Starting/joining in with buddy reads Showing 1,051-1,100 of 1,332

[Susan in NC]

Well, I’m a historical mystery fan, so I’ll throw out the following (not sure of availability elsewhere):

1. Viscount St. Cyr series by C.S. Harris (Regency England, first book is What Angels Fear);
2. Jane Austen series by Stephanie Barron (still Regency England, first book is Jane and the Unpleasantness at Scargrave Manor);
3. Dame Frevisse series by Margaret Frazer (Middle Ages clerical setting, first book is The Novice's Tale);
4. Mentioned above, Priscilla Royal’s clerical series, first is Wine of Violence;
5. Mel Starr’s Hugh de Singleton series, surgeon in Medieval Oxford, first is The Unquiet Bones;
6. Someone also mentioned the Bernard Knight’s Crowner John series, first is The Sanctuary Seeker;
7. Michael Pearce’s Mamur Zapt series, set in Egypt under British control, first is The Mamur Zapt and the Return of the Carpet;
8. Also in Africa, of course, the Precious Ramotswe series, first is The Number One Ladies' Detective Agency, available probably everywhere and popular, but this group has probably read it;
9. Moving to Japan, the Sano Ichiri series by Laura Joh Rowland, first is Shinju.
10. Laos, 1970s, Colin Cotterill’s Dr. Siri Paiboun series, first is The Coroner's Lunch;
11. Modern day India, Tarquin Hall’s private detective series with Vish Puri, first is The Case of the Missing Servant;
12. 1920s India under the Raj, Abir Mukherjee’s
Sam Wyndham series, first is A Rising Man.

Modern police series, someone mentioned AAndrea Camilleri’s Inspector Montalbano series, set in Sicily; I’ve read the first, The Shape of Water, would like to read on. Unless too much like our Venetian Brunetti series, then maybe
Martin Walker’s series set in south of France, first is Bruno, Chief of Police. Also read the first, would like to read on.

Sorry to bang on like this, but my memory is a sieve, if I don’t write it down now, I’ll forget! It’s quiet right now, figured I’d get it down. Tried to stick with older series that might be available in other countries.

Merry Christmas, for all who celebrate!

[Susan]

Thanks, Susan. I read the Jane Austen books when they first came out, but they are difficult to get in the UK now and most not on kindle. There is actually a new series with Jane Austen as sleuth - I am currently reading it from NetGalley: Miss Austen Investigates: The Hapless Milliner

[Susan_MG]

Thank you for taking time to do this today. Happy Christmas!

[Susan in NC]

Susan_MG wrote: "Thank you for taking time to do this today. Happy Christmas!"

You are very welcome, must do things while they are fresh!😉 happy Christmas!

[Sandy]

Susan wrote: "Thanks, Susan. I read the Jane Austen books when they first came out, but they are difficult to get in the UK now and most not on kindle. There is actually a new series with Jane Austen as sleuth -..."

Oh dear! I am just about to start the 'old' Jane Austen series and now find I'm a whole series behind.

[Susan in NC]

Susan wrote: "Thanks, Susan. I read the Jane Austen books when they first came out, but they are difficult to get in the UK now and most not on kindle. There is actually a new series with Jane Austen as sleuth -..."

Oh, thanks Susan! That’s always the tricky bit, availability for everyone…that’s why I tried to think of as many as I could and figured if they were older (90s-early 2000s), might be more widely available or at least, cheap! And I was trying to find a decent backlist - a series with only 2-3 books might be a stinker, or tough to find (as it probably didn’t catch on).

[Susan in NC]

Sandy wrote: "Susan wrote: "Thanks, Susan. I read the Jane Austen books when they first came out, but they are difficult to get in the UK now and most not on kindle. There is actually a new series with Jane Aust..."

Can’t vouch for the new, but the old one is definitely worth the time, I thought, it was very well done and received, even by the Janeites, I think, and they are notoriously hard to please about any perceived borrowing of Jane!

