In the Bleak Midwinterby Julia Spencer-Fleming
I'm hooked. This is one of the best detective mysteries I've read in years. It's not for everyone--the amateur detective gets equal play with the Police Chief; there are too many coincidences; there's subtle but near-omnipresent romantic tension. It's snarkily witty, painfully grisly, and the action scenes are nerve-wracking. It's definitely not a 'cozy' but nowhere near hard-boiled.
So not for everyone, but definitely for me. The character development is spot-on. You like most everyone and passionately hate a few--notably the lawyers. Many scenes are funny verging on very funny, especially if you've ever tried to drive a sports car on icy pavement. The clues are easy to pick up on--it makes you feel smart to realize you've noticed something the detectives did not--but of course they will eventually. And the clues won't have to be hammered into their heads--the detectives aren't stupid. And neither are the criminals.
One word of warning: if you're at all interested, be very careful not to pull up the series on the library web page where it shows the publisher's back cover blurbs. Even if you try not to read them, your eagle eyes were pick up a fact or two that you really didn't want to know yet, dammit!
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