Kindle British Mystery Book Club discussion
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Your Last Read.
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Sandysbookaday (taking a step back for a while)
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Oct 09, 2017 07:59PM
There are so many really good books out there right now. Here's another one to add to your pile. ...
If You Only Knew by Cynthia Clark https://sandysbookaday.wordpress.com/...
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Her Last Secret by Barbara Copperthwaite was a DNF for me 😕 My review https://wordpress.com/post/sandysbook...
Finished
Weycombe by G.M. Malliet yesterday. Not at all what I was expecting, but it turned out to be a really good read. https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Interesting, Sandy because the Amazon.ca reviews are poor! I was hesitating to buy it
I just finished reading And The Wolf Shall Dwell by Joni Dee. You can read my review at http://world-of-sleuths.blogspot.com/....
I was lucky enough to be gifted a copy of
London Noir by author Ann Girdharry. My review https://sandysbookaday.wordpress.com/...
Beth wrote: "Interesting, Sandy because the Amazon.ca reviews are poor! I was hesitating to buy it"Hi Beth. I saw that. I think if you were fixated on getting a cosy which is, I believe, what this author normally writes, you might be disappointed. This is a bit darker, but not extremely so. I enjoyed it. 😊
Hi Beth. I saw that. I think if you were fixated on getting a cosy which is, I believe, what thi..."NO, I don't like reading "cozy mysteries" so that's why i was trying to determine in these reviews. Having said that .... i did listen to a number of those cozies on audible when in hospital .... they were good for camouflaging noise, don't have to pay much attention......
But to read in print....... nope not interested. Give me Agatha or Martha Grimes, any day
I think i may give this one a try!
Beth wrote: "Hi Beth. I saw that. I think if you were fixated on getting a cosy which is, I believe, what thi..."NO, I don't like reading "cozy mysteries" so that's why i was trying to determine in these revi..."
Let me know what you think. 😊
It was with great sorrow that I finally closed the cover on the last page of
A God in Ruins by Kate Atkinson My review https://wordpress.com/post/sandysbook...
Just finished a gripping psychological thriller that was just published this week
Silent Lies by Kathryn Croft. Felt like I'd been hit by a piece of 4 x 2 when I finished. Never saw that ending coming! My review https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Recently finished
Seven Days of Us by Francesca Hornak. Read my review at https://wordpress.com/post/sandysbook...Or https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Finished 3 reads over the past few days. ...
The Vanishing Box by Elly Griffiths My review https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... or
https://sandysbookaday.wordpress.com/...
Bloodline by Mark Billingham - my review https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... or
https://sandysbookaday.wordpress.com/...
And
The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie - my review https://sandysbookaday.wordpress.com/... orhttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Just finished a 💓☆☆☆☆☆💞 read
Broken Bones by Angela Marsons my review https://www.goodreads.com/review/show..., or
https://sandysbookaday.wordpress.com/...
Finished
The Shadows in the Street by Susan Hill, the fifth in a series I love. My review https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Finished
Dying Day: Absolutely gripping serial killer fiction by Stephen Edger, last night. My review https://sandysbookaday.wordpress.com/...Or https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Robert Bryndza's Erika Foster #5, Cold Blood
. Didn't enjoy nearly as much as the previous one.https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Another new author and new series for me to follow.
Dying Breath by Helen Phifer is suspenseful and chilling. My spoiler free review can be found at https://sandysbookaday.wordpress.com/... or
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Just finished
Her Best Friend by Sarah Wray 4.5☆ A slow burning read that draws you in ... my no spoiler review https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... or
https://sandysbookaday.wordpress.com/...
This was a lovely read and a nice break from my diet of crime thrillers.
Chord of Evil by Sarah Rayne is almost a cosy mystery. My spoiler free review can be found at https://sandysbookaday.wordpress.com/... or https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
A really good crime thriller with just the female lead I have been looking for
Evil Crimes by Michael Hambling. My spoiler free review can be found at https://sandysbookaday.wordpress.com/... orhttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Recently finished Murder at the Laurels by Lesley Cookman, second in a long running cosy series. (I'd read all the others, but hadn't been able to get hold of this one.) Like most long series, the early ones tend to be the best, and this one wasn't a bad read.Now reading some Joan Smith, a Canadian author, who writes Regencies with a touch of mystery. I find her a bit uneven; the writing flows well and the characterisation and dialogue are generally good, though not quite in the same class as Miss Heyer, but too often let down by poor research.
Recently finished a detective story set in 1942.
Somebody at the Door by Raymond Postgate. My spoiler free review can be found at https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... orhttps://sandysbookaday.wordpress.com/...
Finished
The Rose in Winter by Sarah HarrisonYou can find my spoiler free review at https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... orhttps://sandysbookaday.wordpress.com/...
Enjoyed this Golden Age detective story
Death Makes a Prophet by John Bude. My spoiler free review can be found on https://sandysbookaday.wordpress.com/... or https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Just finished "Holding" by Graham Norton, yep that Graham Norton. Really enjoyed the characters and the plot line, hope there's a next novel. Five stars..
Just finished
The Confession by Jo Spain. My spoiler free review can be found at https://sandysbookaday.wordpress.com/... and https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Finished a ☆☆☆☆☆debut novel
The Devil's Claw by Lara Dearman My spoiler free review can be found at https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... and my blog sandysbookaday.wordpress.com https://sandysbookaday.wordpress.com/...
