I Love Encyclopedia Brown by Donald J. Sobol


I can not remember a time when I was not reading or being read books. I checked out a ton of books from my local library when I was a kid. This was back in the day when you had to write your name on the library card. Quite a few library cards had my name listed over and over. I am sure that was true for all the cards in the Encyclopedia Brown books. I could not get enough and my love for them has never dimmed.

Who is Donald J. Sobol?

Before writing this review I had never researched Donald Sobol. It turns out he had a rather remarkable career. He was a professional writer who not only wrote 29 Encyclopedia Brown books but also wrote the Two-Minute Mysteries and more than 60 other books, both fiction and nonfiction.

Sobol’s Encyclopedia Brown series has never been out of print since it was first published in 1963. The series was awarded a special Edgar by the Mystery Writers of America, with good reason.

Donald Sobol lived to be 87. He continued writing the Encyclopedia Brown books until his death in 2012. Impressive.

I love this book because…

The Encyclopedia Brown books are a collection of short stories featuring a boy detective, Leroy “Encyclopedia” Brown. He is called Encyclopedia because he reads a ton of books and remembers what he reads. He helps his father, the police chief, solve crime as they eat dinner and he helps his friends during the summertime when his detective agency is open. What makes these stories so fun is that the solution is not in the story. All the clues are presented and then the reader is asked to solve the puzzle. The answers are found in the back of the book.

I admit I often read the answers without trying to solve the puzzle first. I just want to read all the stories. Not only are they cute mysteries but they have a recurring cast of characters that I enjoy spending time with. Encyclopedia is a good kid but he would be bullied regularly by Bugs Meany (the name says it all) if it wasn’t for Encyclopedia’s partner, Sally Kimball. Sally is the only kid to ever knock Bugs Meany down. Sally is my favorite. She isn’t as smart as Encyclopedia but she is a champion of the underdog.

When I was a kid I wanted to have a detective agency. These books definitely fed my imagination.

No book is perfect. This is what bugs me…

The only thing that bugs me is that this series is for written for children so adults may not pick them up to read themselves. Here is an idea. Get them for a child you love and then read them together. Your child will love being read to, you get to experience the mysterious world of Encyclopedia Brown, and you can solve the puzzles together. Just don’t be surprised when your child finds the solution first.

Why should you read this book?

I find it fun to take a break from thick adult tomes and just read a simple story that is still entertaining. It doesn’t matter which book you pick up. Each story stands on its own, from Encyclopedia Brown, Boy Detective to Encyclopedia Brown and the Case of the Secret UFOs. Don’t look at the answers before solving the puzzle like I do. Take some time and figure out the answer. Maybe you’ll be known as “Encyclopedia” too.

A Quote Worth Quoting

“Mr. and Mrs. Brown had one child. They called him Leroy, and so did his teachers. Everyone else in Idaville called him Encyclopedia.” Donald J. Sobol Encyclopedia Brown Boy Detective

 

 

 

 

I Love the Walt Longmire Series by Craig Johnson


One of my favorite things to do is to randomly find a book by an author I have not read and check it out. I discovered the Walt Longmire series when I was shelving books at Borders. I picked up Another Man’s Moccasins and liked the cover (yes, I did judge the book by its cover.) Once I finished reading it I immediately found The Cold Dish, the first book in the series, and plowed through them all. These books are a fresh voice in the mystery genre.

Who is Craig Johnson?

Craig Johnson lives on a ranch in Ucross, Wyoming, population 25. He has a wonderful Facebook page where you can see how beautiful this corner of Wyoming is for yourself. Or you could just read the books because Craig definitely follows the advice “write what you know.” The Walt Longmire books take place in the same mountainous corner of Wyoming as Ucross and the majestic setting defines the characters. If Craig Johnson lived in New York City he would have never written these books.

Craig spends a lot of time touring and promoting his stories. He is a wonderful ambassador for the value of books. I have not been able to get to Portland or Seattle to see him but it is on my bucket list. His website lists his tour schedule and I can’t wait for his next book to come out so I can finally get to meet him.

Another Man’s Moccasins won a Spur Award from the Western Writers of America. (If the Mystery Writers of America is listening these books deserve an Edgar.) Spirit of Steamboat was the first One Book Wyoming pick. That means that Craig’s book was the one book that represented all of Wyoming in 2014. I am not surprised. Spirit of Steamboat is a hold-on-to-your-seats book that blends the history of Wyoming with a modern rescue story. Even my husband, who rarely reads fiction, though that it was a gripping tale.

