A Few Fun Mysteries!

Lighten up a little with #61

Real talk: I am out of carrots … I am out of sticks. Despite the entreaties of your plucky book reviewer, Things in the World stubbornly refuse to behave themselves and act right, and as such I am forced to take drastic measures in the form of a strongly worded complaint.

After that, we’re left with nothing to do but seek out our own joy, and this week that’s in the form of two things:

1. COTUS

2. Fun mysteries

(If you hate fun reading, I’m deeply quizzical and faintly alarmed but nevertheless staunchly supportive of you, so perhaps check out something from the archive this week?)

It must be acknowledged that there are still murders and whatnot in fun mysteries (spoiler?) - so obviously it’s not all rainbows and ranunculus in these here pages. They’re not all five-lambers. But in a world and genre of darkness, I am generally powerless when presented with a funny, charming, madcap, and light mystery, as long as it’s still also smart, well-paced, and not pandering. Despite the world’s deep disdain for pop culture, I think this must be quite difficult to pull off, balancing crime and comedy, plot and pep. An under appreciated and underwritten genre! Here are a few I’ve liked; I wish I knew of 20 more.

So please - and I cannot stress this enough - leave your own fun mystery suggestions in the comments. You’ll be putting light into the world for everyone!

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Also a pre-note: I’ve talked about The Thursday Murder Club enough times that I won’t insult either of us by listing it again but if ever a book belonged in this category, it’s this fun mystery. A consistent winner with just about every reader, including my dad who doesn’t do “silly”. Do yourself a favor and check them out!

My new friend Eve turned me onto KJ Charles and The Magpie Lord, and what FUN! This Victorian era trilogy is about an exiled earl who returns home to England, a magical law enforcement officer, and a band of merry and not-so-merry criminals. Plus, plenty of M/M romance and hot sexy time. Like the Bridgerton books, but well written and more imaginative? Like Red, White and Royal Blue but in Victorian times, with magic? And with extremely clever, laugh-out-loud dialogue.

OK, I *have* talked about the Flavia de Luce series before, but I think not since way back in week two (along with the No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series, which also probably fits in this category.)

Anyway, I’m resurfacing these charmers, set in 1950s era England, about a precocious 11 year old with a passion for poison and a cheerfully lawless determination to solve the crimes happening around her. Don’t be fooled, these books are for adults - funny, beautifully written, smartly referential and literary, and with a healthy dose of realism about the harsh world that’s tempered by Flavia’s youthful lens. Start with The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie and then immediately plow through the next nine books, as my sweetheart is currently doing.

I think one of you suggested Midnight Riot and this whole series - thanks to whomever you are, because these are big fun. Like CSI or Law & Order with magic, these books follow London copper Peter Grant as he somewhat reluctantly joins a mysterious magical crime-fighting arm of the Metropolitan Police. Bloodier and more violent than some of the others on this series, but in a … magical-crime way? Which is somehow more tolerable? Also very witty, fresh and fun.

You can’t go anywhere on Book Instagram without running into Finlay Donovan is Killing It, about a recently divorced mother who can’t pay her bills and is in danger of losing custody of her children when she’s accidentally mistaken for a contract killer. I’ll level with you as I always do - I didn’t think this was perfect, primarily because I had some moral criticisms of things the book tried to gloss over. But the characters are fun, it’s a twisty plot, and if you like this kind of genre you’ll probably like this!

I mean, you’ve probably all watched the series based on Big Little Lies, but if you haven’t, this was a slyly better read than I expected. It’s funny and compassionate, and very readable, but also touches on the darker secrets we try to hide about ourselves and our families. Not a mystery in the traditional way but someone does die and you don’t know whodunit, so I think it counts.

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Yet Another Book Confession

I’ve never read anything by Murakami, because apparently I only play a book enthusiast on Substack. Maybe I’ll change that this year, though there’s no evidence to suggest this will come to pass.

This concludes the book confession.

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