Must preface this by saying I was never a huge mystery/detective fan, until I picked up Redmann's first novel Death by the Riverside, and if not an instant mystery fan, I'm certainly a Redmann fan. Her second book Deaths of Jocasta was also _amazing_, both are available on the net from Amazon, but if you can't find them there, Bella Books has re-published them and you can order them off their web site (reasonably priced too). Her third and fourth novels Intersection of Law and Desire and Lost Daughters are currently out of print, but you might scrounge around the used book sites to pick up a copy. Also, Kate Calloway's Cassedy James Mystery series - now up to 8 books, are fun little fluffy romps; though the first two are out of print and are hard to find, each novel is a stand alone story, so you don't lose by not having books one and two.
If you like Sci-Fi, Jean Stewart's Isis series (now at 4 books) is worth the buy - though sometimes I find her writing a little uneven, the story line is highly entertaining. Her other books are decent reads as well.
Sarah Walter's novels Tipping The Velvet, Affinity and Fingersmith (next on my list to read), are great - she captures the essence of the late 19th century remarkably well; her characters and stories are engaging and she is a top notch writer. I guess a PhD in Literature helps her cause and so does being short listed for the Booker Prize.
Out of the lesbian fold, but with strong female characters are Marion Zimmer Bradley's Avalon books and Firebrand (they should be available at your local library). If you haven't read them yet, they are fantastic, but don't read them by publication date. The original book published was Mists of Avalon, but Bradley wrote two prequels and the sequel was published posthumously (I think I got the publication order right). Nevertheless ... the historical chronology goes thusly: 1) Firebrand; 2)Forrest House; 3) Lady of Avalon; 4) Mists of Avalon; and 5) Priestess of Avalon. What I found so engaging about these works was that she took legendary stories and re-told them from the women's perspective. Firebrand is the story of the fall of Troy told through the eyes of Cassandra; the Avalon books explore the Arthurian legend from the perspective of the women (none of whom are evil in Bradley's retelling, btw). Anyway, if you're looking for some interesting reading and worthwhile purchases, these are a few of the books that top my list. (And, ahem, I'm certain MaClayMagic's books will be on my list as soon as they hit my mail box
)Happy searching in NYC.
Cheers!!
Patches
I recomend it to everyone!!
). After reading Mary Stewart's Crystal Cave series in high school, I consumed all things Arthurian for a great many years. However, I still prefer the old Arthur to Malorys nod to chivalric custom (I hate revisionism, even if it's 500 odd year old revisionism).
