Author Guide | BookFairy
📖 About Rodica Ojog-Brașoveanu
Rodica Ojog-Brașoveanu was one of Romania’s most important crime writers, and for me she is also one of those authors whose books became part of my reading life very early. Born in Bucharest on 28 August 1939, she initially studied law, although her studies were interrupted for political reasons in the 1950s. She later resumed them in Iași, qualified as a lawyer and practised for several years before eventually leaving law behind to write full-time.
Her writing career began with a television script in 1969. Her first crime novel, Moartea semnează indescifrabil, appeared in 1971 after her husband, actor Cosma Brașoveanu, encouraged her to write it. By 1999 she had published 35 novels, most of them crime fiction, although she also experimented with historical fiction and even science fiction. She died in Bucharest on 2 September 2002.
What makes her crime novels so enjoyable to me is not only the mystery. It is the humour, the social observation and the characters. People in her books can be ridiculous, vain, selfish, clever, manipulative, charming or completely convinced of their own importance, and she has a wonderful way of exposing all of that without turning the story into a lecture.
Why I Read Rodica Ojog-Brașoveanu
My relationship with her books started with Bună seara, Melania!, the first Rodica Ojog-Brașoveanu novel I ever read. That book introduced me not only to Melania Lupu, but also to Mirciulică, her unforgettable black cat, and opened the door to an author whose mysteries I would continue to enjoy for years.
Her crime fiction is where she works best for me. I love the clever plots, the humour and the way apparently unimportant people or details can suddenly become essential. Her attempts at historical fiction have never worked nearly as well for me, but when she is writing mysteries, especially when she allows her humour to come through, she can be absolutely brilliant.
That difference is part of what makes reading through her bibliography interesting. I do not automatically love everything simply because her name is on the cover. Some books work much better for me than others. But when a Rodica Ojog-Brașoveanu mystery clicks, it really clicks.
📚 Books Reviewed on BookFairy
Explore my reviews of Rodica Ojog-Brașoveanu’s books, from classic Romanian crime fiction and standalone mysteries to the wonderfully eccentric world of Melania Lupu. Each review includes my personal thoughts, book details and information about the Romanian edition.
📖 Reading Order
📚 Melania Lupu Series — Publication Order
- Cianură pentru un surâs
- Bună seara, Melania!
- 320 de pisici negre
- Anonima de miercuri
- Dispariția statuii din parc
- O toaletă à la Liz Taylor
💜 BookFairy Recommendation: If you want to follow Melania Lupu’s adventures as they were published, start with Cianură pentru un surâs. If you simply want to discover why I became so fond of Melania and Mirciulică, Bună seara, Melania! is an irresistible introduction.
⭐ Where Should You Start?
New to Rodica Ojog-Brașoveanu? I would begin with her crime fiction. This is where her sharp humour, clever plotting and wonderfully observant eye for human behaviour work best for me.
If you want to read the Melania Lupu books in order, start with Cianură pentru un surâs. If you would rather begin with the book that introduced me personally to Rodica Ojog-Brașoveanu, choose Bună seara, Melania!.
For readers who prefer standalone mysteries, Apel din necunoscut, Enigmă la mansardă and Răzbunarea sluților are all excellent places to explore her particular mixture of crime, irony, social observation and humour.
💜 My Favourite Rodica Ojog-Brașoveanu Book
320 de pisici negre is my favourite Rodica Ojog-Brașoveanu novel.
There are several books of hers that I love, especially the crime novels, but this is the one that stands out most for me. It has exactly the combination I enjoy most in her writing: mystery, humour, memorable characters and that very particular way she has of making human behaviour just as interesting as the crime itself.
And, of course, it belongs to the Melania Lupu series, which makes it even more special to me. Melania is one of those characters who can be funny, irritating, clever, unpredictable and completely unforgettable, often all at once, and 320 de pisici negre captures so much of what I enjoy about this world.
If I had to choose just one Rodica Ojog-Brașoveanu book to keep as a favourite, this would be it.