81 books like Ask Me No Questions

Now I’m torn. Agnes Sharp and her housemates are delightful, but a friend of mine tells me that I am Joyce in this book. This series is one of the best I’ve read in the past few years, and this book is one of the best ones in the series.

I’ll gladly join septuagenarians Elizabeth (could she have worked for Scotland Yard?), Ibrahim (a psychologist), Ron (a brawling socialist organizer), and Joyce (gentle and perhaps not as naïve as she seems) at their posh retirement village as they discuss unsolved crimes each Thursday. And I’m definitely there to solve the murder of that local developer. No way the villain will get away from this brilliant gang of sleuths. 

Technically, Stephanie Plum isn’t an amateur sleuth because she works as a bounty hunter, but since she was never trained and tends to succeed despite her bungling and ineptitude, I consider her an amateur sleuth. Besides, when you’re sorely in need of a good laugh to release some endorphins, you can’t go wrong spending a few hours with Stephanie and her colorful cohorts. This twenty-seventh outing in the long-running series is one of the best when it comes not only to the humor, but it offers up a well-plotted story, and lots of red herrings. Plus, there’s plenty of Grandma Masur in this one. What more could you ask for?

I can’t resist a book that can make me laugh and has a great storyline. This murder mystery has books in bucketfuls. I love the way that humor is woven into the story.

I think that the thing that really makes this story such a great read is the different characters that fill the pages. I fell in love with the main character, Jane, and her love interest, the padre, and I, of course, completely loved her dog, Sexy Beast.

Former investigative reporter Rick Atwood is the go-to guy for the chief of police whenever crime strikes Seaside Cove, but Rick’s precocious eleven-year-old daughter is the real star of this series. Alex is a Nancy Drew for the 21st century. Her diary entries put a smile on my face as they brought back memories of my own childhood. Her upstaging of the adults in her life made me chuckle throughout the book. Terry Ambrose is a true master at capturing what it’s like to be a young girl yearning to be taken seriously by the adults in her life, a difficult task for any author but even more so for a male author.

It might not be Korean, but the same feeling is there. So many fangirls dream of visiting their favorite stories—and the main character Jane—in the book Austenland gets to do just that. When Jane’s grandmother buys her a trip to Austenland—the place where any girl’s Jane Austen dream can come true, she feels rude turning it down. Although, she’s enamored by men wearing smart coats and cravats, she’s also keenly aware of how fake everything is. It only takes a few days, however, to get swept up in the realness of the scene. A fangirl can hardly control her desire to be in her favorite book. This adorable and funny romance is exactly my cup of tea. 

P.J. O’Rourke, a former war correspondent cum travel author of Holidays in Hell, informs us that there are rules about travelling for fun. One of those rules is that tourists must find the most crowded airplane and be treated as self-loading freight! However, O’Rourke does not travel for fun. Yet, I discovered in this book that his travels to places associated with the odd or macabre are fun – and indeed funny. O’Rourke travels with his wife and young family and we accompany them as he reveals witty and irrelevant perspectives on the places he visits. In his concluding thoughts, when he asks what is the point of the Washington Memorial, it was then I realised I had chuckled all the way through this droll travelogue as a backseat passenger.  

From the title to the fantastic cover illustration, you know this book will be a treat. David, nicknamed Scrub, is sent to spend the summer with his grandmother, who owns The Intergalactic Bed and Breakfast. And yes, its clientele is just whom you would expect! Full of hijinks, discoveries, a new friendship, and a meddling, suspicious sheriff (who just happens to be the new friend’s father), this book is a fun, out-of-this-world read.

I love books that take me to other places, particularly when the settings are vivid and almost another character in the story.

A wedding book is the perfect beach read as we get a peek into family and friend dynamics and all the drama that goes with such a major event. This book is full of all of the above, with charming dialogue, road-not-taken romance, and memorable characters.

Police departments are comprised of, and are considered, the largest gangs in the country. They have developed a culture all its own. Within that culture are good cops and bad cops. I have personally encountered both while an FBI Agent and working cases of joint jurisdiction. Corruption within certain departments was so great during my tenure with the Bureau that we were ordered not to share information. That is why the author’s position as head of NYPD’s Internal Affairs Bureau for nearly two decades is incredible. It is a position where its chief is the most disliked cop in the entire department. Blue on Blue goes deep into the world of cops. Its content has provided a major portion of my Criminal Justice syllabus and teachings on “Leading Police Resilience.”

I read this book as a contest judge. I’d never heard of the author before. Little did I know that I’d fall in love with Morgan and Lance. Hooked from the first book. Morgan is caught between a rock and a hard place. Tessa, who couldn’t be more ‘girl next door’–also Morgan’s kids’ babysitter–was murdered. Her neighbor needs Morgan to defend her son, who is accused of the murder. Morgan has known him for years and is determined to prove his innocence.  

Morgan asks her friend Lance, an ex-cop turned private investigator, to help solve the murder. I loved how they formed a relationship that developed with each new book of the series. I love series, especially when I love the author. I highly recommend this book.