8. Smoke Detector by Eric Wright

Eric Wright is a Canadian mystery writer, whose main character, Inspector Charlie Salter, works for the Toronto Metropolitan Police. This is the first one I've read, but he's published tons and has a great reputation. The mystery was light, about an antique dealer who died of smoke inhalation in a suspicious fire in his shop. It was well put together and had some interesting characters. What kept me into it more was the Inspector and the life around him. This is a pretty common set up in mysteries, where the detective solves a different mystery each book, but his or her own life follows a greater story arc that keeps the reader hooked. In this case, Salter is on the outs with the force because he doesn't follow the politics well. He also has two boys, including a teenager with whom he can barely relate. He's old school and kind of funny about it. I wouldn't recommend that you run out and buy this book, but I'm going to be keeping my eyes open for any others in the series if I have nothing to read. It's also cool that they take place in Toronto, because I knew a lot of the locations.