I'm hoping for another book by Julia R. Fleming about the helicopter pilot turned Episcopal minister, with 'feelings' for her small town's chief of police. Dramatic, very human characters, *funny*, unpredictable. I liked Anne Perry's books set in England between the wars, but she began to repeat herself -- writing too much, too fast? DH and I ejoyed Silva's books featuring Gabriel Allon, but...eventually the character is running out of steam. Great plots! Martin Cruz Smith's Arkady Renko is another great character. ("Gorky Park", etc.) Love Sandford, Robert Crais, the late Donald Westlake. (So sad there will be no more from him.) S. J. Rozan! Her Chinese-American detective Lydia Chin and her 'friend'. ("The Coldest Place") Who is the author who writes about books and book sellers? Lives Minneapolis, I think. May I mention my modern favorite book, "City of Thieves"? A 'fairy tale', a mystery, reads like Dostoevski might have written it if he'd lived through WWII. Alan Furst -- "The Polish Officer", etc. Philip Kerr's character Bernie Gunther in the "Berlin Noir Trilogy" and more. (Another character who must eventually wind down...so sad.) Oh-oh, I've really stayed from the OP's request. Sorry, Susan.

I am a Karin Slaughter fan, and have read all her books. Her books are not exactly a series, but many of the characters do overlap and appear in multiple books. In an earlier story line, Jeffrey and Sara are divorced; however, they reconcile and then he is later killed. Thus, he is both her ex-husband at one point in the books, and they are reconciled and happy when he is killed in another book. Lena has a presence in a few books, and her actions in earlier books make her less sympathetic. I think she is a woman damaged by her history and upbringing, who continues to make poor choices that are dangerous to those around her. Slaughter focuses a lot on people who are challenged by their personal histories and how they either overcome or succumb to their flaws. I enjoy her books because they are not predictable (at least to me!) and are also set in Georgia (where I live). Sometimes a bit gory and horrific, but I am still addicted to her stories :)

lacey, the books by F J Macdonald are very gentle reads about his simple life growing up on a remote croft on Harris (it's worth looking it up on a map just to see how far it is from the centre of population). I remember he describes his Grandfather, the Kirk Elder, who lived in the 'town' of Tarbert, having the first flushing WC installed and soon wondering what had happened to the wonderful oyster harvest in the sea-loch. The price of progress! I think JFM must have been born at the end of WW1 or early '20's and his story takes him up to WW11 . . .hence the Lysander . . . He used to give talks on the BBC and when I read his work I could 'hear' his Highland lilt coming through. 'Scots' or 'Scottish' are fine. I don't think 'Scotch' is correct; it's a drink. I can't help you on your second request (unless it's Robert Louis Stevenson and the 'Kidnapped' stories) but the Abe books site below might jog your memory. Here is a link that might be useful: Some books about the Highlands

Daniel, the Indiana Department of Natural Resources propagated, planted and distributed Autumn Olive back in the '70s and probably into the '80s. Maybe even later. There are long stretches of them along the interstates in Indiana. They sold seedlings at their nurseries to homeowners and anyone else who wanted them. I was one of the unsuspecting homeowners back in the '70s who bought a few, thinking they'd be good for blocking our view of the busy street in front of our house. Little did I know at the time that IDNR was propagating invasive species. Who woulda thought? A few years later, when I discovered my mistake, I began removing them. I never had seedlings come up and the plants are long gone, but it took a few years of repeated cutting to eliminate them. Good riddance!