Why do I love this series?

The Walt Longmire books are a combination of police procedural and cowboys and Indians. Where city cops prowl the streets and alleys Walt finds his answers in the mountains and the wide open spaces. He is a sheriff who wants to right wrongs. That makes him a great crime solver and drives his staff crazy since he tries to avoid the more mundane parts of his job.

Walt is a complicated character. He is a widower who never wanted to be a widower. He is slowly coming back from the dark place he had been dwelling in, mostly because his friends are dragging him out. The contrast between his lack of desire to help himself and his compulsive need, one that goes beyond his job, to help others is one of many reason why I love this character.

All the characters in this series are remarkable. Vic, his undersheriff, has a mouth on her that would offend sailors. She is a fish out of water who manages to swim quite well. Henry Standing Bear, Walt’s best friend, is a pillar of calm no matter what catastrophe happens. Since Henry is an Indian (I use that term because that is what Henry calls himself) and many of the plots happen on the reservation the series gives an unapologetic view of these people. They are not perfect and they are not evil. They are simply people, with needs and wants that we all share. It is a refreshing view.

I do recommend reading this series in order. The Cold Dish is a great first novel; it will not disappoint. And remarkably, each book gets better. Whenever I finish a Walt Longmire book I always think it is the best one so far, until I read the next one. This has happened to me time and time again.

No book is perfect. This is what bugs me…

The books do not bug me at all. They are marvelous. But there is a TV show based on the books. Now, don’t shoot me if you like the TV show. I don’t think it is that bad. I love the setting and I like Robert Taylor, who plays Walt Longmire. However, I wish they would have just invented new characters instead of changing the characters that are so perfect in the book.

Yes, I am talking about Vic. She is my favorite character in the books and I can visualize her perfectly. She is a short and curvy with dark hair and a large Italian-Philadelphian-cop family. Cool. Unfortunately that is not the Vic they cast for the TV show. I think the actress does a fine job but I personally can’t get over the differences. I am glad the TV show has a strong following but after watching season one I decided I will just read the books. It keeps my blood pressure from spiking.

Why should you read this series?

The world that Walt Longmire lives in is enchanting and the people who populate this remote area are as captivating as the landscape. Walt Longmire is a character that you want to spend a lot of time with and the mysteries are all well designed. When you finish one you are going to want to pick up the next one immediately. That is not a problem unless you have read them all. My cure, read them all again.

A Quote Worth Quoting

“There are only three major vote getting days in Absoroka County, and I can’t remember the other two. “Oh God, no. It’s Pancake Day.” I thought about shooting myself. I could see the headlines: Sheriff shoots self, unable to face pancakes.”  Craig Johnson, The Cold Dish

I Love Under Orders by Dick Francis


I knew about Dick Francis and his horse racing mysteries from a young age because my mom often read them. When I finally started reading his books I found that I absolutely loved some of them and others bored me to tears. However, if I listed my top ten favorite authors, Dick Francis would be on that list because his books, The Edge, 10 lb Penalty, and Whip Hand, are ones I read time and time again. Two of his characters, Sid Halley and Kit Fielding, are some of the best sleuths in the genre, mostly because they never stop seeking the truth, no matter the danger.

Who was Dick Francis?

Dick Francis had many careers, but before he wrote award-winning mysteries he raced horses professionally in England. He won over 350 races and became a champion jockey in the 1953-1954 season. From 1953 to 1957 he was the jockey to Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother. This may be why his horse racing mysteries are so engaging. You feel as if you are riding on the back of a winning horse because Dick Francis had done that many times. You wince when the main character gets injured because Dick Francis himself was injured as a jockey and wrote about it with devastating accuracy.

He published his first horse racing mystery, Dead Cert, in 1962 and went on to write a book a year. He won three Edgars, presented by the Mystery Writers of America, for Forfeit, Whip Hand, and Come to Grief. Whip Hand and Come to Grief are both Sid Halley novels. Sid is possibly his most famous character, and only one of two characters that he ever re-used.

Why do I love this book?