[Sandy]

Susan in NC wrote: "Well, I’m a historical mystery fan, so I’ll throw out the following (not sure of availability elsewhere):

1. Viscount St. Cyr series by C.S. Harris (Regency England, first book is [book:What Angel..."

I am also a fan of historical mysteries. I love the St. Cyr series and read each as soon as it comes out. Happily read a few of Mamur Zapt and the first of most of the other series mentioned.

I'm almost current with #1 Ladies, but never sure if I should categorize them as 'real' mysteries. I see I have wavered on which GR shelf I store them.

[Susan_MG]

Thank you for all these book suggestions and the follow up comments. I think all but the Jane Austen are new to me. I’ve been a voracious reader since a very early age so it’s possible early authors will seem familiar. My retention of stories isn’t what it was when younger.
I am having very good luck finding less expensive copies of some titles from Abe’s Books. I’M in USA but I notice UK used book sellers listed often on Abe’s too.

[Susan in NC]

Sandy wrote: "Susan in NC wrote: "Well, I’m a historical mystery fan, so I’ll throw out the following (not sure of availability elsewhere):

1. Viscount St. Cyr series by C.S. Harris (Regency England, first book..."

I had a feeling from past discussions, most of us have read some or all of the series I mentioned! I have been getting two other authors suggested to me by Amazon and other sources, Patricia Moyes (Insp. Henry Tibbett, Dead Men Don't Ski) and Dorothy Simpson’s Inspector Thanet series (The Night She Died). Haven’t read them, but several mysteries in each series and pretty good GR ratings.

[Susan]

I think we have three historical mysteries running, so when one ends, we will have a look. I agree older mysteries are best, as they generally have more books. I haven't read the St Cyr series, so that could be a possibility if enough of us haven't read them all.

[Susan_MG]

Most of the St Cyr series are at my local library. I’m very amenable to going along with the group preferences.

[Susan]

The Bronte Sisters mysteries are fun, although there are only a few.
The Vanished Bride is the first.

Also, there are the Mitford mysteries. The Mitford Murders is the first in the series.

[Keith]

I hope my comments on Kindle maintenance are of help. I really think the main problem is just a flat battery which should be OK when charged. Let me know if it still doesn't work.

Here in NZ Christmas Day was 'warm', over 30C in places. The North Island had showers and later on in the evening, heavy rain at times. (We often have a wet Christmas Day)
My love to all of you lasses, what would we do without you, especially Susan who constantly comes up with lists of reading - where on earth do you get them from?

Today is Boxing Day, too late to wish you all a Merry Christmas (I hate all this 'Happy Holidays' rubbish) It's New Year next week,so a Happy, Healthy New Year to you all.

[Jill]

While I am thinking about it, have we ever thought of Ruth Rendell or are the books hard to get?

[Susan]

I haven't read many Rendell's, Judy, but I think they are readily available. Were you thinking her series or her Barbara Vine pseudonym books?

[Sandy]

Keith wrote: "I hope my comments on Kindle maintenance are of help. I really think the main problem is just a flat battery which should be OK when charged. Let me know if it still doesn't work.

Here in NZ Chris..."

Your kindle suggestion worked wonders and I am very grateful.

[Sandy]

Susan wrote: "I think we have three historical mysteries running, so when one ends, we will have a look. I agree older mysteries are best, as they generally have more books. I haven't read the St Cyr series, so ..."

A bit of a 'warning' about the St Cyr series; it is one of those where the main character has a complicated back story with small revelations as the books continue. I know this is not to everyone's liking and often not to mine but I forgive it in this series.

[Jill]

Susan wrote: "I haven't read many Rendell's, Judy, but I think they are readily available. Were you thinking her series or her Barbara Vine pseudonym books?"

I was thinking of her Wexford books.

[Susan]

OK. I think I've only read the first, so definitely an option. Thanks, Jill.

