Laying Down the Law: Mysteries Featuring Sheriffs

Have you been reading Amy Stewart's mystery series based on real-life turn-of-the-century deputy sheriff Constance Kopp? Girl Waits With Gun came out last year and Lady Cop Makes Trouble just came out. This has been an interesting series for us - Amy Stewart first came to our attention as a writer of non-fiction, with books such as Flower Confidential (a behind-the-scenes look at the flower industry), The Earth Moved: On the Remarkable Achievements of Earthworms, and Wicked Plants: The Weed That Killed Lincoln's Mother & Other Botanical Atrocities. Stewart brings all her research skills to bat for this new fictional series and the early 20th century lifestyle she portrays feels very real, but her historical characters are clever and her retellings of their adventures, ripped from news headlines of the day, are entertaining and well-crafted.

As a tribute to Constance Kopp, the first female sheriff, we've compiled a list of other mystery series with sheriffs for protagonists, including local favorite Longmire!

Desert Heat by J. A. Jance

The Cold Dish by Craig Johnson

Killer Weekend by Ridley Pearson

Coyote Wind by Peter Bowen [eAudiobook]

One Perfect Shot by Steven Havill

Murder Most Fowl by Bill Crider 

The Ranger by Ace Atkins 

Artscape by Frederick Ramsay

Dangerous Undertaking by Mark de Castrique 

The Blight Way  by Patrick F. McManus 

Darkness Bids the Dead Goodbye by Gary McKinney 

Cypress Grove by James Sallis

Lying Wonders by Susan Rogers Cooper

Season's Revenge by Henry Kisor 

Glare Ice by Mary Logue

Known Dead by Donald Harstad 

Canongate Myth Series

If you are a fan of myths, fairy tales, and literary fiction, here is a great series you may not have heard of: The Canongate Myth Series.  This series was organized by Jamie Byng, owner of the publisher Canongate Books.  The series features retellings of classic myths by contemporary authors from around the world.  There are meant to be 100 books altogether, with the last book in the series said to come out sometime in 2038.  Click here for a full list of the titles published so far.

Each book will be written by a different author, and so far the series features stories written by Margaret Atwood, Jeanette Winterson, Alexander McCall Smith, Karen Armstrong, Ali Smith, and A.S. Byatt.  The latest one, published just this year, is The Goddess Chronicle by Natsuo Kirino, the author of internationally bestselling crime novels Out, and Real World.  Although The Goddess Chronicle is a departure from her usual work, Kirino beautifully retells the story of the Japanese goddess of the Realm of the Dead, Izanami, and her consort, Izanaki.   

Unfortunately, not every book in this series is available in English.  A few of them were only published in certain countries, under their native language.  Also, the ABC Library system does not carry every book in the series, but the ones we don't have are often available through our Interlibrary Loan services.

This mass storytelling effort is a way to bring new life to old parables (while passing on their ancient lessons) to a whole new millennia of people who can't resist a good story!

The Noir Series

The magazine market for short fiction has steadily dried up over the last decade or so. Even established and popular authors have a hard time placing their short stories.

But most authors have lots of ideas for short stories, which ideas sometimes demand attention even when the author is working on a longer project.

To fill the gaps left by the waning magazine market, theme anthologies and anthology series have arisen. An editor will be inspired to put together a batch of stories on a theme, then put out a call to authors (usually folks known to that editor, or friends-of-friends) to submit stories.

Theme anthologies allow authors to get those great short story ideas out of their heads and into circulation, and they allow readers to experience works they otherwise likely would not have seen.

The Noir Series from Akashic Books, started in 2004, draws together stories not only by the noir theme -- dimly-lit, gritty, tense stories of crime and punishment -- but also by locale. Each anthology volume is set in a different city, with each story set in a distinct neighborhood or even a single street within that city, written by an author living in that city. (Or area -- some of the collections, like "Indian Country Noir", have a broader scope.) The stories in each collection are all new, original stories produced for the anthology, some of these collections bolstered by a "Classics" volume collecting the best from the past.

These collections offer a "dark tourism" approach to the locale featured, a grimy-underbelly look at some of the great cities of the world, presented by some of the greatest writers in the world.

