Review Thursday: Genre Mysteries

Customers who read a lot of mysteries may be interested in a specific genre to explore. One that might not be very obvious is clerical mysteries. Here are some suggestions on how to get started with that genre. More are newer books in a series -- giving customers that opportunity to start from the beginning and explore an entire series!

Sister Pelagia and the Red Cockerel (2009)
Boris Akunin

When the leader of a messianic cult is murdered on a steamship, fellow passenger and amateur sleuth Sister Pelagia finds herself in danger.

(3rd in the series)

The Silent Spirit (2009)
Margaret Coel

The disappearance of an Arapaho acting in a 1923 movie in Los Angeles and the possibly connected murder of his great-grandson more than eighty years later on the Winder River reservation force Father John O’Malley and Arapaho lawyer Vicky Holden to confront some harsh realities.

(14th in the series)

The Apostate's Tale (2008)
Margaret Frazer

Dame Frevisse and the other nuns offer a safe haven when a penitent Sister Cecely returns to the priory she left nine years before and brings her illegitimate child with her. Their security is threatened when Sister Cecely’s troubles follow her.

(17th in the series)

Stained Glass (2009)
Ralph M. McInerny

Father Dowling and his congregation are fighting to keep the archdiocese from closing the parish, an effort that is complicated by a series of murders that points to a family active in the church.

(28th in the series)

I Shall Not Want (2008)
Julia Spencer-Fleming

After a devastating tragedy, Reverend Clare Fergusson and Police Chief Russ Van Alstyne have kept their distance. When Latino migrant workers are slaughtered, however, they must work together to keep their town of Millers Kill, NY from falling apart.

(6th in the series)

The Council of the Cursed: A Mystery of Ancient Ireland (2009)
Peter Tremayne

Counseling a hostile Irish delegation to the Celtic Church in 670 A.D., Fidelma of Cashel is embroiled in political intrigue and physical danger when one of the delegates is murdered and a priceless reliquary is stolen.

(19th in the series)