Library Bingo: Read a mystery by a (possibly) new-to-you author

Before we turn our thoughts to leaves, classes, and . . . pumpkin lattes, we’ll suggest several mysteries and speculative fiction (for the bingo square: “read a book that takes place in the future”). A perfect way to embrace the last long weekend of summer and gin up with a good read. Let’s consider mysteries first, in all their permutations:

Two collections of classic noirs start the mysteries: the first Dashiell Hammett’s Complete Novels including Red Harvest, The Dain Curse, The Maltese Falcon, The Glass Key, and The Thin Man. The first two introducing Hammett’s anonymous detective, Continental Op. The Maltese Falcon needs no introduction. Easily, one of the most famous noirs written with it’s protagonist, Sam Spade, getting wrapped up in a quest for an elusive falcon. The cast of characters are unforgettable (and ably brought to the screen by John Huston who also used the book’s dialogue almost verbatim). Falcon is a swift read still, and worthy of a revisit in these waning days of a smoke-filled summer. As a lagniappe, Hammett lived in Tacoma as he recovered from tuberculosis after WWI. The lawlessness of Tacoma at the time certainly influenced Hammett’s outlook on life, and inspired what’s known as The Flitcraft Parable from The Maltese Falcon, which was excised from the film. The Maltese Falcon is worth rereading just for that section.


Speaking of verbatim dialogue, it is known that Elmore Leonard was the master of dialogue. With the collection, Four Novels of the 1970s, we get great examples characters, malcontents, and can games gone awry. Including classics novels such as Fifty-Two Pickup, Swag, and The Switch, this collection starts with the lean early Leonard writing, then evolves into the more comic mode that Leonard becomes famous for which was aptly exemplified by Get Shorty. A modern American classic mystery writer who easily takes the banner from Chandler, Hammett, and Cain and plants it at his feet.






Jacqueline Winspear’s The Mapping of Love and Death features Masie Dobbs (#7 in the series), a psychologist and investigator" in post–World War I London. In The Mapping, Dobbs is hot on the trail of the death of a cartographer. Set in London, France and the Santa Ynez Valley, Winspear has a great eye for period details and a flair for settings. A thoroughly enjoyable mystery series that can certainly be enjoyed as stand-alone novels.




Don Winslow has been lurking under the skin of serious mystery fans for a while until he broke big with The Power of the Dog, a ruthless look at Mexican drug Federacions and their battles with the DEA. With an unerring eye for the attention to detail backed by deep research, Winslow exposes all the corruption, double dealings, and includes a lone avenger as the story relentlessly unravels. I knew about Winslow from his earlier surfing mysteries, and The Power of the Dog is another wild riveting ride.