Murder, she set. . .

At our library shows, we always like to have a fun draw and enable a few librarians to win some books. This year at the recent OLA, we decided to showcase some of our recent and upcoming mystery novels - set around the world - and ask librarians which locale most appeals when it comes to murder. Each librarian could vote for three titles/places with the winners receiving their chosen books.

So, does place make a difference in reading tastes? Overall, no - all of the locales got multiple votes although we did have three clear frontrunners. Regardless, this would be a fun list to recommend to mystery readers looking to discover a new writer while getting in some armchair travel on the side.

The contenders (in no particular order) were the following:

Japan: Grotesque by Natsuo Kirino

Sweden: Black Path by Asa Larsson

Norway: Nemesis by Jo Nesbo

Pakistan: A Case of Exploding Mangoes by Mohammed Hanif

Russia: Special Assignments by Boris Akunin

France: A Twist of Orchids by Michelle Wan

Toronto: Buffalo Jump by Howard Shrier

England: A Killing Frost by R. D. Wingfield

Laos: Anarchy and Old Dogs by Colin Cotterill

The Future in a Land Far, Far, Away (okay, we had were having some fun with this one) Bone Song by John Meany

After hundreds of votes, the top three preferred locations were: France, England and Norway!

Thanks to all the librarians who dropped by the booth and participated, and congratulations to our three winners:

Karen Schecter: Smiths Falls Public Library

Alison Brumwell: Barrie Public Library

Karen Park: Aurora Public Library