Mystery/Thriller Reading Friends discussion
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I'd be happy to provide answers. There is a small fee if you want correct ones though.
Barry wrote: "I'd be happy to provide answers. There is a small fee if you want correct ones though."Ha-ha. The resident joker!
Top M/T**Lost Hills- Lee Goldberg
**Hid From Our Eyes-Julia Spencer-Fleming
**The Night Fire-Michael Connelly
**The Last Widow-Karin Slaughter
**Red Metal-Mark Greaney
**Neon Prey-John Sanford
**After the Storm-Linda Castillo
**The Poacher's Son-Paul Dorion
**The Killer Collective-Barry Eisler
Top M/T authors
**Michael Connelly
**John Connolly
**Robert Crais
**Julia Spencer-Fleming
**Mark Greaney
Other Books
**Sam Houston and the Alamo Avengers
**Midnight in Chernobyl-Higgenbothm
**Into the Raging Sea- Slade
Series
**Grey Man-Mark Greaney
**Davenport-J Sanford
**Flowers-J Sanford
**Claire and Russ-Julia Spencer-Fleming
**Bosch-Michael Connelly
NTME
**Lee Goldberg
Pit of Dispond
**anything calling itself a "Clancy"
Top Mystery/Thriller Books (1-10)The Lost Man by Jane Harper
In This Grave Hour by Jacqueline Winspear
Lady in the Lake by Laura Lippman
Raven Black by Anne Cleeves
Resurrection Bay by Emma Viskic
Crimson Lake by Candice Fox
Paper Son by S.J. Rozan
The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith
Top Authors (1-5)
Lou Berney
Jane Harper
Jacqueline Winspear
Laura Lippman
S.J. Rozan
Top Books (1-5) any genre
Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow
The River by Rumer Godden
We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed with Our Families by Philip Gourevitch
Riding the Elephant: A Memoir of Altercations, Humiliations, Hallucinations, and Observations by Craig Ferguson. My first audio Top Book ever! I can grow! I can change!
They Called Us Enemy by George Takei. My first graphic novel Top Book ever! This account of the Japanese interment camps from a child’s POV, rendered graphically, was by far the most enlightening piece I’ve read about that time. A horrifying but wonderful read.
Top Series (1-5)
Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear
Elvis and Joe by Robert Crais
Lydia and Bill by S.J. Rozan
Ted and Amanda (Crimson Lake) by Candice Fox
Will Trent by Karin Slaughter
Best "New to Me" Author (1)
Colin Cotterill
Bottom of the Barrel Books (up to 5)
The 7½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton. Just awful.
The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides. I didn’t hate this book at the time of reading. I just thought it poorly conceived with lackluster writing. But with all the end-of-year accolades it’s receiving, I find my animosity growing. I’m taking my stand against its mediocrity here and now!
Top Mystery/Thriller Books (1-10)The Witch Elm, Tanna French
What Rose Forgot, Nevada Barr
The Liar's Child, Carla Buckley
Raven Black, Ann Cleeves
The Turn of the Key, Ruth Ware
Wherever She Goes, Kelley Armstrong
Broken Promise, Linwood Barclay
Edinburgh Dusk, Carole Lawrence
Top Authors (1-5)
Dermot McEvoy
Amy Harmon
Taylor Brown
Ann Cleeves
Louise Penny
Top Books (1-5) any genre
Terrible Angel by Dermot McEvoy
What the Wind Knows, Amy Harmon
God's of Howl Mountain, Taylor Brown
The Witch Elm, Tanna French
Top Series (1-5)
Inspector Gamache, Louise Penney
Shetland Island, Ann Cleeves
Sebastian St.Cyr, CS Harris
Ian Hamilton, Carole Lawrence
Charlotte and Thomas Pitt, Ann Perry
Best "New to Me" Author (1)
Ann Cleeves
Bottom of the Barrel Books (up to 5)
The Kiss Thief, LJ Shen
Time is a Killer, Michael Bussi
Mrs. Lincoln's Dressmaker, Jennifer Chiaverini
Moloka'i, Alan Brennert
The Rise of Magicks, Nora Roberts
Dan in AZTop M/T’s
The Poison Artist, Jonathan Moore
A Filthy Business, William Lashner
The Body Reader, Anne Frazier
Mission Road, a Rick Riordan
