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American/Cozy Mysteries

Essays: § Cozies: An Especially American Art Form § When is a Cozy not a Cozy?
Kenneth Abel § Cold Steel Rain	Alina Adams § Murder on Ice	Donna Andrews § The Penguin Who Knew Too Much	Nevada Barr § High Country
Larry Beinhart § The Librarian	Claudia Bishop and Don Bruns (editors) § A Merry Band of Murderers	Meredith Blevins § The Hummingbird Wizard	Lawrence Block § The Burglar in the Rye
Jan Brogan § A Confidential Source	Judy Clemens § The Day Will Come	Joan Coggin § Who Killed the Curate?	Jeffrey Cohen § As Dog is My Witness § Some Like it Hot-Buttered
Thomas Cook § Into the Web	Gordon Cotler § Artist’s Proof	Casey Daniels § Don of the Dead	Diane Mott Davidson § Dark Tort § Double Shot
Aaron Elkins § Good Blood	Sharon Fiffer § Buried Stuff	Kate Flora § Stalking Death	Christine Goff § A Rant of Ravens
Denise Hamilton § Last Lullaby § Savage Garden § Sugar Skull	David Handler § The Cold Blue Blood	Charlaine Harris § Grave Sight § Grave Surprise § Shakespeare’s Counselor	Rosemary Harris § Pushing Up Daisies
Ellen Hart § An Intimate Ghost § The Iron Girl § Night Vision	Libby Fischer Hellmann § An Image of Death § A Picture of Guilt § A Shot to Die For	Martha C. Lawrence § Ashes of Aries	Marc Lecard § Vinnie's Head
Laura Lippman § To the Power of Three	Mary Logue § Maiden Rock	Margaret Maron § Last Lessons of Summer	Sujata Massey § Girl in a Box
Alexander McCall-Smith § The #1 Ladies Detective Agency	Deborah Morgan § The Marriage Casket § The Weedless Widow	Marcia Muller § Cyanide Wells	Kem Nunn § Tijuana Straits
Nancy Pickard § The Virgin of Small Plains	David Skibbins § Eight of Swords	Jessica Speart § Blue Twilight	Julia Spencer-Fleming § All Mortal Flesh § A Fountain Filled With Blood § I Shall Not Want § In the Bleak Midwinter § Out of the Deep I Cry § To Darkness and to Death
Denise Swanson § Murder of a Sleeping Beauty § Murder of a Barbie and Ken § Murder of a Snake in the Grass	Sarah Stewart Taylor § Judgment of the Grave § Mansions of the Dead § O’ Artful Death § Still as Death	Elaine Viets § Dying to Call You § Just Murdered § Murder with Reservations § Murder Unleashed § Shop Till You Drop

Good Blood, Aaron Elkins, Berkley, $6.99.

Aaron Elkins is back in good form with his latest Gideon Oliver caper, Good Blood. There isn't too much of Gideon's annoying wife, Julie (who belongs in a club with Spenser's Susan and Alex Deleware's awful Robin), the setting - Italy - is delightful, and there's a cranky police official for Gideon to tangle with, as well as a pal from home, Phil, who ends up dead in the middle of the mystery. These are not novels to pick up to exercise your brain, but novels to pick up for a little virtual travel. The settings are always well delineated and you learn a bit about bones - Gideon is a forensic anthropologist - who detests dead bodies with actual flesh still on them.

The mystery is a sharp one too - Phil's extended Italian family is a complicated and dysfunctional one - his first cousin, Vincenzo, is the local "padrone" - more in the middle ages or renaissance meaning of the term than the mafia one. He owns his own island, complete with cavernous, beautiful house, as well as lots of live in relatives who, by some sort of ancient code, can never be evicted. Many of them are hostile to Phil whom they see as a kind of interloper - but we as readers know a bit more of Phil's history and it adds spice to the story. When the padrone's obnoxious teenaged son, Achille, is kidnaped in a gripping scene near the beginning of the book, it ramps up the action, as does the discovery of a skeleton on a building site about midway through that gets Gideon believably drawn into the story. These are well done, bouncy and enjoyable stories - for the true fan, it's good news that some of Elkins' earlier and best books will be re-released this summer, including my favorite, A Dark Place.

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