# Obscure novels--mystery division **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 24, 2007, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-novels-mystery-division/397291 "2007-03-24T05:21:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2007, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-novels-mystery-division/397291/1 "2007-03-24T05:21:06Z")
Two books nobody ever heard of: _Big Ice_ by Christopher Bonne Jones (2003, PublishAmerica). An actual good book from a POD publisher, what a surprise. Borderline curmudgeon Seth Peterson, in Washington, DC to present findings of a potentially world-threatening environmental event, becomes the focus of a band of demented environmentalists determined to show the world the power of the natural world. Okay, it could have used a bit of judicious editing, but it reads pretty well and is suspenseful, with loads of character development. _Unforced Errors_ by Michael Bowen (2004, Poisoned Pen Press). I guess somebody actually did read this one because PPP has issued a 2nd printing as of July 2006. This one merges the publishing industry, Civil War recreators, and reality shows, as a husband and wife both work, but not necessarily as a team, to solve the murder of a guy who just happened to be the wife’s lover. Very intelligent characters who come up with witty repartee in some seriously funny situations. Your favorites? ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2007, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-novels-mystery-division/397291/2 "2007-03-24T05:44:50Z")
I don’t know how obscure it is, but right now I’m enjoying **New Graves at Great Norne** by Henry Wade, a British mystery writer who published about 20 books in the 30’s and 40’s. It was recommended by someone who praised Wade’s astute observations of English country life, and they were right. Good stuff. I’ll be reading more of him. ---
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2007, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-novels-mystery-division/397291/3 "2007-03-24T18:10:14Z")
I think I’ve heard of Henry Wade but can’t recall reading anything of his. I’ll have to try one! ---
**Author:** ![DeadlyAccurate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ac91a4/32.png) [@DeadlyAccurate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeadlyAccurate)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2007, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-novels-mystery-division/397291/4 "2007-03-24T18:24:26Z")
[QUOTE=Hilarity N. Suze] Two books nobody ever heard of: _Big Ice_ by Christopher Bonne Jones (2003, PublishAmerica). An actual good book from a POD publisher, what a surprise. Borderline curmudgeon Seth Peterson, in Washington, DC to present findings of a potentially world-threatening environmental event, becomes the focus of a band of demented environmentalists determined to show the world the power of the natural world. Okay, it could have used a bit of judicious editing, but it reads pretty well and is suspenseful, with loads of character development. [/QUOTE] Anyone planning to buy a PublishAmerica book would be advised to go straight to the author for the purchase. For one, there are reported incidences of the authors being cheated out of royalties for books purchased from PA (including ordering from Amazon). For another, there are many situations where buying the book from the PA website or through Amazon/BN.com never actually amounts to the customer getting the book. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2007, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-novels-mystery-division/397291/5 "2007-03-24T23:15:11Z")
Not necessarily obscure, but I’ve never met another reader of the Sam Jones books by Lauren Henderson, starting with _Black Rubber Dress_. I love them. ---
**Author:** ![blackhobyah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/41988e/32.png) [@blackhobyah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blackhobyah)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2007, 11:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-novels-mystery-division/397291/6 "2007-03-25T11:42:28Z")
[QUOTE=jsgoddess] Not necessarily obscure, but I’ve never met another reader of the Sam Jones books by Lauren Henderson, starting with _Black Rubber Dress_. I love them. [/QUOTE] Not only have I read the books, I’ve met Lauren Henderson. 🙂 You might enjoy [Tart City](http://www.tartcity.com/). ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2007, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-novels-mystery-division/397291/7 "2007-03-25T15:35:52Z")