Light It Up, Nick Petrie
Lost Hills, Lee Goldberg
The New Girl, Daniel Silva
Ambush, Barbara Nickless
Top Authors
John Sandford
Michael Connelly
Robert Crais
Daniel Silva
CJ Box
Top any Genre
The Last Savanna, Mike Bond
FKA USA, Reed King
The Upper Hand, Johnny Shaw
After Life, Marcus Sakey
Top Series
Lucas Davenport
Virgil Flowers
Elvis and Joe
Harry Bosch/ Renee Ballard
Joe Pickett
Best N T M Author
Anne Frazier
Bottom of the z Arellano
The Burglar, Thomas Perry
Top Mystery/Thriller Books (1-10).A Place of Execution
Mystic River
The Chalk Man
Strangers on a Train
November Road
A Better Man
The Long and Faraway Gone
The Long Call
My Sister, the Serial Killer
The Sentence is Death
Top Mystery/ThrillerAuthors (1-5)
Lou Berney
Louise Penny
Dennis Lehane
Val McDermid
Anthony Horowitz
Top Books (1-5) any genre
Circe
Underland
November Road
Disappearing Earth
The Invention of Nature: Alexander von Humboldt's New World
Top Series (1-5)
Inspector Gamache - Louise Penny
Karen Pirie - Val McDermid
Hawthorne - Anthony Horowitz
Warshawski - Sara Paretsky
Best "New to Me" Author (1)
Lou Berney
Bottom of the Barrel Books (up to 5)
The Orchid Thief: A True Story of Beauty and Obsession
Gone Girl
ZodiacWhen the Bough Breaks
The Perfect Husband
Barbara, I’m so glad to see you’ve become a Lou Berney fan!
Barry wrote: "I'm seeing quite a bit of data scatter"I think you’re right, Barry. I suspect some of the group read books will draw a bit of cluster, but otherwise it’s all over the place.
Jan O’Cat, hoping Ann will mention Lou Berney and with Barbara’s and my votes, he’ll win in a 3 person landslide.
Top Mystery/Thriller BooksMissing, Presumed - Susie Steiner
The Lost Man - Jane Harper
The Devil's Alternative - Frederick Forsyth
The Do-Right - Lisa Sandlin
7 Days - Deon Meyer
Dead Lions - Mick Herron
The Cold Cold Ground - Adrian McKinty (read by Gerard Doyle)
Top Authors
Adrian McKinty
Mick Herron
Belinda Bauer
John Sandford
Reginald Hill
Top Books Any Genre
Convenience Store Woman - Sayaka Murata (read by Nancy Wu)
The Enchanted April - Elizabeth von Arnim (read by Nadia May)
Niagara Falls All Over Again - Elizabeth McCracken
Top Series
Joe DeMarco - Mike Lawson
Benny Griessel - Deon Meyer
Lucas Davenport/Virgil Flowers - John Sandford
Monkeewrench - P. J. Tracy
SPQR - John Maddox Roberts
Best "New to Me" Author
Lisa Sandlin
Bottom of the Barrel Books
The 7½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle - Stuart Turton
Top M/T
The Night Fire, Michael Connelly
November Road by Lou Berney (Thanks, Jan!)
A Witch to Remember by Heather Blake
A Dangerous Man by Robert Crais
Robert B. Parker's Angel Eyes by Ace Atkins
Bloody Genius by John SandfordTop Authors
Michael Connelly
Robert Crais
Ace Atkins
John Sandford
Heather Blake
Top Books Any Genre
Wild and Crazy Guys: How the Comedy Mavericks of the '80s Changed Hollywood Forever by Nick de Semlyen
Summer of '69 by Elin Hildebrand
On the Come Up by Angie Thomas
The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America's Shining Women by Kate Moore
D-Day Girls: The Spies Who Armed the Resistance, Sabotaged the Nazis, and Helped Win World War II by Sarah RoseTop Series
Elvis & Joe
Virgil Flowers
Spenser
Wishcraft
Bosch & Ballard
Best NTMA
Lou Berney
Bottom of the Barrel
Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
Of Blood and Bone by Nora Roberts
Oh boy, someone beside me that didn’t like Where the crawdads sing.
Jan, you recommended Long and Far Away after I reviewed November Road enthusiastically, and I can’t thank you enough. Lou Berney is definitely the real deal. :-)
Merrilee in AZ wrote: "Oh boy, someone beside me that didn’t like Where the crawdads sing."me three
And here I just bought it, thinking there was some reason it has been on the best seller list for the last 14 years.
