's my list:

Rex Stout (54 - 47 Nero Wolfe books plus 3 Tecumseh Fox books plus 4 standalone mysteries)

The Nero Wolfe series began in 1934 with Fer-de-Lance; the last book in the series, A Family Affair, was published in 1975, shortly before Stout's death. I have reread every book in the series several times over the decades.

Nero Wolfe is a lover of orchids and fine food, who supports himself as a private detective, charging exorbitant fees. Archie Goodwin, the narrator of the stories, is both his assistant and a private investigator, and he does most of the legwork. The series combines a genius armchair detective with a hard-boiled detective, and you get the best of both worlds.

Agatha Christie (28 plus)

I love both of Agatha Christie's main sleuths: Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple. Originally I was irritated by Poirot's self-importance and conceit, but now I find him very charming. And I especially enjoy the books that Hastings narrates. I have other favorite characters that show up in more than one book (Colonel Race, Inspector Japp, Superintendent Battle). And all of the standalone books that I have read so far have been very good.

Emma Lathen (23 plus 4 as R.B. Dominic)

John Putnam Thatcher, senior vice president and director of the trust department of Sloan Guaranty Trust on Wall Street, is the protagonist of Lathen's 24 book series. Banking on Death (1961) is the first in the series, and I reread it in 2017 because the story is set around Christmas. Most of the books are focused on one type of business that is using the services of the Sloan, and the story shares many facts about the running of the specific types of businesses, and the financial relationships. Emma Lathen is the pen name for two American authors: Martha Henissart and Mary Jane Latsis.

Margery Allingham (18)

I think I have only read books from the Albert Campion series. Allingham has a beautiful way of telling a story and creating interesting characters. Albert Campion is a wonderful character, of course, but there is also Albert's manservant, Magersfontein Lugg, a former burglar who has done prison time and has criminal contacts. Campion ages as the series goes on and the character changes over time. And the female characters are well done, intelligent, strong, and independent.

Len Deighton (15)

Now we get to one of my favorite spy fiction authors. I have read all nine of the Bernard Samson series, plus Winter, a historical novel which features characters from the Samson series. He is probably best known for his Nameless Spy series. I have read four of those and I like them, but they are not my favorites of his books. And the great thing about him is I still have at least ten books of his to read.

Jill McGown - 13

Jill McGown wrote 13 novels in the Chief Inspector Lloyd and Sergeant Judy Hill series, plus five standalone novels. I have only read the books in the series, and I read them all in 2007. The books do not follow a formula. Lloyd and Hill, and their ongoing relationship, are the mainstays of the series, but each book takes a different approach to telling the story.

S. J. Rozan - 12

I was very excited when S.J. Rozan published the 12th book in the Lydia Chin / Bill Smith mystery series last year. That is one my favorite contemporary mystery series and the previous book was published in 2011. Bill Smith is a white private investigator in his forties who lives in Manhattan; Lydia Chin is an American-born Chinese private investigator in her late twenties who lives in New York’s Chinatown with her mother.  They are not partners but they often work together on cases. The element that I have always liked about this series is that the narrator of the books alternates. The first book was narrated by Lydia; the second book was narrated by Bill; and so on. With that approach, each book reveals more about the personality and the backstory of the two protagonists.

Olen Steinhauer - 11

Another of my favorite spy fiction authors. Steinhauer has written twelve full-length novels and I have read all but one of them. His first five novels were historical novels (the Yalta Boulevard series set in a fictional Eastern bloc country) and not strictly spy fiction but there were some espionage elements. After that he began the Milo Weaver series. Weaver is in the CIA; in the first book he is in the "Tourist" division, a group that does dirty work for the CIA.

Peter Dickinson - 10

Peter Dickinson has written over fifty books for adults and children. Many of his books for adults are mysteries. My favorite book by Dickinson is King & Joker, an alternate history set in an England where George V's elder brother did not die but lived to become King Victor I, and is later succeeded by his grandson, King Victor II. I am also very fond of his unusual mystery series featuring Superintendent Jimmy Pibble. 

