What mysteries are you reading at the moment? Old thread Showing 1,801-1,850 of 4,475

[Jill]

It was at our small library when I read it several years ago. They remodeled and for some unknown reason they got rid of some of the classic mystery books/authors. I was looking for Nicholas Blake and suddenly realized after checking through the shelves that not only were his books gone but a bunch of others. It is very disheartening. I will check again but I am sure the Crispin is missing as well.

[Susan]

That's sad, Jill. I hate to see books taken out of libraries - especially fiction...

I just started Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore

[Judy]

That's a shame, Jill - hope you do find Crispin is still at your library.

[Carolien]

Between a Rock and a Hard Place is the third in the Potting Shed series which I really enjoy. I learn something new in each book and I really enjoy the cast of characters. This one has some very light hearted moments as Prue is also planning her wedding while investigating the latest murder.

[Gary]

I also recommend the other series by Marty Wingate, the Birds of s Feather series.

[Jill]

Judy wrote: "That's a shame, Jill - hope you do find Crispin is still at your library."

My visit to the library was rather disturbing as I couldn't find many of the GA mystery books at all. I asked them about it and, as I expected, when they remodeled they got rid of them for new authors. The librarian and I then had a discussion about GA mystery and the fact that just because it is old, doesn't make it out-of date. She said that they weren't checked out that often and they sold them at the annual sale (I was out of town at the time......sigh!!) BTW, it was a friendly discussion!

So I got The Secret of Annexe 3 by Colin Dexter, book # 7 in the Inspector Morse series. I love the character of Morse and always have a picture of the handsome John Thaw who played him on the tv series, running through my mind when I read them.

[Judy]

Jill wrote: "My visit to the library was rather disturbing as I couldn't find many of the GA mystery books at all. I asked them about it and, as I expected, when they remodeled they got rid of them for new authors."

Sorry to hear that, Jill, and a shame you missed the sale Such a shame when books disappear from library shelves - sometimes at my local libraries it turns out they have gone into storage, but some do get sold off here too (though often those are old copies which are starting to deteriorate.)

Anyway, hope you enjoy the Colin Dexter book - I loved the Morse TV series but haven't read many of the books as yet. Hope to do so!

[Judy]

I've just noticed that Martin Edwards went on a blog tour to promote his new book, The Story of Classic Crime in 100 Books. Here is a link to his post on the Euro Crime blog, which also has a list of the other blogs he visited:
http://eurocrime.blogspot.co.uk/2017/...

[Carolien]

Jill wrote: "Judy wrote: "That's a shame, Jill - hope you do find Crispin is still at your library."

My visit to the library was rather disturbing as I couldn't find many of the GA mystery books at all. I aske..."

My mother manages the library at her retirement complex (basically just one large room so not that much space for books). She only purchases books published post 1995 and unless it is a very popular author like Agatha Christie, she stocks very few older books. This seems to be a trend to the detriment of those of us reading older books.

[Jill]

Starting Dead Man's Footsteps by Peter James Number 4 in the Roy Grace series. I like this author a lot, also the fact that it is based in Brighton

[Corrie]

I am a new member and I have enjoyed reading the comments. I am a fan of many mystery authors except the authors who write especially gruesome tales of torture, brutality, and things of that nature. At the moment I am rereading John Grisham's The Partner, not one of my favorites, but I am rereading most of his books. I am also reading Elizabeth Ferrars's The Cup and the Lip.

[Brina]

Just finished Murder at Fenway Park. Next mystery to read is Cocaine Blues and looking forward to it thanks to everyone's positive feedback about it.

[Susan]

Corrie, quite a few of our members are not keen on the more gruesome crime books. Personally, I like both and have The Fourth Monkey lined up to read next, which has got a lot of good feedback.

[Corrie]

Thanks for the comment, Susan. I should have added that since I like spy thrillers and government undercover thrillers it is a little hard to escape brutality in books. I just sort of skim over that when I can, but then I sometimes loose track of who the good guys are and who are the bad guys..Well sometimes it is hard to know anyway. I am also reading Val McDermid Splinter the Silence.
One of her books, Place of Execution, is an especially interesting and intriguing mystery.

[Judy]

Welcome Corrie - I'm not keen on too much brutality in books either, so I also tend to read those bits quickly and get them over with!

[Ellen]

I have been reading the Bobby Owen mysteries by E. R. Punshon. I am getting ready to start number 11 Comes a Stranger

[Marcus]

Looking forward for your impressions about the Bobby Owen series Ellen. I want to try it.

[Susan]

Just started The Word is Murder Very quirky and well written so far, with the author a character in the mystery.

[Carol She's So Novel꧁꧂]

Jill wrote: "Judy wrote: "That's a shame, Jill - hope you do find Crispin is still at your library."

