The other day at North Branch my colleague and I and a patron were having a lively mini-book discussion on good Nordic mystery authors. Jo Nesbø, creator of the brilliant but problematic detective Harry Hole, had been highly recommended by her friend. The problem, said the patron, was the conflicting advice on what title to read first since Nesbø has created a series here, and there is a chronology to the novels. The order is not always clear from library or Amazon-type websites because they often list things by publishing dates which sometimes don’t take into account the time lag for the translation from a foreign publisher or the release of the paperback edition.
“Never fear, ” I said, “your trusty Reader’s Advisor knows a trick or two on how to know what’s first, what’s next, and what’s coming.” It’s a site I blogged about a couple of years ago when I discovered it, but perhaps it’s time for a refresher. Go to Fantastic Fiction and just plug in your search term. The site is comprehensive, extremely easy to navigate, and lots of fun for browsing or learning more about an author. Click on the book cover and get a synopsis of the plot. Scroll down and learn about forthcoming books. Find out what the author recommends. Click on links to related sites. Originally a British authors only site, a few years ago it expanded to include American and other European writers. I use it a lot. Have fun!
Barbara L.
