English Mysteries Club discussion

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Book Chat > What are you Currently Reading?

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message 301: by Susan in NC (new)

Susan in NC (susanncreader) Adore Cadfael!Read him years ago after seeing him on PBS “Mystery”, and have been revisiting the books over the last few years. He is a delight, I really enjoy the audiobooks as well!


message 302: by Susan in NC (last edited Dec 09, 2020 07:19AM) (new)

Susan in NC (susanncreader) Speaking of Cadfael, I just finished a reread of The Leper of Saint Giles with another group, now I’m indulging in my annual Christmas rereads of old holiday-themed mystery and romance favorites! About to start Rest You Merry Rest You Merry (Peter Shandy #1) by Charlotte MacLeod by Charlotte MacLeod.


message 303: by Helen (new)

Helen (helenfrominyocounty) | 10 comments Just started A Grave Concern by Susanna Gregory. This is the 22nd in the ongoing series. Set in Cambridge in the 1300s, Matthew Bartholomew is a physician at the college, who finds a lot of mysteries to solve in each book, aided by his friend the Senior Proctor, Brother Michael -- quite the character himself. Highly recommended for the look at medieval life -- not the happiest of places. Maybe not the book to read if you're looking for a "feel good" story, but I do enjoy them.


message 304: by Iza (new)

Iza Brekilien (izabrekilien) I'm currently listening to Hercule Poirot's Christmas since I haven't received my copy yet, and reading The adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Conan Doyle.


message 305: by John (new)

John Reading the third in a historical mystery series: Murder at the Mill. Interesting premise of an American surgeon, who is actually a British nobleman via his father's family, who has arrived in an English village after the U. S. Civil War quickly taking up the role of medical examiner in murder cases, working closely with the local police detective who has become basically his best friend.


message 306: by Rosemarie (new)

Rosemarie | 382 comments I have been reading Frequent Hearses by Edmund Crispin. It's a good mystery with the usual witty writing.


message 307: by Cynda (new)

Cynda Some of you all's comments make me glad I have selected six (6) Cadfeal mysteries for my late 2021 reading selections :)


message 308: by Cynda (new)

Cynda Just now I am starting Sleeping Murder by Agatha Christie. This book will complete my Miss Marple challenge.


message 309: by Monique (new)

Monique Boodram (moniqueboodram) Not actually a book, but I'm listening to the audiobook George Cragge in the Red and Other Mysteries. Nice BBC Radio Drama: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4...


message 310: by Peterh (new)

Peterh | 5 comments Just finished my third Louise Penny/Inspector Gamache book, the acclaimed "The Cruellest Month".

I've liked her books so far but I'm beginning to find them tiresome and have developed problems with them too. Namely, they're so friggin angsty, it's like reading a Young Adult version of a mystery novel. The style is fun but just too repetitive in terms of emotion and the actual mystery is feeling like it's being put on the back-foot and becoming quite average by book 3. Also I hate this constant need to bring up food, I like food more than the next guy but you don't have to constantly tell us about the scents and tastes throughout the novel. You're trying to do a cozy mystery we get it but stop going on and on about scones and pates and French syrup and whatnot.


message 311: by Carolien (new)

Carolien (carolien_s) John wrote: "Reading the third in a historical mystery series: Murder at the Mill. Interesting premise of an American surgeon, who is actually a British nobleman via his father's family, who has..."

This is a new author to me and looks interesting. I'll add it to the list.


message 312: by Susan in NC (new)

Susan in NC (susanncreader) Cynda wrote: "Some of you all's comments make me glad I have selected six (6) Cadfeal mysteries for my late 2021 reading selections :)"

Smart lady - enjoy!


message 313: by Susan in NC (last edited Dec 14, 2020 07:17AM) (new)

Susan in NC (susanncreader) Continuing my Christmas rereads, I’m listening to the audiobook ofThe Twelve Clues of Christmas The Twelve Clues of Christmas (Her Royal Spyness Mysteries, #6) by Rhys Bowen by Rhys Bowen as I knit in the afternoon, and just started a lovely Victorian Christmas romance, A Holiday by Gaslight A Holiday by Gaslight by Mimi Matthews by Mimi Matthews.


message 314: by Susan in NC (last edited Dec 14, 2020 07:21AM) (new)

Susan in NC (susanncreader) Peterh wrote: "Just finished my third Louise Penny/Inspector Gamache book, the acclaimed "The Cruellest Month".

I've liked her books so far but I'm beginning to find them tiresome and have developed problems wit..."


Thanks- I’ve been recommended and meaning to get to this series for years, people seem to love it! But I guess like anything else, read too many at one time and you get tired of them...I remember a GR friend in another group even felt that way about *shudders, whispering in a low tone*, Agatha Christie, after reading too many Poirot mysteries in a row! As far as I know, they weren’t struck by lightning or anything- but they did say they felt they should keep looking over their shoulder as they typed!


message 315: by Susan in NC (new)

Susan in NC (susanncreader) Carolien wrote: "John wrote: "Reading the third in a historical mystery series: Murder at the Mill. Interesting premise of an American surgeon, who is actually a British nobleman via his father's fa..."

