Robert, erm, J.K. was great, but her audio books could only last so long in a marathon training schedule that went on for 31 weeks. Plus, I listened to a huge chunk of the third novel while painting the new garage. Whoops!

But I had an advantage, because this time when questing for the right audio book for running, I knew what I was looking for. I wanted a book like the Cormoran Strike novels. A week or so of research, recommendations, and message boards later, I found Tana French and the Dublin Murder Squad series.

What to say about these excellent novels? Tana French is a good writer, the narrators are strong, and the mysteries are intriguing. The first novel in the series, In the Woods,  was eerie and interesting. The second, The Likeness, even more so. Haunting but fast paced. Dark without being dreary. Layered characters who you actually like. A mystery that leaves a little mystery behind after the conclusion.

Even better, I found that the series was well established. The sixth book had recently been published. Perfect! Hours of running entertainment! And then I went to download the third novel in the series, and found that the audio books for 3-5 in the series aren’t available in Canada. Damn.

I would not be burned again. I limited my search to Canadian mystery writers, and very soon came across the Chief Inspector Armand Gamache novels by Louise Penny. Not only are these great for running, the narrator for the first six novels – Adam Sims – is extraordinary. I was right pissed off when the middling Ralph Cosham took over the narration for book seven. Anyway, it’s nice to read something unabashedly Canadian, or Canadien rather. Plus, the Quebecois accents have really helped with my poor French pronunciation. I’m on book eight now, and I am admittedly getting a bit worn out, but the series did build nicely to book six.

So that’s it, that’s all. Go listen to something.