Some of the writers featured in the Noir Series:

Lawrence Block
Joseph Bruchac
Dana Cameron
Lee Child
Michael Connelly
 John Dufresne
 Loren D. Estleman
 Jules Feiffer
 Janet Fitch
 Jim Fusilli
 Diana Gabaldon
 Barbara Hambly
 Dennis Lehane
 Laura Lippman
 Sujata Massey
 Stewart O'Nan
 George Pelecanos
 Scott Phillips
 Patricia Powell
 Luis Alberto Urrea



Books in the Noir Series - highlighted titles are linked to those in the ABCLS catalog. If there is a title below that we do not have, you may log in to suggest a purchase.

•  Barcelona Noir (Spain)
•  Baltimore Noir 
•  Boston Noir
•  Boston Noir 2: The Classics
•  Bronx Noir
•  Brooklyn Noir 
•  Brooklyn Noir 2: The Classics
•  Brooklyn Noir 3: Nothing but the Truth
•  Cape Cod Noir
•  Chicago Noir
•  Copenhagen Noir (Denmark)
•  D.C. Noir 
•  D.C. Noir 2: The Classics
•  Delhi Noir (India)
•  Detroit Noir
•  Dublin Noir (Ireland)
•  Haiti Noir
•  Havana Noir (Cuba)
•  Indian Country Noir
•  Istanbul Noir (Turkey)
•  Kansas City Noir  * Forthcoming: October 2012   
•  Kingston Noir 
•  Las Vegas Noir  
•  London Noir (England)
•  Lone Star Noir
•  Long Island Noir
•  Los Angeles Noir
•  Los Angeles Noir 2: The Classics
•  Manhattan Noir
•  Manhattan Noir 2: The Classics
•  Mexico City Noir
•  Miami Noir
•  Moscow Noir (Russia)
•  Mumbai Noir (India)
•  New Jersey Noir
•  New Orleans Noir
•  Orange County Noir
•  Paris Noir (France)
•  Philadelphia Noir
•  Phoenix Noir 
•  Pittsburgh Noir
•  Portland Noir
•  Queens Noir 
•  Richmond Noir 
•  Rome Noir (Italy)
•  San Diego Noir
•  San Francisco Noir
•  San Francisco Noir 2: The Classics
•  Seattle Noir
•  Staten Island Noir  * Forthcoming: November 2012
•  St. Petersburg Noir (Russia)
•  Toronto Noir (Canada) 
•  Trinidad Noir
•  Twin Cities Noir
•  Venice Noir
•  Wall Street Noir

Forthcoming:

Beirut Noir (Lebanon)
Bogota Noir (Colombia)
Buffalo Noir
Dallas Noir
Helsinki Noir (Finland)
Jerusalem Noir
Lagos Noir (Nigeria)
Manila Noir (Philippines)
Prison Noir
Seoul Noir (Korea)
Singapore Noir
Tel Aviv Noir (Israel)

 Akashic Books Noir Series website

Mysteries Set in Japan

The intricate etiquette-driven society of Japan is an

effective setting for mystery stories, whether in the feudal past or the business-world present. 

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I.J. Parker's Sugawara Akitada series is set in the 11th century:

"From the author of The Dragon Scroll comes an ingenious new novel of murder and malfeasance in ancient Japan, featuring the detective Sugawara Akitada. The son of reduced nobility forced to toil in the Ministry of Justice, Akitada is relieved when an old friend, Professor Hirata, asks him to investigate a friend's blackmail. Taking a post at the Imperial University, he is soon sidetracked from his primary case by the murder of a young girl and the mysterious disappearance of an old man - a disappearance that the Emperor himself declares a miracle. Rashomon Gate is a mystery of magnificent complexity and historical detail that will leave readers yearning for more." - from the book jacket, Rashomon Gate

The Sugawara Akitada series:

1. Rashomon Gate (2002)
2. The Hell Screen (2003)
3. The Dragon Scroll (2005)
4. Black Arrow (2006)
5. Island of Exiles (2007)
6. The Convict's Sword (2009)
7. The Fires of the Gods (2010)
8. The Masuda Affair (2011)
9. Death on an Autumn River (2011) (Kindle exclusive)

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Dale Furutani's Matsuyama Kaze series is set in the Tokugawa period (1600-1868), and is rich with the samurai lore that makes Japanese history so distinctive.

