Favourite Posts from the Alphabet in Crime Fiction

Yesterday I discussed the types of posts I made from “H” to “Z” in the Alphabet in Crime Fiction meme of Kerrie Smith from Mysteries in Paradise. Today I am discussing my top five posts from the 21 I posted.

First is my post “Who is Inger Ash Wolfe?” for the letter “W”. The Canadian author has had a pair of very successful mysteries set in rural Ontario that feature 61 year old detective inspector Hazel Micallef. The post delved into the identity of the author. I got to write about a real life mystery. Several names have been put forward for the actual identity of Wolfe but there is no positive identification. I invited readers to add information but no one came forward to solve the mystery.

Second is my profile of the Australian author, Arthur Upfield, for “U”. Until early this year I had never heard of Upfield and his character Napoleon “Bony” Bonaparte. During my research I came across a doctoral thesis that was a biography of Upfield. The author spent several years in the wild country of Australia included a period patrolling the longest fence in the world. I have now read two in the series and expect to read more as I find them in used bookstores.

Third is my review of The Joining of Dingo Radish by Rob Harasmychuk for “H”. I appreciated the chance to introduce a Saskatchewan mystery to the followers of the meme. It is an interesting book that is well connected with rural Saskatchewan.

Fourth is my review of The Lincoln Lawyer by Michael Connelly for “L”. I had the chance to post my review of the debut of an outstanding legal mystery character in Mickey Haller. Connelly was already one of my favourite authors and when he started a new series with a criminal defence lawyer he is near or at the top. It was a very clever concept to have a lawyer practising law out of his Lincoln cars. Haller reflects the reality of criminal law with defence lawyers continually struggling to get paid from clients for whom there is no possibility of collecting accounts whether the trial is lost or won.

Fifth is my profile of Qui Xiaolong for “X”. The Chinese born author is a poet as much as a mystery author. He has had an interesting life. He translated T.S. Eliot while in China. He stayed in America because of fears for his safety after Tiananmen Square. I was intrigued by his ability to work quotations of Chinese poetry into his mysteries. The use of poetry creates a unique atmosphere in the books. At the same time his plots reflect the extremely complex web of personal relationships in Chinese society.

I hope there will be another Alphabet in Crime Fiction. I learned a lot from fellow bloggers.