Mysteries in the Times Book Review (4/20)

Each week, we'll bring you a summary of mystery content in the New York Times Sunday Book Review, as well as the placement of mysteries on their bestseller lists. This post will usually appear on Sunday or Monday.

John Banville is writing mysteries under the name Benjamin Black. There's a review of the second in his series, called The Silver Swan. The review also mentions the stir caused when "literary" authors write mysteries. Personally, I like mystery as a genre - obviously, or I wouldn't have started this blog - but I also firmly believe that good writers are found in all genres and types of fiction, and that the artificial boundaries can be as hurtful as they are helpful.

The Paperback Row column includes a few things that sound mystery-like, or at least suspenseful: April in Paris by Michael Wallner and Grotesque by Natsuo Kirino. I haven't read either of these authors, but both books sound interesting. The Finder by Colin Harrison is an Editor's Choice, and the new Harry Dresden sci fi mystery by Jim Butcher, Small Favor, is discussed in Inside the List.

Mysteries on the Bestseller List
Hardcover Fiction:
2. Small Favor by Jim Butcher (Harry Dresden #10)
3. Compulsion by Jonathan Kellerman (Alex Delaware)
4. The Appeal by John Grisham
9. 7th Heaven by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro (Women's Murder Club)
10. Winter Study by Nevada Barr (Anna Pigeon)
11. Hollywood Crows by Joseph Wambaugh
12. A Prisoner of Birth by Jeffrey Archer
13. Dead Heat by Joel C. Rosenberg
14. Guilty by Karen Robards

Paperback Trade Fiction
8. The Quickie by James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge
10. The Good Husband of Zebra Drive by Alexander McCall Smith (No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency)

Paperback Mass-Market Fiction
1. Simple Genius by David Baldacci
2. The Woods by Harlan Coben
3. Bad Luck and Trouble by Lee Child
4. I Heard That Song Before by Mary Higgins Clark
7. Creation in Death by J.D. Robb (Eve Dallas)
8. Obsession by Jonathan Kellerman (Alex Delaware)
9. Hokus Pokus by Fern Michaels (The Sisterhood)
10. The River Knows by Amanda Quick
11. The Unquiet by John Connolly (Charlie Parker)
15. The Alibi Man by Tami Hoag
18. Sacred Stone by Clive Cussler and Craig Dirgo (Oregon Files)
20. The Echelon Vendetta by David Stone