Charles Finch is the author of a wonderful series of mysteries starting with A Beautiful Blue Death. I recently finished the most recent, The Laws of Murder, and was pleased with how well it fit in with what I'd learned in The Invention of Murder about how reporters would vie for stories, and exaggerate the facts to make them more dramatic in order to sell more papers. I love how Finch includes that unexpected 'twist' every so often. :-)

I can't remember when I first discovered the Ellery Queen mysteries, but once I did that's pretty much what I read until I'd read every one I could find. It took two authors to write these mysteries, cousins Frederic Dannay and Manfred Lee. Some what dated now, I still go back and read one every so often. Try And On the Eighth Day, or Cat of Many Tales.

For a more puzzle type of mystery (it's good to know lots of trivia, too), try the Black Widower mysteries by Isaac Asimov. The first is Tales of the Black Widowers. Witty and fun. Keep an eye on the waiter, Henry.

Oliver Quade, the Human Encyclopedia, by Frank Gruber, is a collection of old stories (from the 1930's) was an unexpected find. I have avoided pulp fiction because the few stories I'd read were more of the gun-toting, fighting characters than I like. Not so here! Quade sells encyclopedias. He's read through the 24 volume set several times and has a photographic memory and solves these mysteries by using that knowledge. All in all, a most enjoyable read.

Seems this is Peculiar People Day! Sounds like a good excuse to pick up a Christopher Fowler Peculiar Crimes Unit mystery. :-)

Reading Hermit With Dog