My visit to the library was rather disturbing as I couldn't find many of the GA mystery books at all. I aske..."

A little off topic, but I thought I had lost my copy of Mansfield Park.* I wasn't too concerned as I figured I would be able to get a kindle copy (& did) but also checked my local library & was stunned to find almost all the Austen had been deleted. They offer ebooks, but I'm kindle & I'm not sure how I would get on with that. I know it's a balancing act for libraries but I would have thought at least P&P could have gone in stacks.

* Fortunately found my copy at work.

[Judy]

Ellen wrote: "I have been reading the Bobby Owen mysteries by E. R. Punshon. I am getting ready to start number 11 Comes a Stranger"

How are you finding them, Ellen? I've only read the first 4 so far and have found them a bit uneven though I do enjoy his writing style. I liked book 4, Mystery Villa but it is a bit of a rip-off of Great Expectations! Will hope to go on to the next in the series soon.

[Ellen]

Marcus wrote: "Looking forward for your impressions about the Bobby Owen series Ellen. I want to try it."
I have enjoyed them all. So far my favorites were #4 Mystery Villa and #5 Death of A Beauty Queen.

[Ellen]

Judy wrote: "Ellen wrote: "I have been reading the Bobby Owen mysteries by E. R. Punshon. I am getting ready to start number 11 Comes a Stranger"

How are you finding them, Ellen? I've only read..."

I find Bobby Owens very likable which is always a great plus for me. He is intelligent, hard working and just an all around nice guy.

[Jill]

Just picked up The Yard by Alex Grecian at the library. This is #1 in the series......I have read two other of his books, one I liked, one I didn't. This will break that tie (I hope on the positive side!)

[Jill]

I either found a treasure or trash today at a vintage book sale......the book, copyright 1937, does not seem to be in the GR system but the author is, although the majority of his work seems to be American westerns. A quick scan through the pages didn't tell me much. But for $1.00 I couldn't pass it up.

Here's to Crime by Courtney Ryley Cooper

[Carol She's So Novel꧁꧂]

Jill wrote: "I either found a treasure or trash today at a vintage book sale......the book, copyright 1937, does not seem to be in the GR system but the author is, although the majority of his work seems to be ..."

If you like Jill I can enter this book in the GR system (I'm a librarian) I just need the number of pages & publisher. I take it that this is a hardback?

[Jill]

Yes, it is a hardback. I will be reading it in the next month and will get back to you if it is worth adding to the system. I just couldn't get a feel for it with a quick scan.

[Judy]

I've started Siren of the Waters by Michael Genelin, which is the first in the series about Commander Jana Matinova. She is in the Slovak police force and based in Bratislava, but travels around Europe.

I read the start of this as a sample (I do this quite a bit) and thought it looked good - then noticed the price had gone down on Kindle (currently £2.54) so I bought the book.

[Carolien]

I've been reading quite a bit in between work and studies - I have a pile of library books that must be returned!

I read the third book in the Anders Knutas series by Mari Jungstedt, The Inner Circle. The second book in the series suffered from second-book syndrome, but we seem to be getting back in our stride and it is a very interesting plot based on old Nordic folklore. I love the setting of these books - Gotland, a Swedish island and I would love to visit Visby one day. The photos on Google are gorgeous.

Since I was then in the mood for Nordic books, I ignored the library pile and picked up Ashes to Dust from the bookshelf, another third in a series. I can understand why Yrsa Sigurðardóttir is regarded as one of the top Nordic Noir authors. In this case, it was possible to figure out some of the historical part of the plot, but the twists that were piled on top of that ensured a very unexpected ending. One of the other reasons that I enjoy this series, is that Thora, the main character is such a normal person with all the challenges of a single mother.

On the plane back from Cape Town last night, I chose to read Banker's Death another third in a series! I adore this series set in beautiful Florence. There is always an interesting plot and the cast of characters is just wonderful.

[Gary]

Current reads are
Cappuccinos, Cupcakes, and a Corpse by Harper Lin

Case of the One-Eyed Tiger by Jeffrey M. Poole

[Jill]

Just starting I Am Pilgrim by Terry Hayes. This has been highly recommend to me, so we shall see

[Marcus]

Great book, Kate. I liked it a lot!

[Susan]

Odd, isn't it, how we respond differently to books. I never really liked the first Nero Wolfe book and I didn't read on.

[Jay-me (Janet)]

Susan wrote: "Odd, isn't it, how we respond differently to books. I never really liked the first Nero Wolfe book and I didn't read on."

I've not read any because for some reason they just don't appeal to me. But if everyone all liked the same books we wouldn't have such interesting discussions.

