One of the most enjoyable kind of mystery stories for me is when the detective or PI goes on vacation. I get to see a new place and follow the tourists around while the detective moans and groans about being bored or hopes to find something interesting happening.
Something interesting does invariably happen, of course.
1. I just finished reading Terry Pratchett’s Snuff where Commander Sam Vimes is taken by his wife to her ancestral home for a vacation. Underlying the reader’s concern is that Lord Vetinari might have had his own reasons for getting the Commander out of Ankh-Morpork.
Sam enjoys taking young Sam for walks, but he is soon blamed for the death of a young woman goblin and hauled off to the local lock-up. Adventure ensues and I felt that this was one of Pratchett’s best stories.
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2. Lindsey Davis sent Falco on vacation to Alexandria recently.
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/...
Wiki says:
Alexandria
http://en.wikipedia.org/...
The story is set in AD 77, in Alexandria, Egypt, which was at that time part of the Roman Empire. Falco and his family travel to Egypt to see two of the seven wonders of the world, the Lighthouse of Alexandria and the Great Pyramid of Giza, but are caught up in investigation into a mysterious death, and soon several deaths. The plot revolves around the Library of Alexandria, with reference to library management practice, corruption, illegal autopsies, a man-eating crocodile, and the legendary catoblepas.*
*(The catoblepas (from the Greek καταβλέπω, (katablépō) "to look downwards") is a legendary creature from Ethiopia, described first by Pliny the Elder and later by Claudius Aelianus. It is said to have the body of a buffalo and the head of a wild boar. Its back has scales that protect the beast, and its head is always pointing downwards. Its stare or breath could either turn people into stone, or kill them. The catoblepas is often thought to be based on real-life encounters with wildebeest, such that some dictionaries say that the word is synonymous with "gnu.")
I really loved roaming the library and seeing the politics behind who is chosen to be head librarian. Of course, Falco has traveled to many other places in the series, but this was a family affair that added to the story.
3. In A Rule Against Murder, Louise Penny has Inspector Armand Gamache and his wife Reine-Marie go on vacation because they are celebrating their wedding anniversary at Manoir Bellechass where they went on their honeymoon. They are interrupted by dissension among other guests and murder.
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/...
This was a poignant story that brought in characters from Three Pines where the stories are usually set. Visiting Three Pines is a vacation itself for the reader and the detectives who investigate the murders there.
4. Agatha Raisin and the Terrible Tourist by M. C. Beaton
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/...
Overview
Agatha Raisin's marriage was put off when her ex-husband showed up, unfortunately alive. Fortunately, he was murdered and Agatha solved the crime. Now she is off to Cyprus to track down her ex-fiance. Instead of enjoying their planned honeymoon, however, they witness the murder of an obnoxious tourist. Two sets of terrible tourists surround the unhappy couple, arousing Agatha's suspicions. And, much to James' chagrin, she won't rest until she finds the killer. Unfortunately, it seems the killer also won't rest until Agatha is out of the picture. Agatha is forced to track down the murderer, try to rekindle her romance with James, and fend off a suave baronet, all while coping with the fact that it's always bathing suit season in Cyprus.
5. Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot goes on vacation quite often, but the one I remember best, seen on TV with David Suchet as Poirot, is
The Triangle at Rhodes.
Overview
October on the island of Rhodes is a veritable paradise of privacy, beauty, and calm—or so Hercule Poirot has imagined. The reality is quite different, as the arrival of famed Chanel beauty Valentine Chantry causes a ripple of malice to be felt across the island. She captivates at least one married man with her wiles and good looks, as her brooding husband watches on. Poirot senses that someone has murder in their heart, and he guesses right. As things come to a tragic head, only Poirot the quiet observer can piece together what has happened in this lover’s triangle.
Other favorite stories with Poirot on vacation are:
Death on the Nile
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/...
The tranquillity of a cruise along the Nile
Appointment with Death
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/...
Among the towering red cliffs of Petra…
Evil under the Sun
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/...
at the Jolly Roger Hotel
Peril at End House
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/...
On holiday on the Cornish Riviera
Watch it here:
http://www.youtube.com/... Part one
http://www.youtube.com/... Part two
http://www.youtube.com/... Part three
http://www.youtube.com/... Part four
http://www.youtube.com/... Part five
http://www.youtube.com/... Part six
http://www.youtube.com/... Part seven
6. A Bitter Truth (Bess Crawford #3) by Charles Todd
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/...
Does being on leave count as vacation? Bess who is a nurse in WW I comes home, but spends much of her time away from her family trying to help a woman she has never met before.
7. Lyn Hamilton's lady detective travels widely looking for antiques and artifacts and finds murder. My favorite story is African Quest.
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/...
Lara leads the first-ever McClintoch & Swain antiques and archaeology tour to Tunisia, exotic land of ancient Roman ruins and modern Arab cities. But when bodies start turning up, Lara realizes that not everyone on the tour came along for the sea and the shopping. Someone has a murderous interest in finding a Carthaginian merchant ship that sank over two thousand years ago and they won't let anyone stop them from bringing up the priceless artifacts that went down with it.
The story of an old sponge diver who claims to have found the shipwreck and its treasure has everyone captivated—and the lure of hidden riches at the bottom of the sea has someone out for blood...
Has your favorite detective gone on vacation? Does his/her usual setting count as taking the reader on vacation?
Diaries of the week:
Write On! How did you get your agent?
by SensibleShoes
http://www.dailykos.com/...
Thursday Classical Music OPUS 68: Bower Birds and The Dumbo Function
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http://www.dailykos.com/...
Contemporary Fiction Views: A new series
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http://www.dailykos.com/...
Please read this diary by Limelite:
R&BLers: Struggling with the Incomprehensible Read
by Limelite
http://www.dailykos.com/...
NOTE: plf515 has book talk on Wednesday mornings early