Charles McCarry - 10

I discovered the spy novels by Charles McCarry in 2009 and read them all in a few months (including the two political thrillers that are only peripherally related). Most of the novels written by Charles McCarry are about Paul Christopher, an intelligence agent for the CIA (called "the Outfit" in his books). Some of them go back and forth between events around the World War II years and the 1960's, exploring Christopher's youth and family history. Those nine books were written between 1971 and 2007. McCarry also published The Shanghai Factor in 2013 and The Mulberry Bush in 2015.

Other authors I have read a good number of books by...

Bill Pronzini - 25
Ruth Rendell - 25

Jane Haddam - 24

Robert Barnard - 22

Patricia Moyes - 19

Ngaio Marsh - 16

P. D. James - 16

Six Degrees of Separation - From The Beauty Myth to The Wine of Angels

The Six Degrees of Separation meme is hosted by Kate at booksaremyfavoriteandbest. The idea behind the meme is to start with a book and use common points between two books to end up with links to six other books, forming a chain. Every month she provides the title of a book as the starting point.

It is not a requirement that the books be ones I have read, but this month I have read all of the books in my chain.

The starting point this month is The Beauty Myth by Naomi Wolf. I have not read the book, had never even heard of it, and I was surprised to find that it was first published in 1990. I doubt that things have changed that much since then.

Having grown up in the American South in the 1950s and 60s, I am well aware of pressure to be beautiful, to fit the mold, etc. And in my family, although my intelligence was praised, beauty in women was very important. It was a relief to get to California, and especially Santa Barbara, where things were much more relaxed. I stopped wearing make up, only putting it on when I went back to Alabama for the first few years. At least in my everyday life, I no longer felt that pressure.

But rather than continue on the Beauty theme I will move to another non-fiction book. The Monuments Men is about a kind of beauty, the beauty found in art. This book tells the true story of the Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives program established in 1943 to help protect cultural property in war areas during and after World War II. Several hundred service members and civilians worked with various military forces to safeguard art works of historic and cultural importance from war damage. It is an amazing story.

My next link is to Love & Treasure by Ayelet Waldman, a novel that starts with the discovery of the Hungarian Gold Train, which contained valuables confiscated from Jewish citizens of Hungary during World War II. Where The Monuments Men focused on art treasures that were saved, this book focuses on the looting of everyday belongings (watches, jewelry, silverware, china), most of which were never returned to the owners or their families.

The next connection uses the time setting, another book related to World War II. The Holiday Murders by Robert Gott is a historical crime fiction novel, set during WWII in Australia. I like to read crime fiction set before, during and after that war, and this was especially interesting because I had not read much about Australia during that time. As the title indicates, the events take place from Christmas to New Year's Day. This was a somewhat gritty thriller.

 This leads to another mystery set at Christmas, Murder at the Old Vicarage by Jill McGown. This one is set in the UK in the 1980s, when it was published. The victim is the vicar's son-in-law, and he is found dead in a bedroom at the vicarage. The vicar, his wife, and his daughter are all suspects. This is a Christmas mystery that is not saccharine, and not cozy at all. This book is part of the Lloyd and Hill series, one of my favorite mystery series.

The link to my next book, Murder at the Vicarage by Agatha Christie, is quite clear. Not only are the titles very similar but Jill McGown's book was written as a homage to Christie's book. This novel is the first in the Miss Marple series and was published in 1930. The story is set in the village of St. Mary Mead. A very unpopular resident of the village is murdered in the vicar's study. The first person narrator is the Vicar. Miss Marple  is very perceptive and sees the evil that is hidden underneath the surface in the village.

My final link is to The Wine of Angels by Phil Rickman, a completely different kind of mystery novel, with a touch of the supernatural, starring a female vicar. I have enjoyed series with clerical protagonists, but mixing the supernatural in was questionable and the length was daunting (589 pages).  However, the book proved to be especially interesting because it highlights the difficulties of being a woman priest; it was an engaging read and I loved every page of it.

Crime Fiction Reading in May 2017

The most notable thing about the books I read this month is that they are all written by women. I did not get the idea for this theme until I had read a couple of books, and it was fun choosing my next book based on this criteria.

