What mysteries are you reading at the moment? Old thread Showing 2,451-2,500 of 4,457

[Pages]

Hi Sandy,

I enjoyed Her Royal Spyness. It’s fun and lighthearted. I listened to it on audible. The voices were great.

[Susan]

I have started The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle which is very unusual and interesting so far.

[Carolien]

I've completed The Ritual Bath which my mother recommended to me ages ago. I enjoyed it and found the explanation of the Jewish traditions very interesting. Johannesburg has a relatively large Jewish population and they played an important role in the anti-apartheid struggle.

Is it just me or does American crime books set on the West Coast have a different feel and tone to those set on the East Coast?

[Judy]

Wasn't quite sure whether to put this in the mystery or non-mystery thread, but I've just started reading The Story of Classic Crime in 100 Books by Martin Edwards - I think this will be a great read but will swell my TBR list!!

[Susan]

Judy wrote: "Wasn't quite sure whether to put this in the mystery or non-mystery thread, but I've just started reading The Story of Classic Crime in 100 Books by Martin Edwards - ..."

I loved that, Judy - enjoy :)

[Judy]

Thanks, Susan, I am enjoying The Story of Classic Crime in 100 Books far. I think it is one of those books which will be a quick read but then I will keep referring back to it in the future - glad to have it in a gorgeous hardback copy, although I see it is also now on Kindle Unlimited.

[Doris]

I'm on my ninth Maisie Dobbs book, Elegy for Eddie. I have mixed views on this series: in particular, Maisie as an investigator/psychologist who also practices meditation strikes me as anachronistic. And, while the previous book in the series made reference to the rise of Communism and Fascism, the author didn't actually *do* anything with them. OTOH, I like the setting for the stories and the supporting characters enough that I'm still reading the series.

[Sandy]

The Story of Classic Crime in 100 Books is on my list to Santa so hope to be reading it soon. I asked for a paper edition as I expect I will use it as a reference, as well as taking notes, checking off books ... its going to be such fun!

[Sandy]

I enjoyed Her Royal Spyness: very light and amusing. I've added the series to my 'active' list, but need a bit of a gap between books (as one enjoys the first few chocolates but not the last if the entire box is consumed in one sitting).

[Sandy]

Doris wrote: "I'm on my ninth Maisie Dobbs book, Elegy for Eddie. I have mixed views on this series: in particular, Maisie as an investigator/psychologist who also practices meditation strikes me..."

I have the same mixed feeling about Maisie even as I continue reading, and enjoying, the series. I like how it moves ahead in time and the stories are always good. The psychology side of her personality annoys me.

[Judy]

I'm halfway through our group read for next month, The Abbey Court Murder - enjoying it a lot so far. Very romantic and melodramatic, and a quick read.

[Susan]

I am re-reading Green for Danger our next buddy read - set in a hospital during the blitz, it is one of Christianna Brand's best mysteries.

[Judy]

I'm also listening to an audiobook of Holy Disorders by Edmund Crispin while tidying my house for tomorrow's festivities. Very funny so far.

[Marwan]

Judy wrote: "I'm halfway through our group read for next month, The Abbey Court Murder - enjoying it a lot so far. Very romantic and melodramatic, and a quick read."

Susan wrote: "I am re-reading Green for Danger our next buddy read - set in a hospital during the blitz, it is one of Christianna Brand's best mysteries."

I'm curious, How do you find these Authors?

[Marwan]

Finished The Flemish House: Inspector Maigret #14 by Georges Simenon

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

started reading Roseanna by Maj Sjöwall

[Susan]

Marwan wrote: "Judy wrote: "I'm halfway through our group read for next month, The Abbey Court Murder - enjoying it a lot so far. Very romantic and melodramatic, and a quick read."

Susan wrote: "..."

Marwan, both the books that Judy and I mentioned are group reads. We will have three featured books next month:

The Abbey Court Murder which is the book the group nominated and voted for

A Man Lay Dead the first in our 2018 Ngaio Marsh challenge and

Green for Danger
our Buddy Read, which will start mid-Jan

You can join in with any, or all, of these reads. If you are asking where we find Golden Age authors, you could try the following websites for suggestions, or browse our past discussions:

http://www.classiccrimefiction.com/go...
http://rebawhitewilliams.com/the-gold...
https://www.worlds-best-detective-cri...

[Marwan]

Susan wrote: "If you are asking where we find Golden Age authors, you could try the following websites for suggestions, or browse our past discussions: ..."

Thank you, Susan

[Jill]

Just starting The Mysterious Affair at Styles. This is a reread for me, but it has many years since I read it. I started in case Jessica does start up the thread on reading Poirot here.