Matsuyama Kaze is a ronin, a masterless samurai, seeking to honor the last order given to him by his old master. In the course of his travels, Kaze encounters mysteries that test him to the limit.

Richly atmospheric, filled with historically accurate detail, this series evokes the world of long-ago Japan and the often lonely life of an honor-bound warrior.

Dale Furutani's Matsuyama Kaze "Samurai" series:

1. Death at the Crossroads (1998)
2. The Jade Palace Vendetta (1999)
3. Kill the Shogun (2000)

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Laura Joh Rowland's Sano Ichiro series is also set in feudal Japan during the 1600s.

Sano Ichiro is the shogun's sosakan-sama - "most honorable investigator of events, situations, and people" - and as such must interact with all levels of feudal Japanese culture.

1. Shinju (1994)
2. Bundori (1996)
3. The Way of the Traitor (1997)
4. The Concubine's Tattoo (1998)
5. The Samurai's Wife (2000)
6. Black Lotus (2001)
7. The Pillow Book of Lady Wisteria (2002)
8. The Dragon King's Palace (2003)
9. The Perfumed Sleeve (2004)
10. The Assassin's Touch (2005)
11. The Red Chrysanthemum (2006)
12. The Snow Empress (2007)
13. The Fire Kimono (2008)
14. The Cloud Pavilion (2009)
15. The Ronin's Mistress (2011)
16. The Incense Game (2012)

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Moving up to present-day Tokyo:

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Rei Shimura is a young Japanese-American English teacher living in Tokyo who stumbles upon mysteries while dealing in antiques! Rich with detail from the author's own experiences while living in Japan.

Sujata Massey's Rei Shimura series:

1. The Salaryman's Wife (1997)
2. Zen Attitude (1998)
3. The Flower Master (1999)
4. The Floating Girl (2000)
5. The Bride's Kimono (2001)
6. The Samurai's Daughter (2003)
7. The Pearl Diver (2004)
8. The Typhoon Lover (2005)
9. Girl in a Box (2006)
10. Shimura Trouble (2008)

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 John Rain is a half-Japanese half-American assassin who works the mean streets of Tokyo.

The John Rain suspense thriller series by Barry Eisler:

1. Rain Fall (2002)
2. Hard Rain (2003)
     aka Blood from Blood
3. Rain Storm (2004)
     aka Choke Point
4. Killing Rain (2005)
     aka One Last Kill
5. The Last Assassin (2006)
6. Requiem for an Assassin (2007)
7. The Detachment (2011)

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Other mysteries set in Japan:

Michael Crichton - Rising Sun
Keigo Higashino - The Devotion of Suspect X
Stephen Hunter - The 47th Samurai
Natsuo Kirino - Grotesque, Out
Don Lee - Country of Origin
James Melville - The Body Wore Brocade
Miyuki Miyabe - All She Was Worth, Shadow Family, The Devil's Whisper, The Sleeping Dragon
Fuminori Nakamura - The Thief
Asa Nonami - The Hunter
Arimasa Osawa - Shinjuku Shark
David Peace - Tokyo Year Zero
Soji Shimada - The Tokyo Zodiac Murders
Akimitsu Takagi - The Informer, Honeymoon To Nowhere, The Tattoo Murder Case
Peter Tasker - Buddha Kiss
Shuichi Yoshida - Villain

Featured New Mexico Author: Steven F. Havill

Albuquerque area resident Steven F. Havill gives readers a mystery series with a distinctly New Mexican flavor.

Lawman Bill Gastner is getting older. And heavier. He has medical problems. His wife has died.

But he can still solve mysteries with the best of them.

Set in "Las Posadas County" in southern New Mexico, this series captures the flavors and voices of New Mexico and covers quite a bit of time -- without giving anything away, let's just say that Gastner is an Undersheriff in the first book and works his way up from there.