Books I read this month:

Cocaine Blues by Kerry Greenwood (1989)

This is the first book in Kerry Greenwood's long running series about Phryne Fisher, a rich young woman who was born in Australia but lives in London as the series begins. A friend of her father, Colonel Harper, asks her to go to Melbourne, Australia and check on his daughter. He and his wife fear that she is being poisoned by her husband. Phryne would prefer traveling and detecting to the boring society events in London so she agrees to take the trip and see what she can do. Set in 1928, this is an interesting look at Melbourne at that time.

Murder in Jerusalem by Batya Gur (2004)

This is the final book in the Michael Ohayon series by Batya Gur. Each book takes place in a particular environment; in this book it is a TV station in Jerusalem, and a woman's body in found in the wardrobe and prop warehouse. The story is more of a psychological mystery than a fast-paced thriller. Murder in Jerusalem was not my favorite in the series, but I enjoyed this last visit with Chief Superintendent Michael Ohayon and his coworkers as they solve the mystery.

Blanche on the Lam by Barbara Neely (1992)

This debut novel about Blanche White, an African-American housekeeper in North Carolina, won the Agatha Award and the Anthony Award for best first novel. My thoughts on the book are here.

Murder... Now and Then by Jill McGown (1993)

This is the 6th book in the police procedural series featuring DCI Lloyd and DI Judy Hill. Jill McGown is one of my favorite authors. See my thoughts here.

Indemnity Only by Sarah Paretsky (1982)

This description from Goodreads sums it up pretty well: 

The vice-president of a Chicago bank hires V.I. Warshawski to find his son. She's pleased. The head of the International Brotherhood of Knifegrinders hires her to find his daughter. She's not so pleased. Who's the boss in this dangerous game of insurance fraud, murder contracts and gunmen?

The Last Billable Hour by Susan Wolfe (1989)

Susan Wolfe is a lawyer, and in this book she writes about a Silicon Valley law firm filled with sleazy and / or ambitious lawyers. She writes well about this subject; I hope she hasn't ever had to work in such a corrupt  firm. Howard Rickover is an inexperienced lawyer and has only been at Tweedmore and Slyde for a few months when one of the founders, Leo Slyde, is killed. Homicide detective Sarah Nelson enlists his help in uncovering the murderer. I liked this book a lot, even though it is an amateur sleuth mystery, and it is shame that the author did not continue with more books about this pair.

The Janus Stone by Elly Griffiths (2010)

This is the second book in the series featuring forensics archaeologist Ruth Galloway. Ruth lives in Norfolk in an isolated cottage on the saltmarsh. She is called in as an expert when the bones of a young child are found on a building site. I enjoyed this book and will continue on the the next in the series, The House at Sea's End.

Murder... Now and Then: Jill McGown

Victor Holyoak is a wealthy industrialist who got his start in criminal activities in London. When the police began to catch up with him in the early 80s he moved to Holland and aimed at becoming a legitimate businessman. Now he has returned to the UK to take over a firm in Stansfield. When he is murdered following an event to celebrate the change in ownership, DCI Lloyd and DI Judy Hill must find the murderer. The investigation involves his stepdaughter, her husband who is the new General Manager, Holyoak's PR manager who is also rumored to be his lover, and various residents of Stansfield.

One of the characteristics of the Lloyd and Hill series is that the books do not follow a formula; the ongoing relationship of the two protagonists is a constant, but each book has a unique structure. In this case, the story goes back and forth between the past (beginning 15 years earlier) and the present, showing the relationships building and key events leading up to Holyoak's death.

The relationship of Lloyd (whose first name is never specified) and Judy Hill is a large part of this series and is even more prominent in this book. In some books they are working together as partners, in others they are working on the same cases but not as partners. This is the sixth book in the series, and at this point their relationship is serious but they are not living together. Because this plot goes back and forth between the past and present, the author has a chance to fill in some of their backstory in more detail, and the reader can see the progression of their relationship. This makes it sound like that element is primary in the story but there is a good balance and the mystery plot always comes first.

I discovered the Lloyd and Hill mysteries in 2007, and read all 13 books in the series in that year. Thus this was a re-read for me. I remembered nothing about the plot as I was reading it. Although I did guess what was going on by the end, I never did remember who the culprit was.

The books in this series are all very strong in both characterization and plot. Many of the characters involved in the crime as possible suspects are not very pleasant people, but nevertheless McGown fleshes out their characters and the relationships. The plots are structured beautifully. This may sound like a cozyish police procedural but there is a good amount violence in the story, although not dwelled upon. So, not cozy at all.

