New Mysteries I'm reading by Christine Duncan

I love Sarah Graves' Home Repair is Homicide series so much that I barely finish the latest book in the series before I start looking for the next. I don't know exactly why--perhaps because her heroine, Jacobia (Jake) Tiptree is so real to me. The woman could live down the street.

Crawlspace, Graves' newest in the series is no exception to the rule. Jake is busy trying to figure out how to stuff insulation in her house (and striking a chord with this homeowner right there, since I also live in a drafty old place.) Her son is recovering from alcohol addiction and life is going on as normal, when a visiting true crime writer stirs things up by looking at a recent death in the area. Even then, Jake is not all that interested except....

See, this is my problem with reviews. I hate when they tell too much, you know? But suffice it to say, that Jake's adventures into mystery this time put both her son and herself in danger. Read this book!

Another recent read is Ghastly Glass a Renaissance faire mystery by Joyce and Jim Lavene. This is only the second in the series but it is already a favorite of mine.

Jesse Morton is writing a thesis about crafts in the Renaissance time period. She is researching them by apprenticing herself to various crafts folk at a Renaissance Village in Myrtle Beach. Previously, she had been apprenticed to a basket weaver (Wicked Weaves is the first book in the series.) and this time she is returning at Halloween for a short apprenticeship with a glass blower. Those folks who like to read seasonal mysteries in order to get in the mood will love this one which really makes you feel as though it is Halloween. And regular mystery series lovers will like the character of Jesse and her boyfriend, Chase Manhattan and want to keep reading their adventures. I can't say enough about this series.

So what have you been reading lately? I'm always looking for a good mystery.

Christine Duncan is the author of the Kaye Berreano mystery series. Book two of the series, Safe House was recently released by Trebleheart books.