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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

A Picture of Guilt, Libby Fischer Hellmann, Poisoned Pen Press, $24.95/Berkley Prime Crime, $6.50.

Berkley Prime Crime Paperback

This book should be available when Libby is here to sign, but if not, you can make do with her very fine first novel, An Eye for Murder. This one takes off where the first one left off, and it's tighter and the plot is more jet propelled than the first. The focus is still on single parent/independent film maker (she makes films for corporations) Ellie Foreman, and Ellie is really a wonderful character. In the first two books she's drawn into crimes in a believable way - in this one, she realizes she has tape of a man on trial for murder - and the man is in a totally different place than where the murder happened. She feels she has to come forward, and it puts everything into motion when she testifies at the man's trial. When several other people connected with the case turn up dead, a spooked Ellie seeks a mob connection (did I mention this series is set in Chicago?) and she, in turn, is approached by the FBI.

Her working life begins to disintegrate when no-one will hire her after the trial - other corporations are afraid she'll release footage of their corporate videos. Her personal life takes a turn for the worse as well as she runs into trouble with both her teenage daughter and her boyfriend (the trouble with her boyfriend may make you want to smack her), and the vortex of events that sweep her along suck you in as a reader as well - this is a book that's hard to put down. It's packed with lots of interesting stuff about film making, about Chicago's water supply, about raising a teenager, even stuff about radio frequencies. Hellmann certainly owes a debt to fellow Chicagoans Sara Paretsky (complex plotting) and Barbara D'Amato (excellent research) - but she's the brash young thing making this formula new again. The careful detail and attention to plot, as well as the very compelling main character, make these mysteries a standout, and I can't wait for the next book - especially if the writing keeps improving exponentially with each installment.

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