Jill McGown (1947 - 2007) is one of my favorite authors. She was born in Campbeltown, Argyll, Scotland, but by the age of 10 had moved to a town in Britain, Corby, where she lived the rest of her life. She is best known for the Lloyd and Hill series, but she also wrote five stand-alone mysteries (which I have not sampled).

In my opinion, the series is best read in order, because the Lloyd / Hill relationship evolves over time, but the author has stated (in this post at Mystery*File which includes some excerpts from an interview) that each book is written to stand alone and contains enough backstory to explain the relationships where needed.

I have done previous posts on other books in this series: Plots and Errors and Murder at the Old Vicarage. Murder... Now and Then has been reviewed by Moira at Clothes in Books.
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Publisher:  Fawcett, 1995. Orig. pub. 1993.
Length:     346 pages
Format:     Paperback
Series:      Lloyd and Hill, #6
Setting:     UK
Genre:       Police Procedural
Source:     I purchased my copy.

Murder at the Old Vicarage: Jill McGown

Inspector Lloyd has finished reading a novel in the early morning hours of Christmas Eve, and is thinking about spending his Christmas with friends, when he would rather be spending it with Detective Sergeant Judy Hill. Judy, however, is married and will be spending Christmas with her husband and in-laws. It is snowing and they will have a white Christmas. Within the next twenty four hours, there is a murder at the vicarage in Byford, and Lloyd and Judy Hill  are called in to work on the case together.

The victim is the vicar's son-in-law, Graham Elstow; his wife, Joanna, has moved back in with her parents because he has beaten her, and the last time she ended up in the hospital.  Graham and Joanna have met at the vicarage to talk; he is drunk and they fight. Later, he is found in his wife's bedroom, beaten with a poker from the fireplace. Although all of the residents of the vicarage claim to have been out when the murder occurred, the police assume one of them must have murdered Graham.

This book is part of one of my favorite series, the Lloyd and Hill books written by Jill McGown. Each book is different, they are not written to a formula. The relationship of Lloyd and Judy Hill continues throughout the series. I often have an aversion to mystery novels with romances, but in this case I find the relationship between Inspector Lloyd and Detective Sergeant Judy Hill to be an enjoyable addition. It is plausible; they seem like very real people with real problems.

As far as the solution to the mystery, I was fooled even on the second read. I thought I had the villain figured out, and even thought it might be that I was remembering it from the first read. But no, I was totally wrong.

The novel is a homage to Agatha Christie. Of course the title is very similar to one of Christie's novels: The Murder at the Vicarage. Inspector Lloyd is an avid reader of mysteries, a fan of Agatha Christie, and he points out the similarities to some of her plots: the murder occurs at the vicarage, the village is snowbound, etc.

The original title of this book, as published in the UK, is Redemption. Regarding the US title, Jill McGown stated at her website that she did not choose the US title and actually argued with the US publisher that it was inappropriate, since it was so close to the title of Christie's novel. There are many other interesting facts about this novel at Jill McGown's website. Please check it out.

This is the second book in the Lloyd and Hill series of thirteen books. The backstory and the relationship of the main detectives is introduced well, and there is no real need to read the first book in the series, The Perfect Match. However, I loved that book and it was the reason I continued reading the series, so I do highly recommend it. Sergio at Tipping My Fedora reviewed that book recently.

I have reviewed another book in the series, Plots and Errors. Moira at Clothes in Books reviewed Murder... Now and Then recently.

This post is for the Winter Holiday edition of Forgotten Friday Books, which will be featured at Patti Abbott's blog, Pattinase, on Friday, November 20th. I try to read several mysteries set at Christmas in the last quarter of the year. Sometimes they are merely set around the holiday time and the Christmas element is minimal. Not so in this case. Judy is dreading Christmas because her in-laws are visiting and her marriage is a shambles. George Wheeler, the vicar, is having a crisis of faith and having problems writing his Christmas Eve sermon. This is a Christmas mystery but not saccharine, and not cozy at all.

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Publisher:  Ballantine Books, 1991. Orig. pub. 1983.
Length:     246 pages
Format:     Paperback
Series:      Lloyd and Hill, #2
Setting:     UK
Genre:      Police Procedural
Source:     I purchased this book.