[Susan]

Jill wrote: "Just starting The Mysterious Affair at Styles. This is a reread for me, but it has many years since I read it. I started in case Jessica does start up the thread on reading Poirot here."

We just felt it was too much to have two challenges running side by side, Jill, but, of course, Jessica is welcome to open a thread for the book.

[Robin]

Jill, I've just finished The Mysterious Affair at Styles and found it satisfying, but cleat a first book. It's a delight to read and then proceed to the Christie of wit and humour as well as death and detection.

[Gary]

Nearing the end of the first Prof. Peter Shandy mystery, Rest You Merry by Charlotte MacLeod. I read the second book back in 2016. I am loving this series so far. Peter is having a really bad Christmas holiday. After being badgered about his lack of outdoor holiday lights by the local faculty wives, Peter attempts a payback of sorts and leaves town to go on a cruise. Peter returns early and discovers a dead body on the floor behind the sofa in his locked home. Certainly among the funniest Chapter 1s I can recall. Peter doesn't find the body until chapter 2.

[Sandy]

Gary wrote: "Nearing the end of the first Prof. Peter Shandy mystery, Rest You Merry by Charlotte MacLeod. I read the second book back in 2016. ..."

I read that over an earlier Christmas and loved Shandy's relationship with his neighbors.

[Jan C]

Sandy wrote: "Gary wrote: "Nearing the end of the first Prof. Peter Shandy mystery, Rest You Merry by Charlotte MacLeod. I read the second book b..."

I read it last Christmas. I liked it and have picked up more of her books.

[Judy]

Susan wrote: "I am re-reading Green for Danger our next buddy read - set in a hospital during the blitz, it is one of Christianna Brand's best mysteries."

A pity this one isn't on Kindle - did you say that the Brand books were on Kindle at one time and then withdrawn, Susan?! Looks as if I will have to get a second-hand copy as the library doesn't have it either.

[Susan]

Yes, they were released on kindle and then withdrawn. I think Open Road also released, then withdrew, then re-released the Jane Haddam books... Most annoying. Luckily, I downloaded all Brand's available titles at the time, as she is one of my favourite authors.

[Jan C]

It is still available on Kindle in US.

[Gary]

Jan C wrote: "It is still available on Kindle in US."

Also available on Nook in the US through Open Road.

[Susan]

Good to hear, Jan and Gary. Open Road Media/Mysterious Press tend to have discounts in the US, but they tend to treat the UK market with what I can only call disregard. Books are released, then vanish pretty quickly, they are pitched at a fairly high price and never discounted (or I have never seen them to be so). I am actually auto approved with them on NetGalley, so I tend to see what is coming out, but they can be frustrating for those of us who like their books here in England...

[Paperbackreader]

Reading The Crime at the Noah's Ark, set at a snowbound inn, on a snowy night. One of those rare occassions when reality and fiction mingle perfectly.

[Judy]

I'm just over halfway through The Hidden House Murders: Miss Hart and Miss Hunter Investigate: Book 3 by Celina Grace.

Very readable, but I'm finding it a bit disappointing after the previous book, which was partly set in a theatre. Here we are back to above/below stairs.

If the author wants to carry on with this series, I think she will need to think of a different twist, because it is increasingly unbelievable to have Joan and Verity just happening to be working in grand houses where a murder just happens to occur!

[Sandy]

At some point they will be the prime suspects.

[Carolien]

I've finally completed my challenge for this year to read a crime novel written by a female author and published in each decade from 1860. The last book was Shadowed by Three which was published in 1879. I really enjoyed this book which is my earliest encounter with private investigators in this challenge. As there is very little information available on Goodreads, I have done a fairly extensive review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I'm providing a link to the complete challenge as I summarised my conclusions after reading crime novels published across 160 years in the final comment. https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

[Judy]

Well done in completing your challenge, Carolien! A very interesting idea. I'll be over to read your review and look at your complete challenge.

[Susan]

Congrats, Carolien! Loved your review - will look at your challenge too.

[Judy]

Sandy wrote: "At some point they will be the prime suspects."

Haha Sandy, I think you are right. I'll be reluctant to read more Miss Hart and Miss Hunter Investigates mysteries unless it looks as if they are a bit different from the others, as this one was pretty much like a repeat.

[Jill]

Well done Carolien!

[Carolien]

I've completed Dark Traces and it is an excellent police procedural. I read the original Afrikaans copy so hopefully it translates well since it is an excellent read. It has a very interesting cast of characters and is quite dark as it focuses on a serial killer of teenage girls in Cape Town. It manages to convey the daily challenges faced by the under-resourced South African detectives well and these add complexity to the plot. There is no HOLMES system that spits out useful information on p252 just when a new clue is required.It also deals with death both from the perspective of murder as well as a mercy act which adds additional depth to the story. Highly recommend this one.
Review here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Here's a recent interview with the author: http://www.thebigthrill.org/2017/10/a...

