Crime Fiction Alphabet: Letter P

I have signed up for a second year of The Alphabet in Crime Fiction, a community meme sponsored by Mysteries in Paradise. Each week she'll be expecting participants to produce a post featuring a mystery/crime novel or novelist related to that week's letter.

Keeping up with the Crime Alphabet tour group, I'm all set to tell you about my choice for the Letter P.  Bernadette Pajer Pajer.  I've already talked about Bernadette Pajer on my blog and I've nominated one of her books for Kerrie's Crime Fiction Pick of the Month back in February.  

Bernadette Pajer is the author of the Professor Bradshaw mystery series.  She writes about the turn of the century Seattle--a time when electricity is just coming into use.  She takes us back in time with a deft use of detail.  And makes us believe that we're really walking the streets of over 100 years ago.  These mysteries are perfect for the historical mystery fan.  But she also weaves a pretty darn good mystery--with red herrings and misdirection enough to keep the reader guessing.  And she's created a wonderful cast of characters from Ben Bradshaw, the absorbed, somewhat absent-minded professor who is also passionately devoted to his son and very loyal to his friends to his housekeeper who worries about how much time he spends on his inventions....and his investigations to his growing relationship with Detective O'Brien of the Seattle police force.

I discovered Bernadette Pajer through Steve, aka The Puzzle Doctor, over at In Search of the Classic Mystery Novel.  He reviewed Bernadette's first book, A Spark of Death, on his site and it sounded so very interesting that I rushed to get the book from the library.  It was definitely worth rushing for.  My review of her debut novel may be found by clicking the title.  I have also read Bernadette's second book, Fatal Induction.  And am looking forward to the next installment.

For more information on Bernadette Pajer and her books, you may see her Professor Bradshaw Mysteries website.