Top Ten Reads in 2013

I cheated somewhat here because one of my ten is a trilogy, and I could not pick just one from the three novels. Another pick is a reread, but I included it because I was just so impressed when I read it again. All of these books are by authors that I want to continue reading and catch up on their series.

• Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch 
• The Last Policeman by Ben Winters 
• The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler
• Silence of the Rain by Luiz Alfredo Garcia-Roza
• Crooked House by Agatha Christie  
• The Tourist by Olen Steinhauer
• A Night of Long Knives by Rebecca Cantrell
• Plots and Errors by Jill McGown
• The White Trilogy by Ken Bruen
• Devil in a Blue Dress by Walter Mosley

Devil in a Blue Dress by Walter Mosley

The first book in Mosley's Easy Rawlins series, set in 1948, post WWII, a black neighborhood in Los Angeles, California. Ezekiel "Easy" Rawlins is a black man who moves to Los Angeles, California from Houston, Texas to look for a better life after serving in the military during World War II. I liked this for the characterization and the look at racism and prejudice in that time period.

The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler:

I loved this one because the writing is beautiful. It was his first novel and many readers say it is not his best book, but I was mesmerized by the writing. I don't know how much my opinion was influenced by my love of the movie (the Humphrey Bogart version).

The Silence of the Rain by Luiz Alfredo Garcia-Roza.

This is the first of a police procedural series that stars Inspector Espinosa of the First Precinct in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. This detective is a book lover and a philosopher. His apartment is stacked with books. But mainly what I liked was the unusual format. The first section, which makes up about half of the book, is told in third person and sets up the basic story. The middle section is written in first person from the point of view of the detective, so at that point we are just getting what he knows about the event. The smallest section, at the end, returns to third person to tie up all the events, in a sense. I found this to be a compelling read and am eager to continue the series.

A Night of Long Knives by Rebecca Cantrell

The story is told in first person, by Hannah Vogel, formerly a journalist, now on the run from the authorities in Germany. This book takes place in 1934, in the cities of Munich and Berlin. I like the strong, independent female protagonist. In addition, Hannah's story shows us Germany at a time when many are forced to join the Nazi party in order to keep their jobs, where parents are afraid to speak their mind because their children may inform on them. 

Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch:

A cross-genre novel, blending fantasy and crime fiction. Most often I have seen it categorized as Urban Fantasy. The main character is a policeman and is actively investigating crimes so it also fits the definition of a police procedural. It is humorous and fun.

 
Crooked House by Agatha Christie
I have read eight Agatha Christie books this year. This one is not in a series, but stands alone. I liked everything about this book. I particularly appreciated:

• The story is told in first person, by Charles Hayward, who wants to marry Sophia Leonides. I generally enjoy books told in the first person, because you get closer to the character.
• It is a love story, but the love story does not dominate. As the reader, I wanted the love story to end well, but as with all the mysteries by Christie that I have read, I was never sure what was coming.
• The story features a strong woman as a central character, and I always appreciate that. Especially in a vintage mystery.

The Last Policeman by Ben Winters:

The story of a policeman, Detective Hank Palace, pursuing a homicide case in a pre-apocalyptic world. In a world where many people are abandoning their jobs or changing their entire lives, Hank is stubbornly investigating an incident that every one else thinks is suicide. This book was compelling and thought-provoking.

The Tourist by Olen Steinhauer

Milo Weaver works for the CIA, in the Department of Tourism. "Tourists" are described as undercover agents with no identity and no home. Milo is not the James Bond type, although there are plenty of thrilling escapades and violence. But we see the other side of this spy's life, the family he wishes he could spend more time with.

A White Arrest / Taming the Alien / The McDead by Ken Bruen

These three books make up The White Trilogy, a book that includes the first three Sergeant Brant mysteries. A White Arrest introduces Chief Inspector Roberts and Detective Sergeant Brant. They are working on two cases, one involving murders of dope dealers, the other a killer aiming at members of the England cricket team. In Taming the Alien, Brant visits Ireland and New York. The McDead is a story of revenge, with Roberts seeking to get back at the man who killed his brother, who seems to be protected by the higher ranks in the police department.

