Mystery Reader's Advisory

VOYA

This installment in the Readers' Advisory series tackles the formidable world of mysteries with great success. Covering everything a librarian would need to know to successfully build and promote a mystery collection, the authors include chapters on weeding and marketing the collection, with a great section on how to do a readers' advisory interview. The book is also a good general reading choice for anyone interested in the mystery genre, librarian or not. The authors give a large amount of excellent information in an easily accessible manner. The text is peppered with authors and titles to know and plenty of plot teasers to fill your reading list. There are thorough discussions of the different subgenres, from police procedural to romantic suspense and other genre blends. The booklists of titles by genre and by theme are annotated with succinct one-sentence descriptions, although they are all adult titles. The lists of mystery periodicals, reference sources, and Web sites are well-rounded and up-to-date. This resource would be a fine choice for the newbie just starting to learn about the mystery genre, as well as a lot of fun for the die-hard mystery fan. It is important to note, however, that there is nothing here relating specifically to young adult collections. That being said, young adult readers do gravitate to mysteries, and this reference could certainly assist in finding titles that match what the reader is looking for. Index. Biblio. Appendix. 2002, ALA Editions, 225p,
— Rebecca Vnuk

Library Journal

For those who work with genre readers, these two guides are must-haves. Herald, a former readers' advisory librarian and author of several other titles in the "Genreflecting Advisory" series, and Kunzel, teen specialist in the youth services department of Princeton Public Library, NJ, separate science fiction into broad subgenres such as "General Science Fiction Adventure" and "Triumphs and Travails of Technology" and then categorize them further into sub-subgenres, like "Space Opera" and "Virtual Reality," giving annotated lists of representative titles for each. By excluding fantasy and horror, the strict focus on sf makes the guide easier to use, and while the category names may be somewhat arbitrary, a little searching yields good results for readers seeking books similar to others they have enjoyed. Good indexing, by author, title, subject, and character name, along with chapters devoted to books written for children and young adults and genre-blended books (such as science fiction/ romance or science fiction/mystery), sets this reference apart. Mystery Readers' Advisory is another excellent guide for readers' advisory professionals, to be used quite differently. While annotated lists of mysteries by themes, subgenres, and awards are presented here, the book's focus is more on learning about the mystery genre and its readers than about finding specific titles. This is true for the "ALA Readers' Advisory" series in general. The tone is chatty: one professional to another (the authors are librarians and mystery buffs), and the information is quite useful, especially for readers' advisors new to the field. The various subgenres are explored, such as mysteries with private investigators, amateur sleuths, or police procedurals, and a good section on conducting readers' advisory interviews is included. A great chapter on marketing your collection with displays and programming is invaluable. So, shelve Strictly Science Fiction prominently with others in the genre series, for your patrons to browse, and keep The Mystery Readers' Advisory on your own desk to read and refer to. [Readers' advisors needing further professional assistance with genre fiction can turn to another title in the ALA series, Derek M. Buker's The Science Fiction and Fantasy Readers' Advisory: The Librarian's Guide to Cyborgs, Aliens, and Sorcerers.-Ed.]-Jennifer Baker, Seattle P.L.