[Judy]

I was given Silent Nights: Christmas Mysteries edited by Martin Edwards for Christmas, and have started reading it right away. A lovely varied collection in the British Library Crime Classics series.

[Paperbackreader]

Finally, came back to The Big Book of Christmas Mysteries, after a year-long break from it. Not because I did not enjoy it but because I wanted to savor it. And 'tis the perfect season and weather for it too.

[Paperbackreader]

Judy wrote: "I was given Silent Nights: Christmas Mysteries edited by Martin Edwards for Christmas, and have started reading it right away..."

I have Silent Nights: Christmas Mysteries on my wish list. I wonder if the stories in it would overlap with the ones in The Big Book of Christmas Mysteries.

[Sandy]

I enjoyed my Christmas short story collection, Mistletoe Mysteries. There was quite a variety.

And, accidently, I've added another collection to my TBR: Green for Danger: The Official Anthology of the Crime Writers' Association. I requested this from the library expecting it to be our January read but it is a collection edited by Martin Edwards. I had noticed he was the author, but assumed it was a reprint with his introduction. It has a lot of modern authors, very few of whom I've read so I will be travelling new territory.

I was able to get our Green for Danger thru another library system. So, other than having a full reading schedule, I'm good.

[Jill]

I have Silent Nights: Christmas Mysteries but think I will save it for next year now. Am reading Mysteries for Christmas: 48 Puzzling Murder Mysteries & Supernatural Thrillers: What the Shepherd Saw, The Ghosts at Grantley, The Mystery of Room Five, ... of Cernogratz, A Terrible Christmas Eve... this year slowly.
Also I am reading The Abbey Court Murder by Annie Haynes for January

[Susan]

Good to see so many of us reading ahead - organised for the New Year :) I have finished The Abbey Court Murder and have nearly finished Green for Danger (mystery set in a WWII hospital - our next Buddy Read) and A Man Lay Dead (our first Ngaio Marsh).

[Carolien]

Sandy wrote: "I enjoyed my Christmas short story collection, Mistletoe Mysteries. There was quite a variety.

And, accidently, I've added another collection to my TBR: [book:Green for Danger: The ..."

Would you post a list of authors? Would be nice to see where we can expand our horizons for the new year!

[Judy]

I've now finished Silent Nights, which I thought was a good collection - a few of the stories are more spooky than Christmassy, though!

I also read A Prescription for Death, the second of the Asharton Manor Mysteries novellas by Celina Grace. I enjoyed this - it has a clever plot and the heroine, Vivian Holt, is a nurse just after WW2 rather than a cook, which made a change.

I noticed though that she was a fan of mystery books by Joan Hart, the cook from the other books I've read by Celina Grace!

[Sandy]

Judy wrote: "I've now finished Silent Nights, which I thought was a good collection - a few of the stories are more spooky than Christmassy, though!

I also read A Prescription for Death, the s..."

I'm glad Joan Hart has realized her ambition!

[Sandy]

Carolien wrote: "Sandy wrote: "I enjoyed my Christmas short story collection, Mistletoe Mysteries. There was quite a variety.

And, accidently, I've added another collection to my TBR: Green fo..."</i>


Authors in [book:Mistletoe Mysteries

Charlotte MacLeod
Peter Lovesey
Dorothy Salisbury Davis
Eric Wright
John Lutz
Howard Engel
Mary Higgins Clark
Bill Pronzini
Sharyn McCrumb
Henry Slesar
Edward D. Hoch
Aaron Elkins
Susan Dunlap
Isaac Asimov
Marcia Muller

From Green for Danger: The Official Anthology of the Crime Writers' Association

Andrea Badenoch
Robert Barnard
Ann Cleeves
Mat Coward
Judith Cutler
Carol Anne Davis
Martin Edwards
Kate Ellis
Reginald Hill
Edward D Hoch
Brian Innes
Michael Jecks
Peter Lewis
Peter Lovesey
Keith Miles
Gwen Moffat
Amy Myers
Ruth Rendell
Zoe Sharp
Jerry Sykes

[Judy]

Quite a selection of authors, Sandy! Looks to me as if it is mainly US authors in Mistletoe Mysteries and UK in Green for Danger?

[Susan]

It's nice they used Green for Danger as a title, if somewhat confusing. However, it is a fairly old novel, from a lesser known author - and it IS a good title, so I guess they thought they could poach it :)

[Judy]

I've just read a very short Kindle freebie which Carol suggested a little while back, Murder in Ancient China by Robert van Gulik. This is two short Judge Dee stories, and the second one is set on New Year's Eve, so very seasonal! Not sure if I'll read more by him, but these are very clever.