The Undersheriff Bill Gastner series:

1. Heartshot (1991)
2. Bitter Recoil (1992)

3. Twice Buried (1994)

4. Before She Dies (1996)

5. Privileged to Kill (1997)

6. Prolonged Exposure (1998)

7. Out of Season (1999)

8. Bag Limit (2001)

9. Dead Weight (2000)

10. Scavengers (2002)

11. A Discount for Death (2003)

12. Convenient Disposal (2004)

13. Statute of Limitations (2006)

14. Final Payment (2007)

15. The Fourth Time Is Murder (2008)
16. Red, Green, or Murder (2009)
17. Double Prey (2011)
18. One Perfect Shot (2012)

In a departure from rural law enforcement Steven Havill has started a new historical mystery series, revolving around the adventures of early-1900s Dr. Thomas Parks:

"The young Dr. Thomas Parks expects to practice trauma medicine with a distinguished doctor in Port McKinney, Washington. What he does not expect is to be nearly killed within an hour of arriving. The accident changes his life, and with long hours of painful convalescence, Thomas makes a sobering discovery: the physician who has invited Thomas to join his practice is not what he seems.

At the center of the conflict is mail-order diagnosis, which flourished until the U.S. mail fraud statutes of 1908. In its landmark report of 1910, the American Medical Association reported that several physicians had organizations that recorded more than 3,000 postal responses per month, a large percentage of which included money for worthless medicine.

Steven F. Havill departs from his well-received mystery series to bring readers this fascinating historical novel." - from the book jacket

The Dr. Thomas Parks series:

1. Race for the Dying (2009)
2. Comes a Time for Burning (2011)

Steven F. Havill lives near Albuquerque, New Mexico, with his wife Kathleen, a writer and artist. A dedicated high school teacher of high school biology and English by day, Havill earned both his B.A. and M.A. from the University of New Mexico.

Other mystery series by New Mexico authors:

Rudolfo Anaya - Sonny Baca series
Christine Barber - Lucy Newroe series
Steve Brewer - Bubba Mabry series, Drew Gavin series
Stephen R. Donaldson - Mick Axbrewder series
James D. Doss - Charlie Moon series
Tony Hillerman - Jim Chee series, Joe Leaphorn series, Jim Chee & Joe Leaphorn series
Darynda Jones - Charley Davidson series
Robert Kresge -  Warbonnet series
Sarah Lovett - Dr. Sylvia Strange series
Michael McGarrity - Kevin Kerney series
J. Michael Orenduff - Pot Thief / Hubie Schuze series
John Maddox Roberts - SPQR series
Walter Satterthwait - Escapade series, Joshua Croft series
Connie Shelton - Charlie Parker series
Susan Slater - Ben Pecos series
Virginia Swift - Mustang Sally series
Pari Noskin Taichert - Sasha Solomon series
Aimee and David Thurlo - Ella Clah series, Lee Nez series,  Sister Agatha series
Judith Van Gieson - Claire Reynier series, Neil Hamel series
Robert Westbrook - Howard Moon Deer series

Explore the world of mysteries by New Mexico authors.

Alternate Wars - "Destroyermen" and the "Axis of Time"

The 1980 film The Final Countdown asked an interesting science fictional question: what would happen if a modern U.S. aircraft carrier was somehow transported through time to arrive just before the attack on Pearl Harbor? Could they resist the temptation to change history?

John Birmingham's Axis of Time Trilogy takes the question even further. What would happen to the world if a multinational naval taskforce from 2021 was transported into the midst of World War II? What would happen not just to the world of that time, but to the world as we know it today?

In the trilogy Birmingham takes the time to consider not only the military effect of advanced weaponry, but also the sociological effects of advance notice of future events and discoveries. Because progress is not just technological but also cultural -- the future fleet brings with them different cultural expectations (female combat officers!), startling insights (databases of information equivalent to the Library of Congress), and even popular songs decades before their time. (A fascinating thread running through the series: what happens to patents and copyright when the people who developed the properties haven't even been born yet?)

The Axis of Time trilogy lays out the culture shock collision between a world slightly ahead of our own and a world that fewer of us remember each day, America in the 1940s.

The Axis of Time trilogy:

1. Weapons of Choice (2004)
2. Designated Targets (2005)
3. Final Impact (2007)

John Birmingham also writes the Without Warning series, about a world struggling in the wake of a devastating cataclysm that wipes out much of North America.

The Without Warning series:

1. Without Warning (2009)
2. After America (2010)
3. Angels of Vengeance (2012)

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Taylor Anderson's Destroyermen series goes beyond alternate history into alternate-Earth action:

"Pressed into service when World War II breaks out in the Pacific, the USS Walker - a Great-War vintage 'four-stacker' destroyer - finds itself in full retreat from pursuit by Japanese battleships. Its captain, Lieutenant Commander Matthew Patrick Reddy, knows that he and his crew are in dire straits. In desperation, he heads Walker into a squall, hoping it will give them cover - and emerges somewhere else.