[Jill]

It seems a lot of people liked the Charlotte MacLeod book so she may be worth bearing in mind

[Susan]

I didn't, but yes, absolutely. That could be a good series, if a mod is willing to lead it.

[Susan]

I was thinking of reading the Erast Fandorin series. Has anyone read them? The first is The Winter Queen

This is the first book featuring Erast Fandorin, a gentleman sleuth who solves murders and mysteries in tsarist Russia. A 23 year old law student commits suicide in broad daylight in Moscow's Alexander Gardens. Fandorin is put on the case to find out what drove him to it, a case that deepens as he discovers that the young man was the son of a rich and influential factory owner. The story is enhanced by its authentic backdrop of nineteenth century Russia. After all, it's difficult to keep your mind on a case when the new Dostoyevsky novel has just hit the shops. Fandorin has been described as 'the James Bond of the 19th century' and Akunin has been compared to Gogol, Tolstoy and Conan Doyle.

I think Judy mentioned them once? Would anyone like to try one as a buddy or think the series is worth reading?

[Susan]

Judy is up for a buddy read. We finish the Freddie Pilkington Soames series next month, so I will add this to our list.

[Susan]

Updated Buddy Read List:
We will finish the Gervase Fen and the Oceanic Liner series soon too.
Buddy Reads:

Jan/Feb
The Misty Harbour by Georges Simenon (Maigret #15)
Last Act in Palmyra by Lindsey Davis (Falco #6)
Revelation by C.J. Sansom (Shardlake #4)
Quietly in Their Sleep by Donna Leon (Brunetti #6)

Feb/March
Helen Passes By (Bobby Owen #23) by E R Punshon
A Case of Perplexity in Piccadilly (Freddy Pilkington-Soames 7) by Clara Benson
Duplicate Death by Georgette Heyer
Operation Pax (The Inspector Appleby Mysteries Book 12) by Michael Innes
The Wine of Angels (Merrily Watkins #1) by Phil Rickman

March/April
The Madman of Bergerac by Georges Simenon (Maigret #16)
The Potter's Field by Ellis Peters (Cadfael #17) by Ellis Peters
Murder on the Oceanic (Ocean Liner Mystery series #7) by Edward Marston
Some Die Eloquent (Sloan and Crosby #8) by Catherine Aird
Murder at the Savoy (Martin Beck #6) by Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö

April/May
Music Tells All (Bobby Owen #24) by E R Punshon
The Glimpses of the Moon by Edmund Crispin (Gervase Fen #9)
Giotto's Hand by Iain Pears (Jonathan Argyll #5)
A Nice Class of Corpse (Mrs Pargeter #1) by Simon Brett

May/June
Liberty Bar aka Maigret on the Riviera by Georges Simenon (Maigret #17)
Servant of Death aka The Lord Bishop's Clerk ( Bradecote and Catchpoll #1) by Sarah Hawkswood
The Winter Queen by Boris Akunin (Erast Fandorin #1)
A Noble Radiance by Donna Leon (Brunetti #7)

July/August
The House of Godwinsson (Bobby Owen #25) by E R Punshon
Time to Depart by Lindsey Davis (Falco #7)
Heartstone by C.J. Sansom (Shardlake #5)

[Sandy]

Susan wrote: "Updated Buddy Read List:
We will finish the Gervase Fen and the Oceanic Liner series soon too.
Buddy Reads:

Jan/Feb
The Misty Harbour by Georges Simenon (Maigret #15)
Last Act in Palmyra by Lindse..."

I think the last heading should be June/July; not July/August

[Jill]

Well spotted

[Susan]

Ah, thanks. I will change it.

[Judy]

Jill wrote: "It seems a lot of people liked the Charlotte MacLeod book so she may be worth bearing in mind"

Sorry, belatedly remembered this comment from Jill from just before Christmas. I'd be happy to read some more of these - the next one in the Peter Shandy series is The Luck Runs Out, should we give that one a try?