Top reads for this year: Pure Innuendos by Loodie
Blended by Sharon Draper
M/TSworn To Silence. Linda Castillo
Deception Cove. Owen Laukkanen
A Dangerous Man. Robert Crais
Night Fire. Michael Connelly
Blue Moon. Lee Child
M/T Author
Michael Connelly
John Sanford
Linda Castillo
Robert Crais
Lee Child
Non M/T Books
Summoned To The Thirteen Grave. Darynda Jones
The Summer Cottage. Viola Shipman
The Institute. Stephan King
Top Series
Elvis and Joe
Harry Bosch
Jack Reacher
Davenport
Virgil Flowers
Bottom of the Barrel
Full Throttle. Joe Hill
]top m/t:The Boy from the Woods-coben
The Wife Stalker- liv constantin
Hid from Our Eyes- julia spencer-fleming
A Dangerous Man- robert crais
Dear Wife- kimberly belle
Wolf Pack- cj box
Cemetery Road- greg iles
Neon Prey- sandford
Paper Son- sj rozan
The Last Widow- slaughter
others:
Hey, Kiddo- jared krosoczka (YA)
Save Me the Plums: My Gourmet Memoir- ruth reichl
Summer of '69- elin hilderbrand
Out of My Mind- sharon draper (YA)
The Alice Network- kate quinn
Everything My Mother Taught Me- alice hoffman
top authors:
Julia Spencer-Fleming
John Sandford
Robert Crais
Michael Connelly
Greg Iles
CJ Box
top series:
Lydia and Bill
Russ and Clare
Lucas Davenport
Virgil Flowers
Bosch et all
Joe Pickett
Top M/T List1) Bones of the Earth by Eliot Pattison
2) A Deadly Divide by Ausma Zehanat Khan
3)The Shotgun Lawyer by Victor Methos
Any Genre
1)Algorithms of Oppression: How Search Engines Reinforce Racism by Safiya Umoja Noble
2)The Future of Another Timeline by Annalee Newitz
3)The Memory Police by Yoko Ogawa
4)Larger Than Life by Jodi Picoult
5)Sisters of the Vast Black by Lina Rather
Bottom of the Barrel
Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk
Top M/T's*Dark Sacred Night by Michael Connelly
*Ice Cold Heart by P.J. Tracy
*A Witch to Remember by Heather Blake
*The Late Show by Michael Connelly
*Cookies and Clairvoyance by Bailey Cates
Top Authors
*Michael Connelly
*Heather Blake
*Krista Davis
*Robert Crais
*J.A. Jance
Top any Genre
*The Applause of Heaven by Max Lucado
*Death and the Life After by Billy Graham
Top Series
*Renee Ballard
*Wishcraft
*Cat's in Trouble
*Paws and Claws
Best "New to Me" Author
*Susan Schild (Lakeside Resort series)
*Karen Musser Nortman (Campground mysteries)
Bottom of the Barrel
*Murder on Maui by R. Barri Flowers
*Dial "M" for Mousse by Laura Bradford
Top Mystery/Thriller Books (1-10) Lady in the Lake Lippman, Laura
The Last Good Guy (Roland Ford #3) Parker, T. Jefferson
The Lost Man Harper, Jane
IQ (IQ, #1) Ide, Joe
The Institute King, Stephen
Kingdom of the Blind (Chief Inspector Armand Gamache, #14) Penny, Louise
Once Upon a River Setterfield, Diane
Scrublands Hammer, Chris
The Shadows We Hide (Joe Talbert, #2) Eskens, Allen
Conviction Mina, Denise
Top Series (1-5)
The Last Good Guy (Roland Ford #3) Parker, T. Jefferson
The Do-Right (Delpha Wade and Tom Phelan Mystery Series #1) Sandlin, Lisa
Paper Son (Lydia Chin & Bill Smith, #12) Rozan, S.J.
A Better Man (Chief Inspector Armand Gamache, #15) Penny, Louise
The Last Widow (Will Trent, #9) Slaughter, Karin
Best "New to Me" Author (1)
Moon, Elizabeth Elizabeth Moon
Remnant Population and The Speed of Dark
Top Books (1-5) any genre
The Far Field Vijay, Madhuri
On the Come Up Thomas, Angie
Transcription Atkinson, Kate
Late Migrations: A Natural History of Love and Loss Renkl, Margaret
How to Be an Antiracist Kendi, Ibram X.
Oh no, so sorry Jan O'HopefulCat:Unfortunately both of the Lou Berney books I read were in 2018. No cluster of three - but well deserved!
OMalleycat wrote: "I think you’re right, Barry. I suspect some of the group read books will draw a bit of cluster, but otherwise it’s all over the place.
