Feeling cold? Want to laugh a little? Like mysteries? Have I got a deal for you! These mysteries are all set in balmy California and have at least a touch of humor to them. Curl up with these books on a midwinter's night.
On the surface, Theophania Bogart has it together: she owns a body-care store named Aromas, her best friend is redesigning her living space and she has a building full of tenants, all in picturesque San Francisco. Of course, Bogart isn't really her name, she hasn't always been a shop owner and she's fleeing a high-profile family tragedy in England. So when the local hood falls out a window in a nearby building and foul play is suspected, Theo is afraid her personal façade is about to crumble. Things get stranger from there, including the eponymous The Man on the Washing Machine in Susan R. Cox's character-driven romp. Plenty of laughs are here, as is a touch of romance, and somehow Cox keeps the plot and the many characters from descending into utter chaos. This book won the Minotaur-Mystery Writers of America First Crime Novel Award, and I for one am awaiting sequels.
Lisa Lutz writes the Spellman Files series, also set in San Francisco and with a reluctant heroine. In the first book, The Spellman Files, Izzy Spellman wants out of the family private eye business, but agrees to take a cold case while searching for her 14-year-old sister, a hellish version of Nancy Drew. This is a quirky family to say the least, with parents who do more than the usual amount of nosing around in their children's lives, bugged bedrooms included. While Lutz doesn't always keep the focus on the mystery in each book, the well-developed characters and dialog will keep you chortling through to the end.
Elaine Flinn takes us into California wine country with her Molly Doyle mysteries. Relocating from the East Coast after a scandal involving her ex-husband and his mistress, Molly (not her original name) starts an antique business. She is soon entangled in various murder investigations, along with her niece, Emma, and the local police chief. Once again, there are good characterizations, and also tips and tricks concerning antiques.
Hopefully, these books will get the blood pumping to your brain, if not your extremities. Got mysteries in set in California you like? Let us know in the comments section.
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