Thursday, June 24, 2010

Summer Sleuthing: Lazy, Hazy Murderous Days of Summer

Summertime, and the living is easy. Or is it? I got to thinking about all those mysteries that take place during Summer--on the Beach, at the Lake, and in the City that are filled with murder and mayhem! What follows is a list of Summer Crime Fiction that exudes the heat and the accompanying crime of Summertime.  I've omitted Father's Day, Fourth of July and Labor Day from this list. I'll be updating the later two later in the Summer. As always I invite you to add any titles I've missed. This is far from a definitive list.

Summer Mysteries 

A Cat on a Beach Blanket by Lydia Adamson
Moon Water Madness by Glynn Marsh Alam
A Tangled June by Neil Albert
A Midsummer Night's Killing by Trevor Barnes
Milwaukee Summers Can Be Deadly by Kathleen Anne Barrett
Summertime News by Dick Belsky
Jaws by Peter Benchley (maybe not quite a mystery, but a good read, especially at the Beach)
The Down East Murders by J.S. Borthwick
The Cat Who Saw Stars, The Cat Who Went Up the Creek by Lilian Jackson Braun
Chill of Summer by Carol Brennan
Devils Island by Carl Brookins
Beach Music by Pat Conroy
A Shoot on Martha's Vineyard by Philip Craig
The Trouble with a Hot Summer by Camilla Crespi
The Gold Coast, Plum Island by Nelson DeMille
Murder Makes Waves by Anne George
Magic Hour by Susan Isaacs
Death in Holy Orders by P.D. James
A Summer for Dying by Jamie Katz
Midsummer Malice by M.D. Lake
Dark Nantucket Noon by Jane Langton
The Body in the Lighthouse by Katherine Hall Page
Beach House by James Patteron
Summer of the Dragon by Elizabeth Peters
In the Dead of the Summer by Gillian Roberts
Vacations Can Be Murder by Connie Shelton
An Old Faithful Murder by Valerie Wolzien
Orchid Beach by Stuart Woods
Sins of a Shaker Summer by Deborah Woodworth
Summer Will End by Dorian Yeager

Thanks to Suite101: Summer Sleuthing. Be sure to check this list for annotations of some of these titles.

11 comments:

Everything Coastal said...

oh yay! more books to discover! What do you think of P.D. James? Looking for a new author to try...

Janet Rudolph said...

Love P.D. James!

Toby Ball said...

It's been a while, but I remember really liking Chinaman's Chance by Ross Thomas.

First line: "It was while jogging along the beach just east of the Paradise Cove pier that Artie Wu tripped over a dead pelican, fell, and met the man with six greyhounds."

Edie Dykeman said...

What a great list! I love your site and all the information you share about mysteries. In fact, I hope you don't mind that I added you as an outside resource on the Mystery Books site at BellaOnline. It is always a joy to read your posts.

Janet Rudolph said...

Thanks so much.. and what an honor! I enjoy Mystery Books at BellaOnline, too!

Janet A said...

You are a wicked, wicked woman. Read Jaws on the beach? And I guess after seeing Psycho you told all how great showers are.

Janet Rudolph said...

Janet A, especially the showers at the Bates Motel. :-)

lil Gluckstern said...

Great list, and I wish I could read them all.
Doesn't every old isolated motel look the Bates, not that I'm running away with someone else's money...Love your blog

vallerose said...

With some of these authors it's a trip into the past and whatever became of, i.e. Neil Albert. I liked his books but there aren't any more.

Mary Kennedy said...

This is a great list,Janet!! I see some faves on here, but some new ones...going to bring this list with me to the bookstore.

Janet Rudolph said...

Thanks, Mary. I'll be adding some titles this weekend, too.