An unexpected and probably the most significant statistic from my reading for the Challenge is that I read 9 mysteries by men and 9 mysteries by women.
I was not making a conscious decision to achieve gender equality but I have been striving to have more gender balance in reading. Still I do not expect equality next year. I do not want my reading driven by statistics. I have enough serious work reading in my life. For personal reading I want to pick books that look good to read.
I think the equal number of female and male mystery authors I have read reflects the strength of current female mystery authors.
The settings for the books involved 5 provinces and 2 territories inside Canada and 4 countries outside Canada. My coming post on the Arthur Ellis Award shortlist for the Best Canadian Mystery Novel will touch upon Canadian mysteries set outside Canada.
There is no doubt my favourite of the 16 mysteries was The Gifted by Gail Bowen. It was the best fiction I read in 2013. It is among the best in the Joanne Kilbourn - Shreeve series.
Next would be Stranglehold by Robert Rotenberg. The 4th in his series involving Toronto police and lawyers involved fascinating personal stories and a strong mystery.
Third would be Miss Montreal by Howard Shrier. I thought there was an excess of violence in his earlier books featuring Jonah Geller. In Miss Montreal he kept his sleuth hard boiled while keeping the body count down At the same time he explored several important societal issues.
Of the new to me Canadian authors I especially enjoyed John Brooke's book, Walls of a Mind, featuring Chief Inspector Aliette Nouvelle which was set in southern France. She is a very interesting character and I want to learn more about her.
It is a good time to be reading Canadian crime fiction.
I've got quite a few to catch up on there... I'm devoting August to clearing the TBR pile somewhat, which will include earlier Bowen and Rotenberg books...
ReplyDeleteMoira: Thanks for the comment. Good luck with the TBR pile. I which I could get to one pile.
DeleteBill, I too like to read books of my choice and comfort though I need to have a reasonable balance between men and women writers. I have been reading more books by male writers which has been at the expense of some really good fiction by female authors.
ReplyDeletePrashant: Thanks for commenting. I am sure you will soon turn to female authors.
DeleteBill - I'm not at all surprised that The Gifted was your pick for best book. That series really is superior. And I'm glad you're finding really fine books by authors of both sexes. That means, among other things, that there are a lot of well-written books out there.
ReplyDeleteMargot: Thanks for the comment. Gail Bowen is soon going to have another in the series published. I am really looking forward to reading it.
DeleteThanks for all these recommendations, Bill. I am back at the early Gail Bowen books, but that means I have lots to look forward to.
ReplyDeleteTracyK: Thanks for the comment. I have really enjoyed Gail's books. They are books to be savoured.
DeleteCongratulations on finishing the challenge, and thanks for introducing me to more Canadian mystery novelists. I haven't read anything from Canada in the last year or so, but I did enjoy the first Gail Bowen that I read.
ReplyDeleteRebecca: Thanks for the comment. I hope your reading returns to Canada this year. There is lots of fine reading in the Joanne Kilbourn series.
DeleteI definitely will put Gail Bowen's "The Gifted" on my TBR list. And add Rotenberg's, too. My library unfortunately does not carry all of their books, which is annoying.\\
ReplyDeleteBy the way, just read a good book, historical fiction with well-placed romance. And I learned a bit about Shanghai from 1937-1941, hitherto unknown to me: the emigration from the U.S. to Shanghai of African-American jazz musicians; there they could get jobs at equal pay and receive decent treatment.
Also, that there was a Jewish community of 25,000 living there. The Chinese Consul in Vienna gave visas to Jewish families to go to Shanghai. Apparently, the Japanese defied Germany and allowed them to remain there.
And since the question of romance in novels and in crime fiction has arisen on this blog, though it good to mention there is a lovely relationship between one of the jazz musicians and a young Chinese woman. It fits in quite well with the story.
The author's afterword tells more about the fate of the musicians during Japan's occupation and of the Chinese people who aided the Jews.
Kathy D.: Thanks for the comment. You have me interested. Could you pass on the name of the book that was set in China?
DeleteSure. "A Night in Shanghai" is by Nicole Mones. She lived in China for several years.
ReplyDeleteKathy D.: Thanks for the information.
DeleteAnother friend just read Mones' book and liked it.
ReplyDelete