Spuddie's comments (member since Dec 13, 2007)

Spuddie's comments from the mystery lovers group.

Vicki wrote: There aren't many of the Carlotta Carlyle books and I wish it weren't so. It is one of my favorite series.

Well, there's a dozen of them--that's a fairly decent run for a series. Hopefully there'll be more? The last was published in 2008 so far.

Current reads for me: GROUNDS FOR MURDER by Sandra Balzo, THE CHALK CIRCLE MAN by Fred Vargas.

Cheryl

I'm working on 2 mysteries--SAND SHARKS by Margaret Maron (which I'm listening to) and STEEL GUITAR by Linda Barnes in print. I'm enjoying the Carlotta Carlyle series, was surprised it had stayed below my radar for so long.

I'm currently reading The Paper Moon by Andrea Camilleri (#9 Instpector Montalbano series set in Sicily) and The Cruelest Month by Louise Penny (#3 Armand Gamache series in Three Pines, Quebec) and in audio, am about to start listening to Grave Secret by Charlaine Harris (#4 Harper Connelly paranormal mystery.)

Just finished up the latest Deborah Crombie (Necessary as Blood), which was great as usual, and am now starting The Cruelest Month by Louise Penny and Patience of the Spider by Andrea Camilleri.

I'm about halfway through Karen E. Olson's first Tattoo Shop mystery, The Missing Ink. I like it, but I have to admit I like her other series featuring newspaper reporter Annie Seymour, better. At least so far. This series seems to be less edgy, more cookie-cutter cozy, despite the interesting setting and premise. Maybe it's just early days yet and I haven't really got a good grasp on the main character yet.

I agree with you about Freeman's series, Mike. I used to live in Duluth and when I read Immoral, I thought he really brought the area to life. I wasn't so fond of the second one (set in Vegas) but I understand he's back in Duluth for Stalked--I have the next two here on my TBR.

I am almost done reading A DUTY TO THE DEAD by Charles Todd, first of a new series featuring WWI nurse Bess Crawford. I had tried his Ian Rutledge series years ago and it didn't capture me then, but after reading this one, I'm going to give it another go! This one is fantastic!

Stephen, I can't say that I've really noticed it, so it must not be a problem! LOL I'm about halfway through it now and really enjoying it so far. It's a little "different" but you know, that's usually a good thing.

I've just started A Carrion Death by Michael Stanley and so far am enjoying getting to know Detective Kubu.

I agree, love the Matthew Shardlake series--finished up Sovereign and am sitting on Revelation for awhile, otherwise will be waiting forEVER til the next one. (Heartstone comes out sometime next year, I think.)

I'm currently reading The Dead Place by Stephen Booth and Death of a Celebrity by M.C. Beaton. Rather different in tone and content, but enjoying both so far.

Cheryl

I just started Sovereign by C.J. Sansom, a historical mystery set in the time of Henry VIII. So far, so good! My other reads (and listens) are non-mystery at the moment.

Cheryl

Just another perspective, I thought The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo was okay, but did not nearly live up to all the hype. I almost gave up on it--very slow beginning--and would have, had not I heard from several other folks that it takes a good while to get going. I thought it meandered around way too much, and that the ending was very anticlimactic, almost an afterthought. I have the second one in the series here, but I am not as excited to read it as I was before I read the first one. LOL

I think sometimes books like this really suffer somewhat from the "hype-itis" such that our expectations are so high there's no way they could live up to them. Another book I just finished like that is The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane. I think I would have enjoyed both of these more had I not heard so much "buzz" about them ahead of time.

Cheryl

I just finished up the first Lew Griffin mystery by James Sallis (The Long-Legged Fly) and have now started the most recent Dr. Siri book by Colin Cotterill, The Merry Misogynist. Always a treat!

Cheryl

I don't pay much attention either way to any type of awards, nominations, etc. Usually I notice after I've read the book that it won an award. I've read some award winners/nominees that seem very deserving, and others that made me think that the author must've paid someone off (a great deal!) to get the nomination. LOL

Cheryl

I'm currently in the midst of a good old P.D. James classic, Unnatural Causes, which is the third Adam Dalgliesh mystery. Loving it so far, I know I read it many years ago but can't remember whodunit.

