Cozy up to summer's mystery beach reads

As temperatures in Texas climb steadily above the 100-degree mark, I find myself reluctant to undertake anything strenuous – even in reading. Usually, I welcome books that challenge my mind, that require my undivided attention. But that was before temperatures reached stratospheric records. Now all I want are reads that can be conducted in front of a fan, that could be laid down languidly between sips of something cool.

Goodbye long reads, strenuous reads, anything that requires more than a modicum of mental effort. Give me books that don’t scare me (much) and don’t make me cry (more than a little). Books that give me a smile and a happy ending. Books that can be their own staycation.

In case anybody else is in the same place, I have some suggestions. 

Usually, I’m a thriller kind of person. Global-level stakes, strenuous action, and of course, explosions. But when summer strikes, I turn to cozies. You know, the gentle mysteries, usually featuring amateur sleuths, low body counts, and minimal gore. 

I’m not averse to re-reading old favorites, but my most recent read was a newbie, Hope Never Dies, by Andrew Shaffer. You know the latest from the satirist who brought us (under his pen name, Fanny Merkin) Fifty Shames of Earl Grey will be hilarious. Shaffer doesn’t disappoint with Hope Never Dies, a road trip/mystery featuring a Holmes/Watsonish pairing of former POTUS Barak Obama and ex-veep Joe Biden that even those of multiple political persuasions can enjoy.

image: pixabay

How much trouble can two guys who were once world leaders get into as they try their hands at solving a murder without their accustomed accoutrements of power? The answer is – plenty. For a low-tech person like me, Hope Never Dies offers another bonus -- the paperback version was easy to tuck into the bag of swim stuff I toted to the pool and dipped into while keeping an eye on my grandkids.

I’m now dipping into a relative newbie from an old favorite author: The Painted Queen, co-written by late, lamented mystery divas Elizabeth Peters and Joan Hess. It's the final chapter on Peters’ fictitious old-style Egyptologists Amelia Peabody and her irascible husband Radcliffe Emerson.

Mystery lovers as well as Egyptologists mourned the death in 2013 of Peters (aka Barbara Mertz). Happily, Peters left behind notes on the final chapter of her heroes, completed by her friend and fellow mystery writer Joan Hess shortly before Hess’s own death in late 2017. (Talk about the curse of the pharaohs!) 

Now out in paperback, The Painted Queen showcases Hess’s ability to channel her late friend’s spirit in dishing up a final dashing spoof of late Victorian adventure novels as Peabody and Emerson (the couple’s pet names for each other) fend off assassins, tomb robbers and master criminals with the aid of Peabody’s every-handy parasol while also tackling a real-life mystery surrounding an iconic portrait of enigmatic ancient queen Nefertiti.

I’ve been able to sleep soundly through the nights during the reading of these cozies. But, you say, you like your readings a little chillier. For something that can make me shiver even while the mercury climbs, I love the gothic mysteries of Carol Goodman. Goodman also writes YA, but for adult readers I recommend any of her stand-alone mysteries, from the original Lake of Dead Languages, to this year’s release, The Other Mother. 

But for readers who, like me, favor exotic locales and a dash of history with their mystery, try The Night Villa (centered around the excavation of a house buried in the 79 AD eruption of Vesuvius and The Sonnet Lover with its bonus of original Renaissance-style sonnets.

All include Goodman’s blend of women academics, murder, and eerie, even downright spooky effects. Mix, chill and enjoy on a long, hot summer day!