This is my stop during the blog tour for Amanda Lester and the Pink Sugar Conspiracy by Paula Berinstein. This blog tour is organized by Lola's Blog Tours. The blog tour runs from 18 till 31 July, you can view the complete tour schedule here. For my stop, I asked Paula to share her top ten favorite sleuths.
Paula Berinstein's Top Ten Favorite Sleuths
Selecting a top ten anything is difficult. Coming up with my top ten favorite sleuths is close to impossible. So I’ve created a list that includes both the classic and the new, the predictable and the offbeat. I’d love to hear what your choices would be! Here are mine.
Sherlock Holmes. Well, duh. C. Auguste Dupin might have been the “first” detective, but Holmes is indisputably the greatest—the one from whom all the others spring, so I gotta have him. My favorite Holmes story is The Hound of the Baskervilles because of the atmosphere.
Barbara Havers. Sergeant Havers is Thomas Lynley’s sidekick in Elizabeth George’s outstanding Inspector Lynley series, and she’s really grown on me. Her personal life is a disaster. She rumples her clothes just by looking at them and can barely manage to organize her life, if “organize” even applies to her. She flouts the rules and constantly brings trouble on herself. But she’s astute and perceptive and a top-notch detective. I just love her. Start with A Great Deliverance.
Nancy Drew. Another classic, and one I think of as formative for me personally. When I was a kid, my friends and I used to compete to see who could read the most Nancy Drew books. I can’t remember who won, but since it was so much fun it doesn’t matter. I love the Nancy Drew games too. I have tons of them. I don’t like the part in the middle where they start the clock and make you do things really fast, though. I always get stuck there. Start with The Secret of the Old Clock.
Aloysius Pendergast. Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child’s very rich, very weird FBI special agent from New Orleans is one of my current favorites. I love the way the authors infuse magical realism into their novels. Because of the almost supernatural element, Pendergast is practically superhuman, but not quite. I highly recommend this series for anyone who likes mysteries. The fifteenth title just came out, but start with Relic.
Hermione Granger. Now before you tell me that this Harry Potter kid isn’t a detective, think about the stories a little. Each of J.K. Rowling’s Potter books centers around a mystery: what and where is the philospher’s stone, where is the chamber of secrets and what does it hold, who is the Half-blood Prince, where are the horcruxes, etc. And who manages to get to the heart of each matter? Hermione. She’s so dedicated that she even time travels in order to make time for her sleuthing. Sure, she’s a little bossy, but nobody’s perfect.
Inspector Clouseau. Speaking of disasters, Blake Edwards’s detective from the Pink Panther movies is just about the silliest you’ll find. The TV detective Dirk Gently, played by Stephen Mangan, gives him a run for his money, but Clouseau is still the funniest with his signature “Do you have a room?” query and his combative houseboy.
Cracker. Sure, he’s a hard drinking, chain-smoking wreck of a human being, but Robbie Coltrane gives “Fitz” Fitzgerald such magnetism that I don’t care. I wish they’d made more episodes, though. Maybe they’ll bring him back?
Monk. I do seem to like dysfunctional detectives, and Adrian Monk is right up there. Of course if you’re going to give a detective a disease, obsessive-compulsive disorder is the perfect one because it helps him solve cases, even as it gets in the way of his life. Fortunately for us, the way Monk manifests his affliction is laugh out loud funny as well as highly effective.
Lieutenant Provenza. G.W. Bailey’s L.A. cop in the TV series “The Closer” and “Major Crimes” may be an old guy (ahem—he isn’t the only one), but he’s way sharper than his younger colleagues. And funny! I’d want him on my team if I were the captain. Or maybe he should be the captain.
Mma Precious Ramotswe. Talk about something different, this wonderful Botswanan detective from Alexander McCall Smith’s series The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency is a true pioneer. Despite a lack of funds and infrastructure, she sets up the first detective agency in the country and makes it thrive. Her secretary cum assistant detective, Mma Grace Makutsi, is a hoot as well. Start with The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency.
So, you ask, why not Hercule Poirot, Miss Marple, G. Lestrade, Lord Peter Wimsey, Adam Dalgleish, Harriet Vane, Joe Pickett, Walt Longmire, Joe Leaphorn, Jim Chee, and Spencer Reid? Then again, why not Morse, Rebus, DCI Banks, Alec Hardy, the Hardy Boys, Trixie Belden, John Watson, Harry Potter, Jules Maigret, Easy Rawlins, Thomas Lynley, Kinsey Millhone, Gerry Standing, Philip Marlowe, Sam Spade, Jane Tennison, or Anthony Dinozzo? Because I had to be ruthless. But I love them all too! (And there are more where they came from!)
