Christmas Mysteries

If the pressures of getting ready for Christmas are getting you down, here's one answer. Janet Evanovich has given us a Christmas present, a little volume in a bright red cover called, "Visions of Sugar Plums." It is a brand new Stephanie Plum story with the plot line falling somewhere between "The Night Before Christmas" and Star Trek.

It is four days before Christmas and New Jersey bounty hunter, Stephanie Plum doesn't have a tree in her apartment or a single gift bought or a glimmer of Christmas spirit. And she is chasing an elusive bond jumper named Sandy Claws. Suddenly a hunky guy named Diesel magically pops into her kitchen . Diesel joins Stephanie in her hunt for Sandy Claws ("It was probably Klaus and got screwed up at Ellis Island") Even though Diesel can pass through solid walls with ease, one does wonder whether he can survive the Plum family holiday dinner and whether he can find Mr. Claws who makes toys and his wife who makes cookies all day. Throw in a cast of crazed elves (really little persons with fake ears), the inevitable blown-up car, and Gradma Mazur and the whole dysfunctional New Jersey Plum family, and you can forget your problems for a little while. Oh yes, Christmas came.

If you are old enough to remember the Roosevelt years, you may get a kick out of Elliott Roosevelt's mysteries. They are out of print, but a friend loaned me a copy of "The White House Pantry Murder." Mrs. Roosevelt solves mysteries with a calm, dignity that modern detectives might envy. And the books are full of White House details and famous people of the time. It is Christmas, 1941, but the Nazi threat makes the holiday season one of the bleakest in American history. In the White House President Roosevelt and the First Lady are entertaining England's Prime Minister, Winston Churchill. At one point she is considering flying to New York. She says, "Flying is such an intriguing experience. Amerlia Earhart flew me from New York to Baltimore in May. She instructed me carefully in how to open my parachute, but I'm not certain I could have done it." Bet she could! In fiction or in real life, Eleanor Roosevelt was a great lady.

Another of my favorite mystery characters is Charlie Moon's Aunt Daisy, an elderly tribal shaman whose crusty exterior covers a heart of mush and a shrewd mind. She lives alone in an isolated trailer and sticks her nose in everybody's business. Charlie Moon, policeman turned cattle rancher tries to keep her out of trouble, without much success. Several authors have created a new literary genre, stories about American Indians in the west today. One of the best is James Doss whose mysteries include Utes, Navajos and Pueblos in southern Colorado. His latest Charlie Moon story, "White Shell Woman," is a tale of ancient Anasazi ruins, of feuding academics, of grave robbery and murders to cover it up. Fortunately Aunt Daisy is on the job.

One of my kids (not the lawyer, the other one) introduced me to a series of lawyer mysteries by Perri O'Shaugnessy. I just finished "Writ of Execution" and it is what some reviewers call a page turner. Single mother, Attorney Nina Reilly lives in Tahoe on the gambling, side. In this mystery, attorney Nina Reilly's new client just won the biggest slot machine jackpot in Lake Tahoe history, $7 million , but the bad guys are out to keep her from claiming it. I learned more about how slot machines work than I really wanted to know as this mystery unraveled. It is really well plotted, and the legal maneuvering is excellent. With a Washoe client, a computer geek and a sleazy lawyer, Nina sees plenty of action. Oh yes, Nina has a rocky love interest, too.

The library and the book stores are full of new mysteries. Enjoy them in the coming year -- and Merry Christmas.