Caper Mysteries

So Edgar the raven and I were talking about what we wanted to say, and cozies and capers came to mind. My mind...Edgar doesn't have one. He just sits atop his books and gives me the look that says, "write something, already!" 

A Caper mystery is one of my favorites. It diverges from a traditional mystery through its comic elements, adventure, or unusual cleverness and focuses on the steps taken to commit the crime and the personalities of the criminals. And, believe me, you will root for the criminal. 

When one thinks of a caper mystery, Donald Westlake immediately springs to mind. And it was he who first started me on the path of caper enjoyment. "Fugitive Pigeon", "God Save the Mark", "Why Me? are some good examples of stand-alone books. His Dortmunder series is especially entertaining. One of my favorite Dortmunder books is "What's the Worst that Could Happen?", with the tables turned on Mr. D. as he tries to retrieve the ring stolen from him by the person he was trying to rob. Word of warning though, if you like the book, do not see the movie.

Other authors with a caper bent are 

• Carl Hiaasen (Tourist Season, Basket Case, etc.) 
• Tim Dorsey (Cadillac Beach, Nuclear Jellyfish and the rest of his Serge the serial killer series), 
• Lawrence Block (the Burglar series with Bernie Rhodenbarr as the honest burglar)

I suppose one could make the case for Janet Evanovich and her Stephanie Plum series. The books certainly involve capers, but very little crime and I'd be more inclined to set them in the cozy or amateur sub-genre.

If you have any authors you would like considered, please leave a comment.