Publications & Sites 
Talk mysteries at Maze library in Oak Park
Updated: April 1, 2013 6:05AM
Oak Park — Readers love mysteries. We invite the community to undertake a study of the mystery genre. All discussions take place from noon to 1 p.m. the first Tuesday of the month at the Maze Branch Library, 845 Gunderson Ave.
Rarely a day goes by when we at the library are not asked a question like, “What’s next in the ‘Maisie Dobbs’ series?” Or, “Can you recommend a mystery without a lot of gruesome detail?” Or, “I’ve read all of Anne Perry, what else might I like?” Or, “Is it important to read the Inspector Lynley books in order?”
At the library, we can recommend mysteries that meet your criteria and show you websites that will answer these and many more questions about your mystery reading, for example StopYoureKillingMe.com.
Since we started in September 2011 our monthly mystery discussions have looked at the great detectives of the Golden Age of mystery writing, the 1920s and 1930s. We’ve explored the Queens of Crime including Agatha Christie, Dorothy Sayers, Margery Allingham and Ngaio Marsh. We’ve investigated the originators of detective fiction including Edgar Allen Poe, Wilkie Collins and Arthur Conan Doyle. We’ve seen many detectives at work — the amateur (Miss Marple, Lord Peter Wimsey); the private investigator (Hercule Poirot, Sherlock Holmes); and the policeman (Inspector Alan Grant, Sgt. Cuff).
This year, our mystery discussions focus on settings throughout the world, to see how “location” is woven into the mystery. Our next discussion, on Tuesday, March 5, is of The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith. With this mystery set in Botswana, readers can explore Gabarone and the Kalahari. On April 2, we’ll travel to a Navaho reservation for Tony Hillerman’s Skinwalkers.
Readers of this mystery will explore the canyons, mesas and immense empty spaces of the American Southwest. On May 7 it’s up to Quebec for Louise Penny’s Still Life with an unabashed Canadian setting.
Feel free to bring your lunch or enjoy our coffee and cookies while we talk.
Other themes will be developed going forward including American Crime Noir, Mysterious Short Stories and the Mysterious History of England. These and other book discussion series hosted at the Maze Branch Library can be found on our Goodreads page. Join Goodreads at goodreads.com and become a “Maze Branch friend.”
We hope to see you at noon Tuesday, March 5, for The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency. Join us!