I'm reading Agatha Raisin at the moment, I read the first four some time ago and didn't continue with the series even though I had the books on my kindle. I didn't (and still don't ) find Agatha a likeable character. But one of the next books in the series is set in Worcestershire and I am struggling to find books set in that county to choose between. Because I downloaded them to my kindle before 2014 they also count to a challenge I set myself to read books that had been on my kindle for a while.

[Susan]

No, they didn't appeal to me either, Jay-me. It was a group read, for another group, which I think was part of the problem. Book groups are wonderful for introducing you to new books, but if you feel you 'have' to read something you don't really fancy reading, it can also turn you off books/authors.

[Jan C]

Just finished The Rubber Band and will move on to The Red Box tonight.

The Rubber Band/The Red Box 2-in-1 by Rex Stout

[Judy]

Kate Thompson wrote: "Marcus wrote: "Great book, Kate. I liked it a lot!"

I have always wanted to read the Nero Wolfe books. It didn't take long to get me hooked."

Welcome, Kate! I'm really enjoying the Rex Stout books and you've just reminded me that it's been too long since I last read one - must get hold of another one very soon. I quite enjoyed Fer-de-lance but really loved some of the others, especially the second book in the series, The League of Frightened Men.

Fer-de-lance was a group read here some months back - if you want to see the discussion, here is a link to the general thread:

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

And this is a link to the spoiler thread:
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

[Jill]

I am a Nero Wolfe fanatic and have read almost, if not all, of the 40+ books by Stout. But i can also see why they wouldn't appeal to all since Wolfe is probably not the most endearing character...his eccentricities were often featured at a cost to the plot.

[Susan]

I should say that I read Nero Wolfe a while ago, for another group, although the first book was also a group read here.

[Judy]

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts, Kate.

[Pamela]

I'm currently reading Death at La Fenice by Donna Leon, a mystery but not GA as it's set in modern Venice. I've had several books from this series on my shelves for a while, so have made a start. Enjoying it so far.

[Sandy]

Pamela wrote: "I'm currently reading Death at La Fenice by Donna Leon, a mystery but not GA as it's set in modern Venice. I've had several books from this series on my shelves for a w..."

That series has been on my TBR for awhile so looking forward to your opinion. So many books!

[Annabel]

With regard to Channel Islands-set books, I don't know if anyone has already mentioned Appointment With Venus? I read this as a child, thinking it was a lovely story about cows, but it's actually a tense (and at times quite dark) thriller. I have a sudden urge to read it again as an adult, if I can find a copy.

[Jan C]

Pamela wrote: "I'm currently reading Death at La Fenice by Donna Leon, a mystery but not GA as it's set in modern Venice. I've had several books from this series on my shelves for a w..."

I've read a number of Leon's books. I think they get better after La Fenice, although it is good to start with the first one. A rare series, in that the cop is a normal person with a family. She tends to dwell a fair amiunt on the corruption surrounding him.

And I don't think the books are published in Italian. German television did a series on it which is shown on MHZ.

[Abbey]

Annabel wrote: "With regard to Channel Islands-set books, I don't know if anyone has already mentioned Appointment With Venus? I read this as a child, thinking it was a lovely story about cows, but it's actually a..."

It's on Kindle US:
https://www.amazon.com/Appointment-Ve...

[Brina]

I just read Cocaine Blues and really enjoyed it but now I don't know which mystery to read next.

[Annabel]

I have no Kindle sadly so I'll have to resort to Ebay (which given that I love discovering books I want in secondhand bookshops so much), feels like cheating. But the children won't let me haunt bookshops like I did in my youth, so perhaps there's justification in Ebay.

I am currently reading The Red House Mystery and The Floating Admiral, which just goes to show how bad I am at sticking to one book. These are both thanks to reading The Golden Age book about the Detection Club by Martin Edwards. So far, nothing it has prompted me to read has really wowed me and so far I'm unconvinced by these two, but ever since finishing A Tale Of Two Cities I've vowed never to judge a book until I've read the ending.

Reading these other Golden Age books just makes me appreciate my existing favourites all the more, to be honest. People often slight Agatha Christie as a writer of compelling characters, but I find people like Elinor Carlisle, Mrs Dane Calthrop and Megan Hunter deeply believable and appealing. And Dorothy Sayers was a fantastic writer of settings (thinking of the Nine Tailors, mostly.)

[Jan C]

Kindle books (and, I assume, other e-books) can be read on your computer/tablet/smartphone.

[Sandy]

I just read my first Cadfael, A Morbid Taste for Bones and loved it as I expected to. The TV series with Derek Jacobi years ago was great. Yet another series that I intend to read.

[Susan]

The Cadfael books are great, I agree, Sandy.

[Sandy]

I am currently reading Strangers on a Train and finding it uncomfortable. It is not my normal read with likeable protagonists. I'll finish it but reluctantly.