I love a good mystery (there will be more recommendations as my posts continue) and these fit in nicely with my love of CSI shows. It starts with a wonderful new series by Washington author Bernadette Pajer. There are three books out now, with a fourth coming in September. They take place at the turn of the last century, in Seattle, and the University of Washington. The descriptions of a frontier Seattle are sure to bring a smile to any of us who have been to present day Seattle. :-) A Spark of Death starts the series. While the Snoqualimie Falls Power Plant is up and running and providing electricity for much of the city, to most folks, it is still a dangerous idea. The main character, Professor Benjamin Bradshaw of the new Electrical Engineering department is unlucky enough to find the dead body of a colleague and because of the manner of death becomes the primary suspect.

The second book, Fatal Induction, has one of my favorite opening lines of all time: "The first indication that Professor Benjamin Bradshaw's life was about to plunge again into chaos appeared in the form of a flatulent horse eating Mrs. Prouty's beans over the garden fence." Having had horses in the backyard for many years, I will say that the author knows of what she writes! Fortunately for me, however, my life never 'plunged into chaos' due to said flatulent equine.

Capacity for Murder takes us to the Healing Sands Sanitarium just northwest of Hoquiam. An electrotherapeutic session has gone terribly wrong and Professor Bradshaw once again finds himself helping find the murderer.

Pajer's books have the seal of approval from the Washington Academy of Science.

It seemed obvious to move on to The Age of Edison: Electric Light and the Invention of Modern America by Ernest Freeberg. It is an easy to read history of the electric light and how it's use grew. It was not always popular (especially with the gas companies) as early on, the bulbs did not last long, and hastily strung power lines would come down in the mildest of winds. Electricity would eventually change the way we lived, making sidewalks safer, allowing factories to have work shifts 24 hours a day, and creating a whole style of advertising. I especially loved the description of a 'blast from the past' sort of exhibit fondly looking back on a room from a colonial era house softly lit and warmed by the fire.

There is another series set in about this same time frame that deserves a mention ... the Murdoch Mysteries by Canadian author Maureen Jennings. Set in 1895, in Toronto, Detective William Murdoch uses the newest methods to track the killers. Things such as finger marks, studying the scene for footprints, and even a bit of profiling. The first title is Except the Dying. The series has been made into a wonderful TV series, 'The Murdoch Mysteries' (airing in the U.S. as 'The Artful Detective'). There have been a few changes between book and film, but I have enjoyed both.

One thing for sure, electricity has sure been a blessing for those of us who love to read far into the night.

Reading Hermit With Dog