Me too - but being one of those “read in order” nuts, I’ll check for the first book...


message 316: by John (new)

John Susan in NC wrote: "Carolien wrote: "John wrote: "Reading the third in a historical mystery series: Murder at the Mill. Interesting premise of an American surgeon, who is actually a British nobleman vi..."

This series is best read in order.


message 317: by Carolien (new)

Carolien (carolien_s) Susan in NC wrote: "Carolien wrote: "John wrote: "Reading the third in a historical mystery series: Murder at the Mill. Interesting premise of an American surgeon, who is actually a British nobleman vi..."

Me too, I've added the first one to the list so far!


message 318: by Susan in NC (new)

Susan in NC (susanncreader) John wrote: "Susan in NC wrote: "Carolien wrote: "John wrote: "Reading the third in a historical mystery series: Murder at the Mill. Interesting premise of an American surgeon, who is actually a..."

Thanks, John!


message 319: by Mary (new)

Mary Pagones I'm finishing up An Unnatural Vice by K.J. Charles, a steampunk m/m romantic mystery set in the Victorian era. It's good, pulpy fun.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3...

I've also begin Well-Schooled in Murder by Elizabeth George, and thus far, this new-to-me writer is quite impressive! I'm a sucker for all mysteries set in British public schools, and a bit of a prose snob. Not only is it suspenseful, but the quality of the writing is ace, in terms of the subtleness of the characterization and details.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3...


message 320: by Rosemarie (new)

Rosemarie | 382 comments Blood on the Tracks: Railway Mysteries by Martin Edwards, a compilation of short stories involving trains.


message 321: by Pamela (last edited Dec 16, 2020 05:40PM) (new)

Pamela Mclaren | 365 comments I'm reading two different books right now: the nonfiction The Art of the English Murder: From Jack the Ripper and Sherlock Holmes to Agatha Christie and Alfred Hitchcock by Lucy Worsley and the mystery Dorchester Terrace by Anne Perry.

I haven't read Perry for a while and on a whim checked my local libraries' digital books and found two of them. I've enjoyed this series but because of the length of time since the last book, I wondered if I would still enjoy it. I do.

I've found that if I read too many of one author all at once or if I wait a year or two before reading another, that I sometimes don't 'get the magic' that I first found with the book.


message 323: by Pamela (new)

Pamela Mclaren | 365 comments No problem, Ellen. In fact, I'm quite enjoying Worsley's work and because of her description of a real live murder perpetrated by a doctor, which was alluded to in an Arthur Conan Doyle story, The Adventure of the Speckled Band and Other Stories of Sherlock Holmes, I pulled out my two-volume Complete Works of Sherlock Holmes and read the tale once again. And enjoyed it every bit as much as when I originally read it — as well as found the line referenced by Worsley. It's oddly rewarding to have done so.


message 324: by Ellen (new)

Ellen | 227 comments Pamela wrote: "No problem, Ellen. In fact, I'm quite enjoying Worsley's work and because of her description of a real live murder perpetrated by a doctor, which was alluded to in an [author:Arthur Conan Doyle|244..."
It's never a waste of time to reread Sherlock!


message 325: by Mary (new)

Mary Pagones I loved Worsley's documentary on British mysteries (a companion to that book).


message 326: by Iza (new)

Iza Brekilien (izabrekilien) I'm currently reading The Dead Secret by Wilkie Collins : I've been promised secrets, lies, treachery, bigamy and many other victorian sensational twists and turns !


message 327: by Werner (new)

Werner | 257 comments For those unable to click on the cover thumbnail in Iza's post above, the book she's reading is The Dead Secret by Wilkie Collins.


message 328: by Pamela (last edited Dec 24, 2020 06:41AM) (new)

Pamela Mclaren | 365 comments Last night, while reading Worsley's book, I remembered that I had Wilkie Collin's The Woman in White — got to read it now that I have read what Worsley says about it! And of course, I'm interested in the book you mentioned too, Iza.


message 329: by Cynda (new)

Cynda Wanting to read something for group participation before the end of the year, I am reading The Sign of Four as part of the Sherlock Holmes buddy read.


message 330: by Adrian (new)

Adrian | 631 comments Cynda wrote: "Wanting to read something for group participation before the end of the year, I am reading The Sign of Four as part of the Sherlock Holmes buddy read."

Ditto Cynda.

And then the question is what to finish the year with given what a weird year this has been


message 331: by Iza (new)

Iza Brekilien (izabrekilien) Werner wrote: "For those unable to click on the cover thumbnail in Iza's post above, the book she's reading is The Dead Secret by Wilkie Collins."

