Book Him Danno!: Top Five Mysteries for 2010

As a mystery lover I really loved all 5 of these books. They are all books by authors who have made their name by writing series books, yet these picks (with an exception or two) are all standalones at the top of their game. It is a rare chance to get to know great writers before committing to their backlists. The exceptions would be Tana French’s Faithful Place and Paul Doiron’s The Poacher’s Son. In the first case Tana’s books are only loosely tied together and could easily be read independently. She takes a minor character from a previous book and moves them up to be a featured player (with all new supporting cast). In Paul’s case this is his first book, and it will be a series. So there is no backlist to catch up on, you are at the beginning.