Trying Some New-to-Us Mystery Authors

One of the things that is a “must do” for us is to load up on our favorite books – both audio books and Kindle queues. My husband doesn’t enjoy watching television in hotels, so we don’t. (Frankly, ads don’t bother me the way they do him.)

We have been members of audible.com since August 2000. We’ve listened to a lot of books! My husband’s tastes are eclectic, but, as you might have guessed, mine are pretty narrow… mostly mysteries with a few really good non-mystery fictions. (I guess that’s how I would label my audible book choices.)

For this trip, I decided to shake things up a bit and pick some authors neither of us has (have?) read. Don’t get me wrong, I’m still taking along Agatha Christie, Ngaio Marsh, and John Mortimer – mostly as “back ups” in case neither of us feels like one of the other books.

I have to be honest, though >>> I listen to a lot more audio books when I’m driving alone. When my husband and I are in the car together, I take advantage of the fact that he is a “captive audience” with no distractions, and somehow I am able to continue talking, and talking,-  with even more talking. So, we’ll see how many books we actually listen to!

As I said, for this trip, I have loaded some new-to-us (both) books:

Colin Cotterrill: The Coroner’s Lunch – This looks positively terrific to me. Publisher’s Weekly says: “… debut mystery, with its convincing and highly interesting portrayal of an exotic locale, marks the author as someone to watch.” It takes place somewhere between Laos and Vietnam, right after the communist takeover (1975), and the sleuth is Dr. Siri Paiboun, a retired 72 year old Paris-trained doctor who, despite wanting to be retired, is now the state coroner. Booklist’s Frank Sennett says ‘”If Siri lives long enough, he’ll make a wry, eccentric addition to the genre.”

Christopher Fowler: Full Dark House – I have been wanting to try a Fowler mystery book for a long time. Fowler’s Bryant & May Peculiar Crimes Unit has been recommended several times on the monthly mystery book recommendation lists. It looks like an interesting series to me.

Farahad Zama: The Marriage Bureau for Rich People – I came across this book when I was looking at Tarquin Hall‘s Vish Puri Mystery Series, which I happen to love.  This book is not a mystery book, but it looks like a lot of fun to me. Publishers Weekly says “contemporary India resides at the heart of Zama’s charming debut.” Apparently Mr. Ali has started a marriage bureau so that he isn’t bored in his retirement. Publisher’s Weekly: “… Zama’s delightful world of mid-morning tea breaks, afternoon siestas, picnics in mango groves and meddlesome aunties is a pleasant place to hang out.” Booklist’s Deborah Donovan says: “Zama’s debut novel captivates the reader as an entertaining chronicle of a contemporary Indian matchmaking service and as insightful commentary on the lingering dictates of religion and class in modern India.”

So, those are the three new-to-us authors I have added to my MP3. Now the difficult part will be picking which one we listen to first. And, since we might only listen to one book, the decision is a weighty one for me to make!