Pink Sugar Conspiracy Blog Tour, July 2016
Paula Berinstein
*****
Facebook group event
On 28 July, Paula Berinstein will do an event in the Blind Date With a Book Facebook Group. There will be giveaways, discussions and more!
Start this series for free!
You can get Amanda Lester and the Pink Sugar Conspiracy for free at Amazon, B&N, Kobo or Smashwords!
Amanda Lester and the Pink Sugar Conspiracy (Amanda Lester, Detective #1)by Paula Berinstein
Genre: Mystery/ Detective/ Fantasy
Age category: Middle Grade
Blurb:
Amanda Lester wouldn’t be caught dead going into the family business. Her ancestor, Sherlock Holmes’s colleague Inspector G. Lestrade, is a twit. Nevertheless her parents refuse to see his flaws, and she’s going to a secret English school for the descendants of famous detectives whether she likes it or not.
When Amanda arrives at the dreaded school, she considers running away—until she and her new friends discover blood and weird pink substances in odd places. At first they’re not sure whether these oddities mean anything, but when Amanda’s father disappears and the cook is found dead with her head in a bag of sugar, they’re certain that crimes are taking place.
Now Amanda must embrace her destiny and uncover the truth. The only snag is that arch-villain Blixus Moriarty, a descendant of Holmes’s nemesis Professor James Moriarty, might be involved, and he doesn’t like nosy little girls interfering in his business.
You can find Amanda Lester and the Pink Sugar Conspiracy on Goodreads
Amanda Lester and the Pink Sugar Conspiracy is free now on all vendor sites! Grab your free copy here:
- Amazon
- Amazon Paperback
- Barnes & Noble
- Kobo
- Smashwords
Get the box set with the first four books in this series!
Amanda Lester box set (Amanda Lester, Detective #1-4)by Paula Berinstein
Genre: Mystery/ Detective/ Fantasy
Age category: Middle Grade/ Young Adult
Release Date: July 4, 2016
Blurb:
"Sherlock Holmes meets Nancy Drew meets Harry Potter."
This set includes all four Amanda Lester, Detective books from the first year at the Legatum Continuatum Enduring School for Detectives.
Book 1, Amanda Lester and the Pink Sugar Conspiracy
Book 2, Amanda Lester and the Orange Crystal Crisis
Book 3, Amanda Lester and the Purple Rainbow Puzzle
Book 4, Amanda Lester and the Blue Peacocks' Secret
Amanda Lester wouldn’t be caught dead going into the family business. Her ancestor, Sherlock Holmes’s colleague Inspector G. Lestrade, is a twit. Nevertheless her parents refuse to see his flaws, and she’s going to a secret English school for the descendants of famous detectives whether she likes it or not.
When Amanda arrives at the dreaded school, she considers running away—until she and her new friends discover blood and weird pink substances in odd places. At first they’re not sure whether these oddities mean anything, but when Amanda’s father disappears and the cook is found dead with her head in a bag of sugar, they’re certain that crimes are taking place.
Now Amanda must embrace her destiny and uncover the truth. The only snag is that arch-villain Blixus Moriarty, a descendant of Holmes’s nemesis Professor James Moriarty, might be involved, and he doesn’t like nosy little girls interfering in his business.
Follow the exciting adventures of the girl who learned that sometimes you need to be part of something larger than yourself.
You can find Amanda Lester box set on Goodreads
You can buy the Amanda Lester box set here:
- Amazon
- Amazon UK
About the Author:Paula Berinstein is nothing like Amanda. For one thing, she’s crazy about Sherlock Holmes. For another, she’s never wanted to be a filmmaker. In addition, compared to Amanda she’s a big chicken! And she wouldn’t mind going to a secret school at all. In fact, she’s hoping that some day she’ll get to build one.
You can find and contact Paula here:
- Website
- Goodreads
- Paula's blog on Goodreads
- The Writing Show podcasts
- Newsletter
Giveaway!
There is a tour wide giveaway for the blog tour of Amanda Lester and the Pink Sugar Conspiracy. Open International. These are the prizes you can win:
- One $40 Amazon gift card
- Two copies Amanda Lester and the Pink Sugar Conspiracy (hardback edition)
- One copy Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone: The Illustrated Edition (hardback)
- One Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, Book 1 Audible – Unabridged, narrator Jim Dale
- One Nancy Drew videogame from Her Interactive (winner's choice).
- One surprise book, you pick the genre. Paperback only.
For a chance to win, enter the rafflecopter below:
a Rafflecopter giveaway
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