My other read (and my current audio) aren't mystery so won't talk about those. LOL

Cheryl

Echoes From the Dead ended up being AWESOME! Highly recommended. I am currently reading The Serpent's Tale by Ariana Franklin and the other stuff I'm reading isn't mystery so won't discuss here. LOL

Cheryl

I found this ISBN for Bad Guys by Linwood Barclay on Amazon: 0553587056. If you can't find a book here under "goodreads search" there is a radio tab you can click to search Amazon's database, which is probably a little broader.

Re: Billingham, I loved Sleepyhead and so far each other other subsequent books in the series I've read have been good too--if rather grisly at times.

Speaking of Swedes, I've just picked up Echoes From the Dead by Johan Theorin. I'm only a couple of chapters in but it's very compelling so far!

Cheryl

I think any series will grow wearisome if you read them back to back to back...I am in the midst of well over a hundred series, and often will read only a couple from each series in a given year, so it takes me a long time to get to the end--especially if the author's still writing! Very occasionally there'll be a series I really enjoy and might read two back to back, but that's my limit. Occasionally there will be a series where I'll read one every couple of months to catch up and find myself WAITING for the next release. I'm at that stage with Margaret Maron's Judge Knott and Deborah Crombie's Kincaid/James series now.

I gave up on Evanovich in the middle of Hard Eight and haven't looked back. I hear she STILL hasn't decided between Joe and Ranger, and I keep saying when I hear that Joe and Ranger have hooked up and ride off into the sunset together leaving Stephanie with Grandma Mazur, I *might* go back and read that one. LOL

I haven't read a James Patterson book in eons. Jonathan Kellerman and his wife Faye's series used to be favorites, but I lost interest in those about five years ago, too. Cornwell I gave up on fairly early on, but not because the books became formulaic, it was because they were just terrible. LOL Mostly, I just don't even browse the bestseller list anymore...I like a lot of quirky, less-well-known authors.

I still enjoy Martha Grimes' series and also Sue Grafton's. Maybe it's because I didn't/don't read them all at once and they're well-spaced with other things in between, I don't know. Granted, most authors of long-running series have a stinker or two in the mix, but if they have gotten me to really care about the characters, I'm generally willing to wade through those to get to more good stuff.

Cheryl

I discovered audiobooks a couple of years ago and this year have really started "taking off" with them. I used to hate having to stop reading to cook, clean, do my daily walk, etc...now I get the downloadable versions of audio books from my library, tuck my MP3 player in my pocket and "read" while I'm doing this stuff...it's great! (and free! LOL)

I will listen to anything that George Guidall narrates, he is WONDERFUL. My female favorite is C.J. Critt. There are some readers I've liked for one series or book who just don't seem to "suit" a different series or book very well.

Some series that I particularly enjoy in audio:

Craig Johnson's "Walt Longmire" series
Margaret Maron's Judge Deborah Knott series
Linda Barnes Carlotta Carlyle
Laura Lippman's Tess Monaghan
Rita Mae Brown's "Mrs Murphy" (which are pretty cozy for me, I probably wouldn't read these, but the reader, Kate Forbes, does a wonderful job and makes the books very entertaining.)

I also listen to a lot of fantasy series this way...Rick Riordan's "Percy Jackson and the Olympians" was awesome in audio, read by Jesse Bernstein, and have listened to several of Anne McCaffrey's "Pern" series--multiple different readers. Another series I'm in the midst of is the Charlie Bone YA fantasy series by Jenny Nimmo. So far they've all been read by Simon Russell Beale who does a fantastic job--I see there's a different reader for a couple of later ones...and I do hate when that happens, it gives a total different feel to the series.

Recently, I really enjoyed the audio version of Malla Nunn's "A Beautiful Place to Die" which was read by Saul Reichlin--he did a marvelous job with a whole bunch of different accents. (The book was set in South Africa.) And just finished Alan Bradley's "The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie" which was great.

Cheryl

I am in the "I loved the early ones, quit after about book six or so" camp and never looked back. I didn't even finish whichever one I quit during and wanted to throw the book at the wall. I'm a bit fanatical about reading series in order, so skipping a bunch of "bad" ones to try a newer one is something I just wouldn't do.

Cheryl

Purse book (paperback)--Unpaid Dues by Barbara Seranella
General print read--Labyrinth by Kate Mosse
Audio book--The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane by Katherine Howe.

Haven't been around Goodreads Groups much (or Goodreads in general) but am on vacation this week, so am in the process of updating my shelves here and thought I'd pop in to my groups and say hi, too. :)

Cheryl