The Northeastern Readers' Advisory Round Table studies a MYSTERY ARC: ARC#2--American Police Procedurals

(Note: All NE M RA RT discussions will be Virtual Zoom meetings sponsored by a member library. Members will receive a link to sign-up via our Google Group, anyone else who is interested should email Leane at rapotential@gmail.com)

Our current topic, American Police Procedurals (9/23/25) continues our four-meeting Mystery Arc which began with Private Detectives in May (5/27/25). We follow in November with British Police Procedurals (11/25/25), and then conclude with British Cozies (1/27/26) in January, 2026.

For the Mystery American Police Procedural benchmark, everyone reads Michael Connelly’s The Late Show: Renée Ballard#1/Harry Bosch#19 (2017).  In addition to reading the Benchmark, come to the discussion with at least one to three authors/titles that you feel are a good Readalike for this novel, and be prepared to explain why based on Appeal.

Also, please choose a Mystery American Police Procedural Choice Title from the list provided, or one you choose yourself and provide at least one to three Readalikes for that Mystery PI Choice title based on the Appeal of the book you read as well as write a brief review on our blog under Submit Choice Titles.

See NE RA RT BLOG for more information and list of Resources.

Meeting every other month, the NE RA RT reads from one genre or topic--and then discusses the appeal of that genre with each other emphasizing the building of a skill set of appeal categories and familiarity of genre/topic particulars. We cover a different genre/topic every meeting, allowing each of the participants to be introduced to the discipline of reading for appeal, as well as an initiation to broad genre categories. Everyone participating will be able to share analysis of titles and authors in unfamiliar genres that will stretch their capacity as readers' advisors.  The discussion leader is Leane Ellis (rapotential@gmail.com).