Book Series Will Explore American Mystery Novels

By Jan Howard

Sick Puppy by Carl Hiaasen will be the first book featured in an upcoming book discussion sponsored by the Friends of the Library on January 23 at the C.H. Booth Library.

“The Landscape of the American Mystery Novel” will be the topic of discussion from January through March by facilitators Liz Arneth, a retired English teacher; Marian Wood, a writer; and Mary Maki, president of the Friends of the Library.

The series begins January 23 and concludes on March 27. The group will meet every three weeks in the library’s special collections room on the third floor from 7:30 to 9 pm.

Sign up at the circulation desk or by calling 426-4533. Participants can attend one discussion, or all four.

The discussion will feature three other mystery novels, Cat Who Sang for Birds by Lilian Jackson Braun on February 13, Sing it to her Bones by Marcia Talley on March 6, and Coyote Waits by Tony Hillerman on March 27. Author Marcia Talley will join the group for the discussion of her book.

A limited number of copies of the books are available at the library.

“The sense of place plays an important part of the plot and characterizations,” Mrs Wood said. “Each book takes place in a different location.”

The locations are divided between east and west, including Florida, Michigan, Maryland, and New Mexico, and have male and female characters that are both professional and amateur detectives. All are set in actual places except for Cat Who Sang for Birds, which has the fictional setting of Pickax, Mich. Sing it to her Bones is set in Annapolis and Coyote Waits in Shiprock, N.M.

The new series came about as a result of a successful book discussion, “Female detectives: What Makes Them Different.” offered by Mrs Arneth and Mrs Wood in the fall.

“It came about because people loved the first one so much,” Mrs Arneth said.

The first offering, Sick Puppy, is a dark, satirical mystery set in Florida.

“Hiaasen likes to talk about growth and development in the Sunshine State,” Mrs Wood said. The author, a newspaper reporter, tries to bring about change, she noted.

“He uses satire to bring change,” Mrs Wood said. “All his books are based on something doing something to the environment.”

“They are just wonderful stories,” Mrs Arneth said. “His stuff is funny.”

Mrs Arneth said the attendees of the previous discussion group were true fans of the genre. “The people who came taught us a lot,” she said.

“We’re looking forward to this. It’s a lot of fun,” Mrs Arneth said.

“It’s a true discussion group,” Mrs Wood said. “We share ideas on mysteries and novels. We’re looking forward to seeing our friends.”

Mrs Arneth graduated from Queens College of the University of New York with a bachelor of arts degree in English literature with a specialty in English. A teacher for 20 years, she also earned a sixth year in administration.

Mrs Wood, a textbook writer, earned her bachelor’s degree in liberal arts at the City College of New York and an MBA from Long Island University. She has been writing full time for ten years. She was previously a vice president of marketing for banks.

 Mary Maki earned a bachelor’s of arts at Ithaca College. She has been president of the Friends of the Library since 1999. She currently provides assistant/secretarial support part time to the president emeritus of Ithaca College.