Familiar landmarks appear, but the water teems with monstrous, vicious fish. And there appear to be dinosaurs grazing on the plains of Bali. Gradually Matt and his crew must accept the fact that they are in an alternate world - and they are not alone. Humans have not evolved, but two other species have. And they are at war.

With its steam power and weaponry, the Walker's very existence could alter the balance of power. And for Matt and his crew, who have the means to turn a primitive war into a genocidal Armageddon, one thing becomes clear. They must decide whose side they're on. Because whoever they choose to side with is the winner." - from the book jacket, Book 1

Full of classic gung-ho naval characters, believably realized alien species, and lots of detailed nautical adventure, the popular Destroyermen series offers readers a fascinating blend of World War II action and science fictional possibilities.

The Destroyermen series:

1. Into the Storm (2008)
2. Crusade (2008)
3. Maelstrom (2009)
4. Distant Thunders (2010)
5. Rising Tides (2011)
6. Firestorm (2011)
7. Iron Gray Sea (2012)

Mysteries Set in Egypt

Accounts of exotic foreign locales have always stirred

the blood of "armchair adventurers". And the mysterious

sandy reaches and ancient culture of Egypt provide rich fuel for works to delight armchair detectives

and lovers of historical mysteries.

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New Mexico author Lauren Haney starts us off way back in 1464 BCE with the Lieutenant Bak series.  Bak is a Commander of Police in the town of Buhen during the reign of Pharaoh Hatshepsut, and like any good policeman in any time has to deal not only with mayhem and murder but also the bureacracy of his superiors.

The Lieutenant Bak series:

1. The Right Hand of Amon (1997)

2. A Face Turned Backward (1999)

3. A Vile Justice (1999)

4. A Curse of Silence (2000)

5. A Place of Darkness (2001)

6. A Cruel Deceit (2002)

7. Flesh of the God (2003)

8. A Path of Shadows (2003)



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P.C. Doherty's popular Amerotke series visits a slightly earlier period, during the reign of Tuthmosis II (1493-1479 BCE). Or rather the stories commence just at the end of that reign as the pharaoh's widow, the new Queen of Egypt, must try to stabilize her control of the region with the help of her advisor and chief judge Lord Amerotke. The series is rich in historical detail.

The Amerotke series:

1. The Mask of Ra (1998)

2. The Horus Killings (1999)

3. The Anubis Slayings (2000)

4. The Slayers of Seth (2001)

5. The Assassins of Isis (2004)

6. The Poisoner of Ptah (2007)

7. The Spies of Sobeck (2008)

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Lynda S. Robinson takes the time of King Tutankhamun (1341-1323 BCE) as the setting for her Lord Meren series. Meren is Tut's chief investigator and travels the kingdom in pursuit of justice.

The Lord Meren series:

1. Murder in the Place of Anubis (1994)

2. Murder At the God's Gate (1995)

3. Murder At the Feast of Rejoicing (1996)

4. Eater of Souls (1997)

5. Drinker of Blood (1998)

6. Slayer of Gods (2001)

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Nick Drake also uses the fabled time of Tut as the backdrop for his mystery trilogy involving Rai Rahotep, a young chief investigator in Thebes.

The Rai Rahotep trilogy:

1. Nefertiti (2006)
2. Tutankhamun: The Book of Shadows (2008)
3. Egypt: The Book of Chaos (2011)

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Brad Geagley sets two mysteries in ancient Babylon and Egypt, around 1150 BCE, about Semerket, Egypt's Clerk of Investigations:

The Semerket series:

Year of the Hyenas (2005)

Day of the False King (2005)

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Leap to the Edwardian period in Cairo and the Mamur Zapt series by Michael Pearce. Pearce, who grew up in the region, brings us Captain Owen of the Cairo CID, assigned to navigate the political intrigues that are as constant and murky as the flow of the Nile.

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And digging up the evidence from all of these periods is Elizabeth Peters' justifiably famous archaeologist Amelia Peabody. ("Elizabeth Peters" is the pen name of Egyptologist Barbara Mertz, who also writes under the name Barbara Michaels.)