[QUOTE=blackhobyah] Not only have I read the books, I’ve met Lauren Henderson. 🙂 You might enjoy [Tart City](http://www.tartcity.com/). [/QUOTE] Ooh! Nice to meet ya. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_Rhosis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d9b06d/32.png) [@Sir\_Rhosis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_Rhosis)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2007, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-novels-mystery-division/397291/8 "2007-03-25T20:22:57Z")
I quite enjoy the novels of a Welsh writer named L. P. Davies. Most were written during the 1960s (as far as I know, he is still alive, about 93, but doesn’t write anymore). Several of his novels have been adapted into B-movies and television movies here in the U. S. Some are borderline SF. I rather liked: _The Alien_ (film: _The Groundstar Conspiracy_) _The Artificial Man_ (film _Project X_ (1968, not to be confused with the Matthew Broderick film) _Who Is Lewis Pinder? The Paper Dolls_ Sir Rhosis ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2007, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-novels-mystery-division/397291/9 "2007-03-25T21:32:38Z")
Okay, well, the obscuire mystery novel that I read a couple weeks ago was [Night of the Jabberwock](http://www.amazon.com/Night-Jabberwock-Fredric-Brown/dp/1596541210/ref=sr_1_1/002-4977424-6220818?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1174858230&sr=1-1), by Fredric Brown. Nothing profound, but a fun, fast-moving novel that you don’t have to be a fan of Lewis Carroll to appreciate, but it helps. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2007, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-novels-mystery-division/397291/10 "2007-03-26T00:11:42Z")
> [@](#): > > Okay, well, the obscuire mystery novel that I read a couple weeks ago was Night of the Jabberwock, by Fredric Brown. Nothing profound, but a fun, fast-moving novel that you don’t have to be a fan of Lewis Carroll to appreciate, but it helps. I have a copy of this – I picked up n ominibus volume because of Jabberwock, which i learned of through The Annotated Alice. The bookseller was unaware that fredric Brown had writen mysteries, as was I. i highly recommend Brown, who was highly original, and prolific. You can still find his suff in used bookshops, because even though he died in 1972, they were still reprinting his stuff until the mid-1980s. I’ve been collecting them, and still don’t have them all. I particularlt recommend his first mystery novel (which got an Edgar), **The Fabulous Clipjoint**. **the Screaming mimi** is great, too. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2007, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-novels-mystery-division/397291/11 "2007-03-26T00:38:15Z")
Brown’s awesome. Somebody gave me an old paperback of The Fabulous Clipjoint. Each page fell away from the binding as I read the book. I have The Screaming Mimi somewhere, in hardcover, thank heaven. I like his SF too. The **From These Ashes** collection is a treasure. ---
**Author:** ![Savannah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b3f665/32.png) [@Savannah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Savannah)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2007, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-novels-mystery-division/397291/12 "2007-03-26T02:10:09Z")
I’ve never met another reader, never mind another fan, of Stephen Greenleaf. I adore John Marshall Thomas. (He is my secret fictional boyfriend.) ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2007, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-novels-mystery-division/397291/13 "2007-03-26T02:32:56Z")
Here’s someone who’s obscure, and desrves a bit more attention – **Toni L.P. Kellner**. I found out about her in an interesting way – I ran into her. we both had children running around a Children’s Playground area at a local mall, and something about her made me think that she was a writer. I still have no idea why I thought this – it was nothing obvious, like her writing in a notebook, or wearing a button , or even just reading a book. She was just sitting there, looking at her kid playing. But somehow, I _knew_ she was a writer. So i asked her. She was. We talked for a long time, and she luckily had one (only one) copy of her brochure of “Right Common Southern Phrases” that she used in her mystery novels about Southern-born Massachusetts-dwelling sleuth Laura Fleming. I immediately went out and bought her books. Both Pepper Mill and I have read them, and enjoyed them quite a bit. We see her sometimes at the S.F. cons. Kellner’s website: [http://www.tonilpkelner.com/](http://www.tonilpkelner.com/) ---
