You will definitely enjoy the Louise Penny. Wonderful, well developed characters and a fascinating setting. While they are mysteries, they are not always murder mysteries.......more of a psychological thriller. Any violence is more alluded to than stated. Once you get involved with the characters and setting you will become hooked on the entire series!! Be sure to read them in order as they often connect from one to the next. I am impatiently on the library waiting list for the newest Penny Inspector Gamache novel, Glass Houses.......number 99 in a list of 155!!

Ha, Gardengala48, at least I'm ahead of you. I'm No. 76 on the Glass Houses list.

I'm just about to finish A Gentleman in Moscow and have really liked it from page 1. I have Miss Kopp's Midnight Confession by Amy Stewart to follow, but I know it will be a letdown. I'm next up at the library on the latest Peter Robinson. His main character is a Scottish detective and the murders abound, but I like him a lot (but not as well as Ian Rankin).

Carolyn........glad to hear you also loved A Gentleman !

I really was sorry to have the story end.

Yoyobon, have you ever read Cutting for Stone? It's not new, but it's one that, for me, really stood out above the others in recent years.

yoyo, I don't think I can recommend anything to you but I will agree about the 'Essex Serpent' which was much over-hyped here a couple of years ago and was up for various 'awards'. I felt the story had way too many 'strands' none of them either very believable or interesting and lacked the essential 'Victorian' feel . . . plus had I been from Essex I would not have been happy that the author felt people from that county were then all half-wits.

I recently finished The Fixer Upper by Mary Kay Andrews. I always enjoy her books, and they are all stand-alone (at least the ones I've read so far). Completely different characters and story lines in each.

Donna

Years ago I found a copy of The Red Leather Diary on a sale shelf and discovered a delightful read !

Has anyone else read it ?

Vee......I really disliked Serpent but couldn't quite put my finger on why. I think you said it perfectly. The author wanted me to care about these characters who were basically unbelievable. I'm sure she intended to go somewhere with their development but I didn't stay with the book for the journey !

Kathy....I just ordered a copy of Cutting For Stone. I checked out the reviews on Amazon and between your endorsement and theirs I decided to give it a go :0))

Yoyobon - Since you've made the plunge and spent the money, I hope we are of like minds. I think it's possible we are. Keep us informed.

Yes, Cutting for Stone was a great book; enjoy, Yoyobon!

Kathy....I found a copy on Amazon fo $4.92 so it wasn't so much a plunge as it was just a little splash :0)

I think those who like Louise Penny mysteries would also like Donna Leon's mysteries set in Venice--great character development, great insight into life in Venice in particular and in Italy in general. No violence. And excellent writing.

Thank for the idea Lacey.......I will definitely look into her books. Should they be read in any particular order ?

I love all things about Italy, having enrolled last fall in an Italian language course at Binghamton University ! At my age, which is enough to be someone's grandmother and then some :0)), it was quite the challenging endeavor .