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 Paula L. Woods
is the author of the mystery series featuring LAPD homicide
detective Charlotte Justice, including INNER CITY BLUES and the latest, STORMY WEATHER. Visit Paula's website at www.WoodsOnTheWeb.com.
STORMY WEATHER
"There are a lot of fine procedurals on the market today, but this one has the added attraction of pitting a black female, committed to being a good cop, against a department infamous for its poor treatment of minorities." - Booklist
Paula L. Woods's Summer Reading List
RIGHT AS RAIN
by George Pelecanos
George Pelecanos makes some of the most right-on observations on race and policing in Washington, D.C. I've ever read. I'm almost done with it, and it's both a hypnotic read and a revelation.
AIN'T NOBODY'S BUSINESS IF I DO
by Valerie Wilson Wesley
I know Valerie best for her Tamara Hayle mystery series but I picked up this novel, about the breakup of a marriage and a woman's subsequent rebirth, at a friend's house and literally couldn't put it down. I had to leave and go straight to a bookstore and buy it so I could get back to reading Valerie's astute insights into love, marriage and divorce.
THE WIND DONE GONE
by Alice Randall
Randall's novel, which the estate of Margaret Mitchell tried to have banned from publication, is a blistering parody of the fabled GWTW story from the perspective of Tara's slaves. I think it will be the WHITE TEETH of the summer.
A DARKNESS MORE THAN NIGHT
by Michael Connelly
I am a huge fan of Harry Bosch, an LAPD homicide detective in Connelly's outstanding series who I feel occupies a parallel universe to my LAPD protagonist. This book brings back Bosch and Terry McCaleb, a hero from Connelly's earlier novel BLOOD WORK. Two heroes for the price of one!
ON WRITING: A Memoir of the Craft
by Stephen King
I received this book for Christmas and have been waiting for some lazy days to read what the master has to say on a topic dear to my heart. Read the AuthorsOnTheWeb.com Roundtable Discussion of ON WRITING.
PLAIN BROWN WRAPPER
by Karen Grigsby Bates
Bates's protagonist, Alex Powell, is an LA reporter at a national journalists' convention who gets entangled in the murder of a philandering magazine publisher. The author is a reporter for People, so I'm sure she has enough inside poop to make this a wickedly fun read.
THE JASMINE TRADE
by Denise Hamilton
Denise is a former LA Times reporter who has written what looks like a fascinating mystery about the children of Chinese immigrants who are left in California with nannies to attend high schools and gain admittance into leading U.S. universities.
BALZAC AND THE LITTLE CHINESE SEAMSTRESS
by Sijie Dai
I've heard good things about this slim novel, which was published as part of a ClubMed literary contest that gives a writer in French the opportunity to be translated into English.
REMEMBER ME TO HARLEM: THE LETTERS OF LANGSTON HUGHES AND CARL VAN VECHTEN, 1925-1964
Edited by Emily Bernard
Poet Hughes and literary godfather Van Vechten are legendary Harlem Renaissance figures, so I'm eager to see how their relationship is revealed through their letters.
BEST BLACK WOMEN'S EROTICA
Edited by Blanche Richardson, with an introduction by Iyanla Vanzant
Because Blanche Richardson is a bookseller and manager of Marcus Books in Oakland, she's read everything. So, I figure any collection she puts together has got to be good. And with writers like poet Nikki Giovanni and horror writer Tananarive Due involved, I'm expecting a different kind of erotica.
CHESTER HIMES: A Life
by James Sallis
Chester Himes is one of the masters of African American crime fiction. Jim's superbly detailed book is a must for my to-be-read pile this summer.
THE NOONDAY DEMON: An Atlas of Depression
by Andrew Solomon
As a crime writer, I'm always reading some non-fiction book that can provide depth to the characterizations or settings of my novels. Given some of the issues my detective confronts, this new book on depression book looks like it will be an essential reference text in the future.
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Summer Reading Lists
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