**Author:** ![Rodgers01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b19c9b/32.png) [@Rodgers01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rodgers01)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2007, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-novels-mystery-division/397291/14 "2007-03-26T02:48:51Z")
I’m currently enjoying [Under Cover of Daylight](http://www.amazon.com/Under-Cover-Daylight-James-Hall/dp/0393321258/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/104-8856506-9666352?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1174877209&sr=1-1) by James W. Hall. It’s a dark, noir-ish mystery set in the Florida Keys – very atmospheric, very well-written. (The author began his career as a poet.) Based on this book, I’m surprised the author is not better known. Check it out. ---
**Author:** ![chorpler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chorpler/32/2888_2.png) [@chorpler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chorpler)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2007, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-novels-mystery-division/397291/15 "2007-03-26T03:46:52Z")
[QUOTE=Rodgers01] I’m currently enjoying [Under Cover of Daylight](http://www.amazon.com/Under-Cover-Daylight-James-Hall/dp/0393321258/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/104-8856506-9666352?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1174877209&sr=1-1) by James W. Hall. It’s a dark, noir-ish mystery set in the Florida Keys – very atmospheric, very well-written. (The author began his career as a poet.) Based on this book, I’m surprised the author is not better known. Check it out. [/QUOTE] I listened to the audiobook version of his _Bones of Coral_ a year or so ago – it was really good. He has another one out called _Magic City_ that I haven’t read yet, but it looks interesting as well. I’m a sucker for Florida-based books these days, though, so I may not be completely objective. ---
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2007, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-novels-mystery-division/397291/16 "2007-03-26T04:00:32Z")
[QUOTE=Savannah] I’ve never met another reader, never mind another fan, of Stephen Greenleaf. I adore John Marshall Thomas. (He is my secret fictional boyfriend.) [/QUOTE] John Marshall Tanner? Of…the only titles I remember are _Strawberry Sunday_ and _Ellipsis_ but I have a different name in my head. (I read others, I just don’t remember their titles.) Hey, he was nominated for an Edgar (and long overdue for the nomination, IMO), so he isn’t that obscure. ---
**Author:** ![Rodgers01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b19c9b/32.png) [@Rodgers01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rodgers01)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2007, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-novels-mystery-division/397291/17 "2007-03-27T03:42:32Z")
[QUOTE=chorpler] I listened to the audiobook version of his _Bones of Coral_ a year or so ago – it was really good. He has another one out called _Magic City_ that I haven’t read yet, but it looks interesting as well. I’m a sucker for Florida-based books these days, though, so I may not be completely objective. [/QUOTE] I discovered James Hall through an interest in Florida too. I was in St. Augustine last year, loved the place, and was looking for an interesting book on the state in the “Local” section of some bookstore. Found [Hot Damn!](http://www.amazon.com/Hot-Damn-Alligators-Seashells-Dispatches/dp/0312316151/ref=sr_1_1/104-8856506-9666352?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1174966850&sr=8-1), a collection of essays Hall wrote for one of the Florida papers (The Miami Herald?). Good stuff. They don’t all have to do with Florida, but many do, and it’s a good read. ---
**Author:** ![Savannah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b3f665/32.png) [@Savannah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Savannah)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2007, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-novels-mystery-division/397291/18 "2007-03-28T01:19:41Z")
[QUOTE=Hilarity N. Suze] John Marshall Tanner? Of…the only titles I remember are _Strawberry Sunday_ and _Ellipsis_ but I have a different name in my head. (I read others, I just don’t remember their titles.) Hey, he was nominated for an Edgar (and long overdue for the nomination, IMO), so he isn’t that obscure. [/QUOTE] Those aren’t even the best books! Really! Death Bed, Toll Call, Blood Type, Book Case… All the books are two word titles, except Ellipsis, wherein he ended the series. I knew he was going to wind up the series when Charley died, and you were left wondering if Marsh was going to go, too. I think Greenleaf could have walked away from the character there, but two more books followed. I guess he was getting tired of Marsh. Greenleaf seems obscure to me, because I check bookstores here to see if they carry his stuff, and no one does. Sadness.