I’m reading Living Witness, the 24th book in Haddam’s Gregor Demarkian series.

If you’re not familiar with these books and you’re a mystery reader, you should give them a shot. It’s one of those series which really needs to be read in order. Demarkian is an interesting character and he lives in an interesting place: an Armenian-American enclave in Philadelphia which has grown from its tenement roots into a gentrifying neighborhood.

One of the aspects of Haddam’s books that I enjoy is that she takes on cultural issues and makes them the centerpiece of the novels. In Living Witness it’s the argument about teaching Intelligent Design in schools. The Publisher’s Weekly review at Amazon says Haddam “takes a nuanced look at the debate over teaching evolution in public schools.” I don’t know where its reviewer found the nuances. Haddam makes no secret of her disdain for the ID argument; she does try to make some of its proponents somewhat sympathetic, but she makes it pretty clear that she comes down on the other side.

Give Gregor a try.