Hello readers,

I’ve been on a detective novel kick recently. From Harry Bosch novels by Michael Connelly, to Robert Galbraith’s (a.k.a. J.K. Rowling’s) excellent Cormoran Strike novels, I’m digging the mysteries of late. Good news for fellow fans of these books: the Cormoran Strike series is going to be adapted for a major new television series on BBC One, and Amazon has already released one season of Bosch, based on Connelly’s famous detective character. Stoked.

I’m not new to detective novels. When I was a kid, my sister and I had a fantastic collection of classic novels, which included many favourites – but some of our most-read books on the shelf were by far Nancy Drew books. I loved the series when I was younger. My top faves were – and still are – The Ghost of Blackwood Hall and The Secret of the Old Clock. Nancy Drew, the wunderkind detective, has inspired many similar characters since her first feature mystery in 1930. Enter in Harriet the Spy, the beloved child detective novel of 1964 – my generation grew up watching Michelle Trachtenberg (later, Georgina of Gossip Girl) as the precocious and curious sleuth in the 1996 film.

Recently, I found Veronica. That’s right, friends, I’m talking about Veronica Mars.

I had watched a few episodes of the TV cult fave here and there back when the series was on TV but didn’t really discover my love of the show until I found it on Netflix. I had followed the courageous Kickstarter campaign created by fans (“marshmallows”) and Veronica Mars cast members to fund a V-Mars film and wanted to watch the entire series before watching the movie. Loved every minute of it. Watch the show and definitely watch the movie (Kristen Bell is pretty awesome).

And then, friends, I found out about the books. Oh yes, there are books.

Following the film’s release, Rob Thomas, creator of the show, along with author Jennifer Graham, decided to keep Veronica’s story alive and feed fans’ addiction by starting a series where the movie left off. And they are SO good. The first novel, The Thousand Dollar Tan Line, was released last March. The second novel, Mr. Kiss and Tell, was released in January of this year. Each book is like reading an episode of the show – every character and scene is written so well that you can see everything happening just as if you were watching an episode on your couch. It’s wonderful.

If you’re looking for a quick and visual read, check out these books – but only after watching the series and movie.

Happy reading,
Katrina