Librarian Sleuths?

I'm interested in reading more mysteries featuring librarians as sleuths. I'm familiar with authors Jo Dereske and Ian Sansome but am also looking for "one offs" like Cornell Woolrich's excellent The Book That Squealed. Any suggestions?

Well, they're awfully light and fluffy, and the library doesn't play much of a role, but Charlaine Harris's Aurora Teagarden is a librarian.

Charles A. Goodrum wrote a couple of mysteries with librabry staff doing the detecting Dewey Decimated was one.

Jo Dereske's Miss Zukas series.

Thanks for the suggestion. I'll try it out. Love the cover too.

Thanks!

Also check out the library of LT member bibliomysteries http://www.librarything.com/catalog/bibliomysteries This person was cataloging mysteries that had books as an element, including ones with libraries or librarians. Unfortunately she only got through authors starting with A or B, but there are over two hundred mysteries listed.

Check out Stop, You're Killing Me! They have a job index. The librarians are at http://www.stopyourekillingme.com/JobCats/Librarians.html

Retired librarian Margaret H. Judd (1906 - 1995) wrote five stand-alone murder mysteries, set in different parts of small-town New England, in each of which at least one of the major characters was a librarian. They are:

'MURDER - FIRST EDITION' (as Truman Garrett) - 1956

'HUSBAND OF THE CORPSE' - 1958

'MURDER IS A BEST SELLER' - 1959

'GOSPEL OF DEATH' - 1960

'MURDER MAKES ITS MARK' - 1961

Mrs Judd, who had been a librarian in Springfield, Massachusetts before her marriage, draws not only upon her knowledge of libraries and librarians as they then were, but also upon her enthusiasm for old houses, antique furniture, and other items of Americana, to craft very readable murder mysteries centred on the world of books. Reading them, one becomes involved with believable characters, with realistic motives, moving and working in a real world that has, after the passing of half-a-century, taken on a pleasant period flavour.

Margaret H. Judd's books deserve to be reprinted as near-classics of their age.

A quick look at the web turned up 'BiblioMysteries' as a label for such tales. Two links are:

http://www.wilmette.lib.il.us/readersservices/bibliographies/murdermysteries.php

http://www.bibliomysteries.com/

Try the Jacqueline Kirby novels by Elizabeth Peters: The Seventh Sinner, The Murders of Richard III, and Die for Love. There's at least one more but I'm unable to retrieve the title (possibly because I didn't find it nearly as good as the earlier ones).

#11

Naked Once More is the last Jacqueline Kirby book. I would definitely recommend these books, expecially Die for Love which I have read so many times that I wore out my copy and had to buy a replacement. It stil makes me giggle hysterically ...

Another vote for Elizabeth Peters' Jacqueline Kirby books. I actually like Kirby much more than Amelia Peabody, although Peabody and company have grown on me.

To pmarshall, I did use your link and it was very helpful. I'd forgotten about that site. Thanks!

To orsolina, pinkozcat and webgeekstress: Jacqueline Kirby, eh? Will see if I have any tomorrow morning (I own a bookshop). Thanks for the unanimous tip!

Amazing resources, AurelArkad, thank you. And I'm intrigued by Margaret H. Judd. I hadn't heard of her before. You're kind to take the time with me.

I just picked up a crime novel set in England, with a mobile librarian as the detective: "The Delegates Choice" by Ian Sansom. I cannot say anything about it because I haven't started reading yet, but the author seems to have written a whole series of librarian crime novels.