...Jan O’Cat, hoping Ann will mention Lou Berney and with Barbara’s and my votes, he’ll win in a 3 person landslide. "
Barry wrote: "I'm seeing quite a bit of data scatter"
Perhaps it’s time for a bench survey on whether to eliminate all the books with only one mention. We get that information now by reading each person’s original submission. In addition to streamlining the final lists, it would save a Carol at lot of work.
I think that’s a good idea, Dan
I also think that's a good idea even though my books would probably be eliminated because I'm such a niche reader. Let's save Carol's time.
Dan in AZ wrote: "Perhaps it’s time for a bench survey on whether to eliminate all the books with only one mention. We get that information now by reading each person’s original submission. In addition to streamlini..."totally agree.
We could go the other direction and have Carol list books we thought of but did not put on the list.
Barry, as usual, is....(feel free to add your favorite pejorative).
Lol, we all love it!Barry, as usual, is ....Barry!
Barry wrote: "C'mon Dan, you love it."
Dan in AZ wrote: "Barry, as usual, is....(feel free to add your favorite pejorative)."
Barry wrote: "We could go the other direction and have Carol list books we thought of but did not put on the list."
The very idea of mind control by Carol is the......(static)......(brain pain)......Stop it, Carol!
Dan in AZ wrote: "The very idea of mind control by Carol is the......(static)......(brain pain)......Stop it, Carol!"Oh no, my secret is out!!! you are getting sleepy, sleepy...
Thanks for the suggestion, Dan, you are right that it will save time!! And thanks Barry for the comic relief!
Final entry (I think) -- Mine!Top Mystery/Thriller Books
Certain Prey. John Sandford.
The Lost Man. Jane Harper.
Cemetery Road. Greg Iles.
Sudden Prey. John Sandford.
Once Upon a River. Dianne Setterfield.
Neon Prey. John Sandford.
Before She Knew Him. Peter Swanson.
The Woman in White . Wilkie Collins.
Redemption Point. Candice Fox.
Sworn to Silence. Linda Castillo.
Top Authors
John Sandford
Peter Swanson
Greg Iles
Stephen King
Top Books any genre
On the Come Up. Angie Thomas.
Born a Crime. Trevor Noah.
Wild and Crazy Guys. Nick De Semlyn.
Talking to Strangers. Malcolm Gladwell.
The Water Dancer. Ta’Nahesi Coates.
Top Series
Inspector Gamauche -- Louise Penny
Lucas Davenport -- John Sandford
Virgil Flowers -- John Sandford
Penn Cage -- Greg Iles
Thomas Lynley -- Elizabeth George
Best "New to Me" Author )
Linda Castillo
Bottom of the Barrel Books (up to 5)
Nothing this year--I was pretty careful with my selections I guess.
Carol/Bonadie wrote: "Final entry (I think) -- Mine!Top Mystery/Thriller Books
Certain Prey. John Sandford.
The Lost Man. Jane Harper.
Cemetery Road. Greg Iles.
Sudden Prey. John Sandford.
Once Upon a River. Diann..."
Happy to see you really liked Linda Castillo!! I need to get caught up on her series!
Mystery/Thriller Reading Friends
Books mentioned in this topic
Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead (other topics)The Shotgun Lawyer (other topics)
Bones of the Earth (other topics)
A Deadly Divide (other topics)
The Future of Another Timeline (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Elizabeth Moon (other topics)Dennis Lehane (other topics)
Anthony Horowitz (other topics)
Val McDermid (other topics)
Louise Penny (other topics)
More...
The Categories.
Top Mystery/Thriller Books (1-10)
Top Authors (1-5)
Top Books (1-5) any genre
Top Series (1-5)
Best "New to Me" Author (1)
Bottom of the Barrel Books (up to 5)
Instructions
Please put all your picks in one post, and please put them in this topic so I don't miss them. If you forget something you can edit your original post, just put EDITED before your addition so I know to go back and add it.
Please list the full name, be it book title, author name, or series character. This will save me time having to google names in order to match up everyone’s picks.
You don't have to list in all categories, and you don't have to post the maximum in each categories. Just please don't go over the max. Otherwise I will leave off the ones listed over the max indicated.
Final Thoughts
After Jan. 10 (or so) I will begin compiling everyone's lists and will aim to post the top picks in each category by the 16th.
If you want inspiration, you can see our Best of 2018 results (best bet is to do a search for the topic, or maybe someone more talented than I am will post a link).
I can't wait to see what everyone selects! Questions? You can post them here, and either Ann or I (or another longtime poster) will answer.
Let the posting begin!