november 2018 - sandi

[Sandi]

Hello everyone.

Here are my November reads:

Top Reads

She Rides Shotgun
Jordan Harper
Dark, violent, but very good. An impressive first novel that won the Edgar award in 2018. I enjoyed the lean writing style and found Polly, the eleven year old whose world is turned upside down when her father shows up after school one day, to be a fascinating character.

November Road
Lou Berney
Another winning effort from the author. I thought the plotting was well done, the time period expertly woven into the narrative, and the characters fully realized. One of the better books I have read this year.

The Killing Of The Tinkers
Ken Bruen
Jack is back in Galway after a year in London and has fallen off the wagon. Dark but written with great style.

Good Reads

War of the Worlds Murder, The
Max Allan Collins
Set eighty years ago during the run-up to and the broadcast of the famous War of the Worlds radio program that caused a panic among listeners, this did a nice job of mixing historical fact with a mystery. Listened to the audio version which was read by Dan John Miller who did a fine job.

Now You See Me
Sharon J. Bolton
First in a series featuring a young London Detective Constable. Not really my favorite type of plot (a Jack the Ripper copycat) and a bit too graphic but I did like the characters and the pacing of the story.

Outrage
Arnaldur Indriðason
While Inspector Erlendur is on leave, his colleague Elinborg looks into the murder of a young man in Reykjavik. Elinborg is a much different character than Erlendur and I enjoyed how she brought her own style to the case.

My Sister, the Serial Killer
Oyinkan Braithwaite
Debut set in Lagos, Nigeria, this was a nicely written story about sisterly relationships with both humor and drama. Listened the audio version which was well narrated by Adepero Oduye.

To Fear a Painted Devil
Ruth Rendell
Published back in 1965 and set on a former manor estate that has been turned into a housing development, this was a very readable tale of suspense though there were perhaps too many characters that did not really have any bearing on the plot.

Sign of the Unicorn
Roger Zelazny
Book # 3 continues the adventure and court intrigue in Amber. Enjoyed the audio version which was narrated by Alessandro Juliani.

OK read

The Reckoning
John Grisham
Usually I really enjoy the Ford County books but this was a bit underwhelming. It seemed like there was a lot of padding and while I found the scenes set during the war interesting the main plot line was not as engaging.

[Ann]

Nice list Sandi!
Your top three books include two I look forward to reading, and one I already read and loved: November Road which was very well written.

[Melodie]

Good month! I have November Road coming up soon and I loved Max Allan Collins "disaster" mysteries.

[Merrilee in AZ]

Good m. I liked She Rides Shotgun.

[Merrilee in AZ]

Lol that should be good month