The link didn't work ? Sorry, Werner, and thank you for fixing it :)


message 332: by Werner (last edited Dec 23, 2020 10:57AM) (new)

Werner | 257 comments No problem, Iza! The link you provided, through the cover thumbnail, worked just fine for me, and no doubt for anyone else who accesses Goodreads through a PC. But some people who access the site through cell phones, tablets, etc. have complained in the past that those devices won't let them click on the thumbnails. (Not sure exactly why; I'm not very tech-savvy myself! :-) )


message 333: by Iza (new)

Iza Brekilien (izabrekilien) So it's better to link through text, I gather. Ok, I'll be doing it in the future :)


message 334: by Werner (new)

Werner | 257 comments Iza wrote: "So it's better to link through text, I gather. Ok, I'll be doing it in the future :)"

I usually do both, unless the particular book I'm linking to doesn't have any cover art. If it does, though, it brightens up the post a bit, and gives people who can click on the image a chance to enjoy it. :-)


message 335: by Penny (new)

Penny | 353 comments am whizzing through S W Perry's Nicolas Shelby series - loving the audio - with no where to go it feels like the narrator has moved in as I am spending so much time with him!

just finished The Serpent's Mark (Nicholas Shelby, #2) by S.W. Perry and straight on to The Saracen's Mark (Nicholas Shelby, #3) by S.W. Perry


message 336: by Barbara (new)

Barbara (gnbx3) Currently reading Susan Hill’s Simon Serrailler mystery series.


message 338: by Werner (new)

Werner | 257 comments For those who can't read the cover-image thumbnails on their devices, the book Penny just finished (message 335) is The Serpent's Mark, and the one she's newly started is The Saracen's Mark.


message 339: by M.J. (last edited Jan 05, 2021 09:02AM) (new)

M.J. (mjswitzer) Currently reading Moonflower Murders.

Update: And now also The Thursday Murder Club for the January group read. :-)


message 340: by Dorothy (new)

Dorothy  (vilette) | 308 comments Currently reading 'Good Girl Bad Girl' and 'Piranesi'


message 341: by Helen (new)

Helen (helenfrominyocounty) | 10 comments Currently up to #11 in Paul Doherty's Hugh Corbett medieval series, The Demon Archer The Demon Archer (Hugh Corbett, #11) by Paul Doherty . Excellent depiction of life at the time -- modern day has nothing on the machinations at the court of Edward I.


message 342: by John (new)

John Not real keen on the time period, but as one of my challenges requires a medieval mystery, I'm listening to A Mortal Bane - a group of what might now be termed "escorts" gets dragged into a 12th century murder.


message 343: by M.J. (new)

M.J. (mjswitzer) Betsy wrote: "Just finished the first in a series, OLD SOLDIERS NEVER DIE about a murder in a small village. Really enjoyed it."

I just recently discovered the work of Margaret Mayhew and have started reading Old Soldiers Never Die. She has a real gift for characterization and setting, the village of Frog End and it's inhabitants practically walk off the page. :-)


message 344: by Lisa (new)

Lisa | 3 comments I'm currently reading The Art of Inheriting Secrets by Barbara O'Neal. So far I like it fine, it's not a cerebral read by any means.


message 345: by John (new)

John Moved on to a truly dark, bizarre mystery/suspense set in 1930 London: Gallows Court


message 346: by Dorothy (new)

Dorothy  (vilette) | 308 comments I've just started 'One by One' by Ruth Ware


message 347: by Pamela (new)

Pamela Mclaren | 365 comments Last night my cousin told me of a sale on Amazon — all eight of Basil Thomson's Inspector Richardson mysteries were available for $.99 each. I had already downloaded the first (hadn't gotten to reading it) but I bought the others.

I looked up Thomson on Wikipedia and was surprised that while they do mention that he turned to writing after his government career but it says nothing about the mysteries!


message 348: by Betsy (new)

Betsy | 46 comments Am rereading some of the C.D. Sloan mysteries by Catherine Aird. I read most years ago so it's almost like a new book.


message 349: by Jacqui (new)

Jacqui (jaxlef) I'm currently reading Mystery at the Old Mill a cosy mystery - slightly disappointed but hoping it picks up a bit it's not keeping me engaged as much as the others in the series.

Then I think I'll carry on with Ann Cleeves' Vera Stanhope series with The Seagull and a side order of the April Group Read Why Shoot a Butler?.


message 350: by Pamela (new)

Pamela Mclaren | 365 comments I've just finished The Blood-Dimmed Tide by Rennie Airth. Its the second in the series and I've read both books and found them excellent (unfortunately, I didn't write a review of the first book, which I read in 2012! Can't believe that it's been that long). That won't be repeated. I already have the third book in the series.

Jacqui, I'm hoping that I will soon be joining you reading Ann Cleeves' work. She's on my TBR list.


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