Finished
Best Friends Forever by Margot Hunt over the weekend. An excellent psychological thriller. My spoiler free review can be found at https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... and on my blog sandysbookaday.wordpress.com https://sandysbookaday.wordpress.com/...
Finished and enjoyed
The Daughter by Lucy DawsonMy spoiler free review can be found at https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... and my blog sandysbookaday.wordpress.com https://sandysbookaday.wordpress.com/...
I haven't been taking part in the group for quite a while because I was writing a book on local history, and I found it didn't mix with reading murder mysteries, But I have read quite a few of the British Library reprintings, I quite enjoyed the first couple I read, but since then they seem terribly dated, They mostly written in the thirties, sometimes later, and I understand that at the time Agatha Christie was just one of this group - but it's quite clear why she's survived and they haven't, as she's far superior. The murder mystery has moved on a lot since these were written!
I just finished
by David Mark. I really liked it - a mystery series set in Hull. DS Aector McAvoy is the protagonist. I plan on reading more in the series.
Finished
Dark Angel by Helen H. Durrant earlier this week. A good addition to a solid crime series. My spoiler free review can be found at https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... and on my blog sandysbookaday.wordpress.com https://sandysbookaday.wordpress.com/...
AngryGreyCat wrote: "I just finished by David Mark. I really liked it - a mystery series set in Hull. DS Aector McAvoy is the protagonist. I plan on reading more in the series."Thanks for the tip! Adding this 😎
Extraordinary PeopleThis is the first book by Peter May that I have read and I enjoyed it. I didn't develop a warm, fuzzy feeling for Enzo, in fact, i thought he was rather unlikable. First he abandons his little girl when he leaves his first wife to live with his mistress. Then in middle age, he is ogling the breasts of young women.
Bernard, however, a minor supporting character, is the real hero. Unliked and insulted by Enzo, he never-the-less stands by Enzo and in the end, saves the day. Perhaps he should have been the main character of the book?
I liked the descriptions of Paris and surrounding areas, whether it was the catacombs or a Paris cafe! The clues were certainly not something i would have ever figured out but then, the people in the story who created them are supposed to have been at the top of their game. I should not be able to decipher the message; that requires a logical brain like Enzo's.
In summary, I enjoyed the book sufficiently that I would certainly read another by this author.
Two reviews to share-
Crossed Out by Malcolm Hollingdrake ☆☆☆☆ solid stars. My spoiler free review can be found at https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... and on my blog sandysbookaday.wordpress.com page https://sandysbookaday.wordpress.com/...The second
The Girlfriend by Michelle Frances which earned ☆☆☆ on my scale. My spoiler free review can be found at https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... and on my blog sandysbookaday.wordpress.com page https://sandysbookaday.wordpress.com/...
Another solid ☆☆☆☆ read was
The Intruder by P.S. Hogan. This has previously been published under the title A Pleasure and a Calling by Phil Hogan. My spoiler free review can be found at https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... and on my blog sandysbookaday.wordpress.com https://sandysbookaday.wordpress.com/...
Just finished re-reading 'Exit Music' by Ian Rankin, the one where Rebus retires at the end. I used to love reading Rebus, but in the end I got a bit tired - the last one I'd read was an early one, and it did seem mostly padding.I enjoyed re-reading this one, because Rankin is great at creating the atmosphere of Edinburgh, and Rebus is a great character. Even if the plot leaves you behind, you can still enjoy entering his world. I thought it would have been better a bit shorter and a bit less complicated - there were three plots (at least) intertwined, plus Rebus' longrunning battle with Big Ger Cafferty (a character I've never really taken to). The actual solutions to each one were a bit weak/ unsatisfactory I thought, but really the ending was more about the situation that they produced, giving the story a final, ironic twist, which was quite good. Has the perfect thriller been written? I think sometimes you just have to suspend your critical faculty, and go with the flow. So yes, it was a good book.
I ended up reading
(nominated as a February group read) and quite enjoyed it. Davies is the clumsy, unambitious DC who usually plays a bit part to the hero, but he is no stereotype; he is not a fool, nor is he quite as naive as he might seem. Rather, he's simply a decent person who refuses to give up hope for the people in his patch. The first book takes place in the 70s, when Davies is in his 30s, the third in the 90s. He never advances beyond DC; in the end, he is still 'the last detective' to be called.In the second book, he meets Jemma, a social worker from Martinique. She is more than his love interest; along with his professorial (and alcoholic) friend Mod, she actively participates in the mysteries.
The writing is quite good; Thomas' descriptions make the setting of the books come alive, whether in Davies' home patch in Willesden or on sick leave in Bournemouth. I have a vivid memory of late fall in London, and Thomas captures it perfectly, describing the falling dusk as 'enclosed' and 'pinched'; it's not just dark falling earlier or the gloom of November skies, but the light has a poor quality about it. Thomas also does quite well with Jemma; as noted, she is more than a love interest in the book. Davies is hardly the dapper type, but I was absolutely charmed by him and the respect the two show for one another is lovely.
Finished two Netgalley books last week, one moderately good read,
Best Friends by Carys Jones and one really good read
Little Liar by Clare Boyd. You can read my spoiler free reviews at https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... and https://sandysbookaday.wordpress.com/...And https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... or https://sandysbookaday.wordpress.com/...
Kindle British Mystery Book Club
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