IN HAPPIER DAYS, THE Murder on Tour book group enjoyed a holiday tea at the Jefferson Hotel in historic Richmond and compiled a list of our favorite mystery titles. The results pretty much match up with the member.
Annabel favors J. A. Jance, whose hard-hitting police procedurals are so like the ones she herself pens; Art is in heaven with Civil War–era tales, and Chickahominy Fever’s setting is our own Richmond, Virginia; Carlene is the original Christie-phile and devours everything turned out by the renowned “Queen of Crime.”
I’ve never been to the Lone Star State where Susan Wittig Albert places the China Bayles herbal mysteries, but I enjoyed the authentic Texas barbecue that Kat, sporting a leopard cowgirl hat and boots, hosted. Annabel accessorized her power suit with stunning silver boots.
Detectives with a religious worldview appealed to Helen, so she selected a Father Dowling tale. Kat enjoyed seeing a good-looking man on the cover of her book and Robert Crais is, in her words, a handsome devil. Katherine Hall Page provides readers with recipes in her culinary-themed New England series featuring caterer Faith Fairchild. When we toured the region, Lucy treated us to the same muffins and cookies that Faith bakes. Sarah finds John Dunning’s Denver-based tales combining book lore and suspense riveting, and erudite British tales such as the ones by the late Sarah Caudwell draw Trudy like a magnet.
Annabel: Birds of Prey, J. A. Jance
Art: Chickahominy Fever, Ann McMillan
Carlene: The Mirror Crack’d, Agatha Christie
Hazel: A Dilly of Death, Susan Wittig Albert
Helen: Triple Pursuit, Ralph M. McInerny
Kat: L.A. Requiem, Robert Crais
Lucy: The Body in the Moonlight, Katherine Hall Page
Sarah: The Sign of the Book, John Dunning
Trudy: The Sirens Sang of Murder, Sarah Caudwell