The Colorado Kid by Stephen King

This novel is more of a treatise on how to write a mystery story than an actual mystery novel, but so well woven that the reader won't care. The characters, as usual, are rich, interesting, and easy to like.

Essentially, this is the story of a couple of elderly newspaper men working on a small, New England paper, and their final lesson for their college intern. It revolves around a dead man found on a beach 25 years earlier, and the mysteries that surround him.

Whether you're a King fan or not, there's a lot to love in this story.

Recommendation: Buy it.

The Good Husband of Zebra Drive by Alexander McCall Smith

This is an installment of The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, a series of books about a Botswanan woman and a detective agency she founds. Although the story revolves around a detective, the novels are really more slice-of-life accounts of life in southern Africa. The characters are rich, quaint and intriguing in their utter-lack of cynicism. That isn't to say they're alien; their behavior is all too human and understandable, even if they seem a little unsophisticated at times.

In this novel, Mma (pronounced as a very melodic "ummm-ma") Precious Ramotswe, founder of the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency has a minor crisis with her employee and friend, Mma Grace Makutsi, who is about to get married and is looking for more changes. In addition, her husband is bored with being a mechanic and takes on one of her clients much to Mma Ramotswe's chagrin, and Mma Ramotswe also has her own case to solve involving three patients' deaths at a local hospital on the same day of the week at the same time in the same death, each one week apart.

This book is a lot of fun, but it doesn't have much tension. It's mostly interesting in its glimpse into a different, seemingly simpler way of life.

Recommendation: Borrow it.

The Judas Strain (Sigma Force Novels #4) by James Rollins

A biologist and her husband are near Christmas Island (an Australian territory) when they encounter a glowing tide that's leaving a wake of dead marine life behind. It soon reveals itself to be a terrifying plague with ancient roots that intersected the path of Marco Polo in the 13th century, and The Guild - a ruthless criminal organization - wants to control it.

This is a novel in Rollins' Sigma Force series, about a covert government agency run by good-hearted ex-spies and military men with a scientific bend. One thing Rollins knows how to do is make readers loathe his bad guys. They hold nothing back as they torture, kidnap, and kill the good guys in their aim to take over the world.

Recommendation: If you're a fan, buy it. Otherwise, borrow it.

The Yiddish Policemen's Union: A Novel by Michael Chabon

For a short time during his presidency, FDR considered establishing a Jewish settlement in Alaska (then a territory.) The idea died on the vine, but Chabon imagines a world where Sitka, Alaska became the new Jewish homeland. After nearly 60 years, though, the millions of Yiddish-speaking Jews face forced resettlement as the territory of Sitka is about to revert to the State of Alaska. Within this political turmoil, a former Orthodox Jew is murdered, and his death becomes the core of a down-on-his-luck detective's life.

Chabon is a great novelist who weaves together a murder mystery that's both compelling and immersive. As I read this, I felt as though I lived in Sitka, and I wanted nothing more than to escape.

Recommendation: Buy it!

Making Money by Terry Pratchett

When I first saw this novel, I thought this would be a rather boring novel about some Victorian businessmen or something. Far from the truth, this is the story of Moist von Lipwig, a confidence man saved from the noose by Lord Vetinari, the tyrant of the magical kingdom of Ankh-Morpork (replete with golems, dwarfs, trolls, vampires and werewolves.) In exchange for his life, Lipwig has turned his somewhat unique talents to fixing vexing issues on Vetinari's plate, including the post office and, in this story, the Royal Mint.

In my opinion, Terry Pratchett is one of the funniest authors writing today. His work has the kind of bizarre humor of Monty Python mixed with unexpected fantasy elements and deeply sympathetic characters. He kept me guessing until the end, which speaks volumes for the originality of this work.

Recommendation: Buy it!