The Amelia Peabody series:

1. Crocodile on the Sandbank (1975)

2. The Curse of the Pharaohs (1981)

3. The Mummy Case (1985)

4. Lion in the Valley (1986)

5. The Deeds of the Disturber (1988)

6. The Last Camel Died at Noon (1991)

7. The Snake, The Crocodile and the Dog (1992)

8. The Hippopotamus Pool (1996)

9. Seeing a Large Cat (1997)

10. The Ape Who Guards The Balance (1998)

11. The Falcon at the Portal (1999)

12. Thunder in the Sky (2000)

13. Lord of the Silent (2001)

14. The Golden One (2002)

15. Children of the Storm (2003)

16. Guardian of the Horizon (2003)

17. The Serpent on the Crown (2005)

18. Tomb of the Golden Bird (2006)

19. A River in the Sky (2010)

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Explore the world of Egypt mysteries!

Other mysteries set in Egypt:

Catherine Aird - Little Knell
Conrad Allen - Murder on the Marmora
Agatha Christie - Death Comes as the End, Death on the Nile
K.K. Beck - Murder in a Mummy Case
Matt Bondurant - The Third Translation
Marjorie Eccles - The Shape of Sand
Joan Hess - Mummy Dearest, a Claire Malloy mystery
Jane Jakeman - The Egyptian Coffin
Iris Johansen and Roy Johansen - Storm Cycle
John Maddox Roberts - The Temple of the Muses
Carol Thurston - The Eye of Horus
Robyn Young - Brethren



Featured Series: Burton & Swinburne

An alternate history, steampunk, time travel, dark fantasy extravaganza!

Enter a world where genetic engineering began in the Victorian Era, world-changing devices are introduced almost daily, and an explorer and poet form an unlikely partnership to counter unlikely threats to the public good.

"Sir Richard Francis Burton--explorer, linguist, scholar, and swordsman; his reputation tarnished; his career in tatters; his former partner missing and probably dead.

Algernon Charles Swinburne--unsuccessful poet and follower of de Sade; for whom pain is pleasure, and brandy is ruin!

They stand at a crossroads in their lives and are caught in the epicenter of an empire torn by conflicting forces: Engineers transform the landscape with bigger, faster, noisier, and dirtier technological wonders; Eugenicists develop specialist animals to provide unpaid labor; Libertines oppose repressive laws and demand a society based on beauty and creativity; while the Rakes push the boundaries of human behavior to the limits with magic, drugs, and anarchy.

The two men are sucked into the perilous depths of this moral and ethical vacuum when Lord Palmerston commissions Burton to investigate assaults on young women committed by a weird apparition known as Spring Heeled Jack, and to find out why werewolves are terrorizing London's East End.

Their investigations lead them to one of the defining events of the age, and the terrifying possibility that the world they inhabit shouldn t exist at all!" - from the book jacket, Book 1

The Burton & Swinburne series by Mark Hodder offers readers a dark alternate London in a rapidly changing steampunk world. Rich with period detail and with surprises around every corner, this series takes readers on quite a ride. On a steam-powered carriage. And an ornithopter. And a giant spider.

The series also features appearances by such real historical characters as Aleister Crowley, Ferdinand Graf von Zeppelin, H.G. Wells, and Oscar Wilde.

The Burton & Swinburne series:


1. The Strange Affair of Spring Heeled Jack (2010)
2. The Curious Case of the Clockwork Man (2011)
3. Expedition to the Mountains of the Moon (2012)

Readers may also enjoy these other steampunk works:

• Gail Carriger - Parasol Protectorate series. Cheeky, saucy fun in an alternate Victorian London where werewolves control the Army, vampires are Lords, and ghosts and amazing machinery are commonplace.
• Steven Harper - Clockwork Empire series
• George Mann - Newbury & Hobbes Investigation series

• Kenneth Oppel - Matt Cruse series. Classic 'midshipman' stories, on airships! Highly recommended for readers of all ages who enjoy old-fashioned adventure.
• Cherie Priest - Clockwork Century series
• Mike Resnick - The Doctor and the Kid: A Weird West Tale. Doc Holliday up against Billy the Kid, with Thomas Edison supplying wondrous technology!