Mystery, anyone?

I have always loved mystery/detective books, probably starting with the Nancy Drew series. I remember bringing stacks of them home from the library with my sister. We would devour them! What a great introduction to the genre. Here are three of my favorite mystery writers today:
Laurie King:
She has some stand alone books, but her main line is a series of books about Mary Russell, a young woman who marries Sherlock Holmes when he is a relatively old man. The books are well-researched and well written in the voice of a woman from the early 20th century who is not easily cowed, even by the great Sherlock! Here is a link to Mary Russell's blog where she talks about her life and her "literary agent" Laurie King: http://maryrussellholmes.com/

Elizabeth George:
An American woman writing detective mysteries about New Scotland Yard? That's our Elizabeth! She carries off the genre of English detective work as if she were a native. Many of you may know these works as Detective Lynley series on PBS, where they do a very good job of conveying the writing that she has done in this genre. In this series, George develops her characters intensely and makes sure that the readers know the relevant background; we see them grow over the years and if you have not read any of these, start at the very beginning! Here is a link to her homepage: http://www.elizabethgeorgeonline.com/

For the last one, I had to almost toss a coin, as there are many that I love, but I finally settled on Julia Spencer Fleming who writes about a female Episcopal priest who serves in a small town in upstate New York and helps the chief of police solve crimes. Clare is not a perfect woman, in spite of being a priest and the series has delved into many current dilemmas, including racial relations and immigration. Here is the link to her home page as well: http://www.juliaspencerfleming.com/

All three of these talented ladies have new books coming out soon, ensuring that I will not run out of reading material anytime in the near future!!