Under Orders is the fourth Sid Halley book and the first book Dick Francis wrote after his wife’s death in 2000. His wife, Mary, had been his collaborator and researcher and when she died he said he couldn’t write without her. However, his books were huge hits and he was convinced to write more. I always liked the fact that he titled this book Under Orders because he felt he was under orders to produce more books.

However, Under Orders is a fantastic book. Sid Halley is a private investigator who had once been a champion jockey. He was at the top of his career when a fall caused his hand to be permanently injured. Through his previous books, Odds Against, Whip Hand, and Come to Grief we watch Sid go from a broken man to a man who cannot be broken.

In Under Orders it appears that Sid finally has his life under control. He has a new girlfriend, a successful career as a private investigator, and a reputation on the race track as a man not to be crossed. When a friend, and fellow jockey, dies Sid naturally investigates. Along the way he has to choose between exposing the truth and losing those that he loves. This is a dilemma that he has had to face in previous books but this one has a twist. His new love is as strong as he is and with her help he is able to learn the truth about the crime and himself. I love all the Sid Halley books but this is the one I have read most often and will be reading again.

No book is perfect. This is what bugs me…

I hate saying negative things about an author or a book, but I have a really strong pet peeve that I need to bring up. It will come up again in other books I will discuss this month. This is only my opinion so feel free to tell me why I am wrong.

My pet peeve is this: I hate it when an author dies and someone else continues to write their books under the dead author’s name. I find it misleading and insulting to the reader. Do we really just read books because of the author’s name on the cover? Do publishers think we can’t tell when someone else has started writing the series? Well, I can tell and I don’t put up with it.

What I am talking about? Dick Francis died in 2010. Before he died his son, Felix, started helping him with his research, much the same way Mary, his wife, had. I think that is great. But while Under Orders was written by Dick Francis and reads like a Dick Francis book, subsequent books were co-written with Felix and feel different.

Since Dick Francis died, Felix has written three books alone. His name is on the cover, but so is Dick Francis’s. I tried to read a couple of these books but they are nothing like reading a Dick Francis novel. Why can’t Felix write Felix Francis novels? Why does he need to write books that are almost, but not quite, like his father’s? Okay, I know why. They sell. Well, I’m not buying.

If I want to read a Dick Francis book I will go to the library and check out a Dick Francis book. Or I will grab Under Orders off my bookshelf and enjoy the adventure of Sid Halley one more time. It’s not that Felix is a bad author. It is just that I have read so many Dick Francis novels that I have certain expectations. Felix, since he writes like himself, does not meet my expectations of a Dick Francis novel. Okay, rant over, for now.

Why should you read this book?

Under Orders is a great mystery written by a master of the genre who is an expert in his sub-genre, horse racing. Sid Halley is one of the best private investigators found in any book and while you can read Under Orders as a stand-alone and enjoy it, I would recommend reading all the Sid Halley novels. You will not be disappointed.

A Quote Worth Quoting

“I went out to the elevator to meet Charles, but it wasn’t Charles in the elevator. It was the smiling man from the front page of The Pump. Only he wasn’t smiling now.

He held a black revolver very steadily in his right hand and he was pointing it right between my eyes. Damn, I thought. That was bloody careless.” Dick Francis Under Orders

Welcome to My New Series – “I Love This Mystery”

searching-magnifying-glass-over-selection-words-31680803For the month of February I am going to review a mystery novel or series each day. There is a slight bias here since I am only recommending books that I love to read and have read many times. I figured since February is the month of love that this would be a great project to try out.

I have three goals for this project. One, I want to write 28 book reviews, or one a day. Two. I want to improve how I write book reviews so they will get a reader interested enough to read the book. And three, I want to spread the joy of reading by suggesting books that I believe any reader will love. To reach my goals I need feedback. I invite all my readers to leave helpful comments and book recommendations of their own.

Throughout my life I have read many types of mysteries so I will be reviewing everything from cozies to cops and from kids to classics. Perhaps you will discover a mystery in a sub-genre you have never read before. I love exploring new sub-genres and am rarely disappointed.

The entire list with links to each review will be on the “I love This Mystery” page so you can easily find information about a book that interests you. I hope you enjoy learning about some great mysteries and perhaps you’ll discover, or rediscover, an author that you will fall in love with, also.

Outside of a dog, a book is a man’s best friend. Inside of a dog it’s too dark to read. Groucho Marx