[Jill]

Judy wrote: "Jill wrote: "It seems a lot of people liked the Charlotte MacLeod book so she may be worth bearing in mind"

Sorry, belatedly remembered this comment from Jill from just before Chris..."

Because no one seemed interested I read The Luck Runs Out and liked it , so would be more than willing to read on

[Susan]

Shall I add the series? I can pop the next one into the list.

[Susan]

So, which are your favourite buddy read series?

I am enjoying Merrily Watkins, love the Martin Beck book, I am enjoying the Catherine Aird series and am warming to Donna Leon.

[Pamela]

Maigret, Martin Beck and Bobby Owen.

I am looking forward to Merrily Watkins and the Bradecote and Catchpoll. I also like the Donna Leon books - I haven’t been joining in the group reads as I am a bit ahead (#19 I think) but have been watching the discussion threads.

Have we ever discussed Alan Hunter’s Inspector George Gently series? I read the first few and they were quite good.

[Jill]

Maigret, Bobby Owen, Catherine Aird. I've only read one Merrily Watkins, but did enjoy it, and hadn't realised it was in the middle of the series. I like the George Bellairs
I read the first 10 Alan Hunter's as they were in a box set, but have the next 20 waiting to be read. Did like those. Found them very 60's.

[Susan]

Quite a lot of crossovers really.
I haven't read the George Gently series, Pamela, but if there is interest we could keep them for when we need a new series. We have a couple of series we are trialling, so let's see how they go first.

[Judy]

Thank you Susan. This is all looking great, lots of goodies in store!

Would it be OK to move the second MacLeod to a slightly earlier date? I was wondering if we could put it in April/May to have a shorter gap from the first book, but no worries if that's going to lead to an overload.

Difficult question about favourite buddy reads! I think Martin Beck, Shardlake, Maigret and Catherine Aird are probably my favourites at the moment. I also like Donna Leon but am a bit ahead (not as far as Pamela though) so will be joining in on those soon.

[Sandy]

I read the first George Gently and meant to continue sometime so would welcome a buddy read.

My very favorite buddy reads are Shardlake (maybe because I just finished one), Donna Leon, Falco (a re-read), and Aird. It is always a pleasure to read Maigret, Cadfael, Pears, Bobby Owen and Fen. There are buddy reads where I don't participate.

[Frances]

I'm really interested in the Boris Akunin series, particularly as he was just put on Putin/Russia's naughty list for his objection to the war.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/202...

So I am doubly happy to read his books "in solidarity" (and forgive me if this is too political a discussion for this group, I know some groups want to keep politics out of things).

[Judy]

Thanks Susan, that looks great to me! :)

[Susan]

Thanks, Judy.

[Susan]

Slight tweak to fit in the second Merrily:

Buddy Reads:

Jan/Feb
The Misty Harbour by Georges Simenon (Maigret #15)
Last Act in Palmyra by Lindsey Davis (Falco #6)
Revelation by C.J. Sansom (Shardlake #4)
Quietly in Their Sleep by Donna Leon (Brunetti #6)

Feb/March
Helen Passes By (Bobby Owen #23) by E R Punshon
A Case of Perplexity in Piccadilly (Freddy Pilkington-Soames 7) by Clara Benson
Duplicate Death by Georgette Heyer
Operation Pax (The Inspector Appleby Mysteries Book 12) by Michael Innes
The Wine of Angels (Merrily Watkins #1) by Phil Rickman

March/April
The Madman of Bergerac by Georges Simenon (Maigret #16)
The Potter's Field by Ellis Peters (Cadfael #17) by Ellis Peters
Murder on the Oceanic (Ocean Liner Mystery series #7) by Edward Marston
Some Die Eloquent (Sloan and Crosby #8) by Catherine Aird
Murder at the Savoy (Martin Beck #6) by Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö

April/May
Music Tells All (Bobby Owen #24) by E R Punshon
The Glimpses of the Moon by Edmund Crispin (Gervase Fen #9)
Giotto's Hand by Iain Pears (Jonathan Argyll #5)
A Nice Class of Corpse (Mrs Pargeter #1) by Simon Brett
The Luck Runs Out by Charlotte MacLeod (Professor Shandy #2)

May/June
Liberty Bar aka Maigret on the Riviera by Georges Simenon (Maigret #17)
Servant of Death aka The Lord Bishop's Clerk ( Bradecote and Catchpoll #1) by Sarah Hawkswood
The Winter Queen by Boris Akunin (Erast Fandorin #1)
Midwinter of the Spirit (Merrily Watkins #2) by Phil Rickman

June/July
The House of Godwinsson (Bobby Owen #25) by E R Punshon
Time to Depart by Lindsey Davis (Falco #7)
Heartstone by C.J. Sansom (Shardlake #5)
A Noble Radiance by Donna Leon (Brunetti #7)

[Judy]

I have just removed a post due to comments which could potentially cause offence to American members. Please could everyone remember that the rules of the group are to be polite. We have members from all over the world and our policy is zero tolerance for rude or offensive comments. I would ask everyone to bear this in mind. Thank you, let's move on.

[Jan C]

Thank you for looking out for our (Am) feelings. Not too sure how sensitive we always are though. But thanks.

[Keith]

My apologies, I didn't think of that. Sorry! However you could also take in mind English sensibilities

[Keith]

Perhaps you could remove any comments of which you disapprove and repost the other comments concerning the Brother Cadfael series

[Jackie]

Judy, I don't want your moderation to be a Thankless Job so I am thanking you! I have no idea how much time and effort it takes for what you do but I want you to know it is appreciated.

[Judy]

Sorry, Keith, but I lost the rest of the post (tried to copy and paste but I must have done something wrong). Thank you for the apology.

[Keith]

My post was my honest comments on the series and as I get further into it, it is much more integrated into very well recorded actual historical events during the period of the 12th century Anarchy than had been apparent at the start although the execution of the Shrewsbury Castle garrison by King Stephen was real enough, Ellis Peters added an extra body for the purposes of her story.
What you disapproved, was my objection to the alteration to the original English text by changing British spelling to American in my Kindle edition. I am not aware of any occasion of the reverse happening. However, Kindle is produced by Amazon, a large American firm who probably thinks it can do anything it likes.
I do appreciate the job you do and can only regret inadvertently 'crossing a line'.

[Susan in NC]

Jill wrote: "Judy wrote: "Jill wrote: "It seems a lot of people liked the Charlotte MacLeod book so she may be worth bearing in mind"

Sorry, belatedly remembered this comment from Jill from just..."

Oh, I reread that one around Christmas! I also read the Christmasish (not really central to the plot, but set in the season) book in the author’s other Sarah Kelling/Max Bittersohn series I’ve enjoyed, called The Convivial Codfish . Macleod was clever and smart, had a knack for clever dialogue, quirky characters- I’ve enjoyed rereading both series in the past few years. I’d be happy to read on in the shandy series if others are interested.

[Susan in NC]

Susan wrote: "So, which are your favourite buddy read series?

I am enjoying Merrily Watkins, love the Martin Beck book, I am enjoying the Catherine Aird series and am warming to Donna Leon."

Sorry, missed this - my favorites are Shardlake, Brunetti, Falco, Crosby & Sloan, Cadfael, and the Peter Shandy if anyone is interested in carrying on - I think it’s nice to have a lighter, cozyish, humorous series like this going, like the Freddy Pilkington-Soames books - I guess the Aird mysteries could be in that category , too. Oh, and looking forward to the Bradecote and Catchpoll and Fandorin series we’re going to start, and I think our Challenge this year will offer a few series I’ll want to follow.

P.S. forgot we are starting Mrs. Pargeter, looking forward to that as well - Simon Brett is fun and clever, I read his Charles Paris books and enjoyed, a few Fethering (?) books as well, I think.