Six Degrees of Separation - From No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency to Into the Black Nowhere

I going to try doing Six Degrees of Separation, a monthly link-up hosted by Kate at Books Are My Favourite and Best. She chooses a book as a starting point and then links to six other books to form a chain. A book doesn’t need to be connected to all the other books on the list, only to the one next to it in the chain.  I have seen other bloggers participate in this monthly event and when I read Margaret's post today (BooksPlease), I decided now is the time to begin, though this will go live a little late in the day.

The starting point of the chain this month is Alexander McCall Smith’s No.1 Ladies Detective Agency.  I haven't read this one (can't believe that, actually), but I have watched the TV adaptation.  So, here we go - and don't be surprised if my chains are mostly mystery/thriller/suspense related.  Ha!

This is the first book in the series featuring Precious Ramotswe and her assistant, Grace Makutsi.  Set in Botswana, this is a long-running series (18 books?), that is filled with humor and charm.  I need to read or listen to this one - maybe listen - bet the narrator would be great.

 
From Botswana, we move to Ghana in the northern part of Africa.  My next link is Wife of the Gods by Kwei Quartey.  This is the first book in this author's Detective Inspector Darko Dawson series.  I read and discussed it with the mystery group several years ago.  There are now 5 books in this interesting and unusual series.
 

Since Darko Dawson is a Detective Inspector, I decided to feature another person with this job title and settled on the first Detective Inspector Vera Stanhope mystery, The Crow Trap, ably written by the lovely Ann Cleeves.  I love Ann Cleeves' writing and also her passion for helping libraries when she can.  Vera is quite a character - a woman of a 'certain age' and not terribly warm and fuzzy, but canny.  I really liked this book when I read it last year.  I look forward to meeting Ann again when I attend the Malice Domestic Mystery Conference at the end of April and am excited that Brenda Blethyn (who plays Vera on the TV adaptations) will also be attending.

The Crow Trap has an environmental issue in the story and so that's my link to the next book, The Poacher's Son - the first Mike Bowditch mystery.  Mike is a Game Warden in the wilds of Maine and this series is created by Paul Doiron.  I have not read this book, as yet, but my husband has enjoyed it.  Love the setting of Maine and I look forward to starting this series at some point.

Maine is the tie-in for the next in the chain, Murder on the Rocks, also set in that state.  This is the first Gray Whale Inn mystery, penned by Karen MacInerney.  I have loved this series, but am a bit behind on it - 6 books so far.  It's sort of a cozy mystery and includes some tasty recipes.

 
Karen MacInerney has set her Gray Whale Inn series in Maine, but she herself resides here in my area of Central Texas - Austin.  Meg Gardiner, author of many thriller books, also resides in Austin.  Unsub is the first of her Caitlin Hendrix series, set in San Francisco, and inspired by the Zodiac Killer.  I'm really looking forward to reading this one soon.

 
And our last link is one that I hope is not a cheat.  Meg Gardiner's second book in the Unsub series is coming out on January 30th.  It is Into the Black Nowhere and is inspired by serial killer, Ted Bundy, and his crimes.  Again, I need to read Unsub, so I can go on to this one.

We come to the end of my first chain - Botswana to Ghana to Detective Inspector to Environment to Maine to Austin authors to 2nd book in a new series.  Wow.  This was fun and a bit hard.  I'll look forward to doing it again next month (February 3rd), when our starting place is Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders.