So you’ve just finished the last book of your most recent favorite author and you are at a loss:  “What should I read next?  I loved this author/series/character?”

Here at the Raven, we hear that from our customers often, and we love introducing people to a new author.  So here is a short “If-You-Loved-This-Author,-You’ll-Love-This-One too” list. For this list, I’ll concentrate on the mysteries.  I’ll return with fiction in another newsletter.

Mysteries: You’ve read Julia Spencer-Fleming’s Claire Ferguson/Russ Van Alstyne series beginning with IN THE BLEAK MIDWINTER. (The most recent is I Shall Not Want, and it does not disappoint!) Try these authors for a similar feel:

Louise Penny, STILL LIFE.  This charming series is now into its third  book about Chief Inspector Armand Gamache of the Sûreté du Québec and his investigations in the small Southern Quebec hamlet of Three Pines.  He is a character reminiscent of Donna Leon’s Guido Brunetti, middle-aged and settled, but a quirky rebel in his investigations and wise in his insights into human nature.  We have all loved this series here at the Raven and have recommended it often.  The next two books are A FATAL GRACE and THE CRUELEST MONTH.

David Handler, COLD BLUE BLOOD.  The Berger and Mitry series follows the fortunes of Mitch Berger, a New York film critic, who rents a cottage in Connecticut, hoping to get away from the stress of the city and the pain of his wife’s death.  But this is a small town, remember. It’s full of scandal, murder, and surprise, and Mitch begins to feel a bit uncomfortable when the body of his landlady’s second husband is found buried in the backyard. He also begins to feel other things when he meets Desiree Mitry, the police detective assigned to the case.  The sixth book in this series has just been released:  The Sour Cherry Surprise. If you loved Handler’s witty and literate Stewart Hoag series, you’ll fall for Berger and Mitry.

You’ve read all of Elizabeth George’s Inspector Lynley series, or you love the PBS movies on Masterpiece. (The first book is A GREAT DELIVERANCE.) Try these:

Deborah Crombie, A SHARE IN DEATH. This is only the first of now twelve stylishly written novels about Detective Superintendent Duncan Kincaid of Scotland Yard and his partner Sergeant Gemma James. This professional and romantic team will win your loyalty from the start. Crombie is an American with a finely tuned ear for British language and culture and achieves a wonderful balance of involving and intriguing mysteries with the equally absorbing realities of its main characters’ personal lives.  My favorite of the series is WATER LIKE A STONE.  The most recent is WHERE MEMORIES LIE, which links Kincaid and James to a tragedy whose origins lie in the horrors of the Holocaust.

You’ve followed Claire Malloy, Joan Hess’ bookstore owner gumshoe, and Carolyn Hart’s Death on Demand series with its equally resourceful bookstore owner, Annie Laurence. Rejoice! Carolyn Hart has a new series! The first book is GHOST AT WORK. Just published and already catching the eye of the Raven staff, Hart’s new book features Bailey Ruth Raeburn, who is. . . well. . . sort of “life” challenged.  Actually, she’s dead, but that doesn’t stop her from meddling in. . . no. . . HELPING with the problems of the living.  When Bailey Ruth presents herself as a recruit to Heaven’s Department of Good Intentions, she discovers that her earthly skills of mystery solving can still be put to use.  And her recruitment is just in time because the pastor’s wife down on earth has a problem:  there’s a dead body on her porch! It’s wonderful to see one of our stalwart authors setting up a new series for us to enjoy, and it looks very promising!

Another familiar author with a new series is Rhys Bowen.  Perhaps you have enjoyed her Evan Evans series set in Wales or her Molly Murphy character, the Irish immigrant in the early 20th century who is determined to be a private investigator.  Bowen’s new series is a kick!  HER ROYAL SPYNESS is now in paperback and a great read.  Poor Lady Victoria Georgiana Charlotte Eugenie is 34th in line for the British throne in 1932 and has had her allowance cut off, so she must . . .work!  Queen Mary has an investigative chore for her:  find out all you can about That American Woman and what she wants with the Prince of Wales! Georgie gets distracted from her chore, however, when the body of a family antagonist, an annoying and arrogant Frenchman ends up in her bathtub. The latest in the series is just out:  A ROYAL PAIN.

Please remember to make your recommendations for “read-alikes” to us in the store.  Recommended by Sarah.