Ken Bruen's writing is poetic. He draws me into the story and I don't care that the protagonists are hard and violent and willing to bend the law. 

Plots and Errors by Jill McGown.

This book is the tenth in a series of thirteen books set primarily in a fictional town in the UK called Stansfield. These police procedurals star Chief Inspector Lloyd and Sergeant Judy Hill. The books do not follow a formula. Lloyd and Hill, and their ongoing relationship, are the mainstays of the series, but each book takes a different approach to telling the story. The unique aspect to Plots and Errors is that the structure is like a play and it is interspersed with quotes from Hamlet. There is a prologue, five acts, and an epilogue. There is even a list of the Dramatis Personae.

The character development is superb, from the main policemen to the subsidiary members of the team to the various family members whose lives have been affected by the crime.

P is for Plots and Errors by Jill McGown

Today, for the Crime Fiction Alphabet, I feature Plots and Errors (1999), a book by Jill McGown.  This book is the tenth in a series of thirteen books set primarily in a fictional town in the UK called Stansfield.

Jill McGown (1947 - 2007) is one of my favorite authors. She was born in Campbeltown, Argyll, Scotland, but by the age of 10 had moved to a town in Britain, Corby, where she lived the rest of her life. She is best known for the British police procedurals starring Chief Inspector Lloyd and Sergeant Judy Hill, but she also wrote five stand-alone mysteries.

I discovered the Lloyd and Hill mysteries in 2007, after McGown had died. I read the first book in the series, The Perfect Match, and was very impressed. It was different, and I always like mysteries that take a different approach. Yet, I was not sure whether to continue the series, because it was not the kind of book that could be repeated. I tried the second book in the series and liked it too. Within four months, I had read all thirteen books in the series. I won't say I loved every book in the series, but all are good mysteries, and at least 10 of the 13 are personal favorites of mine. One of the characteristics of the series is that the books do not follow a formula; Jill McGown does not write the same book over and over. Lloyd and Hill, and their ongoing relationship, are the mainstays of the series, but each book can take a different approach to telling the story.

The unique aspect to Plots and Errors is that the structure is like a play and it is interspersed with quotes from Hamlet. There is a prologue, five acts, and an epilogue. There is even a list of the Dramatis Personae.

The Prologue sets the stage, when the murders are discovered. Act I goes back in time a few weeks, and is from the point of view of the Esterbrooks, the family most affected by these murders. Act II is from the point of view of the private investigators who are involved. Act III is The Plot; Act IV is The Murders. Act V is The Investigation, taking us back to Lloyd and Hill and their team. The Epilogue wraps it up.

You can see that the plot gets complex and hops around in time. Although I could not find many reviews of this book online, the author's website notes that some readers were not happy with the complexity and the approach, and I noted this in some comments at Goodreads also. At this page on the author's site, McGown discussed why she wrote the story.

The character development is very good. Lloyd and Hill are more in the background in this story than in most of the series (as I remember it), but I think that the way their backstory is introduced lets you know what kind of people and detectives they are. The other policemen involved are fleshed out. The members of the Esterbrook clan are very well developed as characters in this story. They are mostly not likable people, but interesting nevertheless. And there are plenty of surprises as the story unfolds.

Comments on Plots and Errors in this tribute to Jill McGown at Aunt Agatha's:

To me this is her best novel because it combines her genius with characters and a tightly wound plot that is one of the best I've ever read. And of course, the detective portion of the novel, Lloyd and Hill's investigation, is the thread of decency tying it all together. The modern detective novel makes us think, but it also ties up the loose ends and implies that bad deeds are righted, or at least avenged, in the civilized manner of the legal system.

I reread this book in preparation for writing this post, and I did not remember who had perpetrated the crimes. At times I thought the ending was obvious, but I was wrong. The ending was not what I expected, but it did not disappoint me. I enjoyed reading it just as much the second time around, and maybe even more this time.

The series is best read in order, because the Lloyd / Hill relationship changes over time, but the author has stated (in this post at Mystery*File which includes some excerpts from an interview) that each book is written to stand alone and contains enough backstory to explain the relationships where needed.


The Crime Fiction Alphabet is sponsored by Mysteries in Paradise.  Please visit this post to check out other entries for this letter.